HaYom Kulam Yod'im She'Kahane Tzadak!
Tables of Contents
I New Brunswick
II Prince Edward Island
III Nova Scotia
IV Newfoundland
I New Brunswick
Fredericton
The Jewish Community in Fredericton is more recent than Moncton or Saint John. The first Jewish family arrived around 1912. These early immigrants didn't spoke no English, could not read or write, and had no trade. Some reported difficulties in getting jobs with Non-Jews. By 1925, Fredericton organized Young Judaea. The congregation was incorporated in 1929 but a synagogue was not built in Fredericton until 1934 and the cemetery was not purchased until 1943. Before the construction of the synagogue, the Jewish community of Fredericton hired The Orange Hall in order to conduct services.
By 1936 the congregation was established with a Sisterhood and Hadassah. Later a Habonim Lodge was started which was replaced by B'nai Brith. Like Saint John, the Fredericton Jewish community was strongly Zionist. Their Zionist feeling came with the immigrants from Europe. Initially there was no Hebrew School but boys went to the teacher's home for lessons. Girls did not usually receive formal Hebrew training at that time.
The Fredericton Jewish community consisted of a few founding families. This meant that the community was very close as most Fredericton Jews were related. This was reinforced because they tended to live in the same area of town.
During World War II, about 2,000 Jews were interned at Ripplies, New Brunswick in 1941. About 500 of them went on a hunger strike demanding kosher food. The Fredericton community helped provide kosher food and other comforts as well as some religious instruction to the internees, visiting them periodically. Today Fredericton has approximately 85 Jewish families.
Moncton
Moncton's Jewish history is documented by Michael M. Baig in a paper called The Folklore of Moncton Jewry. Jewish immigration to Moncton was somewhat unusual in that 22 families from Durbonne, Lithuania settled in Moncton. The men arrived first and established themselves and then sent for their wives and children in Europe (A fairly common practice among Jews and other immigrant settlers in the region.). These Durbonners, as they were called, formed a very cohesive community. They all settled on the same street in Moncton. By 1910, the Jewish community was large enough to hire its first rabbi. Soon the community of Moncton also felt the need for a synagogue. Here the community had a much more difficult time than Saint John.
A sense of solidarity among Jews in Moncton is evidenced nowhere better than in their response during and immediately after World War II. Moncton Jews readily welcomed the thousands of Jewish airmen stationed in Moncton. Moncton opened a serviceman's centre and it is estimated that over 23,000 men and women used these facilities. Extensive home hospitality was provided for the holidays of Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur. After the war, when trains would pass through Moncton with Jewish immigrants on their way West, members of the Jewish community would meet the trains (often in the middle of the night) attending to any of their immediate needs.
Jews in Moncton, like their counterparts elsewhere, have penetrated many of the host society's institutions. They have become, for example, lawyers, doctors, judges and university professors. Michael M. Baig served as Mayor of Moncton for two terms.
The Moncton Jewish community appears to have reason to be optimistic about its future. It is one of the few communities that has experienced growth in its Jewish population with an influx of young Jews attracted to the expanding government and university sectors. Moncton is now the second largest Jewish community in Atlantic Canada with about 100 familes. This has served to rejuvenate the community.
St. John
The Saint John Jewish community was founded in 1858 with the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Hart who came from England. By 1898, the community had grown to such an extent that they were able to establish the first synagogue, Ahavith Achim (Brotherly Love). At the turn of the century the second wave of immigrants arrived from Europe. The original men were affluent cigar manufacturers. However, the European immigrants started out as peddlers and very quickly became merchants and professionals. The 1920's to The 1960's were "The Golden Years" with 250 to 300 families actively involved in all facets of life in the Jewish and Non-Jewish community.
At the present time, the St. John Jewish community is one of the diminishing communities of The Diaspora. The Museum was created in 1986 to preserve our heritage and to share it with the larger community.
II Prince Edward Island
The first recorded Jewish settlers on Prince Edward Island arrived at the turn of The 20th Century. A newspaper item from 1908 reports that the Jews of Charlottetown celebrated Passover. At around that time, three brothers, Louis, Israel and Abie Block arrived from Riga, Latvia, and founded three Jewish families. They became prominent entrepreneurs under difficult, pioneer circumstances. Only Abie Block remained on the Island. Sarah, the widow of his son Maurice, still resides on the island. About a dozen other Jewish families operated businesses for various, briefer periods before World War II. The number of Jews temporarily increased during the war when The Air Training Station was active.
