Embraced by the community

“Having been here for about two months, we feel that the staff members and community have been so welcoming, assisting us in every way we need to help us feel settled,” Rabbi Avi Garson, new assistant rabbi at Congregation Schara Tzedeck, told the Independent. “This was always going to be a big move, across the globe with two young kids and no family support nearby, but the community has kind of adopted us.”

Garson comes to Vancouver with his wife, Abigail, and their two daughters, Debbie, 3, and Ruthie, 1.

Born in London, England, Garson has lived there most of his life.

“My parents were the rabbi and rebbetzin at the Ohr Yisrael Shul in Borehamwood, so I grew up with this,” he said. “As a child, I always joked I’d be a rabbi like my dad but I never actually believed it would happen. I do have a small family connection to Vancouver – my grandfather came here almost every month for many years to see one of his clients. He never dreamed his grandson would move here though.”

Abigail Garson was born in Gibraltar.

“The youngest of six, my siblings live in Israel, the United Kingdom and Miami, so my parents are world travelers,” she said. “They will hopefully come here soon to visit us.”

Avi and Abigail Garson met through a shadchan (matchmaker) and, after they got married in 2021, they moved to Jerusalem so he could begin his smichah (rabbinic ordination). Their two daughters were born there.

The rabbi received smichah from the Jerusalem Kollel this past March.

“The Kollel trains couples to become leaders in the Jewish world,” he explained. “To date, the Kollel has ordained over 350 rabbinic couples who have gone on to inspire, in communities, shuls and outreach organizations. From Sydney to Utah, Herzliya to Johannesburg, the Jerusalem Kollel’s alumni are impacting the world. This is my first position in the rabbinate, although I have done a couple of rabbinic internships at shuls in London.”

Abigail Garson completed her computer programming degree in Israel before the couple was married, and she works as a software developer.

“Once Abigail and I decided we would be up for the adventure to move away from the UK, I asked the Kollel’s director if he knew of any available positions in the rabbinate,” said Garson. “When I spoke to him in November 2025, there were over 50 positions available in North America alone. After reviewing some of the job descriptions, we felt that Schara Tzedeck held the most potential for us.

“Initially, we met on Zoom with a member of the search committee,” he continued. “This was followed by interviews with the rest of the search committee and some board members, the rabbi and then in person with the NCSY director. I also sent a video of a d’var Torah. After these meetings, we flew out to Vancouver to see the shul and meet the community over a trial Shabbat. All this happened very fast and, before we knew it, we had been offered the job.”

While the Garsons had heard how beautiful Vancouver is, it rained the entire weekend they were here in January. What won them over, said Rabbi Garson, was Schara Tzedeck and its members, not the city itself so much.

“We really liked that the shul had a vision, and that the board and staff felt a sense of responsibility to the Vancouver Jewish community as a whole, not just to Schara Tzedeck members. This idea of leaving no one behind was something we connected to,” he said. “We also found that the members we met over our Shabbat here were thirsty for connection and inspiration.”

Garson said Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt has been very supportive, encouraging him to get involved in all aspects of the shul. Already, Garson has given many Shabbat sermons.

In searching for an assistant rabbi, executive director Shelley Rivkin told the Independent, “We were looking for a young, energetic rabbinical couple that would complement the Rosenblatts [the rabbi and his wife, Dr. Cirelle Rosenblatt], expand and diversify our learning opportunities and educational programs, and connect with and engage the young adults and young families associated with Schara Tzedeck.”

And it seems that the synagogue has found what it was looking for in the Garsons. Rivkin described them as “committed to outreach and comfortable with the diversity of practice among our congregants. 

“Rabbi Garson’s depth of Torah knowledge, warm personality and great sense of humour have already had a positive impact on the congregation,” she said.

The total search and hiring process took about nine months, said Rivkin.

“We had a six-person search committee representing a broad cross-section of our membership,” she said. “Although we sent out job postings to all of the appropriate organizations in Canada, US and Israel, it was through a personal relationship that one of our committee members had established with the Jerusalem Kollel that we were able to meet Rabbi Garson.”

The fact that Schara Tzedeck is the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city means there is the opportunity for Garson to be involved beyond the shul walls – with the mikvah, the cemetery and eruv, as well.

“This role isn’t just being an assistant rabbi of the shul,” he said. “There are hands-on opportunities in all areas of Jewish life.”

The Garsons look forward to building relationships with as many members of the community as possible, through seeing them in shul and at events, and hosting them over Shabbat, said the rabbi.

“We are also very excited to help engage some of the younger Jews in Vancouver,” he added. “There is a program called Shabbat Club for Jews aged 25-40 living in Vancouver that is under the Schara Tzedeck umbrella. We look forward to working with the Shabbat Club to provide meaningful Jewish experiences to their members.”

“After the loss of Joseph Marciano z’l,” said Rivkin, “it took us almost a year to rebuild our klei kodesh [clergy]. With the arrival of Rabbi Garson and our new Torah reader, Eliyahu Kaminetsky, we now have a robust clergy team to both support Rabbi Rosenblatt and meet the needs of our congregation.”

For more about the synagogue, visit scharatzedeck.com.