KINGSTON, Ont. — In a city that prides itself on its history, Kingston’s small Jewish community is marking a momentous occasion in its own history.
On Oct. 10, as members of Beth Israel Synagogue celebrated Simchat Torah, the congregation marked the beginning of its centenary, a year-long celebration of Jewish life in Kingston.
As celebrations kick off, the shul – which describes itself as “a welcoming contemporary Orthodox congregation” – hopes to connect with past members and users of the synagogue to bring them back to Kingston, which has an estimated 900 Jews, and take part in the 100-year anniversary.
The organizing committee is trying to reach past members and synagogue visitors whose addresses Beth Israel doesn’t have on record. After 100 years of existence, there are a lot of people who have come through as members, residents or students.
“Anyone who used Beth Israel… we’re inviting them to the homecoming,” said organizing committee co-chair Gini Rosen.
She said her committee is trying to ensure that the shul commemorates its past, celebrates its present and solidifies its future.
“We’re doing that,” Rosen said. “We’re trying to invest money in the [Beth Israel] trust fund… for the future so we can guarantee we will have a future.”
The Jewish community in Kingston can trace its roots back to the mid-1800s, but it would take more than half a century before a congregation formed.
It was on Oct. 10, 1910, that members of Kingston’s Jewish community laid the cornerstone for the first Beth Israel synagogue building.
For many years, the congregation was housed along Queen Street in Kingston’s downtown. Today, the synagogue resides on Centre Street in one of the oldest residential sections of Kingston, near Queen’s University and the Lake Ontario waterfront.
“There are so few small Jewish congregations that are vibrant and growing,” Rosen said. “We’re an anomaly.”
(The city also has a Reform congregation, Congregation Iyr HaMelech, which was formed in 1975.)
A committee of Beth Israel congregants has worked for more than a year to organize the events surrounding the shul’s centenary. The celebrations will peak on the weekend of May 14, when Beth Israel holds a homecoming for anyone who has ever walked through the front doors of the synagogue.
The committee sent out notices to approximately 500 past and present members to urge them to save the May date and make the trek to Kingston to take part in the celebrations. Official invitations for the homecoming weekend will go out in January.
The event will include a traditional Friday night dinner with guest rabbis and cantors, Shabbat services followed by historic walking tours of the city and a gala reception in the evening, and a special concert at Grant Hall on the Queen’s campus entitled “100 Years of Jewish Music.”
The congregation is also planning to fundraise throughout the year and make a donation to the city to mark the anniversary.
For more information, visit the Beth Israel website at www.kingston-bethisrael.ca.