Adath Israel Congregation (Toronto)

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 1,800 member families.

Adath Israel Congregation
Adath Israel Congregation
Religion
AffiliationConservative Judaism
LeadershipRabbi Adam Cutler
Rabbi David Seed
Cantor Alex Stein
StatusActive
Location
Location37 Southbourne Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M3H 1A4
Architecture
Completed1957
Website
adathisrael.com

History

Adath Israel was founded in 1903 by Jewish immigrants from Romania as the First Roumanian Hebrew Congregation Adath Israel. Known as the "Roumainshe Shul", the synagogue started when new immigrants from Roumania gathered together in a rental space, eventually moving to its first permanent home on Centre Avenue. In 1911, the synagogue dedicated a new building on Bathurst Street near Dundas, where for 30 years the congregation grew under the leadership of Rabbi Abraham Kelman.

In 1947, Rabbi Erwin Schild, newly ordained by the Yeshivah Torath Chaim of Toronto, became the new rabbi of the Congregation. The next few years at the synagogue were marked by tremendous growth in membership and activities to the point where, coupled with the shifting demographics of the Jewish community, a new building was constructed in its current location in North York. The formal name was shortened in the 1950s, and in 1957 the new building was officially dedicated.

Religious affiliation

Adath Israel, like the majority of Conservative synagogues in the Toronto area (in contrast to most American Conservative synagogues), has not adopted egalitarianism.

In the mid-2000s, Adath Israel's Rabbi Steven Saltzman proposed the establishment of a Canadian "sovereignty association" within the Conservative movement that would support synagogues following traditionalist policies. Rabbi Saltzman's suggestion came on the heels of the Conservative biennial convention in Boston, where Rabbi Menachem Creditor of Sharon, Massachusetts, challenged the philosophy of halakhic pluralism—an approach affirmed by movement leaders—when he argued against continuing to permit non-egalitarian synagogues from being a part of the Conservative movement.[1]

In 2008, the congregation seceded from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and affiliated with the Canadian Council of Conservative Synagogues.

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References
  1. "Conservative Judaism and the LGBT Community | Welcome to the World Congress of Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Jewish Organizations". Glbtjews.org. 2006-12-05. Archived from the original on 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2012-12-28.

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