First Narayever Congregation

Last updated
First Narayever Congregation
Religion
Affiliation Judaism
LeadershipRabbi Ed Elkin
StatusActive
Location
Location187 Brunswick Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Geographic coordinates 43°39′46″N79°24′21″W / 43.66288°N 79.40590°W / 43.66288; -79.40590
Architecture
Architect(s) Benjamin Swartz
Website
narayever.ca

First Narayever Congregation is a traditional-egalitarian synagogue located at 187 Brunswick Avenue, in the Harbord Village neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest Jewish congregation in downtown Toronto. It was founded by the Jewish immigrants from Narayiv, western Ukraine, hence the Yiddish name "Narayever".

Founded by 1914 as an Orthodox synagogue by Galician immigrants to Toronto, it was a landsmanshaft , an association whose members had immigrated from the same town, in this case, the town of Naraiev. 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' Lodge. [1]

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 , 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. [1]

Narayever today follows traditional halakha except in making no distinction on the basis of gender. The Lev Shalem siddur forms the basis of the liturgy. [2] In 2009, the congregation voted to endorse the celebration of same-sex marriages. [3]

Ed Elkin has been the congregation's rabbi since 2000. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Blossom Temple</span> Reform synagogue in Toronto, Ontario

The Holy Blossom Temple is a Reform synagogue located at 1950 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Toronto. Founded in 1856, it has more than 7,000 members. W. Gunther Plaut, who died on 8 February 2012 at the age of 99, was a long time Senior Rabbi for this synagogue. Notable members and supporters include Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz who made donations to create the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adath Israel Congregation (Toronto)</span> Conservative synagogue in Toronto, Ontario

Adath Israel Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located at 37 Southbourne Avenue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest Conservative Synagogues in Canada, with approximately 1,600 member families. Like the majority of Conservative synagogues in the Toronto area, and in contrast to most American Conservative synagogues, has not adopted egalitarianism. In 2008, the congregation seceded from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and affiliated with the Canadian Council of Conservative Synagogues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiever Synagogue</span>

The First Russian Congregation of Rodfei Sholem Anshei Kiev, known as the Kiever Synagogue or Kiever Shul, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by Jewish immigrants from Ukraine in 1912, and formally incorporated in 1914. The congregants were poor working-people, and services were led by members and held in their homes. Two houses were eventually purchased in the Kensington Market area, and in their place construction was completed on the current twin-domed Byzantine Revival building in 1927. The building was once the site of George Taylor Denison's home Bellevue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breed Street Shul</span> United States historic place

Breed Street Shul, also known as Congregation Talmud Torah of Los Angeles or Breed Street Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. It was the largest Orthodox synagogue west of Chicago from 1915 to 1951, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, Wisconsin, a suburb north of Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Malden, Massachusetts)</span> Orthodox synagogue

Congregation Beth Israel "House of Israel" is an Orthodox synagogue located at 10 Dexter Street in Malden, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1904 by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.

Congregation Beth Israel is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 989 West 28th Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1925, but did not formally incorporate until 1932. Its first rabbi was Ben Zion Bokser, hired that year. He was succeeded the following year by Samuel Cass (1933–1941). Other rabbis included David Kogen (1946–1955), Bert Woythaler (1956–1963), and Wilfred Solomon, who served for decades starting in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona)</span> Jewish congregation in Scottsdale, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formally incorporated in 1920, it affiliated with the Reform Judaism in 1935.

Beth Israel Synagogue is a synagogue located at 50 North 6th Street in Hamilton, Ohio. It was founded in 1901 as an Orthodox alternative to Hamilton's existing Reform synagogue, and completed its current building in 1931. It moved to the Conservative movement, and became egalitarian in the 1980s. Eric R. Slaton became rabbi in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Asheville, North Carolina)</span>

Congregation Beth Israel is an independent, traditional egalitarian Jewish congregation, located at 229 Murdock Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 1899 as Bikur Cholim, it was an Orthodox breakaway from Asheville's existing synagogue. It hired its first full-time rabbi in 1909, opened a religious school in 1911, and acquired its first building, which burnt down in 1916, in 1913.

The history of the Jews in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada has been noted since the mid-19th century.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) affirming denominations in Judaism are Jewish religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include both entire Jewish denominations, as well as individual synagogues. Some are composed mainly of non-LGBT members and also have specific programs to welcome LGBT people, while others are composed mainly of LGBT members.

Toronto's Jewish community is the most populous and one of the oldest in the country, forming a significant part of the history of the Jews in Canada. It numbered about 240,000 in the 2001 census, having overtaken Montreal in the 1970s. As of 2011, the Greater Toronto Area is home to 188,710 Jews. The community in Toronto is composed of many different Jewish ethnic divisions, reflecting waves of immigration which started in the early 19th century. Canada's largest city is a centre of Jewish Canadian culture, and Toronto's Jews have played an important role in the development of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Meridian, Mississippi)</span> Reform Jewish congregation in Mississippi, US

Congregation Beth Israel in Meridian, Mississippi, is a Reform Jewish congregation founded in 1868 and a member of the Union for Reform Judaism. The congregation's first permanent house of worship was a Middle Eastern-style building constructed in 1879. The congregation moved to another building built in the Greek Revival style in 1906, and in 1964 moved to a more modern building, out of which they still operate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Har Sinai Congregation</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Maryland, US

Har Sinai Congregation is a Reform Jewish synagogue located in Owings Mills, Maryland. Originally established in 1842 in Baltimore, it is the oldest congregation in the United States that has used a Reform prayer rite since its inception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Knesseth Israel (Toronto)</span> Orthodox Jewish congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Congregation Knesseth Israel, also known as the Junction Shul, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its synagogue building is the oldest surviving in Toronto that is still in use, and was designated an Ontario Heritage site in 1984 under the Ontario Heritage Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anshei Minsk</span>

Anshei Minsk is a synagogue in the Kensington Market neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1912 by poor Jewish immigrants from what is now Belarus, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. The current Byzantine Revival building was completed in 1930.

Shaarei Tzedec Congregation is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 397 Markham Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Beach Hebrew Institute is a synagogue in The Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1919 as an Orthodox Jewish congregation, the members purchased their current building—a former church—in 1920, and renovated it in 1926.

Beth Tzedec Congregation is a Conservative synagogue on Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1955 with the amalgamation of the Goel Tzedec and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Chevra Tehillim congregations, established respectively in 1883 and 1887. The synagogue has some 2,600 member units, representing over 4,400 members.

References

  1. 1 2 History Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine , First Narayever Congregation website. Accessed July 17, 2011.
  2. Services at the Narayever Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine , First Narayever Congregation website. Accessed July 17, 2011.
  3. Frances Kraft, "Toronto shul votes in favour of same-sex marriage", Canadian Jewish News , June 25, 2009.
  4. Rabbi Ed Elkin Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine , First Narayever Congregation website. Accessed July 17, 2011.