First Narayever Congregation is a traditional-egalitarian

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 187 Brunswick Avenue, in the

Harbord Village Harbord Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies just to the west of the University of Toronto, with its most commonly accepted borders being Bloor Street on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, College Street to the sou ...

neighbourhood of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. It is the largest

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation in downtown Toronto. It was founded by the Jewish immigrants from

Narayiv Naraiv, also Narayiv, Narajiv (; ; ; ) is a selo in Ternopil Raion of Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Naraiv rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Naraiv is within Eastern Galicia, former Austrian empire (unti ...

, western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, hence the Yiddish name "Narayever". Founded by 1914 as an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

synagogue by Galician immigrants to Toronto, it was a ''

landsmanshaft A landsmanshaft (, also landsmanschaft; plural: landsmans(c)haftn or landsmans(c)hafts) is a mutual aid society, benefit society, or hometown society of Jewish immigrants from the same European town or region. History The landsmanshaft organiz ...

'', an association whose members had immigrated from the same town, in this case, the town of

Naraiev Naraiv, also Narayiv, Narajiv (; ; ; ) is a Village#Ukraine, selo in Ternopil Raion of Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Naraiv rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Naraiv is within Eastern Galicia, former Austri ...

. The congregation originally met in a rented building at the corner of Huron and Dundas. In 1943, the congregation acquired and moved to its current building on Brunswick which had previously been Bethel Church and originally a

Foresters A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including Restoration ecology, ecological restoration and management of Pr ...

' Lodge.History
, First Narayever Congregation website. Accessed July 17, 2011. It and the Orthodox Shaarei Tzedec are the two last remaining ''

shtiebel A shtiebel (, pl. ''shtibelekh'') is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached more casually. It is typically as small as a room in a private home or a place of business ...

s'' of what were once dozens of small congregations in the area around

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...

Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...

and Bathurst Street - which was a vibrant Jewish area prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the decades following World War II, many of the congregants followed the rest of the Jewish community as it moved up Bathurst Street north of St. Clair Avenue, but some continued to travel downtown to attend the synagogue. Other Jews who had remained in the neighbourhood began attending after their own synagogues moved north. Younger professionals and more liberal members joined the congregation in the 1970s and 1980s and, after the older generation retired from the synagogue's board in 1983, an alternative egalitarian service was introduced downstairs while the Orthodox service continued in the main sanctuary. As attendance for the Orthodox service dwindled to the point that it was unable to attract a ''

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

'', the egalitarian service moved upstairs and the synagogue began attracting more new members and went in a new direction, and is today unaffiliated with any larger

Jewish religious movement Jewish religious movements, sometimes called "religious denomination, denominations", include diverse groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Samaritans are also considered Who is a Jew?, ethnic Jews by the Chief ...

. Narayever today follows traditional ''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'' except in making no distinction on the basis of gender
The Lev Shalem siddur
forms the basis of the liturgy. In 2009, the congregation voted to endorse the celebration of

same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

. Ed Elkin has been the congregation's

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

since 2000.Rabbi Ed Elkin
, First Narayever Congregation website. Accessed July 17, 2011.

References

{{Commons

External links

First Narayever Congregation of Toronto
from the Ontario Jewish Archives 1914 establishments in Ontario Ashkenazi synagogues in Canada Jewish Galician (Eastern Europe) history Jewish organizations established in 1914 Synagogues completed in 1943 Synagogues in Toronto Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Ontario Ukrainian-Jewish diaspora Unaffiliated synagogues in Canada Yiddish culture in Toronto 20th-century synagogues in Canada