Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2013 | Page 24

22 JEWISH LIFE

ISSUE 67

AS A TYPICAL NATIVE NEW YORKER WHO THINKS
THE WORLD BEGINS AND ENDS IN THE BIG APPLE, MY
HUSBAND’S RESPONSE TO THE OPPORTUNITY WAS
SPONTANEOUS. ‘SOUTH AFRICA IS TOO FAR AWAY AND
WE HAVE THREE SMALL BABIES,’ HE QUICKLY
RESPONDED. NEW YORKERS THINK THAT EVEN
CLEVELAND, OHIO IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY.

Rabbi and Mrs Tanzer have been instrumental in the growth of Johannesburg Jewry and beyond.
Below left: Rav Avrohom Chaim took the fledgling Yeshiva and turned it into the dynamic institution it has become.
Rav Avrohom Chaim and Marcia Tanzer
came to South Africa in 1963 for a two-year
stint before hoping to settle down in their
native homeland, the USA. They arrived at
the height of the apartheid regime, three
years after Sharpeville, when many white
South Africans began to choose the opposite route, leading to a wave of emigration.
This pivotal time in the political life of
the country was accompanied by a Jewish
renaissance in which Rav Avrohom
Chaim played a major role.
Overriding their initial planned stay,
they planted roots by remaining in the
country for 50 years. This allowed the
Tanzers to ride the cusp of two unique
experiences: a political emancipation
from four-and-a-half decades of apartheid and a Jewish reawakening after two

generations of spiritual slumber.
This book traces and seeks to chronicle
their personal encounters, while including institutional experiences with which
they are associated, and discusses issues
which have challenged the community
during these decades. It is a story of
movement and the inter-relationship of
people and ideas over four continents:
Europe, USA, South Africa and Israel.
Rabbi Tanzer’s commitment to the
community stretches beyond the institutions that he leads, thus enabling him to
have a far wider reach and influence. This
has forged him to the forefront of Johannesburg Jewry, guiding and shepherding
people through a chaotic, destabilising
transformation which led to the creation
of a “rainbow nation”. JL

PHOTOGRAPHS: JASON CROUSE

Rav Avrohom Chaim took this fledgling Yeshiva and turned it into the dynamic institution it has become. He
turned a fringe school which did not
seem to reflect the interests of South
Africa into the most sought-after school
in the city. He took a school with 50 students and turned it into five schools
which this year have close to 1 000 students and no room for further expansion without building new structures.
Rav Avrohom Chaim was one of the
prime movers in the religious Jewish
transition that has occurred in South
Africa. He played a direct and mammoth role through Yeshiva College
which became a laser beam to the thousands of students who passed through
its portals, charging their enzymes,
helping them digest the Torah. Many of
these students created their own footsteps, offering people unfettered access
to Torah study and Torah life.
His indirect role of building the city
came through the many rabbis and
leaders he brought to South Africa, who
remained to serve the country after
termination of their services with
Yeshiva College.
Rav Tanzer instils confidence in the
people who surround him, believing in
their judgement, nurturing and supporting them. Even years later, they know
that they can count on his generosity. He
is a master in the art of sharing duties
and accolades, which is not only an asset,
but in the circumstances of working with
so many people, a necessity.