Umhlanga Rocks with Chabad’s New Presence
By Lauren Oshry
Residents of Umhlanga Rocks were treated to a vibrant display of religious festivity on Sunday 18 June when about 250 exuberant individuals took to the streets to celebrate the official opening of the new Chabad House and Shana Weissman Outreach and Activity Centre at 11 Flamingo Lane.
The crowd comprised mainly local Jews and holiday-makers, but also included ten Rabbinical students from Yeshivot in Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as various Rabbis from around the country.
Coupled with the grand opening was the receiving of a new Sefer Torah scroll, donated by Barry and Debbie Tannenbaum and Wayne and Melanie Gaddin in honour of their children.
The festivities kicked off with a “Torah Parade” from the longstanding landmark Umhlanga Sands Hotel to what will hopefully become another landmark in the area: the new Chabad House. The joyous procession marched up Lagoon Drive, parading the new Torah under a chuppah. Laughing, clapping, and singing Hebrew songs, the procession could only be described as ‘jew’bilant.
The tone of the event clearly situated Chabad at the heart of the milieu of the Durban community. Colourful rickshaws led the parade and the ground vibrated to the tunes pumping from the Mitzvah Tank, Durban style. But in the heart of sunny KwaZulu-Natal, Chabad aims to bring a different kind of light – the light of the Torah.
With the addition of the new Torah scroll, Chabad North Coast now has two Sifrei Torah, indicating their spiritual growth as a community (a shul should have at least three). This double simcha added to the joy of the day as the two very special occasions enhanced each other.
At the new premises, the crowd celebrated with singing, dancing, and Black Label whiskey (much to the surprised delight of the municipal delegates). The men made Hakafot to welcome the new Sefer Torah scroll, while the women joined in with clapping and singing.
In an official ceremony, Shlomo Wainer, Director of Chabad of the North Coast, thanked the various benefactors, contractors and developers involved in the mammoth project.
Councilor Reddy of the Executive Council of the Ethekweni Municipality commented that Chabad’s new presence “adds to the beautiful tapestry that has become synonymous with the place called Durban”. He built on Chabad’s own metaphor as Umhlanga’s spiritual lighthouse and noted that “in these perilous times, people have no hope; they are looking for places like these.”
Rabbi Mendel Lipskar, Head of the Lubavitch Foundation of South Africa, extended his congratulations to the whole community of Umhlanga. “Umhlanga is a growing place and, Baruch Hashem, we have a Chabad Centre that will supply the spiritual needs of the Jews in the community,” he said.
Rabbi Zekry of the Durban United Hebrew Congregation also welcomed the new endeavour, and offered his support: “May Hashem recompense you for this magnificent addition to Durban, and may you go from strength to strength.”
More than just a shtibl, Chabad of the North Coast aims to provide innovative educational programmes in all areas of Jewish life. The Shana Weissman Outreach and Activity Centre boasts a shul, a brocha room, a library, multimedia room and lounge, a Jewish resource centre, administrative offices, a kosher kitchen, a children’s playground and a Jewish Internet Café.
The Shul is used throughout the year by more than 40 local families and caters to the needs of year-round holiday-makers who flock to the coast.
Wainer closed the proceedings with a reminder that this is an ongoing project, and that there is still much to be done. It seems that Chabad of the North Coast is in for a very bright future.
For more information or to contribute to the building fund, contact Shlomo on 082 550 0503 or visit www.chabadnc.com
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A New Torah Comes To Umhlanga Rocks
UMHLANGA, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA — Sunday, July 02, 2006
strapping Zulu tribesman, garbed in sheepskins and colorful, woven cloaks, resplendent in his five-foot tall headdress of cattle horns, feathers dyed blood red and black, furs and mirror-studded mosaics led the parade in honor of a new Torah to be housed in the new Chabad Outreach Center of Umhlanga, Kwazulu Natal, on the north coast of South Africa. Leaping as he strode along the route, the Zulu - and his two-wheeled rickshaw cart - added a dash of local color to the procession of 200 well wishers and community members who danced and sang their way to the center on 11 Flamingo Road, dedicated in memory of Shana Weisman by her brothers, Brett and Mark Levy.
