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The Shaar’s archives regularly receives a diverse range of research questions. One of the most frequent subjects we are asked about is Leonard Cohen, whose ties to our congregation run generations deep. Over the past few years, there have been several very interesting projects which draw upon the Shaar Hashomayim’s archives.
In this first edition of a new series called “Ask the Archivist”, with Shaar Archivist Hannah Srour-Zackon, we will be featuring the kinds of questions we receive and how people use our collections. This time we are showcasing:
How are our collections used for Leonard Cohen-related research?
Little People, Big Dreams: Leonard Cohen (2024)
In 2023, I was contacted by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books (an imprint of Quarto Books) to consult on an upcoming book on Leonard Cohen as part of their bestselling Little People, Big Dreams series. They asked many detailed questions about our synagogue and I was impressed by their care to ensure accurate depiction of Leonard Cohen’s childhood and Jewish upbringing within the Shaar. I shared with them archival photographs from our collections for reference as well as historical details.
The book, published in 2024 in both English and French, is beautiful. The attention to detail emerges in such things as a young Leonard Cohen’s ripped tie while sitting shiva for his father – a nod to the Jewish custom to wear torn clothing (kriyah) during the period of mourning.
They have also captured the Shaar’s typical dress for a Shabbat service from this era among other things. One detail I especially like is their drawing of a rabbi speaking from the lectern in the sanctuary a as a young Leonard sits during services. The rabbi in question is a rendering of then-Shaar rabbi, Rabbi Dr. Herman Abramowitz (pictured below), illustrated based on the Shaar’s photograph collection.
This was a fascinating project to have been involved with – as an expression of gratitude. The Shaar’s archivist is thanked in the acknowledgments on the copyright page: “Grateful thanks to Hannah Srour-Zackon for her consultation”.
So Long, Marianne (2024)
In the summer of 2023, the limited series So Long, Marianne, about the relationship between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, was filming in Montreal, starring Alex Wolff as Leonard Cohen. The production team reached out to us with a unique request: to give a tour of the Shaar to Alex Wolff and show him some Leonard Cohen-related materials in our collections to gain a sense of his childhood in our community. Hannah Srour-Zackon, Claire Berger, and Carole Rocklin provided the tour to Alex Wolff—who came completely in character as Leonard Cohen. We showed him “his” graduation picture, the bulletin from “his” bar mitzvah as well as mentions of “him” in other bulletins, and some of the prayer books belonging to grandfather Lyon Cohen.
Later, we were invited to the set to watch a scene being filmed on the McGill University campus, and even sat in the audience as extras. So Long, Marianne premiered in 2024 and is available to watch on Crave in Canada.
“A Tale of Two Cohens: Purim in Montreal”
In 2022, after a chance interaction on X (formerly Twitter), Hannah Srour-Zackon was invited to write a Purim-themed article for the Jewish Review of Books using materials in our archives. The final piece was published on the online edition in March and is built around materials in our archives relating to a Purim spiel performance a young Leonard Cohen was a part of in 1947, and an earlier Purim spiel which his grandfather Lyon Cohen wrote and and in which he starred in 1885.
If you are unable to access the article and would still like to read it, please contact Hannah Srour-Zackon.
Do you have your own Leonard Cohen-related research questions? Get in touch with us at hsz@theshaar.org or museum@theshaar.org
In September 2023, prominent Canadian Jewish artist Yehouda Chaki z”l passed away at the age of 84. Among the many wonderful contributions to art in Canada, Chaki, a long-time member of our own Shaar community, was behind the design of the two beautiful tapestries sewn by the Sisterhood, depicting scenes from Bereshit, which hang in our building. This week, as we begin another Torah reading cycle on Simchat Torah, we pay tribute to Yehouda Chaki and the two tapestries.
In The Beginning
The first Chaki-designed tapestry, “In The Beginning”, was unveiled by the Sisterhood in 1982 and took two and a half years to complete. In the fall of that year, at the reception preceding the Slichot services, the Sisterhood sponsored a vernissage of the tapestry as part of the Westmount Arts Festival. This was the first public viewing of the tapestry, and was attended by guests and officials of the City of Westmount, along with Sisterhood members who made squares in the tapestry and Yehouda Chaki himself
Let There Be Light
In 1992, in time for the Congregation’s 145th anniversary, the Sisterhood unveiled its second needlepoint tapestry designed by Yehouda Chaki titled, “Let There Be Light”. This was another great undertaking by members of the Sisterhood who each completed squares of the tapestry. The Committee for this project was chaired by Mildred B. Lande, C.M., and Carol Koffler.
Further reading on Yehouda Chaki
Brownstein: Chaki was one of Canada’s most prominent and prolific artists
Obituary: Yehouda Chaki, 84, expressed both joy and pain in his vibrant paintings
With Remembrance Day around the corner, this week we pay tribute to a member of our community- Rabbi Dr. Samuel Cass z”l (1908-1975)—who served as army chaplain to Canadian Jews in World War II and was for many years the Rabbi of the community hall service at the Shaar.
