Muizenberg Shul

Muizenberg Shul
Muizenberg Shul, in 2024
Religion
Affiliation	Modern Orthodox Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Ownership	Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation
Leadership	Rabbi Ryan Newman
Status	Active
Location
Location	Camp Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town, Western Cape
Country	South Africa
Location of the synagogue in Greater Cape Town
Geographic coordinates	34°06′24″S 18°28′02″E / 34.10666°S 18.46718°E / -34.10666; 18.46718
Architecture
Architect(s)	Herbert Black George Fagg
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Neoclassical
Date established	1924 (as a congregation)
Groundbreaking	14 February 1924
Completed	1925
Website
muizenbergshul.co.za

The Muizenberg Shul, formally the Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Muizenberg, in Greater Cape Town, in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The congregation was established in 1924, and the synagogue was completed in the following year.^[1]

The foundation stone was laid on 14 February 1924 by Rev. A. P. Bender, who led the Gardens Shul. Construction was completed at the end of 1925 and the synagogue officially opened in 1926. It was built to serve both the growing Jewish resident population and the high volume of Jewish holidaymakers.^[2] 600 Jewish families from Eastern Europe settled in the town in the 1920s.^[3] Rabbi Lionel Mirvis served the community as did his son, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (currently Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth), who led high holy days services at the shul.^[4] In a blue plaque unveiling ceremony attended by former Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, the synagogue was honoured for its historical significance in 2021.^[3]

Since 2020, the congregation has been led by full-time rabbi, Ryan Newman. According to Newman: “Muizenberg may be the largest Jewish community in South Africa during the holidays. We have a minyan of over fifty men every single day. You can’t walk a minute on the beach without seeing a group of people you know sitting together. The amazing thing is that you see Jews here from across the spectrum of Orthodoxy. You have people – and often very different rabbis – from Chabad, Mizrachi, Ohr Somayach, etc. all joining together in a single shul.”^[5]

South Africa's Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein and his counterpart in the UK, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, attended centenary celebrations for the congregation in January 2024.^[4]

• History of the Jews in South Africa
• List of synagogues in South Africa

• Official website