Shaar Shalom Synagogue

The Shaar Shalom Synagogue (inscribed on the corner of its building עדת שער שלום, Adas Shaar Shalom) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a Conservative Jewish synagogue founded in 1953 by several families who left the Baron de Hirsch Synagogue, also of Halifax, seeking a community that would permit "family seating" (also known as mixed seating--the opportunity for men and women to sit together) and an egalitarian ideology that would permit women's political and ritual leadership.

The community employed Rabbi David J. Jacobs, an enthusiast of modern Jewish art, from 1953 until 1957. Many of the art pieces decorating the synagogue were procured during Jacobs' tenure; it was during this time that the building that currently stands at the corner of Oxford St. and Pepperell St. was dedicated (on October 31, 1955). Public documentation for the timeline of the religious community's employed spiritual leadership has not yet been made fully available; the Shaar community's history long operated under lay leadership. Public records do not note whether professional clergymen were employed between 1957 and 1961, but a classified ad from The Jewish Post, dated March 24, 1961, reads:

RABBI WANTED—Shaar Shalom of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a member of the United Synagogues of America and the Conservative Movement, requires a rabbi-teacher immediately; applicant must have liberal views and be able to furnish excellent references; essential rabbi to teach Talmud Torah and to have basic synagogue skills in reading Torah, etc.; salary commensurate with ability. Send replies air mail, together with photo to Mr. Peter Herschorn, President of Shaar Shalom Congregation, 404 Barrington St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

It is possible that the call was answered by Rabbi Emmanuel S. Goldsmith, who served as the community's rabbi from 1962 until 1964. Rabbinic leadership remains publicly undocumented for 1965 and 1966, but Frank Zebberman is referenced as a rabbi in an article that highlights the changing social status of synagogue attendance in the late 60s:

R. J. Anderson, Canadian Press Staff Writer, “Some Call It Synagogue, Some Call It Shule” December 16, 1967, The Brandon Sun

Halifax, with two synagogues, gave a mixed report. Rabbi Frank Zebberman of Shaar Shalom Synagogue, conservative, said attendance definitely is off, perhaps by 30 per cent in the last three years. Shaar Shalom has 110 member families.

Rabbi Zebberman said that even Jewish leaders in the community were not taking as much interest in the synagogue as formerly—everyone was too busy, too involved with his own work and problems. Young people had lost interest.

Despite the reporting, Zebberman, most likely, was not a rabbi; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Zebberman himself were listed in 1955 among the founding members of the synagogue.|date=October 31, 1955 |location=Halifax, NS |archiveurl=https://theshaar.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Shaar-Shalom-Congregation-Dedication-Service-October-31-1955-.pdf |archivedate=January 2018}}</ref> Nonetheless, Mr. Zebberman seems to have been a ritual point-person as Zebberman also was titled "Pres. Chevra Kadisha"--the Chevra Kadisha being the burial society that attends to the physical and spiritual needs of bodies of the deceased in Jewish communities.|date=October 31, 1955 |location=Halifax, NS |archiveurl=https://theshaar.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Shaar-Shalom-Congregation-Dedication-Service-October-31-1955-.pdf |archivedate=January 2018}}</ref>

No public mention of spiritual leadership can be found for the year 1968, but one "Dr. Max Wallach, rabbi" (not capitalized) is enumerated as having given "the invocation" at a ceremony coinciding with the beginning of 1969 to mark the growth of the city of Halifax.

No public records attest to the history of the Shaar Shalom's spiritual leadership until 1975, when one Mr. Jeffrey C. Fine of Sherwood, Prince Edward Island, wrote in a letter of gratitude, addressed to Mr. Max Foreman (who was at the time the President of Shaar Shalom) and sent to the Haligonian synagogue thanking for the Nova Scotian community's supporting the PEI community's gathering for High Holiday services--as published in the Atlantic Jewish Council's Shalom magazine:

We would… like to thank you personally, Rabbi Heim, the members of the Religious Affairs Committee, and the Board as a whole for enabling us to commence the year with first Jewish service ever held in Prince Edward Island… May I close by thanking yourself, Rabbi Heim, the Board and the members for your encouragement and assistance. Your “mitzva” provided the opportunity for several Jewish families to discover, renew and reinforce their links with Judaism and Israel.

Halifax city minutes note that Rabbi Heim still served as the rabbi of the Shaar Shalom in 1976, but, by 1977, a change in spiritual leadership may have have taken place. Amidst the sparsity or absence of public records confirming Heim's continuity, Susan J. Landau-Chark makes note of:

a rather glaring error in the 1977 edition of the ‘’Jewish Year Book’’. This edition lists Rabbi Marvin Pritzker, trained at the Orthodox Yeshiva University, as the rabbi that year for the Conservative Halifax congregation Sha’ar Shalom, rather than the Orthodox Beth Israel where he was the rabbi.

In a dearth of evidence for rabbinic leadership between then and 1982, ritual guidance remained present in community as members recall Dr. Irving Perlin's leadership as a lay hazzan and mohel, presiding over not only weekly sabbath liturgies but also ceremonial circumcisions (and Perlin, a medical professional renown for his delivery of thousands of babies in Nova Scotia, typically performed the ritual surgeries himself).

In 1983, Jacob Chinitz stepped into the role of rabbi of the community; Chinitz held this position until 1995, the year during which Rabbi Pamela Hoffman began to visit the Shaar community part-time. Eventually becoming a full-time employee of the Shaar, Hoffman stayed in her position until 1998, after which the Shaar Shalom community hired one Rabbi Dr. Michael Goldberg, the author of Why Should Jews Survive?: Looking Past the Holocaust Toward a Jewish Future (Oxford University Press, 1995). Goldberg stayed employed by the community for approximately 9 months until his position was ended for reasons that are not publicly documented. In 2001, a Quebec-raised student named Ari Isenberg-Grzeda began to visit the Shaar Shalom for select occasions to serve in a cantorial capacity. With the exception of the stretch of one year during which Isenberg-Grzeda's studies brought the rabbinical student to Israel (and Catharine Clark and Joshua Rabin--rabbinical students at the time--filled in for Isenberg-Grzeda), the young Quebec student continued to serve the Haligonian community part-time through 2013--until the completion of Isenberg's rabbinic education. Upon earning his rabbinic ordination, Isenberg worked full-time in the Shaar Shalom through February 2015.

Between 2015 and 2016, Rabbi Irit Printz visited the Shaar Shalom Synagogue regularly from Ontario, and, in 2016, Rabbi Dr. Raysh Weiss was hired to serve as the Shaar's full-time senior rabbi. Her spouse, Rabbi Jonah Rank, was also employed to serve the Shaar community in a part-time educational position ("Maskil ['Teacher-of-Tradition']").

Among communal services regularly provided by the Shaar Shalom Synagogue now are an annual food drive to collect food for the homeless, an annual Chanukkah fair, a biennial yard-sale, regular Shabbat worship services, a book club, a library of Jewish books, Jewish adult education classes, and more.