Moses Cyrus Weiler

Moses Cyrus Weiler (; 23 March 1907 – 4 December 2000) was a Latvian-born South African rabbi and founder of Reform Judaism in the country. He was Chief Minister of the United Jewish Progressive Congregation (later the South African Union for Progressive Judaism) and served as rabbi of Temple Israel in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, the mother synagogue of the country's Reform movement. He is credited with growing the movement, with 25 congregations established during his tenure. Weiler spurned the Orthodoxy of his forefathers as he believed that Reform Judaism offered the best way to keep young people connected to their faith. He quickly developed a reputation as a gifted orator and could give lectures and sermons in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and German.

Although Weiler had been tasked with establishing a national Reform movement, he resisted establishing other congregations outside Hillbrow during his first ten years. Weiler was surprised at its burgeoning success with just under 25% of Cape Town Jewry affiliating themselves with Reform Judaism in a short time. In comparison, the percentage of Johannesburg Jews affiliated to the Reform branch has always been under 10%. In 1960, he was hired by Samuel Bronfman as chairman of the administrative committee of “Beth Hatfutzot” (House of Jewish Communities), a project that is today known as ANU - Museum of the Jewish People.

Two year later, the Jewish National Fund appointed Weiler as personal advisor to the chairman of the board of directors of the JNF. He also enrolled in advanced Jewish studies in Jerusalem and in 1962 was involved in establishing and chairing a new, independent and egalitarian congregation, Mevakshei Derech. He also served as rabbi at the Progressive Community Synagogue in Tel Aviv.

Further to this, he lectured at Hebrew Union College – Jerusalem, was an emissary abroad for the United Jewish Appeal, and he accompanied Menachem Begin when he made his historic peace trip to Egypt in 1979. In August 1983 he flew to Johannesburg to attend the 50th anniversary of his former congregation, Temple Israel in Hillbrow. However, a limpet mine exploded outside the synagogue, four hours before State President Marais Viljoen and Weiler were scheduled to attend the anniversary ceremony. There were no injuries but the blast destroyed walls, ripped out windows and seats and turned cupboards and furniture upside down. Nonetheless, the ceremony went ahead with Viljoen and Weiler in attendance. Mahommed Iqbal Shaik of the Dolphin Unit of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) later assumed responsibility during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and he was granted amnesty. Upon making aliyah to Israel in 1958, the family lived on Kibbutz Usha for two years, before relocating to Haifa and settling permanently in Jerusalem. Louis Isaac Rabinowitz, former Chief Rabbi of South Africa was on a committee of rabbis that honoured the brothers with the creation of The Adam and Gideon Weiler Garden in Eilat, which serves as a recreation area and a sports field. The brothers are buried at Mount Herzl military cemetery. Weiler became a counselor after their deaths, supporting those that lost loved ones during the Holocaust and the wars in Israel.