Congregation Shaar Hashomayim () is an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

synagogue in

Westmount Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Incorporated in 1846, it is the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada and the largest traditional synagogue in Canada.

History

Former building of Shaar Hashomayim on McGill College Avenue Congregation Shaar Hashomayim was founded by a group of English,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

, who had previously attended the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. The Congregation originally rented space on Saint James Street (now Rue Saint-Jacques). The first synagogue was built on Saint Constant Street (now Rue de Bullion) in the

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

in 1859. A new synagogue was built on

McGill College Avenue McGill College Avenue (officially in ) is a street in Downtown Montreal, downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named for McGill University, the street was widened in the 1980s and transformed into a scenic avenue with McGill's Roddick Gates on Sherbr ...

between 1885 and 1886 at a cost of $40,000. In 1920, the Congregation purchased land on Kensington Avenue in Westmount. The cornerstone was laid by president Lyon Cohen in 1921, and the synagogue was dedicated on September 17, 1922. Herman Abramowitz served as rabbi from 1902 to 1947 and he was joined by rabbi Arthur Saul Super between 1933 and 1936.Arthur Saul Super Dead at 71
''Jewish Telegraphic Agency''. 31 July 1979 Wilfred Shuchat then served as rabbi from 1948 to 1993. In 2013, Shaar Hashomayim became one of the first synagogues in North America to hire a

Maharat Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which is the first Orthodox-affiliated yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Tor ...

Traditions

Shaar Hashomayim is one of the few remaining synagogues in the world to maintain, on a weekly basis, the traditions of the Choral Synagogues of Europe. The early

by-laws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other ...

of the synagogue in fact prescribed that the prayers be read according to the practices and traditions of the

Great Synagogue of London The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in Lo ...

; the Congregation established an all-male

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

in 1887. A ''

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

'', accompanied by an all-male choir, lead services every

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and on

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

. The members of the clergy of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim are robed for every Shabbat, Festival and High Holy Day service, with the Cantor and Ritual Director wearing traditional cantorial hats. Clergy and officers wear morning suits, with the President, ''parnass'' and other congregational officers seated on the bimah wearing

top hats A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or som ...

. On Festivals,

tailcoat A tailcoat is a knee-length coat (clothing), coat characterised by a rear section of the skirt (known as the ''tails''), with the front of the skirt cut away. The tailcoat shares its historical origins in clothes cut for convenient horse-riding ...

s replace the morning coats. Male congregants typically wear

business attire Informal wear or undress, also called business wear, corporate/office wear, tenue de ville or dress clothes, is a Western dress code for clothing defined by a business suit for men, and cocktail dress or pant suit for women. On the scale o ...

and women are required to cover their shoulders.

Choir

Shaar Hashomayim's choir performed on

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's Grammy and Juno Award-winning album ''

You Want It Darker ''You Want It Darker'' is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on October 21, 2016, by Columbia Records, 17 days before Cohen's death. The album was created at the end of his life and focuses on death, ...

''. Together with Cantor Gideon Zelermyer, the Choir provided the backing vocals for "You Want It Darker" as well as "It Seemed the Better Way". They performed the album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

and Cohen's "

Tower of Song "Tower of Song" is a song written by Leonard Cohen that appears on his 1988 album ''I'm Your Man (Leonard Cohen album), I'm Your Man''. In a 2014 reader's poll, ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as the 8th favorite Cohen song. Background The genesis ...

" at the 2017 '' Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen'' concert, in collaboration with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, and

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

. The Choir also appeared on Cohen's posthumous album '' Thanks for the Dance'', performing backing vocals for "Puppets".

Notable members

Charles Bronfman Charles Bronfman, (born June 27, 1931) is a Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist and is a member of the Canadian Jewish Bronfman family. With an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion in 2023, Bronfman was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the ...

, businessman * Joe Cohen, trial lawyer and member of Quebec's Legislative Assembly *

, singer-songwriter * Lyon Cohen, businessman * Sheila Finestone, Member of Parliament and Senator * Maxwell M. Kalman, architect * Victoria Kaspi, astrophysicist * Leo Kolber, Senator * Marvin Kwitko, ophthalmologist * Sam Steinberg, businessman

History

Traditions

Choir

Notable members

References

Further reading