Part 7: Youth and Education in the Spotlight

The opening of the synagogue’s Educational Annex was indicative of a growing trend—the Congregation’s youth were coming into focus. Enrolment in the synagogue’s Hebrew and religious schools, as well as its daycare, reached record numbers. In 1958, Hebrew school registration reached 672 pupils.

A black-and-white photograph of a group of children in a classroom celebrating Chanukah.

A class picture from the Shaar’s Foundation School (nursery school) during Chanukah in the 1950s.

Yearly celebrations of Hanukkah and Purim brought together hundreds of children each year. Students put on an annual Purim play (or Purimspiel), which parodied a different popular musical of the day by adapting it to the story in the Book of Esther.

A black-and-white photograph of a group of children in costume for a play.

The cast picture for the 1940 Purim Spiel “A Merry Happy Purim”.

The schools, however, merely went up to ages 13–14. In response to a demand for activities for older teenagers, in the late 1940s, the synagogue introduced a Jewish Training Fellowship program, designed by the Jewish Theological Seminary.

A black-and-white photograph of a group of adolescents dressed in formal attire, standing in front of a building for a school graduation.

Shaar Hashomayim Hebrew Religious School Graduation, 1960.

Junior Congregation

Junior Congregation, which was established in 1928–9, was also experiencing record engagement. The program provided opportunities for the youth to become leaders in their own right. Among their many activities, they organized their own weekly Shabbat services, at which each participant would take part in running a different section. Junior Congregation was particularly in the spotlight at milestone occasions marked by the synagogue in the 1960s, such as the dedication of the newly-built chapel in 1968.

Listen to highlights from the dedication of the chapel service.

1968 Dedication of the Chapel, Junior Congregation. Enjoy this video with an English transcript.

A growing place for girls

Programme cover for a bat mitzvah ceremony in 1961.

The programme for the first B’not Mitzvah (group Bat Mitzvah) ceremony held at the Shaar in 1961.

Meanwhile, there was another growing demand: more roles for girls in the synagogue. While boys have been marking their bar mitzvahs at the Shaar since its early years, no equivalent existed for girls. In response to this demand, the Shaar was among the first synagogues in Montreal to introduce a bat mitzvah service to initiate Jewish girls into adulthood, which was accompanied by a six-month long educational program.

The first bat mitzvah ceremony was held in December 1961 during Hanukkah for a group of 22 girls, who led a candle-lighting service.

A group of adolescent girls in white graduation robes posing with teachers behind them.

The B’not Mitzvah group of 1965. The group bat mitzvah ceremony was introduced at the Shaar just 4 years prior.

Part 6: The Post-War Boom Part 8: 1967, A Monumental Year