Rabbi David Monson Z"l
Rabbi David Monson Z'"l has touched the lives of many people during a lifetime dedicated to serving not just the Jewish community, but people from all walks of life, regardless of their race or religion. In 1946, he became the founding Rabbi of the Beth Sholom Synagogue and is today the Rabbi Emeritus.
Shortly after the Ottawa-born rabbi was ordained at the age of twenty-two, Rabbi Monson Z"l went overseas as Jewish Chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces. Among his many innovations at Beth Sholom, Rabbi Monson Z"l officiated his first Bat Mitzvah in 1953, introduced a mixed choir to the service, and allowed men and women to sit together in the sanctuary.
In 1949, Rabbi David Monson Z"l and two other Toronto clerics bought a farm on Keele Street and in 1954, Northwestern Hospital opened on the site. In the early 1960s, Rabbi Monson Z"l was a founding member of the Canadian Council for Christians and Jews. Over the years, he served on the Ontario Police Services Commission and many other government committees. In these same years, he helped establish Or Yehuda, a community centre for underprivileged Iraqi and Romanian children in Israel. Rabbi Monson Z"l helped in the establishment of the University of Waterloo, organized the Hebrew Association of the Blind, and was named by the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to the Board of the Canada Council.
Rabbi Monson Z"l has been a great supporter of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Centre. Through his persistent efforts, the small hospital he first visited during the Six Day War has been transformed into a modern, state-of-the-art facility.
Shortly after the Ottawa-born rabbi was ordained at the age of twenty-two, Rabbi Monson Z"l went overseas as Jewish Chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces. Among his many innovations at Beth Sholom, Rabbi Monson Z"l officiated his first Bat Mitzvah in 1953, introduced a mixed choir to the service, and allowed men and women to sit together in the sanctuary.
In 1949, Rabbi David Monson Z"l and two other Toronto clerics bought a farm on Keele Street and in 1954, Northwestern Hospital opened on the site. In the early 1960s, Rabbi Monson Z"l was a founding member of the Canadian Council for Christians and Jews. Over the years, he served on the Ontario Police Services Commission and many other government committees. In these same years, he helped establish Or Yehuda, a community centre for underprivileged Iraqi and Romanian children in Israel. Rabbi Monson Z"l helped in the establishment of the University of Waterloo, organized the Hebrew Association of the Blind, and was named by the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to the Board of the Canada Council.
Rabbi Monson Z"l has been a great supporter of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Centre. Through his persistent efforts, the small hospital he first visited during the Six Day War has been transformed into a modern, state-of-the-art facility.