Little Synagogue on the Prairie
Encyclopedia
The Little Synagogue on the Prairie is a small, wooden synagogue
originally built in Sibbald, Alberta
, just
west of the Alberta-Saskatchewan
border. Originally called the Montefiore Institute, it was built in 1913 or 1916 by the Montefiore colony of Jewish immigrants who had settled
in Alberta in 1910, named after Sir Moses Montefiore. It is one of the few surviving examples of the small, wooden synagogues that were built by pioneers on the Canadian and American prairie.
In the sanctuary, Torah
is read to the congregation from the bimah
and the Torah scrolls are stored in the aron kodesh on the east wall. The congregation face towards the east, and Jerusalem, in praying. The ornamentation features symbols such as Stars of David, signs of the zodiac and natural forms.
The synagogue was moved to Heritage Park Historical Village
in Calgary at a cost of over a million dollars in 2008, becoming the first Jewish house of worship to be housed in a Canadian historic park. About 2,000 people attended the dedication of the synagogue in its new location on June 28, 2009.
With an area of approximately 74 square meters, the building was constructed on the farm of Joseph, Fanny and Dov Chetner to serve the approximately 30 Jewish families as a community center, school, and house of worship. After the colony was abandoned in the 1920s, the Canadian government sold the building to a family around 1937 for $200. It was moved to the town of Hanna, Alberta
and served as a two-bedroom house for the same family for almost 70 years.
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
originally built in Sibbald, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, just
west of the Alberta-Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
border. Originally called the Montefiore Institute, it was built in 1913 or 1916 by the Montefiore colony of Jewish immigrants who had settled
in Alberta in 1910, named after Sir Moses Montefiore. It is one of the few surviving examples of the small, wooden synagogues that were built by pioneers on the Canadian and American prairie.
In the sanctuary, Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
is read to the congregation from the bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
and the Torah scrolls are stored in the aron kodesh on the east wall. The congregation face towards the east, and Jerusalem, in praying. The ornamentation features symbols such as Stars of David, signs of the zodiac and natural forms.
The synagogue was moved to Heritage Park Historical Village
Heritage Park Historical Village
Heritage Park Historical Village is a historical park located in Calgary, Alberta. The park is located on of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, along the city's southwestern edge. As Canada's largest living history museum by number of exhibits, it is one of the city's most visited...
in Calgary at a cost of over a million dollars in 2008, becoming the first Jewish house of worship to be housed in a Canadian historic park. About 2,000 people attended the dedication of the synagogue in its new location on June 28, 2009.
With an area of approximately 74 square meters, the building was constructed on the farm of Joseph, Fanny and Dov Chetner to serve the approximately 30 Jewish families as a community center, school, and house of worship. After the colony was abandoned in the 1920s, the Canadian government sold the building to a family around 1937 for $200. It was moved to the town of Hanna, Alberta
Hanna, Alberta
Hanna is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada.The town's main industries are agriculture, oil production, tourism, and coal mining. It is the centre of a large trading area called Short Grass County and is the home of approximately 200 businesses...
and served as a two-bedroom house for the same family for almost 70 years.
See also
- Beth Israel Synagogue (Edenbridge, Saskatchewan)Beth Israel Synagogue (Edenbridge, Saskatchewan)Beth Israel Synagogue is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Orthodox synagogue located in Edenbridge in the rural municipality of Willow Creek, near Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Edenbridge Hebrew Colony was founded in 1906 by Jewish immigrants who came from Lithuania via South Africa...
- History of the Jews in Canada
- Oldest synagogues in CanadaOldest synagogues in CanadaThe designation of the Oldest synagogue in Canada requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...