Our Vision at the UOS is one of a vibrant South African Jewish Community, based on Torah values. All the activities of the UOS and its substructures, i.e. the Beth Din, its Kashrut Department, the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Jews for Judaism and others, are invested toward the realisation of this vision.

When Walt Disney was asked what business he was in, he replied “We’re in the happiness business”, and an Orlando based charity called Give Kids the World, who provide holidays for terminally ill children responded “we’re in the business of making memories”. This is vastly different from being in the theme park business or the vacation business. Rather than identify themselves purely in functional terms, these organisations realised that understanding what their significant purpose and role is, as opposed to simply what they do, would inspire excitement and commitment not only from those whom they employ, but also those who they serve.

In the same vein, I would like to suggest that the UOS is not simply in the business of “kosher certification”, or “marriage registration” or “divorce mediation” or “counter missionary activity” or even “conference organisation”, but rather, the UOS is in the Mitzvah business – we facilitate the observance of mitzvot by and in our community. Viewed this way, the role which we play shifts from a purely functional one, to a most inspiring and noble one, giving our dedicated staff a much broader and greater perspective of what we do and why we do it, motivating and inspiring us to work, as it says in our unofficial tag line – “each day, in some way, for you”. It will also allow those we serve, our community, to fully appreciate the efforts of the UOS on their behalf.

Working for the community means that we are also accountable to the community. Our biennial conference provides an opportunity for our affiliates to receive feedback and reporting from all our structures mentioned above, as well as the financial position of the UOS as a whole.

Perhaps more importantly, our conference provides an opportunity for our affiliates to elect the new lay leadership of the UOS, who are responsible for the macro governance of the organisation.

With the exception of a few, most Orthodox Synagogues in South Africa are affiliated to the UOS. (The UOS Federation Council represents Gauteng, KZN and the Eastern Cape; the UOS Cape Council represents the Western Cape). Representation, and therefore voting, if any, at conference is based on the size of the affiliated congregation. Since most South African Jews are members of Orthodox Synagogues, and most Orthodox Synagogues are present and represented at conference, the representative role which the UOS and its structures plays in our community cannot be underestimated. We are one of the few communal bodies who can positively identify our constituency, and where they can have a direct impact on the governance of the organisation.

So, whether it’s a new and exciting product approved by the Kashrut Department, a lost soul brought back to her roots, a new eruv erected allowing a young couple to push their pram to shul on Shabbat, or thousands of people brought together under one roof to learn Torah, being in the mitzvah business is what the UOS does best, and we are excited to have the opportunity to report back to our community and to have our community elect our new leadership to take us into the future.

Darren Sevitz
CEO