Johannesburg Beth Din Bans ‘fraternization’ with Reform Congregations

The Johannesburg Beth Din has sent a letter to all congregations affiliated with the Federation of Synagogues of South Africa, urging rabbis and lay leaders to abstain from “fraternization with Reform.” This follows the occasion a month ago when two Johannesburg Orthodox rabbis, Rabbi Prof. J. Newman and Rabbi S. Poupko, sent messages congratulating their suburban Reform neighbor, Temple Shalom, on its 21st birthday, and A. Dick, president of Rabbi Poupko’s congregation, accepted an honor at the special service which Temple Shalom held to celebrate the birthday occasion.

The Beth Din letter points out that in the agreement on communal cooperation made between Orthodox Chief Rabbi B.M. Casper and Reform Senior Rabbi A.S. Super a year ago, it was expressly recognized that “from the religious point of view there is an unbridgeable gulf between Orthodoxy and Reform,” and that while they could cooperate in the communal sphere, they could not participate in each other’s religious services or hold joint services. Therefore, says the Beth Din letter, “Orthodox Jews should not attend services in places of Reform worship, nor should they take part in any functions arranged by a Reform congregation.”