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June 8, 2007
A hundred years of tradition
Vancouver's first congregation marking its centenary.
FREEMAN PORITZ
A hundred years have come and gone and Schara Tzedeck, British
Columbia's largest Orthodox synagogue, is thriving like never before.
Program director Shelley Karrel described the shul as booming with
"youthful energy." Its membership is now sitting at a
high of close to 500 families.
The now familiar, grand monument located at the corner of Oak and
16th streets emerged from humble beginnings. The community of Schara
Tzedeck has worked its way up from next to nothing to establish
the strong role it serves in the Vancouver Jewish community today.
Schara Tzedeck was founded in 1907 as B'nai Yehuda, and originally
prayer services were held at the store owned by president Zebulon
Frank, at 42 Water St. in Gastown. In 1911, Vancouver's first synagogue
was built on the corner of Heatley and Pender Streets. Six years
later, the congregation was renamed Schara Tzedeck after being legally
incorporated. In 1929, Schara Tzedeck established the first Jewish
community cemetery after acquiring 14 acres of land from the provincial
government in New Westminster. The current synagogue on Oak Street
was built in September 1947 to accommodate a growing membership
and the reality that most of the community had moved into the area.
On Jan. 25, 1948, the newly founded synagogue was dedicated to the
Jewish heroes of the Second World War. The synagogue was tasked
with three roles, to serve as: a house of prayer, a house of learning
and a community meeting place.
The community comes together en masse for Saturday morning services,
holidays and special events, such as bringing in guest speakers
from all over the world. Personalities such as former Israeli prime
ministers Menachem Begin and Ehud Barak, former Canadian prime minister
John Diefenbaker, renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert and actor
Richard Dreyfuss have addressed congregants from the bimah of Schara
Tzedeck's sanctuary. Last summer, during the Second Lebanon War,
the sanctuary also played host to more than 2,000 community members
who gathered to rally in support of Israel.
Schara Tzedeck is the site of the only community mikvah in Vancouver
– which serves not only the shul's own congregants but also
conversion candidates from other synagogues.
Throughout the years, Schara Tzedeck has had numerous influential
presidents, rabbis and congregants. Several have earned awards such
as the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and honorary
degrees from universities around the world. One of the first rabbis,
Nathan Pastinsky, served as the neighborhood caretaker, according
to longtime congregant David Youngson. "Whenever someone of
Jewish ethnic origin got into trouble," Youngson recalled,
"he [Pastinsky] would go visit them."
Another one of Schara Tzedeck's former spiritual leaders was Rabbi
Marvin Hier, who went on to become the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal
Center and its Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The centre has
had great success in fighting for Jewish human rights against such
scourges as anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism and international terrorism,
and Hier has become one of the most widely recognized rabbis in
the world.
The current rabbi, Andrew Rosenblatt, came to Vancouver with his
family four years ago from Baltimore. He told the Independent
that, "Schara Tzedeck served as the centrepiece of Jewish
life in Vancouver, and today continues to serve a central role in
the community." Rosenblatt described his congregants as being
"passionately traditional ... [they] respect the authenticity
in orthodoxy." He also added, "We [at Schara Tzedeck]
try to be an umbrella shul and accommodate Jews from all walks of
life."
There are now a growing number of congregants with historical ties
to the synagogue. It is not unusual to find three generations of
one family attending services together. One of Schara Tzedeck's
members from birth, Evelyn Toban, described the synagogue in terms
of her comfort level. "At Schara Tzedeck, I feel at home,"
she said. "I'm comfortable with my religious beliefs and I'm
comfortable with my Israeli beliefs. I'm a Zionist."
"I was brought up in the synagogue," said Youngson. "My
parents actually met there. My mother taught English to new immigrant
children and my father was a Hebrew teacher." He added, "Recently
we've been seeing many bright, young, modern Orthodox families with
good secular educations joining the synagogue."
While recognizing the fact that only a small percentage of Vancouver's
Jewish community are members of Schara Tzedeck, Youngson believes
that, "Orthodoxy is the only stream of Judaism that successfully
perpetuates itself."
The synagogue is staging a sold-out gala to mark its centenary on
June 20. There's also a capital campaign underway aimed at raising
$3 million for a youth endowment fund and facility renovations.
All signs suggest that over the next hundred years, the shul will
continue to thrive.
Freeman Poritz lived in Israel for three years and served
in the IDF. He is now a Vancouver freelance writer.
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