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Aug. 17, 2001
Beth Hamidrash funding
Synagogue halts building
Financial help needed to finish Beth Hamidrash project.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
Construction has been halted on the new Beth Hamidrash synagogue
and the congregation is desperately seeking half a million dollars
to complete the project.
Meyer Mattuck, president of the congregation, acknowledged that
the dream of being in the new building in time for the High Holy
Days is lost. The congregation has been meeting on the premises
of Vancouver Hebrew Academy on Baillie, but on Aug. 20, they lose
that location because the Vancouver School Board, which owns the
property, has granted the space to a French-language school. The
new building is being built on the site of the old shul on Heather
Street, just south of West 16th Avenue.
Mattuck said Schara Tzedeck synagogue has offered the congregation
a temporary location and that will probably provide the needed short-term
solution. However, the tight-knit, largely Sephardic congregation
is anxious to return to its home.
Mattuck surveyed the progress recently. The long, narrow structure
is illuminated with rows of skylights and the structural work is
essentially complete. A large basement has been created to include
a social area and a kitchen. What remains incomplete are the internal
finishings, the bimah and various fixtures required under bylaws.
What makes the whole matter especially frustrating, said Mattuck,
is that the project is so close to completion.
"We're almost there," he said. Unfortunately, though
the building looks almost done, the finishing touches remain a significant
hurdle. "There's a lot of little, expensive details that have
to be done," said Mattuck.
The financial problems result partly from the fact that the congregation
is relatively small, consisting of about 100 families. Together,
congregants have contributed about $400,000 to the total estimated
budget of about $1.6 million. Mattuck said he knew it would be necessary
to do extensive fund raising outside the shul. Although the Wosk
family made a sizable donation, Mattuck said they have so far been
less successful than they had hoped at convincing major donors to
contribute.
Instead, he said, the whole Beth Hamidrash community has been called
into service.
"All members now have become fund-raisers," Mattuck said
wryly. One of those people who has taken up the torch is Linda Gewis,
a congregation member who is brainstorming on getting the completion
cash. Like most people, she didn't know there was a problem until
construction was halted, then she immediately volunteered to help.
Among the options open to the fund-raisers are approaching members
of the Sephardic Jewish community around the world who may be in
a position to help. Beth Hamidrash is the only Sephardic synagogue
west of Toronto. Members of the congregation come from all over
the world, including North Africa and Islamic countries of the Middle
East.
"If we don't find donors in Vancouver, we'll have to go outside
the Vancouver community," Gewis said. Although the fund-raising
creates a challenge, it also presents opportunities, she added.
"This is a golden opportunity for people to have a part of
a synagogue named after a loved one," she said. "How often
is a synagogue built?"
The congregation is hoping that by going public with the plight,
members of the community will come forward to assist.
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