(by Naomi Musiker, Vol. 71, No. 1, Pesach 2016)
Editor’s Note: In December 2015, the editorial board of Jewish Affairs lost one of its most loved and esteemed members, and South African Jewry one of its most venerated academics, with the passing of Professor Reuben Musiker. In this overview, long-serving JA board member and contributor Naomi Musiker provides what is necessarily only an outline of her late husband’s distinguished career. The Editor, for his own part, would like to emphasize the invaluable contribution that Reuben made to this journal, whether as a regular contributor of scholarly articles and reviews, or as a member of the editorial board. On a personal level, Reuben was an unfailing source of warm encouragement, support and sage advice to him, for which alone he will be greatly missed.
Reuben Musiker was born in Johannesburg on 12 January 1931, the youngest child of Judel and Sarah Musiker. He qualified with a Medical BSc from the Witwatersrand Medical School, having studied for this degree in order to save what was left of an incompatible period as a dental student, following a severe hearing loss. In 1954, he obtained, with distinction, a Higher Diploma in Librarianship from the University of Cape Town School of Librarianship. The following year, he started work at the Johannesburg Public Library, under the guidance of R F Kennedy, City Librarian.
Reuben’s seven years at the JPL were extremely stressful but, from a career point of view, richly rewarding. He gained invaluable experience in the Periodicals, Reference, Africana, Cataloguing and Lending Services, rising to the post of Organiser of Branches. During this period, he began to publish books and articles, including the first edition of his Guide to South African Reference Books, which eventually ran to five editions. He also tutored students taking the correspondence courses of the South African Library Association. Reuben was an inspiring and patient teacher, and in later years advised and assisted many post-graduate students in bibliographical style, citation of notes and references. He was responsible for the compilation of a Style Guide for Theses and Dissertations, published by the University of the Witwatersrand in 1980.
In 1961, Reuben successfully applied for the position of Deputy University Librarian at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, serving in this capacity for eleven years under Dr Frank van der Riet. During this period he obtained an MA (with distinction) from the University of Pretoria for his dissertation on The Special Libraries of South Africa (published, in 1970, by Scarecrow Press, US). He also played a part in Jewish communal life, as secretary of the Grahamstown synagogue committee.
In 1973, Reuben accepted an invitation to take up the post of University Librarian at Wits University, where he also served as professor of librarianship and bibliography. He was active in the field of bibliography for over 40 years, with six books and over 150 articles to his credit. After his retirement in December 1991, he was made emeritus professor.
In 1999, Reuben was invited to become Library Consultant to the SA Jewish Board of Deputies. He was responsible for the initial installation of a computerized cataloguing system for the library and archives, and also advised on book purchases, library and archival publications and catalogues and cultural events connected to the library. When the SA Jewish Board of Deputies became part of the Beyachad Centre, Reuben had considerable input in the design and layout of the Board’s library and archives, despite funding restrictions.
Reuben was also very active in Jewish studies, research and publishing. He served for many years on the Editorial Board of Jewish Affairs and contributed numerous reviews and articles. In 1984, at the suggestion of the renowned Yiddish scholar and senior lecturer at the University, Dr Joseph Sherman, he accepted the Mendel Tabatznik Yiddish Collection as part of the Landau Library at Wits. With a generous donation from the Sheila Samson Fund, the Landau Library grew in stature and importance, and other Yiddish collections were added. In 1986, Reuben was elected chairman of the SA Association of Jewish Studies and was responsible for organising the Association’s Tenth Anniversary Conference at Wits in September 1987. The papers delivered at the Conference were published the following year in a volume entitled Waters Out of the Well in 1988. This was followed by a translation of Leibl Feldman’s Yiddish monograph Oudtshoorn: Jerusalem of Africa (1989), the publication of which was partly funded by the Feldman family.
Reuben had a passionate interest in light orchestral music in the years 1950-1980. Many of the composers and conductors of this period were of Jewish origin. His collection of vinyl records commenced in the 1950s, and was supplemented by a remarkable reference library covering every aspect of the subject. This interest resulted in the production of two reference volumes, Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music published by Greenwood Press in 1998, and a semi-autobiographical volume entitled With a Song in My Heart: Aspects of 20th Century Popular Music, published in 2013.
