2. Founding and History of the Kollel
2.2 The Launching of Kollel Yad Shaul
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community and to deliver public lectures on a weekly basis.24 This commitment was likewise accepted by the two others selected as future members, or fellows, at that meeting: Rabbis Eliezer Chrysler and Avraham Hassan. Chrysler served at that time as a teacher at the Gateshead Boys’ High School and Hassan was a young recently married yeshiva student unable to find a Kollel in England that would admit him, but desirous of furthering his
Talmudic studies at a postgraduate level. These three founding members were to be joined by two other young rabbis who had already been in Johannesburg for a number of years: Rabbis Mordechai Korn and Shmuel Steinhaus. Korn, originally from London, had been employed by the Adath Yeshurun to run their youth programs but his recent independent decision to become a Satmar Hassid put him at odds with the congregation. Steinhaus on the other hand was a Gateshead Yeshiva graduate and a son-in-law to Salzer who had been brought to South Africa in 1968 to teach at Toras Emes. It was agreed that the five rabbis mentioned above would constitute the Kollel’s first year intake, and they would officially begin studies in September, 1970.
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learning could be discussed; any mundane issue including outreach would have to be taken outside.28 This heavy emphasis on unadulterated Torah study was premised on an ideology that proclaimed that the mere fact that Torah was being learnt in the city left an indelible mark on the spiritual welfare of the community. It also stemmed from a belief that whoever seriously imbibes the Torah, which, metaphorically has been likened to water, can reach beyond his saturation point, and literally become “drenched in Torah”, which then spills over and nurtures the immediate environment.29 It was strongly contended that only a
consummate Torah scholar could serve as a role model for others to follow, otherwise one had no business engaging in kiruv rehokim [outreach to those who are remote (from religious observance)].30 Whether this philosophy had any practical impact or not, the Kollel
witnessed unprecedented growth that went far beyond the expectations of the founders themselves. This despite the relatively little time the fellows devoted to public activities.
In early 1971, after becoming oriented with his new community, Avraham Hassan decided to place a small advertisement in the classified section of Johannesburg’s Star newspaper, inviting young men and women to come to the Kollel to hear public lectures on Jewish topics. The first week following the notice’s placement a crowd of around twenty non-observant but curious post high school youth came to the Kollel to hear these lectures.
Hassan’s public address based on Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato’s Essay on Fundamentals, proved to be popular with the students.31 The fact that the content and delivery of the address were set out in a lucid and organized form, and that through the lens of Kabbala [Jewish Mysticism], it sought to explain, how the world operates, rendered it appealing to the early 1970s generation of seekers. The latter would certainly not have encountered such works from more conventional congregational rabbis who traditionally shied away from studying Kabbalistic literature, let alone teaching it.32 The audience’s exposure to literature that
28 See Steinhaus, interview.
29 Michael Karp, “We Came, We Learnt, and We Taught,” The Kollel Yad Shaul 20th Anniversary Banquet; see also Grossnass, interview.
30 Literally “bringing closer those who are distanced [from Torah].” Nowadays it is referred to simply as kiruv, and is part of the modern parlance of the Jewish Orthodox English-speaking world. Kollel’s philosophy continues to be a major point of contention and, as we shall see, goes against the ideology of organizations such as Chabad and, internationally, Aish Hatorah, who encourage young and minimally learned individuals to engage in active outreach.
31 Rabbi Avraham Hassan, interview by author, (Manchester, February 2017); for an online version of an English translation of the cited work, Essay on Fundamentals, see http://www.anzarouth.com/2008/08/1-blessed- creator.html accessed on 6 December 2021.
32 There is a longstanding tradition cited by one of the commentators to the Shulhan Arukh [Code of Jewish Law], (Shabtai Cohen Yoreh Dea 346:6), that one should not study Kabbalah until the age of 40. Admittedly this would not have applied to Luzatto’s works which, though based on Kabbalah, do not use heavy Kabbalah language and
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purported to uncover the world’s mysteries probably accounted for its attraction. This factor, however, does not fully explain the Kollel’s appeal to the students. After all they were also drawn to lectures on a variety of topics ranging from Talmud study to Rabbi Dessler’s discourses on Jewish ethics, to the contemporary polemical discourses of the ultraorthodox American rabbi, Avigdor Miller.33 Ironically, the last two mentioned works, which so appealed to these university students with their high level of secular knowledge, emphasised the primacy of pure Torah learning to the exclusion of secular studies.34
The students not only came back for more, but their numbers multiplied so quickly that within half a year twenty five lectures were being delivered by Kollel faculty on a weekly basis and at various venues.35 It appears that part of the reason for the lectures’
popularity could be credited to the persons delivering them and the religious sincerity they exuded. Unlike other rabbis in Johannesburg, these wore Haredi [ultraorthodox] garb, were unabashed in their criticism of anything they considered remiss within the local Jewish community and its rabbinate, and preached a conservative and parochial traditionalism which they labelled “authentic” Judaism.36 Being in their mid-twenties to early thirties, the Kollel fellows established a rapport with their students which was strengthened by the introduction in June 1971 of the first Shabbaton [Religious weekend getaway] for adults.37 In conjunction with Yeoville Synagogue and the Adath Yeshurun, sixty male and female Wits students spent an entire Shabbat with the Kollel faculty and guest rabbis listening to various classes and participating in question and answer sessions.38 Apart from its lecturing activities, the Kollel, under Hassan’s initiative, also started a non-profit bookshop and lending library to acquaint students with literature considered vital for their growth. Through these activities,
are considered standard fare for scholars. Nevertheless, it probably would not have been taught elsewhere in Johannesburg.
