Chassidim Shul
The Chassidim Shul also known as the Chabad House is a synagogue in Yeoville, Johannesburg, South Africa built in 1963 and designed by the firm of Morgensten & Morgensten, the husband and wife team of Jacques Morgenstern and Riva Morgenstern. They met at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Department of Architecture in the 1940s and ran a successful and award-winning architectural practice in Johannesburg.
| Chassidim Shul | |
|---|---|
The Chassidim Shul in Yeoville also known as the Lubavitch or Chabad house | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism |
| Rite | Nusach Sefard |
| Status | In-active |
| Location | |
| Location | Yeoville, Johannesburg South Africa |
Shown within Greater Johannesburg Chassidim Shul (South Africa) | |
| Geographic coordinates | 26.1546°S 28.0852°E |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1963 |
| Direction of façade | East |
| Website | |
| None | |
The cornerstone was laid in 1963 by Mr Henry Jacobson, in memory of his parents, long-standing members of the Chassidic community. The building committee included Rabbi Aloy, obm, Mr Shaul Bacher, obm, Mr Mitzie Yachad and others. The Shul was finished about a year later.
The Chassidim Shul served as a place of worship and study and other activities of Chabad-Lubavitch. It was famous for its Shabbat farbrengens and extraordinary Chassidic joy and dancing on Simchat Torah.
In retrospect “that little shul in Yeoville” has proven to be a powerful engine that changed the face of Jewish South Africa. It brought Yiddishkeit, Lubavitch and the Rebbe into the hearts of literally thousands of Jews through the establishment of more than a dozen Chabad shuls in Johannesburg, Natal and the Cape.
With the change in demographics in Yeoville it is no longer in use as a Synagogue.