In the early 1900s, a handful of Jews began to settle in and around Kadoma, called Gatooma at the time, and over the years more families took up residence there.  By the late 1930s, there were about twenty five to thirty families living in and around this small Midlands Region city.  During this period, no congregation had been formed, but laymen conducted prayers over the High Holidays in private homes and temporary facilities.  A Jewish cemetery was also established in Kadoma.  In 1939, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services were conducted by a recently-arrived refugee from Nazi Germany, Mr. Robert Sternberg.  Mr. Sternberg and his son Peter and family would continue to be active in the synagogue for years to come.

In August, 1944, the Rev. Dr. Levin, Minister of the Bulawayo Congregation, addressed a gathering of Jews at the Women's Institute that resulted in the formation of the Gatooma Hebrew Congregation.  A provisional synagogue was established in 1944, and by the next year the Gatooma Congregation was created.  An ark was built and services were held on all festivals using such venues as the Women's Institute Hall, the Dutch Reformed Church hall, and private homes.  In January 1948, the Rev. M. Yesorky of Bulawayo with the president of the Kweke Hebrew Congregation discussed the need for Jewish education, and soon thereafter Hebrew classes began.