Born in Toronto, Rabbi Cass gradated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1933 after which he served congregations in Vancouver and Seattle before World War II. He would also occasionally substitute for Rabbi Herman Abramowitz at the Shaar during the latter’s summer vacation. His relationship to the Shaar was cemented when he married Annabel Goldfine who was also of the synagogue’s community.
In 1942, Rabbi Cass along with Rabbi Gershon Levi (a past educational director of the Shaar) were named as the two full-time Senior Jewish Chaplain to the Canadian Armed Forces, with Rabbi Cass stationed at home. Later, in 1944, Rabbis Cass and Levi swapped positions, and Rabbi Cass was sent overseas. Among his many services to Jewish soldiers, he oversaw religious services and holiday celebrations. In 1944, he organized a Chanukah party in Antwerp for soldiers as well as for 250 local children.
In March of 1945, he held a service in Kleve, Germany outside the Reichswald Forest – which in February of that year had been the site of the Battle of the Reichswald fought by Canadian and British forces (allied victory). Following this Battle, it became the site of the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany.
Rabbi Cass’ service was to make its mark beyond his chaplaincy services to Canadian soldiers – in that same year, he was the first Jewish chaplain to enter concentrations camps which were liberated by the Canadian Army and played an instrumental role in rehabilitating the survivors, and in helping Belgium and Dutch Jewry.
After the War, he was honourably discharged with the rank of Major and would then go on to work for many years as the Director of Hillel before his tragic death in 1975.
Further Reading: Rabbi Herman Abramowitz and Jewish Chaplaincy Services During World War II; Rabbi Dr. Samuel Cass, Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery
“Yom Kippur will never be the same again,” begins a message written by Rabbi Wilfred Shuchat in 1973. This year we mark the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, one of the greatest threats to the State of Israel since its independence in 1948. There to bear witness to the conflict was none other than Rabbi Shuchat, who wrote back messages to the Congregation as it unfolded (full letters at the end).
Rabbi Shuchat was honoured with a sabbatical soon after celebrating 25 years with Shaar Hashomayim and went with his family to spend the year (from July 1973 through the summer of 1974) in Jerusalem. Though Rabbi Shuchat returned to Montreal for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, he went back to an Israel embroiled in war.
The words Rabbi Shuchat wrote in his messages to the Congregation as the Yom Kippur War progressed deeply reflect the severity of the situation, while also foreseeing its lasting impact and significance. “For the past two weeks I have been living in the very center of those dramatic events that will determine Jewish history for the future and will certainly have a momentous effect upon the course of the world.”
Writing on October 23rd, 1973, just two days before it officially came to an end, Rabbi Shuchat offered three conclusions to be drawn from the War as Israel, the Jewish Diaspora, and the world moves forward, the third of which is a resounding and heartfelt declaration of the bond between Israel and the Diaspora as one Jewish people.
READ: A message from Rabbi Shuchat, War Letter from Israel
This Fall will mark 75 years since the Rabbi Herman Abramowitz Building (Educational Annex) was formally dedicated. As we gear up for back-to-school we’re looking back on the day the school building was officially opened.
The educational centre was a longtime the goal of Rabbi Herman Abramowitz, who was a strong advocate for Jewish education. In the years leading up to it’s opening, the Shaar’s Westmount building (which had been built just 26 years prior) was already bursting at the seams and the need for additional space for the synagogue’s educational activities was abundantly clear. While World War II did delay progress, by the time the Shaar’s centennial year in 1946-7 the necessary funds were secured.
On October 31, 1948, the building officially opened following a beautiful dedication ceremony during which then Shaar President Moses J. Heillig was presented with a commemorative silver trowel.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Abramowitz would not live see the building’s completion as he passed away after a long illness in October 1947. However, his legacy of dedication to Jewish education as the building was dedicated in his name.
Read the programme from the dedication service
It’s been a very interesting week for us at the Shaar Archives and Museum! On Monday, we were visited by Simcha Shtull, who is in Montreal filming a documentary about the stained-glass windows of the old Shomrim Laboker synagogue building on St. Dominque, one of which is in the Shaar’s Museum collection. For the documentary, our archivist Hannah Srour-Zackon was interviewed about the window, the history of the Shaar, and the importance of preserving Jewish history.
The Shtull family purchased the Shomrim Laboker building in the 1950s (when the synagogue moved to Plamondon and Westbury) and used it for their egg and butter distribution business. When the business closed, the stained-glass windows all ended up in different places. For the documentary, Simcha Shtull is tracing the journey of each of the windows. We are so excited to be a part of this story and look forward to seeing the documentary when it’s finished!
As we approach the end of June, students of all ages are celebrating graduations from elementary schools, high schools, CEGEPs, and universities. Throughout the years the Shaar has hosted various ceremonies of this kind and I will highlight a few of them in this post.
