Toronto Cantor Finds "A Home" in Newfoundland
Erev Shabbat, July 6, 2007
I drove to Pearson Airport early Friday morning, leaving behind a beautiful Toronto summer day with an expected high of 30 degrees, to fly to St. John's to spend shabbat in Newfoundland. The flight took less than 3 hours and when I arrived I was in a new time zone. Newfoundland is 1½ hours ahead of Toronto. As we prepared to land, the pilot requested that the flight attendants be seated, indicating that we were moments away from landing. The cloud cover and dense fog did not permit any visibility so I was not sure there was an island in the Atlantic Ocean below. Moments later we landed in the middle of a torrential downpour. Fortunately, I was greeted at the modern St. John's airport by my friends and members of my shul, Arthur and Margaret Shiff. They knew how ill-prepared a Torontonian would be for the elements of Canada's east coast. They came equipped with a bright yellow hooded rain slicker from Mountain Equipment Co-op. The last time I remember wearing such foul weather gear was on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls. Needless to say, I gave up fashion for practicality and ditched my leather jacket.
Our first stop was at Georgestown Bakery to pick up bagels and the 'Jewish celebration bread' (aka challah). Apparently, the bakery sells it every Friday and it is purchased by Jews and non-Jews alike. Next stop was the shul, Beth El Synagogue built in 1959. It is quite amazing that no matter where I go in the world, as soon as I walk into a shul, the feeling of being in a strange land disappears. I walked into the little sanctuary and saw Tallitot, Art Scroll Chumashim and Birnbaum siddurim - a sign of a traditional shul. The organized Jewish community of St. John's dates back 100 years.
I stayed at the home of the shul's past president, Dr. Michael Paul and his wife Dr. Barbara Grandy. Dr. Paul recently finished his term as president after 12 years. I wanted to venture out to explore before Shabbat but the rain and winds were so fierce that I conceded and stayed indoors. A pre-shabbat dinner was at the home of the current president, Mrs. Claire Frankel-Salama. She cooked a spectacular shabbos dinner for 17 people. The conversation at dinner revolved around the difficulties of obtaining kosher meat, the troubles involved in maintaining a kosher home and their passion and love for their community and shul. Most shocking to me was to hear Jewish people speaking with a Newfoundland accent.
We left for shul by 7:30 in order to be there in time for the 8:00pm davening time. I soon discovered that Newfoundlanders are not in such a rush -- 8:00 really meant 8:30. I davened a traditional mincha, kabbalat shabbat and maariv. The acoustics in the little shul were magnificent. Nobody seemed in a hurry so I took my time and encouraged the congregation to sing along with me. Upon finishing, people approached me with tears in their eyes to thank me. One older woman went as far as telling me that she had never heard a Cantor in her entire life.
The shul's membership is comprised largely of doctors, professors from Memorial University of Newfoundland, business people and even one meteorologist. They are fortunate to have a very knowledgeable Sephardic Jew, Dr. Messod Salama, a Spanish professor at MUN. Messod has one of the largest private collections of Sephardic recordings and manuscripts in Canada. He takes pride in teaching and incorporating Sephardic melodies into the davening and preserving the shul's traditions according to halacha. After services he gave a brilliant d'var Torah, incorporating motifs from Korach, Chukkat, Balak and Pinchas - the parsha of the week. An oneg shabbat followed with treats baked and laid out beautifully by the ladies – all volunteers. Unlike a Toronto oneg, this one was served on china dishware ... I was impressed. The most moving part of the evening was the singing of Shalom Aleichem at the oneg. I began the singing, but the 32 people in attendance sang with such enthusiasm and power that they could have easily been mistaken for 200. I was so moved that I felt the tears of emotion well up into my eyes and I found myself unable to continue singing.
Finally my first day in Newfoundland drew to a close. I donned my foul weather gear and dodged the puddles home through the pouring rain.
Shabbat Morning, July 7, 2007
I woke up early and prepared myself vocally as I do every shabbat. I looked out the window and alas, it was dark, windy and raining. Shacharit was scheduled for 9:00am but as I learned from the previous evening, that really meant 9:30. Nobody seemed in a hurry. I was greeted enthusiastically by congregants who informed me that my new CD 'Moses Live' had been aired on CBC radio on Friday night and Saturday morning. Who would have ever imagined ... Chazzanut on CBC radio in Newfoundland.