Most of the current community arrived in The 1970's or later. A Torah scroll was borrowed and brought to the island for the first time in 1975 for the first High Holiday services and again in 1976 for the first known Bar Mitzvah celebration. To provide continuity, mutual support, and contact with other communities and agencies, the community began organizing itself socially in 1982 and more formally in 1993, with Dr. Joseph Naylor being elected its first president. There are about thirty participating families, augmented by a half dozen supportive Summer residents. The community has been holding regular High Holiday services since at least 1996.
III Nova Scotia
Halifax
Jews arrived in Halifax a year after its founding in 1749. By 1752, there were 30 Jewish men, women and children living in Halifax. Very early, a town plan allocated a separate cemetery for their use in an area near what is now the corner of Brunswick Street and Spring Garden Road. However, the site was never utilized as it was expropriated for a jail in 1758.
The first settlers came from Newport, Rhode Island. Most were merchants. One of the most noted early residents was Samuel Hart, who arrived in 1781. A decade later, he entered politics and ultimately became the first Jew to serve in a British North American Legislative body.
By The 1890's, many new immigrants began arriving as a result of renewed pogroms in Russia and a rise in Anti-Semitism in Europe. In 1891, The Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society was founded. In 1893, a site for a cemetery was purchased by The Society on Windsor Street near Connaught Avenue. Efforts were then focused on forming a congregation and acquiring a synagogue. A property at the corner of Starr and Hurd Streets was purchased and renovated to house a synagogue and a school. On February 19, 1895, the Synagogue was dedicated and on that same day, the first wedding ceremony, that of Harry Glube and Sarah Cohen, was conducted. These dual events received wide coverage in the three local newspapers.
By 1901, the Jewish population of Halifax had grown to 118. The Starr Street Synagogue continued to serve the community until it was badly damaged by fire in the aftermath of The Halifax Explosion in 1917. In 1920, The Baron de Hirsch Congregation purchased a site on Robie Street and constructed a new synagogue. A second congregation was formed in 1914 when The Proctor Street Synagogue was founded. This synagogue was referred to as The Webber Shul. The two synagogue communities reunited in 1936.
In 1953, a Conservative congregation, Shaar Shalom, was established. The Shaar Shalom Synagogue on Oxford Street was dedicated on October 31, 1957. The Orthodox Baron de Hirsch Congregation constructed a new synagogue, Beth Israel, on Oxford Street which was officially opened on October 21, 1957.
According to the census conducted in 1991, 1,480 Jews resided in the Halifax-Dartmouth area.
Cape Breton
An area of significant Jewish settlement in Nova Scotia was Cape Breton. The development of the Jewish community there is interesting as it grew rapidly and declined almost as rapidly. In 1901 there were 162 Jews in Cape Breton. By 1931, the Jewish population had increased to 900 (The Halifax Jewish community during that same period of time grew from 585 to 785.) and by 1941 it had increased to 939 (Its peak.). To the outsider, Cape Breton appears to be a single entity. This image is one that is particularly applied to the Jewish community of the island. Yet in fact there are four very distinct Jewish communities that differed in a number of ways and were quite aware of their differences.
The Different Jewish Communities of Cape Breton
Glace Bay
Glace Bay may be considered the oldest organized community on Cape Breton. Jewish settlers began arriving in The 1890's. Many came as a result of advertisements placed in European papers by the coal company in Glace Bay. The company was soliciting mine workers by offering free passage to Canada in return for work in the mines. Few of the Jewish immigrants worked in the mines for any length of time. Most became peddlers and then moved into retail businesses near the mines where their competition were the company stores.
By 1902 there were 15 Jewish families in the community when the first synagogue in Cape Breton was built, although it was incorporated in 1901, the same year as the town. Previous to the building of the synagogue The High Holidays were celebrated in either a rented hall or in the home of a member of the community. The importance on the building of the synagogue in Glace Bay was very great. Some families even contributed funds for the synagogue even before their own homes.
For a period of approximately 35 years, the Jewish community appeared to move from strength to strength. However, a declining population led to the declining of the community. Until The Mid 1970's, a Hebrew school was maintained but at present there are too few children in the community to continue a separate school. The few children that are Hebrew school aged are now taken to Sydney. The Jewish population continues to decline and it doesn't appear that there will be any change in this trend in the near future.