33See Izak Rudomin, “Jewish Education in South Africa,”
https://www.academia.edu/44397055/Torah_education_and_outreach_in_South_Africa, accessed on 6 December 20121; For information about Dessler see Solomon, “Rabbi Dessler’s View of Secular Studies.” It must be admitted that Dressler’s works also contained elements of mysticism. For more on Avigdor Miller see Miriam Samsonowitz, “The Rov Who Turned Baalebatim Into Bnei Yeshiva,” Deiah Vedibbur, 30 May, 2001, http://www.chareidi.org/archives5761/nasso/NSOfeatures.htm, accessed on 6 December 2021.
34 See Solomon, “Rabbi Dessler’s View of Secular Studies.”
35 Coblenz, “Chronicle of Events.”
36 See articles in The Kollel Yad Shaul 20th Anniversary Banquet, and in The Rabbi Grossnass Legacy Dinner Brochure where many references are made to “authentic” Judaism. See Hassan, interview.
37 “Johannesburg’s First Shabbaton” SAJT, 2 July 1971. It is probably true that this was the first time a Shabbaton was run for young adults of this cohort, however Bnei Akiva had long beforehand held Shabbatons and camp Shabbats for the younger age group.
38 Ibid; Coblenz, “Chronicle of Events.”
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this institute, by the end of 1971 saw its reputation grow steadily, while it readied itself for more ambitious projects.
In January 1972, a decision was reached to create a Monday evening learning program at the Kollel’s premises instead of spreading the talks over various venues throughout the week.39 The evening would comprise two learning sessions, each offering a selection of lectures, separated by a break during which students either mingled or paged through the books displayed by the Kollel bookshop, which sold them at specially
discounted prices.40 The program proved popular and, according to contemporary reports, participants would be hard-pressed to find available parking spaces on the sleepy Urania Street and surrounding blocks, which were now filled with the cars of some 80 to 100 weekly participants. This number would swell to 200 when guest speakers were featured.41 Aside from the Kollel fellows, lectures were also given by the founding dean of Yeshiva College, Rabbi David Sanders. The latter developed a close friendship with Shakovitzsky and, unfettered by the demands of his former employer and its Mizrachi affiliated committee, he presumably felt freer to espouse the more strictly Orthodox views of his alma mater, Telshe Yeshiva. Possessed of a dynamic personality and expert oratorical skills, his classes became one of the of the learning program’s main attractions.
At this stage of the Kollel’s development, Bernhard was also intimately involved and he too would, on occasion, deliver lectures. As he had already established a reputation as an accomplished pulpit rabbi, his lectures were also warmly received. In addition to these rabbis, another speaker who played an important role during these sessions was Ivan Ziskind. Born in Benoni, and having qualified as an architect at Wits, he went to Durham University in the early 1960s with his young wife to do post graduate studies in town planning. He took residence in the nearby town of Gateshead, where for the first time he was exposed to its ultra-Orthodox community, and to the then young yeshiva student Mordechai Shakovitsky.
Upon his return to South Africa, he became a member of the Adath Yeshurun and was heavily involved in the Kollel’s founding. He was very welcoming to the Kollel fellows and encouraged them in their outreach activities. To facilitate the success of the learning program he saw it his duty, as a layman with more learning experience than the average participant, to elucidate concepts the British Kollel rabbis had difficulty communicating to their South
39 Coblenz, “Chronicle of Events.”
40 See Hassan, interview.
41 Steinhaus, interview and interview with anonymous members of the Kollel, Johannesburg, December 2019;
Coblenz, “Chronicle of Events.”
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African audience. He therefore placed himself in front of the lecture hall and whenever he felt ideas were too vaguely enunciated, he would ask the lecturer clarifying questions which would make it clearer for the rest of the audience. Those attending the program were drawn to its intense atmosphere and established close relationships with all the fellows generally and with Ivan Ziskind and Avraham Hassan in particular who were considered the “powerhouses”
of the group.42 Years after the inauguration of this program many recalled feeling an electric atmosphere permeating through the large and eclectic crowd that overflowed the lecture rooms. Reflecting on the dramatic effect the Kollel had at that time, Bernhard commented that the Kollel’s arrival was “like water hitting parched soil”.43