Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue (Sudbury)

Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue
General information
Architectural stylePostmodern style
Town or citySudbury, Ontario
CountryCanada
Design and construction
Architect(s)Mandel Charles Sprachman

Shaar Hashomayim is a synagogue in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.[1] It was dedicated on April 24, 1960. That year, the congregation joined the United Synagogues of America, the chief organ of Conservative Judaism.

Approximately 30 families attend the Shaar Hashomayim synagogue.[2] It has 25 active families.[2]

Building

Exterior

The Shar Hashomayim synagogue is a post-modern-style building.[1] Its exterior is composed of a simple façade constructed of brown brick with white trim.[1] The exterior has a large sculpture constructed out of seven concrete pillars that represents the menorah.[1]

The green space surrounding the building backs onto a woodland, as well as a ravine. The view is guided towards the sky because the building appears to be horizontal, but this is contrasted with the repetition of vertical windows at the front .[1]

On the exterior of the building, there is a dedication stone that marks the legacy of the Jewish Community.[3]

Interior

The building has seven thin vertical windows that divide the illumination into seven streams of light to represent the menorah.[1] This large window inside is behind the synagogues bema and the vertical pieces diffuse the eastern sunlight.[4][1]

There is unobstructed view of the ner tamid to the left of the bema.[1]

Architect

Mandel Charles Sprachman
Born15 Jan 1925
Toronto, Canada
Died11 Feb 2002
EducationUniversity of Toronto School of Architecture
Known forArchitecture

The architect was Mandel Charles Sprachman (January 15, 1925, Toronto - February 11th, 2002),[5] a graduate of the University of Toronto School of Architecture who ran his own architecture firm.[6]

Programs and services

Shaar Hashomayim welcomes Jews of every denomination[7] as well as members of any other faith.[7]

Every service always includes women and men.[7] The Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue also provides Hebrew school on Sundays for the kids in the families of the Jewish community.[7] They also have bar/ bat mitzvah lessons and adult education is available as lectures, discussion/study groups and special events.[7]

Documentation

The Shaar Hashomayim synagogue was featured in a project by three University of Toronto architecture graduates; Sheldon Leitt, Lynn Milstone, and Sid Tenenbaum.[3] Between1976 and 1980, the students took pictures of synagogues across Canada.[3]

The student published a book entitled Treasures of the people: The synagogues of Canada (Toronto: Lest & Orpen Dennys Limited, 1985).[3][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Religious Life: Sudbury - 1960s". Ontario Jewish Archives. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  2. ^ a b "Proud history, uncertain future". Sudbury Star. 2012-12-08. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  3. ^ a b c d "Religious Life: Sudbury - 1940s". Ontario Jewish Archives. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  4. ^ "About the Chabad Center of Sudbury". Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  5. ^ "Mandel Sprachman Fonds". City of Toronto. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  6. ^ "Obit: Mandel Sprachman (1925-2002)". billgladstone.ca. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Jewish-Sudbury". Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  8. ^ https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/ Archived 2021-04-26 at the Wayback Machine.