New Waterford
The first Jewish immigrants in New Waterford came in The Early 1900's because of opportunities resulting from the coal industry. About 10 families, comprising the first organized Jewish community, settled in the town at this time. Most of the men started as peddlers and then moved into retail businesses.
The synagogue was built in 1922 with a Hebrew school and residence for a rabbi in the same building. Before the completion of the synagogue, Jews traveled either to Sydney or Glace Bay for services or rented a hall and improted a rabbi or cantor. The building became the center for social, cultural, and community activities. Unfortunately there was little migration into New Waterford. Its Jewish population peaked at 99 in 1941. After World War II, Jews began to leave as the economic base of the general community began to decline with the closing of the mines.
This out-migration has continued and one result has been that the synagogue had to be sold in 1967 because of a lack of members. The remaining families joined synagogues in either Glace Bay or Sydney.
Sydney
The history of the Jewish community in Sydney is the history of two communities, Sydney proper and Whitney Pier. The first Jews to arrive in Sydney during The Late 1890's and Early 1900's settled in that part of the city known as Whitney Pier. For the most part they were Russians escaping pogroms. While they came to Sydney because of the growing steel industry, few Jewish immigrants worked in the mills but became peddlers and then retailers.
A synagogue was built in Whitney Pier in 1913, and included within the building was a Hebrew school. Prior to the establishment of the synagogue, and before there were enough families in Sydney, men were brought in from Glace Bay to form a minyan. The synagogue was the center of social and cultural activities until the establishment of a YMHA several years later, at which time social activities shifted to The Y. As the Jewish population of Sydney (Including Whitney Pier.) grew during the first third of the century (From 22 in 1901 to 425 in 1931.), Jewish communal activities increased.
While Zionist activities were present with the arrival of the first immigrants, it became much more popular after The Balfour Declaration. From The Early 1920's on, Zionist speakers came to the community from Montreal, and even from The Habonim Lodge in Glace Bay. There has been a steady aliyah to Israel although not in great numbers as is the case for Atlantic Canada in general.
By The Mid 1920's, many Jewish families were moving out of Whitney Pier into Sydney proper. Until this time Whitney Pier had more Jewish families than Sydney. During this period a second synagogue was established in Sydney. While both synagogues were initially Orthodox, the Sydney synagogue gradually became Conservative.
Today The Jewish Community of Cape Breton in The 1900's is a more senior community. Much of the younger generation has moved to Halifax or Upper Canada. However, Cape Breton remains among the strongest Zionist areas in all of Canada. Their commitment to Israel per capita is among the best in Canada and their legacy of Jewish life survives in the hearts of Cape Bretoners throughout Canada.
IV Newfoundland
Much of the early history of Jewish settlement in Newfoundland is open to speculation. It is believed that the first Jewish settler was an English Jew engaged in the fur trade who came to Newfoundland around 1800. There is some evidence suggesting that during the first half of The 19th Century several other Jewish families had settled in the colony, primarily outside St. John's.
The real history of the Newfoundland Jewish community begins however, with the arrival in St. John's of Israel Perlin from The United States. He was instrumental in founding the first synagogue in Newfoundland, The Hebrew Congregation of Newfoundland, in 1909. The Jewish community of Newfoundland grew slowly. In the 1935 census, the first that included Jews as a separate religious denomination, there were 215 Jews reported. The 1971 census figures reports 360 Jews, the majority located in St. John's.
While Jews settled in most towns of Newfoundland, St. John's remained the center of the Jewish population of the province. The only remaining synagogue, Beth El, is found there. The small Jewish communities on the West coast of the island attempted to maintain congregations (without professional staff) both in Stephenville and Corner Brook up to The Mid 1960's. During The 1930's there was a major attempt by several Jews on the West coast of Newfoundland to convince The British Government to open the West coast for major resettlement of Jewish refugees from Europe but nothing came of this attempt.
The Jewish community in Newfoundland today is concentrated in St. John's with approximately 25 families most of whom are linked to the Memorial University academic community. The Beth El Synagogue is still operating, struggling to survive with a core of dedicated members of the community working for the synagogue.
Mrs. Claire Frankel-Salama is The Jewish Immigrant Aid Services representative in Newfoundland. She, along with a number of other volunteers helped to accommodate the needs of a large number of Russian refugees who jumped plane in Gander over the past few years. Most of these Russians have gone to Upper Canada.
© 2011 jonathanshabbat@yahoo.com