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September 21, 2001
Community - Beth Hamidrash gets help
Shul returns to building
Beth Hamidrash receives help from the community.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
After going public with a crisis in funding the construction of
its new synagogue, Beth Hamidrash congregation has received about
80 per cent of the money it needs to finish the project.
Meyer Mattuck, president of Beth Hamidrash, told the Bulletin less
than a month ago that construction had been halted on the new building,
which is home to the only Sephardi congregation west of Toronto.
The structure of the building is essentially finished, but to complete
the shul will take about $500,000, Mattuck said. Since then, several
community members have rushed to the aid of the synagogue.
The Diamond Foundation has given $300,000 and Ben and Esther Dayson
pledged $100,000. Other community members have given several thousand
dollars each.
Esther Dayson said they read of the synagogue's need in the
Bulletin and decided to help.
"He saw it in the paper," Dayson said of her husband.
"He feels that they need it, so we'll do the best we can."
Beth Hamidrash is a relatively small congregation, with about 100
families, and Mattuck had said he knew they would have to go outside
the strict confines of the membership to find the needed cash.
Members raised about $400,000 toward the estimated $1.6 million
project. Mattuck said he would approach members of the Vancouver
community before appealing to members of the Sephardic community
worldwide.
Esther Dayson said she and her husband are members of Beth Israel
and Schara Tzedeck.
Similarly, the Diamond family decided that they should help out,
even though they are not members of Beth Hamidrash.
"We belong to Schara Tzedeck," said Jill Diamond, executive
director of the Diamond Foundation. "[But] we felt that it
was very important to make sure that other Jews had a place to pray
and a place to celebrate and a place to be with one another during
life events.
"We decided, because they were in such dire financial crisis,
that we would help get them in there, help finish off the building
so they would have a place to pray in time for Chanukah," said
Diamond.
In the meantime, Beth Hamidrash congregants have been granted temporary
space for services at Schara Tzedeck.
Mattuck was thrilled by the generosity of the Diamonds, the Daysons
and other members of the community and said construction will resume
immediately. He hopes the building will be finished in a few months,
though that depends on the builders and the congregation's ability
to meet the last necessary amount of money. Despite his joy at the
news of these donations, Mattuck cautions members not to get complacent.
"This is fantastic news," he said. "But we're still
short about $100,000 and we have a mortgage of $750,000.... A mortgage
of $750,000 is not peanuts for our community."
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