The Gate of Heaven: The Story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, 1846-1996

Wilfred Shuchat

ISBN 10: 0773520899 / ISBN 13: 9780773520899

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, 2000

About this Item

Leonard Cohen's synagogue. Book and dust jacket in near fine condition.

Seller Inventory # 504768

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Gate of Heaven: The Story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, 1846-1996
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0773520899
• ISBN 13: 9780773520899
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis

Rabbi Shuchat tells of the emergence of Shaar Hashomayim as a congregation separate from the Spanish and Portuguese fold, the generation-long tension between the two congregations, and the rebellion that produced the Temple Emanuel. He describes the role of the Canadian government in the ups and downs of Jewish immigration and details the effects of world-wide anti-Semitism on the local community, as well as the struggle for Jewish educational rights that ultimately produced a real public school system in the province of Quebec. The student protest that almost paralysed the Passover festival and the day school crisis that almost split the congregation are recounted in detail, and the Pavilion of Judaism at Expo '67 is described. Weaving together individual stories and the history of the Shaar, Rabbi Shuchat demonstrates how the turbulence of the nineteenth century produced a twentieth-century Shaar and Montreal Jewish community that are second to none in tolerance and creativity.

About the Author

Shuchat occupied pulpits in Albany and Buffalo before coming to Shaar Hashomayim in 1946. He retired in 1993 and lives in Montreal.