Tradition, accommodation, revolution and counterrevolution: a history of a century of struggle for the soul of orthodoxy in Johannesburgs Jewish community, 1915-2015

Over the past century, South African Jewry has undergone significant changes in its religious makeup. This dissertation provides the first comprehensive study of Orthodox Judaism within Johannesburg, the dominant religious movement within the single largest Jewish population centre in South Africa. From a splintered and largely immigrant community in 1915 with weak religious and educational institutions, and a pattern of religious laxity, Orthodox Jewry has transformed into a highly organized and structured community with high levels of religious observance. These processes of change accelerated from 1970 with the arrival of imported religious revival movements. Notwithstanding considerable emigration and political instability, Johannesburg Jewry today boasts high levels of religiosity with almost half its members labelling themselves Orthodox. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that Johannesburg was a united and largely homogenous community prior to the arrival of the revival movements, this study finds that already by the 1930s the Orthodox community was ideologically divided. While the Federation of Synagogues and Board of Jewish Education were led by academically trained rabbis with an inclusive interpretation of Orthodoxy, the religious Zionist Mizrachi movement and its affiliates sought to reintroduce East European traditions and advocated strict levels of observance that were unpopular with the majority of the community. Over the decades, and in alliance with the sometimes rival revival movements, the latter camp has come to dominate the Johannesburg religious landscape. The receding influence of the rabbis with a more inclusive orientation – partly because of retirements and emigration – is visible in the decreasing numbers of Jews in Johannesburg who describe themselves as “traditional.” This dissertation traces these developments through the decades and explains how and why the character of Johannesburg Jewry has changed.

Grantor

Department of Historical Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Fachler, David

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mendelsohn, Adam

• Historical Studies

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36774

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/36774