Beth Israel Synagogue ( he, בית ישראל) is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located at 1480 Oxford Street in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

.Synagogue website
Accessed August 22, 2009. Formally chartered by a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

in the Nova Scotia legislature in 1895, it grew out of the Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society (named after Baron

Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...

), which was formed in 1890. It was the first Orthodox congregation in Canada east of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and still provides the only daily ''

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

'' in Canada east of Montreal. In 1953, several families from the Beth Israel Synagogue left to form the

Shaar Shalom Synagogue The Shaar Shalom Synagogue (inscribed עדת שער שלום, ''Adas Shaar Shalom'' on the corner of the building) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a Conservative Jewish synagogue. The Shaar Shalom Synagogue was among the first Canadian Conservative syn ...

. The Beth Israel is also one of the few synagogues in the region with a functioning

mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...

the

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

was Yakov Kerzner.

Notes

Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia Culture of Halifax, Nova Scotia Religious buildings and structures in Nova Scotia Religious organizations established in 1895 Synagogues in Nova Scotia 19th-century synagogues Modern Orthodox synagogues in Canada 1895 establishments in Canada {{canada-synagogue-stub