[2] His first rabbinical post was in Cleveland, Ohio as assistant to Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, a key figure in the mobilization of American support for the founding of the State of Israel.
[6] Weiler had been tasked with establishing a national Reform movement and in 1943, he agreed to help set up the first progressive congregation in Cape Town and was able to call upon Sherman, his friend and Hebrew Union classmate.
[7] In the 1940s and 1950s there was a cultural split between reform Jewry in Johannesburg and its counterpart in Cape Town, with the leadership in Green Point rejecting a proposal for the creation of the position of Chief Minister under which all Progressive congregations would fall.
[8] Cape Town wanted a looser federation where each city made its own decisions and pushed back against the notion of a Chief Minister, arguing that it was against the democratic principles of Reform Judaism.
[10] He wrote to his congregants telling them that the UJW, as a social and charitable organisation, had no right to invite a Reform minister (Sherman) to address them.
[10] The result was an exceptionally large attendance.”[10] Sherman took a discreet yet courageous stand on issues of human rights, he opposed apartheid and spoke at protest meetings.
[2] During his tenure, Major Hall at Temple Israel had a dual function as a centre for African culture, literacy and poverty alleviation projects.