Religion
Nathan Liberman, Niagara Falls’ longest-serving rabbi, arrived via Toronto in 1975. He came from Warsaw, Poland and received his simicha in Italy after the war. He had lost most of his family during the Holocaust and came to Canada in 1949, working in Montreal for many years. The Rabbi and his wife Esther, along with their three daughters, adapted well to life in Niagara Falls. He was an excellent spiritual leader and talented Hebrew teacher. He was described by Susan Jackson, the CJC community liaison person at the time, as a soft-spoken man who was adored by his students. During his tenure in Niagara Falls, he undertook a lot of interfaith work, going to high schools to talk to the students about Judaism. He also brought church groups into the synagogue.
Rabbi Liberman was also very involved in the renewal of the shul. For instance, during the late 1970s, he participated in a project involving the creation of a series of seven stained glass windows for the sanctuary, which were crafted by American artist Ira Ginsburg, who was at that time living in Toronto.
With the return to the community of several families who had previously left, the 1990s brought a new crop of young children and a resurgence of growth in the community. Hebrew school enrolment, which had dropped from 44 in 1966 to 5 in the mid-1980s, rose to 30 in the early 1990s. In October of 1991, for the first time in a long time, there were two Bar Mitzvahs celebrated in a single month. Animated by both old and new community members, synagogue life flourished. The Social Committee organized Purim parties, the Hebrew school students made presentations on Yom Ha’atzmaut and other occasions.
A telling sign of changing times came in February of 1999, when a historic meeting at the synagogue was held, chaired by president Alan Saks. It was there that the decision was made to allow women to be honoured with an aliyah during the Torah reading. On Saturday, February 13, Mary Carrel was the first to receive this honour. In the same year, the decision was made to initiate talks with the Reform congregation in St. Catharines, Temple Tikvah, to see if common ground might be found and the two congregations might come together as one in order to boost membership numbers for both groups. The new merged synagogue that opened in the former B’nai Jacob shul building was called B’nai Tikvah
Slideshow including the seven stained glass windows produced by Ira Ginsburg
The windows capture different scenes from the bible and were dedicated to members of the community who had passed away.
Photos by Sharon Gubbay Helfer, 2007
