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Friday December 19, 2003

South Africa's new Chief rabbi is 32 years old

By geoff sifrin
jta

johannesburg | At a time when South Africa’s Jews are anxious over the future of the Jewish community, the religious body representing most Jews has taken a bold step by choosing a young man with little experience as chief rabbi.

The decision by the Union of Orthodox Synagogues to appoint as chief rabbi Warren Goldstein, 32, has been hailed by many as an inspired move that will inject fresh energy into the troubled Jewish community of 80,000.

Goldstein will take over in January 2005 when the current chief rabbi, Cyril Harris, retires after 17 years.

Goldstein is rabbi of a dynamic Orthodox congregation in Johannesburg and a scholar of Judaism and law — but some say he’s too young to be chief rabbi.

The role of chief rabbi is high profile and political. He must interact with the government and participate in national interfaith and interracial forums.

Because the government relates to the chief rabbi as the public face of South African Jewry, he must be accepted as a spokesman by a broad cross-section of the community, from secular to fervently Orthodox.

South Africa is a religious society, with most citizens identifying with some faith — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, traditional African faiths or others. The chief rabbi sits on national bodies with other religious leaders, such as the National Religious Leaders Forum, which deals with the moral regeneration of society, among other issues.

Those who applaud Goldstein’s appointment say his youth will contribute to his effectiveness. He was in school when apartheid reached its era of decline and is untainted by it. The first time he voted was in the 1994 elections that ushered in democracy.

“His youth is a huge asset. The younger generation looks up to him,” the president of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues, Harold Novick, said.

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