I finished Shacharit and met the shul's Ba'al Koreh, Ernie Mauskopf. He is an 82 year old Holocaust survivor, originally from Hungary. He read the parsha so flawlessly that he would be the envy of many Toronto shuls. This Shabbat was very significant in St. John's because they also had a visit from the Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker and his wife Dalia. He recited the prayer for the state of Israel and the mi sheberach for chayalei tzahal. At the rear of the shul were the Ambassador's two RCMP bodyguards, quietly sitting and wearing kippot. At the congregational lunch following the service, the Ambassador addressed the congregation and spoke passionately of the support and cooperation he has received for Israel from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government. This was such a special day in the shul that those in attendance did not want it to end. We continued singing zmirot and more zmirot with complete congregational participation. Finally it was time for birkat hamazon and I was proud to ask Ambassador Baker to lead us.
Time to return outdoors and much to my dismay, it was still raining, only stronger than before. After my shabbos shluf, I was ready for my shabbos walk. Finally the rain had stopped. My host, Dr. Paul, took me on a 2 ½ hour walk. He proudly showed me some of the landmarks in North America's oldest city – St. John's beautiful harbour, Signal Hill, Fort Amherst and the lieutenant governor's mansion. He explained the general differences in construction on the island. Since brick is so expensive and not manufactured in Newfoundland, most of the homes are of wood construction covered with clapboard in an array of different colours. While Toronto is flat, St. John's is like San Francisco with lots of steep hills.
We returned to my hosts' home in time for Seudah Shlishit followed by Havdallah. Shabbat ended at 10pm. In Toronto, that would signal one hour of television and time for bed. Not the case in Newfoundland! The night was young and a minyan of Jews descended upon one of St. John's favourite watering holes, O'Reilly's Irish Newfoundland Pub. It was some "Melave Malka," featuring local talent singing traditional Irish Newfoundland favourites and drinking east coast beer. I felt as if I was in Dublin … was I really still in Canada?
Sunday, July 8th, 2007
On Sunday morning I awoke to a windy but sunny day (I finally ditched the rain gear) and visited Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America, which is about a 20 minute drive from St. John's. Several years ago, the Beth El Synagogue created a beautiful tradition. Each year at Selichot they daven a sunrise shacharit service at Cape Spear. The photos of men in tallit and tefillin blowing shofar at the place in North America closest to Jerusalem are proudly displayed in the shul. The shul has posters of Israel hanging around its social hall, and a beautiful painting of a Chassidic Jew on permanent loan to the shul from Memorial University. The community has a cemetery and Dr. Paul and his wife Dr. Grandy lead the Chevra Kaddisha.
Sadly, I had to bid farewell to my new friends on Sunday. It was bittersweet as they knew that by next shabbos, the excitement would be gone and there was no certainty that there would be a minyan in shul. It was such an uplifting experience for them to have a minyan of 30 plus people and the infrequent opportunity to read from the Torah. Regrettably, the problem facing the east coast as well as smaller Canadian communities is the lack of Jewish people.
My trip to Newfoundland inspired me to try to reach out to other outlying Jewish communities struggling to survive. The Toronto Council of Hazzanim in conjunction with UIA Canada Small Communities Division is planning to send a group of Hazzanim annually to perform a concert for a different small community. This initiative will give exposure to the small Jewish community in the broader community in addition to providing an excellent fundraising opportunity. We are also planning to send a Cantor annually to Cuba to lead Shabbat services and to deliver much needed pharmaceuticals and supplies. In Havana, the shul also serves as the community pharmacy.
I was invited to Newfoundland to lead shabbat services at Beth El Synagogue by my congregants and friends, Arthur and Margaret Shiff who sponsored the weekend together with the Atlantic Jewish Council and Beth El. In the 100 year history of Newfoundland's Jewish community, services have rarely been led by a Hazzan. Today, the Beth El has 25 member families. My experience there reminded me of my childhood in Sudbury, Ontario, a tiny Jewish community also with 25 Jewish families. I lived in Sudbury until I was 13 years of age. I was always the only Jew in my school and the synagogue was the only possible outlet to express myself Jewishly. It was largely due to my experiences in a small community that I chose to become a Hazzan and to serve others. Newfoundland was quite the same, albeit with its unique flair and old world charm. My Judaism is strengthened by the resolve and devotion of the Jews of Newfoundland. My Shabbat was enriched by their passion and their singing. If you plan to visit Newfoundland and would like to attend services at Beth El Synagogue in St. John's or eat a kosher meal, please contact Dr. Michael Paul at mpaul@mun.ca.
Cantor Eric Moses
Beth Sholom Synagogue
President, Toronto Council of Hazzanim