[Jewish
agricultural settlements since 1882]
<Farming.
Jewish farm settlement in Canada began in the first half of
the 1890s after an abortive start in Moosomin, Saskatchewan
in 1882. The *Baron de Hirsch Fund, at first through the
Young Men's Hebrew Benevolent Society of (col. 106)
Montreal and after 1907 through the *Jewish Colonization
Association (ICA) of Canada, set up two colonies directly,
Hirsch and Lipton, both in Saskatchewan. Other settlements
that grew up were Oxbow, Wapella, Edenbridge, and Sonnenfeld
in Saskatchewan; Rumsey and Montefiore in Alberta; and New
<Hirsch and Narcisse in Manitoba. All organized Jewish
farm settlements, whether founded by the Baron de Hirsch or
separately, received some form of aid from ICA.
[[The discrimination, expulsion and the extermination of the
natives is never mentioned in the Encyclopaedia Judaica]].
By 1931 there were 780 Jewish farmers in Western Canada
cultivating 100,000 acres. However, the conditions of the
1930s and the disastrous droughts caused a decline in these
farms. After World War II, the ICA helped numerous Jewish
farmers settle in the Niagara area of Ontario.
Religious Life.
The majority of the synagogues that date back to the 1880s
are now Conservative in affiliation and rite. In the 1960s
there were 22 Conservative synagogues in Canada. The United
Synagogue of America and the Jewish Theological Seminary
have branch offices in Canada and there is an association of
Conservative rabbis of Canada associated with the Rabbinical
Assembly of America.
The growth of the Reform movement in Canada was slow. Until
1953 there were three Reform Temples, in Montreal, Toronto,
and Hamilton. More rapid development then took place and by
1970 there were 13 Reform synagogues and fellowships in
Canada. The Canadian Council of Reform Congregations is
affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) has a branch
association Canada but the Orthodox congregational
association (UOJC) is not as closely organized as the other
two synagogue groups.
The number of Orthodox synagogues is estimated at 175, many
of which are not affiliated with the Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations. Synagogue growth increased
considerably in the period after World War II, and
synagogues are centers of adult education as well as
worship.
[Rabbis]
English-speaking rabbis were the exception rather than the
rule in Canada before World War II. A number of yeshivot
[[religious Torah schools]] have been organized in Toronto
and particularly in Montreal, which train rabbis an
teachers. Though in the 19th century some congregations
looked to Great Britain for their spiritual leaders, there
is now no active link of Canadian synagogues with the
British chief rabbinate or its institutions.
In 1958 to 1960 a committee of the *Canadian Jewish Congress
headed by a Reform layman (Sidney M. Harris) and an Orthodox
rabbi (S.M. Zambrowski) devoted itself to the problem of
humane animal slaughter. Though (col. 107)
shehitah [[ritual
slaughtering]] was generally acknowledged as humane, the
preliminary shackling and hoisting (not integrally part of
the shehitah) was
questioned. A restraint apparatus devised by a packing
company was found acceptable to humane authorities, and the
rabbinate and federal legislation, finally enacted in 1960,
specified shehitah
as one of the recognized humane methods.
Jewish Education.
All organized Jewish communities in Canada provide Jewish
education for the young. The trend in Canada is toward the
synagogue school, but in the larger and some middle-sized
communities the separately sponsored educational
institution, such as yeshivot and Hebrew and Yiddish day
schools, still prevails. Jewish day schools had their major
development after 1945, although in Montreal and Western
Canada they existed much earlier. The first Yiddish day
school in North America opened in Winnipeg in 1920.
Jewish day schools are found not only in the largest
communities but in the smaller ones with three to six
thousand Jews, such as *Ottawa, *Windsor, *Hamilton,
*Calgary, and *Edmonton. The highest proportionate
attendance is in Edmonton, where of all the children
receiving Jewish education, 84 per cent are enrolled in the
day school. A contributing factor in Montreal may be the
fact that Quebec education has historically been parochial
or on a denominational basis. However, Jewish day schools
have long existed and expanded in parts of Canada where the
public school prevails. A 1965 survey indicates that the
total number of children receiving an organized Jewish
education was 23,894 in a total of 135 schools, not counting
the four Atlantic provinces. See also *Education (Canada).
Major Community
Organizations.
During World War I agitation grew for an all-Canadian Jewish
representative body to speak for the entire Jewish community
mainly on the future of European Jewry and Palestine. There
was some initial opposition from the Zionist Organization of
Canada and the older, established Montreal community
leadership. However, these elements were reconciled, and in
March 1919 the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) assembled in
Montreal representing all sectors in the community except
the Reform element, which joined in 1933. The National
Council of Jewish Women, established in Canada in 1897, has
sections in 12 cities and about 6,000 members.
[B'nai B'rith lodge -
lodges and chapters since 1945]
The first *B'nai B'rith lodge in Canada was chartered in
Toronto in 1875, disbanded in 1894, and rechartered in 1919.
The number of lodges and chapters grew rapidly after World
War II, especially in Montreal and Toronto. In 1964 the
Eastern Canadian Council, which was part of District I of
B'nai B'rith, became District 22, an autonomous Canadian
district comprising eastern Canada. It has approximately 150
men's lodges and women's chapters and a membership of about
17,000. The lodges in western Canada are affiliated with the
geographically contiguous districts in the United States,
although they have regional councils in Canada.> (col.
108)
[[The discrimination, expulsion and the extermination of the
natives is never mentioned in the Encyclopaedia Judaica]].
^
