South African Jews - Jewish Education in South Africa

Jewish Education in South Africa

Traditionally, Jewish education in South Africa was conducted by the Cheder or Talmud Torah, while children received secular education at government and private schools. There were, initially, no formal structures in place for Rabbinical education. (Note that although the majority of South Africa's Jews are descendants of Lithuanian Jews who venerated Talmudic scholarship, the community did not establish schools or yeshivot for several decades.)

An important change took place in 1948, when King David School was established as the first full-time dual-curriculum (secular and Jewish) Jewish day school – the high school was established in 1955. Today, King David is amongst the largest Jewish day schools in the world, with thousands of students. King David's equivalent in Cape Town is "Herzlia" (United Herzlia Schools) with Carmel School in Pretoria and Durban (both subsequently renamed), and the Theodore Herzl School in Port Elizabeth (est. 1959). Umhlanga Jewish Day School, was opened in January 2012, to cater for Jewish children in the greater Durban area. In Total, nineteen Day Schools, affiliated to the South African Board of Jewish Education, have been established in the main centres. The Jewish day schools regularly place amongst the top in the country in the national "Matric" examinations.

The first religious day school, the Yeshiva College of South Africa, was established in the mid-1950s, drawing primarily on the popularity of the Bnei Akiva Religious Zionist youth movement. As an institution with hundreds of pupils, Yeshivah College is today the largest religious school in the country. Other educational institutions within this ideology include the Kollel (Bet Mordechai) and Midrasha (Emunah) of Mizrachi, Johannesburg, and the Yeshiva of Cape Town, a Torah MiTzion Kollel.

In parallel to the establishment of Yeshiva College, and drawing on the same momentum, several smaller yeshivot were opened, starting in the 1960s. The Yeshivah Gedolah of Johannesburg, established in 1973, is the best known of these, having trained dozens of South African Rabbis, including Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein. The Yeshiva follows the "Telshe" educational model, although accommodates students from across the spectrum of Hashkafa (Hebrew: worldview, outlook, beliefs within orthodox Judaism).

This era also saw the start of a large network of Chabad-Lubavitch activities and institutions. There is today a Lubavitch Yeshiva in Johannesburg (Lubavitch Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg) serving the Chabad community, a Chabad Semicha programme in Pretoria (having ordained 98 Rabbis since its establishment in 2001), and Lubavitch Day schools in Johannesburg (the Torah Academy school) and Cape Town. Johannesburg boasts ten Chabad Houses, Cape Town two and Kwazulu-Natal one- all of which offer a variety of Torah classes, adult education programmes and informal children's educational programmes.

The 1980s saw the establishment of a Haredi kollel, Yad Shaul, as well as the growth of a large baal teshuva ("returnees" ) movement – this was supported by the Israel-based organizations Ohr Somayach and Aish HaTorah which established active branches in South Africa; Arachim also has an active presence. Ohr Somayach, South Africa operates a full-time Yeshiva in Johannesburg – with its Bet Midrash established in 1990, and its Kollel (Toras Chaim) in 1996 – as well as a Midrasha (Ma'ayan Bina); it also runs a Bet Midrash in Cape Town. There are several Haredi boy's schools in Johannesburg - each associated with one of the yeshivot - as well as a Beis Yaakov girls' school.

The Progressive Movement maintains a network of supplementary Hebrew and Religious classes at its temples. These schools are all affiliated to the SA Union for Progressive Judaism.

Conservative / Masorti's presence in South Africa is limited to one synagogue in Johannesburg.

Limmud was introduced to the country in 2007. The Limmud South Africa conferences are held in August/September each year, with over 1000 attending. South Africa's Orthodox rabbis do not participate, taking their lead from the UK Orthodox Rabbinate; see Limmud: Relationships with Centrist Orthodoxy in Britain.