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My Memories of nearly 5 decades of
service to the By Ernie Bernitz. In December 1936, I together with my Parents, arrived in Witbank to prepare to become the new owners of the then Carlton Hotel, as from 1st January 1937. For me, this was a momentous event in my life, after spending my first 8 years in Davel, a railway siding, a dot on the map. Witbank was to me a City. In January I was taken to school, and afterwards my family joined the congregation. I was then inducted to the Cheder, where I met the Rabbi L. Zive. Like most young boys we attended Cheder after school, with our thoughts on other activities that we were missing, rather than what the teacher was trying to teach us. Nevertheless we had fun, and in no time I was part of the future generation. The first large community gathering I experienced, was the laying of the foundation stone for the new communal hall which was to be erected next to the existing Shul, which in turn was built by the elders in 1913. The Shul and hall were the mainstays of the congregation. The ceremony was honoured by the then chief Rabbi Dr. J.L. Landou, and Cantor Alter. The hall proved to be a blessing, as it galvanised and united the community, who used the hall for the many functions that were held for meetings, celebrations, events to support war funds, but most importantly, containing a separate room for the Cheder. The few years passed quickly, but were disrupted, when the war broke out. Everything changed, draining the town of virtually all able bodied men who joined the army. My Barmitzvah was on the horizon, and came quickly. It was not a big affair, and my brothers, cousins, and several uncles missed the occasion, as they were all in North Africa. The War turned Witbank upside down. The Air force together with the RAF built a flying school on the outskirts of the town. It was a large flying school, boosting the population to almost double, more than making up for the men who had signed up. Several troop trains and truck convoys passed through Witbank regularly. All were met with sandwiches and food hampers provided by the Jewish and Gentile women who were busy day and night. Witbank and the congregation flourished. The number of Jewish families reached almost 150, and the congregation and the town worked together in harmony and co-operation, in all respects. Our elders were mostly prominent business and professional men and were central to the wellbeing of the Town. I matriculated while the war was on, and spent the last few years of the war at Varsity. After my degree I served my articles, deliberately choosing a practice, with country based clients. After completing my articles in 1950, I returned to Witbank to join a business. I began taking an interest in Community affairs, which would have small beginnings, and grow to a much larger responsibility until our departure from Witbank in 1983. Not long after my return, I was invited to join the Chevra Kadisha committee. The invitation appealed to me, as I always admired the charitable work that they do to uphold and administer the last rites of the deceased. Membership of the congregation automatically included membership to the Chevra Kadisha, yet there were only a few of us who totally dedicated ourselves to the work, which at times could be very traumatic. The Congregation in the meanwhile was experiencing difficulty with the books, mainly due to the lack of members who had time to volunteer and help. I was appointed Auditor, and made a few minor changes. This duty I performed including the duties of Treasurer, from 1966 until our departure from Witbank in 1983. The structure of the committee now began to change since a few of us who were younger were able to attend to the daily problems. To preserve the protocol of services etc. the presence of two or three elders were always included in the committee. During the period of my being part of the committee, we enjoyed the service and advice of no less than 7 Rabbis, who always gave us their most dedicated service. The reason for leaving would always be for reasons, other than dissatisfaction. There was a family tragedy where the Rabbi's wife and daughter were killed in a car accident, after 8 years of service. Another delightful and loved couple retired to Israel after 9 years. Totaling 39 years of service. A few of the highlights of this period included a visit by the Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, I. Brodie with his wife. A visit by the Chief Rabbi B. M. Casper and his wife. We had a separate Hebrew teacher for the Cheder, while the Rabbi was occupied with teaching the Barmitzvah candidates. The Shul and Hall were by now, no longer safely accessible, as the Shul had now become part of the Town Centre. It was not long after, that the Congregation received an offer from the United Building Society, which truly could not be refused. A building Committee was established and a Building Fund established, which every member supported most generously. The Chevra Kadisha also had not been idle, in carrying out the last rites on members who passed away. The Chevra Kadisha had to rely on the co-operation (never denied) of the local undertakers. The washing and dressing of the deceased had to be done on the undertaker's premises, being most undignified, with the embarrassment of not being able to carry out the correct custom procedures and to have a dignified service. My brother Maurice set up a committee of which I was part of. It was not long before we had erected a Chapel at the Jewish Cemetery, which included a proper refrigerated preparation room, and an area for the service. This put the Witbank Chevra Kadisha, on a par with other cities. While considering the offer for the old Shul, the question of alternative premises for a new Shul was put on the table. In an amazing coincidence, a Company called Witland's Estate was busy proclaiming a new residential township, next to existing houses. This company was owned by a syndicate consisting of Sam Young, Philip Shill, and the Bernitz Brothers. They donated 3 of the best stands in the township for a new Shul, separate to their contributions to the building fund. The plans were donated by an architect who was a relative of the Shill family. The tender was called, and in 1974 the community had a new state of the art Shul and Hall complex. The third stand was later sold off to swell the reserve funds. Leslie Gafinowitz previously the treasurer, now became the Chairman. Leslie and myself together handled the finances and the Budget until my departure. The 1970's saw the start of a movement involving a gradual exodus of members, who either relocated to the big cities, or were the first to emigrate overseas to Israel, the UK, Australia or the USA. The reasons varied from giving their children a better Hebrew education, (The Hebrew teacher was no longer in employment ) to some cited political situation. Whatever the reason, Witbank’s Jewish community like many other country communities began to shrink, until they vanished. Sadly this was a fact, that even my own children had no wish to return to Witbank after their studies. Our choice was also to relocate to Durban for family reasons. I kept in close contact with Leslie, until he too decided to leave Witbank. At this point in time there were probably a dozen families, who survived with no Rabbi, but shared a travelling or part time Rabbi with Middelburg who was in the same dilemma. This arrangement lasted several years, until the Shul was eventually sold with only a handful of families left to "close the doors and switch off the lights". Before this a crime wave of vandalising the cemetery and its tombstones, occurred. Thanks to the initiative of the remaining committee and its members and Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, all the headstones on the tombstones were laid down flat, protecting them. The wall was raised, and the cemetery secured as best as possible. Any person wishing to visit the graves of loved ones can obtain the key from the Hotel next door. So ends the story of the Witbank Hebrew Congregation, but most fortunately due to the efforts of an amazing person, the story has been recorded by Barry Mann the son of a valued elder of the congregation, who with devotion, has recorded past events, and kept the community advised, with his newsletters and web sites, and who has organised the most fantastic reunions of members and their children from time to time, all over the world. The community owes Barry a great deal and on their behalf he deserves a big thank you. His latest initiative is a page on Facebook containing a Witbank Jewish Community social network group page, with names and photos of Witbank members and their descendants who live worldwide. By Ernie Bernitz. |