Part 11: The Sesquicentennial
1995 marked a milestone for Congregation Shaar Hashomayim: the 150th year since its founding in 1846. In honour of its sesquicentennial, the Congregation formed a special committee, chaired by Myer Deitcher and Milly Lande, to organize a year of celebratory events.
Presentation of Torah Covers
The first such event took place in September 1995. At a special Havdalah and Seliḥot service, a group of fourteen women and one man presented twelve needlepoint Torah covers for the scrolls housed in the newly-refurbished chapel. The covers depict major holidays throughout the Jewish calendar.
6 of the 12 needlepoint Torah covers, presentation ceremony.
Further 6 of the 12 needlepoint Torah covers, presentation ceremony.
Coat of Arms
Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, Coat of Arms.
The next event to mark the 150th was held one month later. On September 25, 1995, the Shaar became the third synagogue in the world to be granted a coat of arms, which was officially presented to the Congregation on October 18.
The ceremony was attended by then-Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, Chief Herald of Canda Robert D. Watt (who developed the original concept for the coat of arms), along with many other distinguished guests. Towards the ceremony’s conclusion, the Congregation presented a gift to the Governor General: an original musical setting composed by Stephen Glass for a prayer for Canada.
Watch excerpts from the ceremony.
Enjoy this video with an English transcript.
A full explanation of the coat of arms is available on the website of the Governor General of Canada.
November Gala Concert
Shaar Hashomayim Anniversary Concert, 1995.
Stephen Glass receives a special certificate of appreciation in honour of his work, anniversary concert.
On November 19, 1995, one of the most ambitious events in the sesquicentennial year was held: the Shaar Hashomayim Anniversary Concert. Under the directorship of Stephen Glass, the concert included a 65-piece professional orchestra, alongside the Choral Society (63 people) and the Children’s Chorus (42 children), each made up of members of the Montreal Jewish community. Most of the music was commissioned specifically for the occasion, including a cantata composed by Glass entitled The Gate of Heaven, which tells the story of the Congregation.
Publication of The Gate of Heaven
The front cover of “The Gate of Heaven” By Rabbi Wilfred Shuchat.
For many decades, the synagogue’s board had long expressed the desire for a book on the history of the synagogue to be written. Finally, in honour of the synagogue’s 150th, Rabbi Shuchat stepped up to the task and wrote the most definitive and detailed history of the Shaar that exists to date: The Gate of Heaven: The Story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim of Montreal, 1846–1996. A true labour of love, the book was published just a few years after the sesquicentennial in 2000.