MONTREAL — About 175 people, most of them not Jewish, attended the dedication of the new Jewish cultural centre on the main street of Ste. Agathe earlier this month.

Capt. Gilbert Lafrenière, left, is greeted by Rabbi Emanuel Carlebach at the dedication of the Centre culturel B.M.C. in Ste. Agathe. [Menachem Serraf photo]

The Centre culturel B.M.C. is owned by a local teachers’ seminary for Orthodox Jewish women, and its second storey is being used for classes and meetings. But its ground floor is open to the public, and a library of materials about Judaism and what it has to offer for everyone is being built there.

The centre is on St. Vincent Street, not far from where McGill University student Mendy Haouzi was taunted and struck in the face by youths as he walked on Shabbat to the House of Israel synagogue last August. The building was bought by Bais Moshe Chaim Teachers’ Seminary, founded and run by Chanie Carlebach, rebbetzin of the House of Israel.

She and her husband, Rabbi Emanuel Carlebach, who has led the congregation for 24 years, hope the March 15 opening of the centre will be accepted by their fellow citizens as a gesture of goodwill and evidence that the Jewish community is not insular. Judging by the convivial atmosphere at the inauguration, they’re confident that this is the case.

The 35 young women attending the seminary, most of whom come from outside Quebec, have been going out every Thursday afternoon since the beginning of the year to meet the people, distributing 175 challahs and newsletters in French and English with inspirational messages from the Jewish tradition. At Purim, they bore sweet treats.

Among those who accepted the invitation to the inauguration, which was MCed by Murray Dalfen, was the police chief, Sûreté du Québec Capt. Gilbert Lafrenière. Rabbi Carlebach said Lafrenière told him that initially he and his officers at the station hesitated to take anything from the young women when they came with their loaves and letters, but now they look forward to the weekly visit.

Diane Gratton, a neighbour of the seminary, said the students have “a beautiful approach and a friendly and jovial attitude” that is appreciated by “la communauté Agathoise.” She felt that the words of those who spoke at the inauguration were filled with generosity and love, and she felt touched.

“Wow” was the word she thought best summed up her feelings.

The Carlebachs are Lubavitchers, and Mrs. Carlebach said this mission is in keeping with the teaching of the spiritual leader of that chassidic movement, the late Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. “The rebbe spent his entire life working on behalf of mankind,” she said, and instructed his followers to be proud of who they were and to reach out to others to make this a more peaceful world.

The assault on Haouzi, who was with his father and two younger half-brothers visiting from France at the time, was seen as the most serious of a string of apparently anti-Semitic incidents in the Ste. Agathe area last year. Four arrests, including three of minors, were made in November.

While the other incidents were relatively minor, many Jewish residents felt unnerved, and Rabbi Carlebach spoke last year of a deterioration in day-to-day relations between Jews and non-Jews.

The year-round Jewish population is small, but grows significantly in the summer. Ste. Agathe has been a popular vacation destination for Montreal Jews for at least a century.

The students of the teachers’ seminary, which was founded eight years ago, live in a big old house higher up the hill looking over the lake. For some years, rented space downtown was used for classes.

The new centre was purchased last May, and was the site of the wedding dinner last September of its vice-principal and graduate, French native Hanna Sellem and Moshe Barouk of Florida. Their outdoor wedding ceremony in a public park was another gesture by the Carlebachs and the seminary students that they wished to de-mystify their way of life and live harmoniously with others.

Hanna, who now lives in Florida, came up for the inauguration, but was unable to attend because she gave birth prematurely. Both baby and mother are well. To Mrs. Carlebach, this is affirmation that good things can come out of the bad.