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May 23, 2003
Glimpse of city's Jewish past
Schara Tzedeck exhibit at the Vancouver Museum is full of stories.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
In many ways, a look back at the 95-year history of Congregation
Schara Tzedeck is also a look back at the history of Greater Vancouver's
Jewish community.
As the city's oldest and largest congregation, the leaders of Schara
Tzedeck were, and still are today, many of the builders of the entire
Jewish community. So a visit to the Vancouver Museum to see the
exhibit Schara Tzedeck: Doors of Truth, created in honor of the
congregation's 95th anniversary, offers a unique look at how the
local community came to be.
Upon entrance into the exhibit, which was funded by the Diamond
Foundation, viewers are immediately offered a look into some of
the many communal organizations that grew as Schara Tzedeck did.
Behind little windows and cubbies are copies and originals of some
of the documents, photographs and fragments of history from the
early years of agencies like Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith
Lodge #668 or the Jewish Administrative Council, which served a
similar purpose as today's Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
Other organizations featured include the Jewish Community Centre
of Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Talmud Torah, B'nai Brith Woman
and the Jewish Welfare Bureau, which became the Jewish Family Service
Agency in 1968.
Alongside and in between many of these items are posters, plaques
and memorabilia that honor the lay leaders, peddlers and philanthropists
who helped build the synagogue to its present stature.
The exhibit shares many stories about community builders like Abrasha
Wosk, Ben Wosk, Max Grossman, Jack Diamond, Zebulon Franks, Morris
Wosk, Ben and Esther Dayson, Jacob Garber, Morris and Adela Steinberg,
Fred Silber, Joseph and Rosalie Segal and Sam and Fran Belzberg.
Professional leaders such as rabbis Marvin Heir and Nathan Pastinsky
are also featured and credited for their significant contributions.
Pastinsky, who was Schara Tzedeck's spiritual leader for 30 years
until his death in 1948, has an entire corner of the exhibit dedicated
in his honor. There is even a cornerstone memorial that was placed
on the outside of the Oak Street synagogue after he died. It was
removed in the early 1990s when the facade was renovated.
Of course this look back into history also allows a peak into some
of the congregation's more controversial moments, including the
story behind a group that separated from Schara Tzedeck in 1983.
A section titled A Rabbi Divides a Congregation tells of Rabbi Baruch
Zaichyk, who was hired in 1977. Unable to please all of his congregants
– apparently due to his controversial style – a meeting
of the membership resulted in a decision not to renew Zaichyk's
contract. Many of the rabbi's supporters decided to leave Schara
Tzedeck and hold their own services in a rented house. That group
disbanded after a year, but they did not all return to Schara Tzedeck.
Rather than offering a complete history lesson that takes the viewer
through a chronological timeline, curator Donna Bryman laid the
exhibit out in various sections that feature different aspects of
almost a century of congregational life.
For example, one section displays religious items like Torah mantels,
crowns, pointers and shields from the 1950s and '70s, while another
has items from some of the congregation's historic weddings, including
a picture from the wedding of Rosalie Wosk to Joseph Segal, the
first to take place at the Oak Street location.
The exhibit also has detailed information about the Schara Tzedeck
cemetery, established in 1929, including a book of the minutes from
some of the earliest cemetery board meetings. Prior to 1929, members
of the Jewish community were buried in a fenced-off part of the
municipal Mountain View cemetery.
Founded in 1907, Congregation Schara Tzedeck was originally named
B'nai Yehuda (Sons of Israel) and services took place in
rented facilities or homes for several years. In 1911, with the
Jewish community growing rapidly, the congregation built a small
synagogue on the corner of Heatley and Pender. Six years later,
the congregation incorporated and changed their name to Schara Tzedeck.
In 1920, the original building was moved to the back of the lot
to become a religious school and a new synagogue was built in the
front.
It wasn't until 1948 that, in order to be closer to the majority
of the congregants' homes, Schara Tzedeck left the Strathcona area
and moved to its current location at 19th Avenue and Oak Street.
In 1963, the shul expanded to what it looks like today.
The Vancouver Museum is located at 1100 Chestnut St. The exhibit
continues until June 8. For more information, call 604-736-7607.
Kyle Berger is an award-winning freelance journalist and
a graphic designer living in Richmond.
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