Rabbi Chananyah Duthie did not grow up Jewish. His journey from Christianity to Orthodox Judaism took years of searching, sacrifice and transformation. Today, the Stellenbosch rabbi opens his home to students seeking community, faith and some kosher food.
One Friday night in Stellenbosch, Rabbi Chananyah Duthie walked 25 minutes through the town to the residence of Ruby Kurgan, a Stellenbosch University (SU) student. Then he walked her back to his house for Shabbat dinner; the Jewish day of rest.
Driving, cooking, working, and the use of electronics are forbidden from Friday sundown to Saturday night. But Duthie still wanted Kurgan to make her way to Shabbat dinner safely.
Now, he makes the trek to the Neelsie, the student centre in the heart of the SU campus to meet with SMF News.
He rounds the corner onto the balcony of the Neelsie; he wears a full beard, dark suit, and glasses. A kippah (a small skull cap worn to show respect to God) sits on the crown of his head. His smartwatch peeks from beneath his cuff.
As he sits, ready for the interview, he gently places his Chitas on the table. According to Chabad.org, this book contains the three core Jewish texts that are studied daily: the Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya. Chabad rabbis carry this everywhere.
As a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish denomination, Rabbi Chananyah Duthie carries the Chitas around with him everywhere, representing a physical connection to God. Duthie met with SMF News at Stellenbosch University’s Neelsie student centre. PHOTO: Hae-Won Boesack
The Chabad-Lubavitch denomination, he says, is known for its mission of reconnecting disconnected Jews in the world, in this case, the students of SU.
In Orthodox Judaism, Yichud and Negiah prohibit unrelated individuals from private meetings or having any physical contact. Hence the public location and the nod of acknowledgement instead of a handshake.
A new name, a new purpose
Becoming a Jew is not easy. Although Duthie’s grandfather was discovered to be Jewish (a fact he only learnt later on in life when he visited Germany), Judaism is only passed through the mother. He had to go through the same long process as any other convert.
According to the Orthodox Jewish conversion process, becoming an Orthodox Jew requires attending classes, meeting with rabbis and appearing in a court in front of rabbis. His process took two years, graduating in 2018, but it can take up to five years, Duthie says.
Rabbi Chananyah Duthie, the only rabbi in Stellenbosch Winelands. He is a Cape Town native and graduated from Stellenbosch University as a BCom graduate in 2014. He now serves as the rabbi to the Stellenbosch Jewish community. PHOTO: Hae-Won Boesack
He later started the process of becoming a rabbi in Brooklyn, in the United States of America, where the global headquarters of Chabad is, before returning to Stellenbosch in 2024.
Converting to Judaism also comes with a Hebrew name change. This can be legal or purely spiritual; for Duthie it was spiritual. It is a practice that changes the newly Jewish individual’s identity, spiritual destiny and soul’s purpose, an incredibly deliberate and meaningful act.
He does not reveal his full Jewish name, only referring to parts of it very quickly. His first name, Chananyah means “the Grace of God”, which also hides the English lettering of the name given to him by his parents – a name that he would not share.
One of his middle names is Mendel, from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the legendary late leader of the Chabad movement. By taking his name, his soul connects to the Rebbe’s legacy – a declaration of Chabad philosophy, he explains.
The game has changed
Having been raised Christian, Duthie has always had a relationship with God.
“[It’s just that] the game has changed,” says the rabbi.
He felt the pull towards Judaism because there were questions that Christianity didn’t answer for him.
“There’s truth, [and] there’s searching for truth. Finding something that’s stable or comfortable… I wouldn’t say that [that] is Judaism. And if it is, it’s not Judaism,” says Duthie.
He identifies his time at Stellenbosch University, where he obtained a BCom degree in 2014, as the years he spent seeking answers. It was here, walking past the old Stellenbosch synagogue on Ryneveld Street in Stellenbosch, where out of curiosity, he entered a Jewish space for the first time.
