The congregation was established with its first synagogue in Morningside, consecrated in 1971. A larger rondavel-style synagogue was built on the site and consecrated in 1977.[2] It was designed by architect Jack Jankes, who was also chairman of the congregation.[2] Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler returned to Johannesburg from his home in Israel to attend the consecration.[2] It was set among gardens on a large plot.[2]
In 1986, the Mitzvah School was opened in the congregation's grounds. The school catered to disadvantaged students from Alexandra township in their final year of Matric.[3] This came in defiance of the Group Areas Act which forbade black students from a township from studying in Morningside, then designated as a whites-only suburb.[3] The school received financial support from donors and the Temple David congregation.[3] It closed in 2023 after 37 years of operations.[3]
In recent years a decision was made to sell most of the plot and build a new sanctuary on the remaining plot.[2][4] Stained glass windows depicting the Ten Commandments and two large Temple menorah lights from the older sanctuary were removed and refitted in the new sanctuary.[4] The new sanctuary was consecrated on Erev Rosh Hashanah in 2017 and incorporates some of the design of the previous sanctuaries.[5]
Rabbis
Rabbi Leo Michel Abrami (Abramowski) (1931–2018) served the congregation for three years during late apartheid era[6]
