- Museum of Jewish Montreal
- Rabbi Lavy Becker
Rabbi Lavy Becker
collection1911-2001
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5 images · displayed from Museum of Jewish Montreal's own server
Group portrait of Saidye Bronfman, Samuel Bronfman and Rabbi Lavy Becker at speakers table, First General Meeting of the Allied Jewish Community Services (48th…
Group portrait Rabbi Lavy Becker and unidentified man presenting gavel to Montreal philanthropist Jacob Lowy, Federation of Jewish Community Services Annual…
Group portrait of (left to right) Mrs
Rabbi Lavy Becker with European Jewish literature recovered from Germany, 1946
Rabbi Lavy Becker at the podium at the World Jewish Congress, Geneva, 1953 (Photographer Vaurchex)
Where
Not on the map yet.
- Held by
- Museum of Jewish Montreal via Museum of Jewish Montreal — map of Jewish Montreal
- Creators
- Valérie Beauchemin; translated by Helge Dascher
- Dates
- 1911-2001 (indexed as 1911–2001)
- Level
- collection (source: Story)
- Extent
- 15 places
- Scope & content
- Rabbi Lavy Becker (1905-2001) is best known in the Montreal community for having founded the city’s first Reconstructionist synagogue, Dorshei Emet, in 1960. The Reconstructionist movement is based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan, who viewed Judaism as a civilization in constant evolution, responsive to modernity and focused on the concept of community. Born in Montreal to Russian immigrant parents, Becker was among the founders of the Orthodox Young Israel synagogue in 1921. After completing his studies at McGill, he studied to become a Conservative rabbi in New York, where he came into contact with the Reconstructionist teachings of Kaplan. Becker was very active in the Jewish community as a social worker and rabbi. In 1945, he served as director of displaced persons camps in Germany for the Joint Distribution Committee. Then, in 1951, he founded Congregation Beth-El (located in the Town of Mount Royal), Montreal’s first Conservative synagogue to have mixed seating. Among other appointments, Becker served as President of the Allied Jewish Community Services of Montreal (1963-1965), National Executive Committee Chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress (in the 1960s) and Chair of Small Communities for the World Jewish Congress. He was also the Director of the Vanier Institute of the Family and held a number of other positions in the international and local Jewish community. As well, he was involved in the business of his brothers, who in 1929 acquired the Rubenstein Brothers Company, an equipment manufacturer formerly owned by the figure skating champion and local politician Louis Rubenstein. Compiled by Valérie Beauchemin, translated by Helge Dascher Sources: Arnold, Janice. “Reconstructionist Founder Subject of a Video.” The Canadian Jewish News August 12, 2004. Azrieli, David J. Rekindling the Torch: The Story of Canadian Zionism. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 2008. “History.” Congregation Dorshei Emet. *Images courtesy of the Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives and the Jewish Public Library Archives.
- Location
No place found in this description yet.
- Subjects
- Architecture
- Language
- English
- Harvested
- 2026-10-17T06:33:50Z · source datestamp n/a · mjm