The Oxford Shul is an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located in
Riviera
() is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English.
Riviera may a ...
, near the suburbs of
Saxonwold
Saxonwold is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated in what was once the Sachsenwald Forest in the early 20th century. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.
History
The suburb ...
,
Houghton and
Killarney
Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...
, in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, in the region of
Gauteng
Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. The congregation was established in 1943 and moved into its current building in 1962. The
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...
is one of the largest in the
Southern Hemisphere, with seating for 1,500 congregants.
History
The Oxford Synagogue was founded in 1943 and a site was purchased.
In 1944 the Oxford Synagogue joined the United Hebrew Congregation of South Africa as a third constituent synagogue. In 1945 the first High Festival Services were held in the large Tudor House, by then partly converted into a small synagogue accommodating 400 congregants. In November of the same year a dedication service was held with the Chief Rabbi
Louis Isaac Rabinowitz
Louis Rabinowitz (; 1984–1906) was an Orthodox rabbi, historian and philologist of the 20th century.
Biography
Louis Rabinowitz was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was descendant of a long lineage of Lithuanian Rabbis. His lineage to Rabb ...
officiating. The first rabbi was W. Yesorsky, who was succeeded in 1947 by J. Rozowski.
In 1949 building began on the hall, a synagogue accommodating 800 worshippers. In 1954 an extra of land adjacent to the synagogue property and facing Riviera Road were purchased, and the present nursery school and the double-storey education block opened. The official opening of the synagogue took place in August 1962. In 1963 at a banquet the reconstructed hall was named “The Simon Kuper Hall” in honour of a member of the congregation.
In 1964 the architects, S. A. Abramowitch, Pinshow and Schneider, received an Award of Merit from the Transvaal Provincial Institute of Architects for the best