Jews arrived in Halifax in 1749, shortly after its founding. By 1752, thirty Jewish men, women and children from Newport, Rhode Island moved here. Most were merchants. Samuel Hart, who arrived in 1781, became the first Jew to serve in a British North American legislative body. An early town plan allocated a separate, but never utilized, Jewish cemetery near the corner of Brunswick Street and Spring Garden Road. The site became a jail in 1758. In the 1890s, many Russian immigrants began arriving. In 1891, the Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society was founded. In 1893, the Society on Windsor Street purchased a cemetery site near Connaught Avenue. A renovated house at Starr and Hurd Streets became the synagogue and school. The 1901 Jewish population was 118. The Starr Street Synagogue was destroyed inh a fire in 1917. In 1920, the B aron de Hirsch Congregation constructed a new synagogue on Robie Street. Proctor Street Synagogue, referred to as Webber Shul, formed in 1914. The two synagogue united in 1936. The 1991 Jewish population was 1,480 in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. [April 2004]
Beth Israel Synagogue (Orthodox), 1480 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3Y8. Telephone (902) 422-1301 Fax (902) 422-7451. Rabbi Saul Aranov. Baron de Hirsch Congregation constructed this synagogue called Beth Israel that opened October 21st, 1957. [April 2004]
Shaar Shalom Congregation (Conservative), 1981 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4A4. Telephone (902) 423-5848 Fax (902) 422-2580. Rabbi Elihu Milder. Founded in 1953, Shaar Shalom Synagogue dedicated on October 31st, 1957. [April 2004]
Chabad Lubavitch of the Maritimes, 67 Chartwell Lane, Halifax, NS B3M 4G4, Telephone and Fax (902) 457-7698. Rabbi Mendie Feldman. [April 2004]
- Beth Israel/ Baron de Hirsch Cemetery: In 1893 the Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society purchased a plot of land on the outskirts of the City. It was located on the western side of Windsor Street, part of the "Culvie Farm." [The border walls were on Connaught Avenue and Windsor Street.] In the l950's, the Board of Governors, led by Earle Bowman, spent years negotiating a land trade with the City, which resulted in increasing the cemetery lands to permit the alignment of Windsor Street. The Board mapped the locations of all graves, set out a program for future use of the land and provided necessary information for the Congregation's records. (…) and initiated procedures necessary for its ongoing maintenance. Edgar Wolman took over the Chairmanship of the Cemetery Committee from Irwin Mendleson and served for ten years. Phil Alberstat had been Chairman for several years giving very dedicated personal service on a moment's notice. Edgar adhered to that tradition of personal service and continued the standards of stone design and plot maintenance. Concrete block footpaths were installed by Max Pascal in 1986 to enable clear access to each gravesite without walking inadvertently on others. Since 2004, the entire grounds of the cemetery have been undergoing a reconstruction including resetting all stones on new bases, constructing new walkways and retaining walls and planting new sod and shrubs. The exterior walls have been re-pointed and the entrances re-set. All of this work was paid for by a single donor who chooses to remain anonymous. An ongoing committee of several members including Jack Prince, Steven Pink, Ralph Loebenberg, Phil Alberstat, Frank Medjuck, Sharron Ross, Abe Leventhal and Victor Fineberg supervised this project and commenced an Endowment Fund for the future care and maintenance of the cemetery in perpetuity. This project also enabled the creation of additional gravesites and the opening of a new adjacent site that more than doubles the current capacity. This avoids the necessity of finding a remote and disconnected site elsewhere. Contact Beth Israel Synagogue (Orthodox) Halifax, NS, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Phone: (902) 422-1301. Source: Beth Israel Synagogue
- Shaar Sholim Cemetery: Jews arrived in Halifax in 1749, shortly after its founding. …An early town plan allocated a separate, but never utilized, Jewish cemetery near the corner of Brunswick Street and Spring Garden Road. The site became a jail in 1758. In 1891, the Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society was founded. In 1893, the Society on Windsor Street purchased a cemetery site near Connaught Avenue (see Baron de Hirsch cemetery.).