Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom (Westmount, Quebec)
Encyclopedia
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, Westmounthttp://www.templemontreal.ca is a Reform
synagogue in Westmount, Quebec
. It is the oldest “Liberal” or
“Reform” synagogue in Canada
,http://www.templemontreal.ca/history.html incorporated on March 30, 1883 (the Bill of the incorporation was granted under the Act of Incorporation (46 Victoria 1883) by the Quebec Provincial Legislature, and is the only Reform congregation in Quebec.
) (Both congregations were the only ones in Montreal at the time and were Orthodox).
The May 2, 1884 issue of Hamelitz, a Russian newspaper printed in Hebrew, record of events that lead up to the breakaway of members who would create "Temple Emanuel".
Rabbi Samuel Marks became the congregation's first Minister, lecturer and teacher. He came from the United States bringing with him the “new ideas of Reform”.
The first services of Temple were held in Albert Hall, of the Zion Church, at the foot of Beaver Hall Hill Street, at the corner of Latour Street.
The First Temple Sanctuary was erected on Cyprus Street corner Stanley Street in 1892.
In September, 1911, Temple Emanu-El's new building, at the corner of Elm and Sherbrooke streets in Westmount, was dedicated. The Temple Emanu-el was enlarged in 1922. The building, which was destroyed by fire, featured a cruciform plan and Romanesque detailing resembling a church. The building included facilities for education, social gatherings and auxiliary groups, and an auditoriumlike sanctuary with mixed seating. It was one of the first Canadian congregations based on the Reform service.
In 1980, Temple Beth Sholom, a sister congregation formed in 1953, was united with Emanu-El, to form the present Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom congregation.http://www.cjccc.ca/national_archives/archives/arcguideT.htm
The original building was in the Byzantine Revival style, with seating accommodations for 700, and provision for more when the membership warranted it. It was built at a cost of $65.000.
On Friday, April 22, 1960, the new building and its sanctuary were dedicated at a service, conducted by Dr. Harry J- Stern, leader of the congregation.
In conjunction with the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, Temple Emanu-El offers, as the Westmount Mini Centre, a variety of courses and social programs.
Reform Judaism (North America)
Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. With an estimated 1.5 million members, it also accounts for the largest number of Jews affiliated with Progressive Judaism worldwide.- Reform Jewish theology :Rabbi W...
synagogue in Westmount, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. It is the oldest “Liberal” or
“Reform” synagogue in Canada
Oldest synagogues in Canada
The 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...
,http://www.templemontreal.ca/history.html incorporated on March 30, 1883 (the Bill of the incorporation was granted under the Act of Incorporation (46 Victoria 1883) by the Quebec Provincial Legislature, and is the only Reform congregation in Quebec.
History
The founding meeting for the Reform congregation, later to be known as Temple Emanuel, was held on August 23, 1882, in Lindsay Hall, St. Catherine Street West. The attendees included the leading trustees of the English, German and Polish Congregation (known then as the St. Constant Street Synagogue, now known as the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue) and the Portuguese Congregation – Shearith Israel (now known as Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of MontrealSpanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal
The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal also known as Shearith Israel is a Montreal synagogue, located on St. Kevin Street in Snowdon, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in Canada. The Congregation traces its history back to 1760 and was formally established in 1768...
) (Both congregations were the only ones in Montreal at the time and were Orthodox).
The May 2, 1884 issue of Hamelitz, a Russian newspaper printed in Hebrew, record of events that lead up to the breakaway of members who would create "Temple Emanuel".
Rabbi Samuel Marks became the congregation's first Minister, lecturer and teacher. He came from the United States bringing with him the “new ideas of Reform”.
The first services of Temple were held in Albert Hall, of the Zion Church, at the foot of Beaver Hall Hill Street, at the corner of Latour Street.
The First Temple Sanctuary was erected on Cyprus Street corner Stanley Street in 1892.
In September, 1911, Temple Emanu-El's new building, at the corner of Elm and Sherbrooke streets in Westmount, was dedicated. The Temple Emanu-el was enlarged in 1922. The building, which was destroyed by fire, featured a cruciform plan and Romanesque detailing resembling a church. The building included facilities for education, social gatherings and auxiliary groups, and an auditoriumlike sanctuary with mixed seating. It was one of the first Canadian congregations based on the Reform service.
In 1980, Temple Beth Sholom, a sister congregation formed in 1953, was united with Emanu-El, to form the present Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom congregation.http://www.cjccc.ca/national_archives/archives/arcguideT.htm
The building
In December, 1957, the 1911 building burned to the ground. Reconstruction began immediately, and the new Temple Emanu-El building was completed in 1959.The original building was in the Byzantine Revival style, with seating accommodations for 700, and provision for more when the membership warranted it. It was built at a cost of $65.000.
On Friday, April 22, 1960, the new building and its sanctuary were dedicated at a service, conducted by Dr. Harry J- Stern, leader of the congregation.
