Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Zimbabwe
Many of the congregation members of this community which was first founded in 1931 originated from Rhodes and this is reflected in the 60th Anniversary Magazine – of which selected pages are presented here below.
The 75th Anniversary of the Harare Sephardi Hebrew Congregation was published in early 2007. To view an online version of the magazine (in PDF format) please click here
60th Anniversary Magazine published in 1991
Herewith copy of the Editorial by Benny Leon
After the completion of the High Festivals the Hebrew Sephardic Society of Rhodesia, the first general meeting was held at the Palace Theatre, First Street, Salisbury, on Sunday 18th October 1931. Much water has passed under the bridge since that historic day, and this short edition attempts to cover some of the events and decision taken during the last eventful 75 years. The 2005/2006 Committee made the decision to put out this small publication to mark the occasion. It has also been argued that it would not be worth while to produce this book because of the dwindling numbers of this Congregation. I have maintained that to produce a record for posterity.
Today with all the marvelous modern electronic media and technology available, this publication could be stored on a compact disc or lodged on a website for future generations to browse and know of the life and times of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Zimbabwe. The last publication about the history of our congregation was published in August 1991 when we celebrated our 60th Anniversary. Sadly, sincethen, in the last fifteen years, due to the political climate, our numbers have dwindled drastically, with congregants moving or passing on. For the last two years the two Hebrew Congregations in Harare have combined their resources to form minyanim for Shabbat Services and festivals. For two years we published the Sephardi News, recording events and biographies of well known personalities. Regrettably, again, because of escalating costs this publication ceased to be printed. The postage alone was astronomical and we resorted to emails and hand deliveries. However, we have selected salient reports and biographies for this edition. If we have omitted something or someone out, we apologise, it is not intentional. It is my great pleasure to prepare, present and edit this publication for posterity.
To the right is a gallery of images from the 25th Anniversary Magazine of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation.
Above is a picture of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Harare.
Below is a gallery of images of additional pages on the history of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Zimbabwe and its leadership over the years from its 60th Anniversary Magazine. You can click on each image and then use the browser magnifier in the top right to make the image larger.
Below is a gallery of images of the actual 60th Anniversary Magazine.
Inauguration of the Sephardi Synagogue – 1st June 1958