This picture shows, from left to right, Rabbi Wilfred Shuchat; Rabbi Dr. Louis Finkelstein, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary; and Nahum Gelber, honorary past president of the synagogue. It was taken at the JTS convocation that the Shaar hosted on April 23, 1972, as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the congregation. At this ceremony, His Excellency the Right Honourable Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada, received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the JTS chancellor. It also featured Saidye Bronfman and Hon. Lazarus Phillips becoming fellows of the JTS Society of Fellows. Over a thousand people attended this ceremony, as can be seen in the picture above.
The above picture is a program from the dedication service of the Rabbi Herman Abramowitz Building which functioned as an Educational Annex. It now houses Akiva School but used to be a Sunday and afternoon Hebrew school administered by the Shaar. The congregation decided to build this annex, which was dedicated in 1948, to expand the size and increase the quality of the synagogue’s educational space.
These pictures are of the graduating classes of the Hebrew school from 1931 and 1960 (donated recently by Ron Vineberg), respectively. The graduates would have been around fifteen and had the option to continue attending classes at the Shaar during their high school years. You can find lots more of these graduation pictures up along the walls in the synagogue building today.
The above image is the diploma of Ronald Vineberg, a former student at the Hebrew school and lifelong member of the congregation. This is one of many documents kindly donated by Ron Vineberg to the synagogue’s archives which are helping to fill gaps in our collection.
Here we can see an image from a Hebrew school graduation ceremony from sometime in the early twentieth century.
It’s wedding season! As we get ready to celebrate the rush of weddings this summer, let’s look back at some Shaar wedding celebrations from the past century.
The congregation dedicated its current sanctuary in 1922 after leaving its second building on McGill College Avenue. The above images show the sanctuary decorated for a wedding in the 1920s, making it one of the first weddings held in this building.
In 1953, in an effort to increase recently married young women’s involvement in the congregation, the president of the Women’s Auxiliary instituted annual bridal teas. All the brides married that year would gather to meet the women of the Auxiliary and the inner family of the synagogue. This image shows a bridal tea hosted by Saidye Bronfman in 1954. The initiative was successful, resulting in many young women joining the Auxiliary.
This invitation and souvenir program are from the golden wedding anniversary of involved members of the congregation Harris Kellert and Esther Matts. Married in 1867, they held their 50th anniversary at the Montefiore Club in 1917. The event was chaired by Michael Hirsch, who was a prominent philanthropist, lifelong Shaar member, and one of the founders of the Montefiore Club. It also included toasts by Rabbi Dr. Herman Abramowitz, Lyon Cohen, and family members and friends of the couple.
These three benchers celebrate Shaar couples in different ways. The one on the far left is from the wedding of Connie and Charles Solomon. The one on the far right is from the golden anniversary of Lillie and Moe Heillig, also lifelong active members of the congregation. The one in the middle is from the wedding of Miriam Sochet and Rabbi Wilfred Shuchat, the Shaar’s rabbi from 1946 to 1993. You’ll notice that Rabbi Shuchat’s first name was misprinted on his own wedding bencher! As pictured beside these, the couple signed the inside of the bencher with their real names, Will and Miriam.
On Shavuot, we celebrate the receiving of the Torah – the Book of Books, the source of the Jewish People’s designation as the ‘People of the Book’. It is fitting, then, that the Shaar has a wonderful collection of rare books in our collection. Among them is one particularly fascinating book: A handwritten manuscript book of haftarot produced in Yemen in the early 19th C.
The first page of the manuscript book.
Little is known about this fascinating volume – we don’t know anything about its scribe nor what year it entered the collection. The hand of the scribe, with its occasional unevenness and ink smudges, suggests a true human quality to each production. Each haftarah begins with an embellished title, indicating a new section. Note also that each page ends with the word to look for on the following page. The following pages show the haftarot we will read on Shavuot.
Shavuot haftarah, page 1
Shavuot haftarah, page 2
Shavuot haftarah, page 3. The haftarah for the second day of Shavuot begins midway down the page on the right.
Shauvot haftarah, page 4
The Shaar Hashomayim Archives & Museum is delighted to share—just in time for Canadian Jewish Heritage Month—that we have been chosen as a recipient of an investment from Digital Museums Canada (administered by the Canadian Museum of History) to develop an online exhibit celebrating 100 years of the Shaar in Westmount. Among the many exciting aspects of this project include that it will be bilingual, increase our outreach in the digital sphere, and will boost the profile of our synagogue’s long & fascinating history as the virtual exhibit will be hosted on the “Community Stories” platform run by Digital Museums Canada. You can read the official news release here and read more about the Community Stories platform here.
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC) investment program helps build digital capacity in Canadian museums and heritage, cultural and Indigenous organizations, and gives people living in Canada unique access to diverse stories and experiences. DMC is managed by the Canadian Museum of History, with the financial support of the Government of Canada.
