bar mitzvah at Temple Emmanuel, 193- C-08951

This picture shows the bar mitzvah of Raymond Rose in the 1930s at Temple Emmanuel, the first Jewish synagogue in western Canada. Built in 1862, this is now the oldest standing synagogue in all of Canada, a significant historic site.

The bar mitzvah ceremony is performed by a religious leader called a Rabbi. Benny Pastinsky, who grew up in Vancouver around the same time, remembers his father's role as a rabbi:

Chief Rabbi J.H. Hertz and J. Rose, 1920 C-08911

"He was a gentleman of the old school, with a red, flowing beard ... He was Yiddish interpreter at the police station and in the courts ... People of all religions and nationalities came to him for advice or help or solace, whatever. Apart from his religious functions, he was very heavily involved with the immigration problem of the time ... He was never too tired to help others who needed that help ... I think more than taking care of the synagogue per se, he was interested in seeing that his people were well, physically, financially. Interested that their children went to school. Interested in the hospitals. He went to visit the sick, to visit the prisons, the asylums."

Provincial Archives of British Columbia. Sound Heritage. Victoria. Vol. III, nos. 1 - 2

        

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