A Cape Town rabbi has been declared persona non grata
by South Africa's Orthodox Jewish leadership.
The 1,600 members of the Green and Sea Point Hebrew
Congregation were informed of the move in a letter that was
signed by Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris, Beis Din head Rabbi Moshe
Kurtzag and 10 other dayanim and Cape Town rabbis. The
missive stated that Rabbi Dr. Jack Steinhorn was considered
to be in breach of his contract, and that weddings and
conversions supervised by him would "not be recognized in the
Orthodox world."
The letter stated that Rabbi Steinhorn, 62, had "repeatedly
failed to act in accordance with Orthodox principles as
dictated by halacha" and that he "did not respect the
authority of the Chief Rabbi of South Africa and the Cape
Beis Din."
It accused the Sea Point rabbi of having included people who
were not Jewish in certain ceremonies, and of having given
Jewish burials to people who might not have been Jewish.
Chief Rabbi Harris said, "This is not a matter about Rabbi
Steinhorn's popularity or about him as a pastor. It is about
his rabbinic function in relation to the chief rabbinate, the
Beth Din and his Cape Town colleagues.
"If a doctor or dentist or attorney or accountant steps out
of line, he's not judged by his patients or his clients but
by the professional body of which he is a member. It is my
duty as chief rabbi to maintain the authority of the Beth Din
on which the religious running of our Jewish community
crucially depends."
