setName:"Yavna B'nai Parnass/Parnass Family Collection" found 1 record - The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network

Scope and Content: Consists of ephemeral and some documentary material related to both the Yavna B'nai Synagogue (such as correspondence related to the sale of the building) as well as artefacts originating from the Synagogue (parochet/curtains, electric menorah, kesser/sefer torah crowns). Also includes photographs…

Collection: Yavna B'nai Parnass/Parnass Family Collection

Description Level: Fonds

Material Type: multiple media

Physical Description: 1.2 linear metres of multiple media + 58 photographs

Scope and Content: Consists of ephemeral and some documentary material related to both the Yavna B'nai Synagogue (such as correspondence related to the sale of the building) as well as artefacts originating from the Synagogue (parochet/curtains, electric menorah, kesser/sefer torah crowns). Also includes photographs of the synagogue and the Parnass family.

Date: 1898-2010

Fonds No.: 1293

Storage Location: JPL; Bay 9

History / Biographical: Raizel and Pinchas Parnass lived in Russian town of Kagul in Bessarabia with their six children, Sara, Abraham, Boris, Harry, Mottel and Joseph. In 1903, the entire family emigrated to Montreal where Pinchas opened a successful clothing store on St. James Street. Beyond settling in their new home and raising their family, Raizel and Pinchas dedicated themselves to community building, most especially in religious observance and education. In 1910, Pinchas founded the Kerem Israel shull at 4335 St. Dominique, corner Marie-Anne. The second floor of the Kerem Israel was used as a free school for children. In 1926, on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, Pinchas bought Raizel a two-storey brick building belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist Church at 4690 Hutchinson Street. The sale of the church was dependent on the new owners observing Saturday as Sabbath. For Raizel the building was fulfillment of a childhood desire to build a synagogue in the "New World". As a child, Raizel witnessed the destruction during a pogrom of a synagogue built by her father. Raizel also designated the second-floor space of the building for a Hebrew free school. The new Orthodox synagogue was given the name 'Yavna B'nai' by Rabbi Herschorn but quickly became known as the Parnass Shul throughout the community. The Parnass family indeed provided the necessary elements to the tiny synagogue: Harry, who was skilled in carpentry, built the bimah (a table used for unrolling the Torah); Raizel and daughter Sara (Berman) made and embroidered the parochet (curtain that covers the Torah Ark) and Sara also donated the Megillah Scroll for the shul. The Torah scrolls were donated by the Lubavitch Yeshiva. Joseph Parnass, Raizel and Pinchas' youngest son, assumed management of the Synagogue and it was he that established the rule that no donations would ever be accepted by Yavna. Instead, the Synagogue was sustained by the Parnass family. In this way, the family ensured that the Synagogue remained free for anyone who wished to worship there. Joseph Parnass was also one of the founding members of the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1919 and he later sat on the board of the Rabbinical College of Canada. Boris Parnass, the second-eldest son, assumed caretaker responsibilities for the building and after his death, his sons Victor and Myer, continued in their father's dedication. The Yavna B'nai Parnass Synagogue was the first synagogue in Outremont and during its height was filled to capacity and provided three minyins each day. The Synagogue was also used for appeals for other organizations, specifically the Lubavitch Yeshiva and the Jewish Old People's Home, now Maimonides Hospital. A plaque hangs in Maimonides Hospital, donated by Joseph Parnass, dedicated to the founding of Yavna B'nai Synagogue by Raizel and Pinchas Parnass. In 1991, the Yavna B'nai Synagogue was closed and sold. Proceeds from the sale went to the Jewish Hospital of Hope for that institution's Synagogue, now known as the Yavna B'nai Parnass.

Language: English; Hebrew

Custodial History: Donated by Helen Parnass Constantine on behalf of the Parnass family.

Accession No.: 12-018

Subjects: Synagogues - Canada.; Synagogues - Montreal (Quebec); Parnass, Pinchas; Parnass, Raizel; Parnass, Joseph; Yavna B'nai Synagogue

Archival / Genealogical: Archival Descriptions

Repository: Jewish Public Library Archives