Umhlanga Rocks sounds exotic but it is a familiar and favorite beachside spot for Johannesburg residents on long weekend getaways and holidays. Chabad Umhlanga’s weekly Shabbat minyan fluctuates between 10 and 50 congregants during the year, and surges to over 300 in the high season. Barry Tannenbaum of Johannesburg vacationed in the attractive Indian Ocean resort town since his schoolboy days. He and his wife, Debbie, purchased an apartment in Umhlanga and prefer spending Shabbat and Jewish holidays there, away from Johannesburg, where walking to synagogue “can be dangerous,” Tannenbaum said. “Umhlanga is a nice haven. You feel safe.”
Tannenbaum met Rabbi Shlomo Wainer, Chabad representative in Umhlanga and South Africa’s North Coast and noted the synagogue had but one Torah, an inconvenience for any growing community. Tannenbaum and a friend sponsored the purchase of a new Torah scroll. As Rabbi Wainer cradled the new Torah under the canopy, Zachary, 3, and Rebecca, 6, Tannenbaum hitched a ride in the rickshaw. Tannenbaum glanced round and felt a “high that hit my heart,” he said. “It felt like my bar mitzvah again.”
When Rabbi Wainer planned the grand opening, he phoned Mark and Brett Levy to set the date. The Levys were instrumental in the purchase and renovation of the new building. June 18, as it turned out, coincided with the birthday of the Levys’s sister, Shana Weisman, in whose memory the new outreach center is named. “It got very quiet on the phone,” said Rabbi Wainer, but he’s used chancing upon divinely guided happenstance. Miracles have cropped up ever since Rabbi Shlomo and Devorah Wainers arrived in Umhlanga almost 13 years ago, not the least of which was overcoming delicate zoning issues to open the center.
Under a warm and smiling sun, the norm in Umhlanga, crowd numbers climbed to over 250 by the time the procession reached the entrance and walkway of the new center. Several prominent rabbis and Chabad representatives from Johannesburg and Pretoria offered words of blessing. Rabbinical students from the Yeshiva Gedolah in Johannesburg danced and sang with community members. Councillor Chetty, of the executive council of the Ethekwini municipality, delivered greetings on behalf of the mayor of Durban, the major city closest to Umhlanga Rocks.
Jack Mailich, a year-round Umhlanga resident, said the event “put Umhlanga Rocks Chabad on the map” and “let people all over the country and overseas know they can come to this tourist and holiday resort, which boasts all the facilities Jewish people could want – plus, plus.” A Jewish family on a cruise to South Africa from New York turned up at the outreach center the other day, having asked a taxi driver if there were any Jewish community centers in the area. “They couldn’t believe the reception they got. They were made to feel very welcome and comfortable,” said Mailich.
Numbers of visitors to Umhlanga grow by the year, and the new center is positioned right in the middle of the prime hotel and timeshare strip to serve them. Peak season, guests arrive from Adelaide and Perth, Australia; London; United States; but most drive five hours or fly in under an hour from Johannesburg. Reasonably priced real estate, in contrast to Cape Town’s skyrocketing prices, drive more and more investment in Umhlanga. Several buildings, 20, 30 stories in height, are under construction. The village of Umhlanga, once a fisherman’s port of call, is expanding, bringing hotels, corporations, jobs, and with them the prospect of greater numbers of year round Jewish residents.
Some visitors to Chabad arrive on foot. On the Friday before the big opening event, 11,000 runners sped through Umhlanga during the annual Comrades Marathon, a 90 km race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Rabbi Wainer pitches a mobile Chabad center for exhausted runners, refueling them with carbs – bananas and other fruits, water and a quick wrapping of tefillin before sending them on their way.
For more information on Chabad of Umhlanga, go to www.chabadnc.com.
Reported by Rebecca Rosenthal lubavitch.com