The Stellenbosch Synagogue on Ryneveld Street, where services are held every Friday evening. Rabbi Chananyah Duthie now leads the congregation, but also hosts Shabbat dinners every Friday night, providing kosher food for his congregants. PHOTO: Hae-Won Boesack
“Judaism is all about asking, questioning and finding answers and resolving that there isn’t an answer; which is not having an answer and saying, ‘I don’t know’. [Which] is also okay,” says Duthie.
Becoming Jewish meant making some sacrifices.
“You could say it costs you friends, but then you realise who your actual friends are,” says Duthie. He sighs, taking a moment and carefully choosing his words.
“There is a difference you know, Jews and Palestine and Zionism and things like that… So those things [relationships] were lost,” says Duthie. He does not elaborate. He is careful – as he continues to be throughout the interview.
All he clarifies is that some friendships faded, not because of the religion itself but because of the political association that comes with being Jewish.
Being Jewish also led to him giving up his job. While working for Amazon, management had told him that it was unfair to his colleagues that he couldn’t work Saturdays. Although his colleagues dispelled this notion, he resigned anyway.
Kosher offerings
There are many Jewish festivals, and most are spent around the table. But for many of the SU Jewish students, that is not possible because of a lack of access to kosher options. So, every holiday and every Shabbat, Duthie hosts a meal at his house and has discussions with SU students.
The plaque outside of the Stellenbosch synagogue on Ryneveld Street, commemorating the date, over 100 years ago, when the foundation stone of the synagogue was laid. Rabbi Chananyah Duthie returned to South Africa in 2024 with his wife Eliana and their three month old son to lead the Stellenbosch synagogue.
Rabbi Nissen Goldman, who served the Stellenbosch Jewish community before Duthie arrived, described the Stellenbosch rabbi as “a foodie”.
“He can make great food [which] is in and of itself an asset in the business we are in,” says Goldman.
As Duthie shares the type of kosher meals he provides, he gestures towards the temporarily closed Miriam’s, a restaurant in the Neelsie that offers Cape Malay food, as an example of the dietary limitations in Stellenbosch. Duthie and his wife, Eliana, try to bridge this gap by offering Kosher versions of different cuisines, like Kosher Chinese food.
While the food is what gets the students through the door, Duthie uses the opportunity to share messages from the Torah.
“And then the work starts [on] having them engaging in their Judaism and how it’s relevant to them,” says Duthie.
Openly Jewish
Goldman and Duthie both emphasise that Chabad-Lubavitch is apolitical. But living in Stellenbosch and being openly Jewish comes with its difficulties.
As Duthie pushes his glasses up his nose, he recounts two incidents, both with his young children present. The first incident occurred when his neighbour with a Palestinian flag outside their home shouted “Free Palestine!” at them as they walked by.
The other incident occurred when someone approached him and his children and threatened to shoot them.
“And the person was like: ‘I did it to support Palestine’,” says Duthie. “I was just being openly Jewish… Come on, give me a break.”
Duthie explained his dislike towards the intrusion of politics, recounting a time when there was a Palestinian flag hanging in the SU Library.
“The bib [library] is a place for learning, not a political standoff,” says Duthie. He worries about the effect that this has on his students; who are afraid to appear Jewish in public.
“This cannot be the South Africa we are supposed to be living in,” says Duthie. “What the state of Israel does is what the state of Israel does. We are here for the Jewish students and for their Jewish well-being.”
This belief is supported by the Chabad-Lubavitch mandate; to be neutral and provide an unjudgmental sanctuary where any students can come and feel at home.
“We don’t like to engage [politics], not to put our head in the sand, but to say that our focus and purpose is a different purpose altogether,” says Duthie.
For Duthie, impartiality is important because his congregation includes students on every side of the debate, and they are his priority.
“A Jew is a Jew is a Jew,” says Goldman. “Regardless of beliefs, Jewish people will come together, and be a family and be ‘eating a bowl of chicken soup together’.”