Features
- Aron Museum: Part of the Maurice PollackMaurice PollackMaurice Pollack was a Canadian merchant and philanthropist.Born in Kanele, Kiev, in Ukraine, he arrived in Canada in 1902, and settled in Quebec City, where he opened a department store at the age of 20 years, in the Saint-Roch district of Québec City. M. Pollack Ltd...
Cultural Centre, the Aron Museum is Canada’s first museum, founded in 1953, of Jewish ceremonial art objects. The pieces that form the Aron Museum’s collection come from around the world, like a silver Hanukah menorah from Uzbekistan, and reveal both the diversity and continuity of Judaism across time and space.http://www.westmountexaminer.com/article-183617-Every-piece-in-the-Aron-Museum-tells-a-story.html
Activities
The committee of docents offers educational guided tours for groups of students from area high schools, colleges, universities, and adult study groups.In conjunction with the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, Temple Emanu-El offers, as the Westmount Mini Centre, a variety of courses and social programs.
Affiliations
- Union for Reform JudaismUnion for Reform JudaismThe Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
- Canadian Association of Reform Zionists http://www.arzacanada.org
Cemeteries
Temple Emanuel-Beth Sholom offers cemetery services in four locations http://jgs-montreal.org/burials.html- Mount Royal CemeteryMount Royal CemeteryOpened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The burial ground shares the mountain with the much larger adjacent Roman Catholic cemetery -- Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges...
, on the Outremont side of Mount Royal - Eternal Gardens Cemetery, in Montreal's West Island Suburb of Beaconsfield
- Lakeview Memorial Gardens, in Montreal's West Island, adjacent to Eternal Gardens Cemetery
- Kehal Israel Memorial Cemetery, in the West Island suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux
Rabbis
- Rabbi Samuel Marks: September 1882 - 1889 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi S. Eisenberg: 1889 - 1890 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Abraham Myer Polack: 1890 - 1891 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi A. N. Bloch: 1890 - 1891
- Rabbi Hartog Veld: 1890 - 1899 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Elias Friedlander: 1899 - 1901 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Isaac Landman: 1901 - 1904 Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Joseph E. Kornfeld: 1904 - 1906 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Nathan Gordon: 1906 - 1927 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Samuel Schwartz: 1917 - 1919 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Julius H. Halprin: 1920 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Max Merritt: 1921 - 1925 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Herbert J Samuel: 1926 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi Harold (Harry) Joshua Stern: 1927 - 1979 (Temple Emanu-El)
- Rabbi H. Leonard Poller: 1954 - 1961 (Temple Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Paul Liner: 1962 - 1972 (Temple Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Mark Golub: 1972 - 1979 (Temple Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi David Powell: 1979 - 1980 (Temple Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Bernard Bloomstone: 1972 - 1983 (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Louis Cashdan: 1984 (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Kenneth Segal Yisrael: 1984 - 1989 (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom)
- Rabbi Leigh Lerner: March 1989–Present (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom)
Musical Leadership
Director of Music and Cantorial Soloist: Rachelle Shubert 2001–Present (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom)Famous Members
- Mortimer DavisMortimer DavisSir Mortimer Barnett Davis was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.Born in Montreal, Quebec, to Samuel Davis and Minnie Falk Davis, he graduated from High School of Montreal and then joined his elder brothers Eugene Harmon and Maurice Edward in the family's cigar business, S. Davis and Sons....
http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=8097 - Victor GoldbloomVictor GoldbloomVictor Charles Goldbloom, is a Canadian pediatrician, lecturer, and politician.He was born in Montreal, the son of Alton Goldbloom and Annie Ballon. He studied at Selwyn House and Lower Canada College. He studied at McGill University receiving his BSc in 1944, his MD in 1945, his DipEd in 1950...
- Hermann Gruenwald, Holocaust survivor, and author of "After Auschwitz: One Man's Story"
- Alfred Zion, founder of Dominion Lock Company Limited
External links
- Synagogue website
- http://www.imtl.org/montreal/building/Temple_Emanu_el_beth_Sholom.php
- http://www.cjccc.ca/national_archives/archives/arcguideT.htm
- http://wikimapia.org/5774570/Temple-Emanu-el-Beth-Sholom
- http://www.weblocal.ca/temple-emanu-el-beth-sholom-westmount-qc.html
- http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm.php?id=record_detail&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000257&rd=148102
- http://www.lieuxdeculte.qc.ca/fiche.php?LIEU_CULTE_ID=107807&LieuSuivant=15&LieuPrecedent=13&debut=&nlieux=15&type_requete=lieu&lignes=25&RefMunicipalite=66030&mrc=66023
- http://data.urj.org/conglist/detail.cfm?id=C358
- http://cd005.urj.net
- http://grandquebec.com/montreal-touristique/temple-emanu-el-beth-sholom
- http://www.rachelleshubert.com