3. Traditionalist Response: Synthesis and Counterrevolution
3.2 The independent Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg
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Yeshiva College campus. Nine years of continuous operation of this higher institution was thereby terminated.36
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so much so that failing to fill the void would lead to “the crumbling of institutions that took decades to build.”41
In a lead article in the Federation Chronicle published in August 1979, Goldfein enumerated his aims to mixed reviews. Some in the community predicted the venture would fail, and the average South African student would not be drawn to fulltime Torah study.42 On the other hand, the Federation of Synagogues and the Johannesburg Beth Din were
encouraged by Goldfein’s moves and saw potential in it. In November 1979, the Federation Chronicle enthusiastically reported on the expansion of the staff and hostel facilities at that institution and the fact that the “talents” of the prospective rabbis and shochetim would be
“utilized for the South African Jewish community.”43 Calling the Yeshiva Gedolah “the lifeblood of the South African Jewish community” at a Conference held a few months later, the Federation pledged R100 a month while urging constituent synagogues to donate generously to “one of the most deserving causes.”44 These calls appear to have been well received and a few years later it was widely acknowledged that the “functions” of the Ministers’ Training College had been “virtually taken over by Rabbi Goldfein’s Yeshiva Gedolah.”45
From its inception, the Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg enjoyed considerable, albeit incremental, success. After its first decade of operations, the institution became South
Africa’s leading source of supply of rabbis and educational personnel. By that time, it had produced young rabbis occupying pulpits in Edenvale, Orange Grove, Randburg, and Waverley, as well as other parts of the Republic. By 1988 ten former students had served in the South African Defence Force Jewish Chaplaincy, while other students had assisted congregations in local and outlying areas.46
The institution also engaged in sharing resources with the broader community. This included Yeshiva Gedolah students spending three days at King David Linksfield in 1981 where they taught intensive Torah classes to 1,200 pupils during the periods reserved for Jewish studies.47 In other acts of public engagement, the Rosh Yeshiva would present a
41 Ibid.
42 See Hayman, “Modern Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Sectors”, 114., and see also, Bridging Worlds, where former students speak of the difficulty of making youth forgo their Sunday leisure for fulltime study on that day.
43 “Training Rabbis,” (editorial), Federation Chronicle, November, 1979.
44 “Shul leaders pledge support for Yeshiva Gedolah”, Federation Chronicle, April 1980. The present value of R 100 is approx. R 2,750.
45 “Religious Personnel” (editorial), Jewish Tradition, January 1987.
46 Hayman, “Modern Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Sectors,” 113.
47 “1200-Pupil Torah Study”, Federation Chronicle, October 1981.
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weekly general shiur to men and women at the Yeshiva’s premises, where he would discuss the portion of the week or an upcoming festival. These shiurim were recorded and, once a month, 500 audio cassettes would be posted across South Africa, as well as to former South Africans living in Israel, Australia, England, U.S.A. and Canada.48
In its second decade, even as the student body expanded less time was dedicated to community outreach. The graduating class of 1996 included two students, both hailing from Pretoria, who would play pivotal roles in the community. One was Craig Kacev, who served as a congregational rabbi for many years and later headed the South African Board of Jewish Education, where he remained at the helm for a decade and a half, before immigrating to Israel in 2021. The other more famous graduate was Warren Goldstein, who after ordination stayed on at the Yeshiva as one of its instructors while concurrently occupying important pulpits in Johannesburg. As we shall discuss later in greater detail, Goldstein was appointed the Chief Rabbi elect in 2003. A year later, Goldstein was officially inaugurated by his mentor Azriel Goldfein in the presence of President Thabo Mbeki as the new Chief Rabbi of South Africa.
Three years later, the 72-year-old founder of the Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg died soon after handing the reins to two of his sons. Over the next decade, the Yeshiva continued to function and to ordain new rabbis. Recently, it relocated to the suburb of Glenhazel, where the majority of the Orthodox community resides. Alongside running a yeshiva, the Goldfein family set up an independent school network providing formal
education for various age groups. Initially catering to the young alumni who were searching for a Jewish school to suit the needs of their children, these educational institutions began with the Hirsch Lyons nursery school which was founded in 1985 on the grounds of the Orange Grove Ninth Street Synagogue.49 Three years later, a Grade 1 class was inaugurated, and each successive year a grade was added until it eventually developed into a co-
educational primary school and separate boys’ and girls’ high schools.50 This school network added to the tapestry of Jewish day schools in Johannesburg while providing an ethos based on the thinking of Rabbi Azriel Goldfein.
48 “Torah taught in tapes”, Federation Chronicle, November 1984. All these audio cassettes have been digitized and are located at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cloud.shiur.ygj&hl=en, accessed on 19
December 2021.
49 See Clarice Goldfein, interview by author, (Johannesburg, May 2017); Hayman, “Modern Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Sectors”, 98.
50 Ibid, 106. Hayman’s thesis predates the full establishment of the school, but mention is made there of the first grade 1 class.
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