Dr. Louis I. Rabinowitz, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg, has submitted his resignation effective one year from now, it was announced here today by Dr. Percy Yutar, president of the congregation.
Rabbi Rabbinowitz, 48, told the congregation that he wishes to retire from the ministry and settle in Israel while he still has his full powers. He gave the congregation a year’s notice so that it could find a successor for his post. Noting that leaving the congregation here will cause him personal distress, Rabbi Rabinowitz expressed his appreciation of the generous treatment accorded him during his 11 years in the post.
Born in Edinburgh in 1906, Rabbi Rabbinowitz served as a chaplain with the British armed forces from 1926-28 and was the spiritual leader of a British congregation before coming to the Union of South Africa. In addition to serving as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation, he is Chief Rabbi of the Federation of Synagogues of the Transvaal, vice-president of the South African Board of Jewish Education, and Professor of Hebrew at the University of Witwatersrand.
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