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LONDON page 65
Almost as interesting as the
vote, was the lengthy process
leading up to it — which includ-
ed several ritual committee, syn-
agogue board and open
congregational discussions.
"I did not care which way the
vote went, but I wanted due
process. If people had concerns,
then they should have been able
to communicate them," said Ellen
Rosen, Or Shalom's current, and
first female, president.
Opposition came mostly from
two longtime congregational
members. "We abstained, be-
cause the vote was overwhelm-
ingly in favor...there was no point
to vote against it," said Murray
Leff, whose family helped found
Or Shalom. Because of the deci-
sion, Mr. Leff has stopped at-
tending morning minyan at Or
Shalom — the one time of the
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day tefillin are worn — although
he still remains a member.
"I opposed it because it wasn't
traditional and had never been
done before," he said.
Art Ender, a past president of
Or Shalom and the only person
who quit the congregation over
the controversy, added: "It is not
a gender issue, but one of tradi-
tion. If we water it down, we
won't have anything left," said
Mr. Ender, who switched to the
Orthodox Beth Tefilah.
London's three synagogues all
employ American rabbis (it is not
unusual for Canadian syna-
gogues to have American rabbis,
since Canada has few rabbinic
schools, and they are all Ortho-
dox).
Conservative Rabbi Melvin
Glazer from Atlanta, Orthodox
Rabbi David Rosenberg from
Boston and Reform Rabbi Joel
Wittstein from Cincinnati all
have brought their unique Jew-
ish-American pasts and ideology
with them, including an enthu-
siasm for Klal Israel (religious
unity). The three meet monthly
to work on issues of concern to
the entire community.
Despite the conservative out-
look of London Jews, intermar-
riage is common. In an attempt
to slow the rate, the three rabbis
have run community educational
programs.
The three rabbis agreed that
most Canadian Jews tend to be
more traditional in their beliefs
than are Americans — conserv-
ative in outlook, if not Conserva-
tive in religious observance.
Canadian Jewish sociologists and
other observers have explained
this by noting that more Cana-
dian Jews are relatively new im-
migrants — often post-Holocaust
— as compared to American
Jews. In short, this answer holds,
they still adhere to European
modes of thinking.
Rabbi Rosenberg prefers an-
other explanation, however.
"Canadians as a whole have
not wrestled with revolution
like their neighbors to the
south. Quebec (and the
French Separatist move-
ment) is the only similar is-
sue," he said.
In addition to the three
synagogues, London Jewish
life also boasts a rich infra-
structure in London that
amazes most visitors.
There is an eruv, commu-
nity mikvah and federation-
operated London
Community Day School with
more than 70 students. For
a long time, London was the
smallest North American
city to have a Jewish day
school. Now, nearby Kitch-
ener, Ont., home to just 600-
800 Jews, has that
distinction.
London has no kosher
food stores, but dedicated
community leaders have
brokered arrangements with
kosher butchers, bakeries and
grocers in Hamilton (about 90
minutes away) and Toronto to
make weekly deliveries to local
stores. For those food-intense hol-
idays such as Passover, many
Londoners journey to Detroit or
Toronto to shop.
There are also several Amer-
ican-born spouses here, proving
that cross-border dating — as
well as shopping — is also
popular.
The London Jewish Federa-
tion, which expects to raise
$415,000 for the United Jewish
Appeal this year, also supports a
Jewish Community Centre, so-
cial service department, child day
care center and seniors citizens
apartment complex — all locat-
ed on one campus in the city's
North London section, home to a
majority of the city's Jews.
Aside from the infrastructure,
Rabbi Glazer commented on
London's two major strengths:
"There is a strong value placed
on Israel and there is also a
healthy respect for authority and
rabbis," he chuckled, "which is
wonderful for us." El