Editing Montreal

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city (after Toronto), located in Quebec. The city has 1.9 million residents, with 3.8 million in the metropolitan area. The city is situated on an island at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.

The city has a large Chabad community of approximately 700 Anash families, emissaries, synagogues, educational institutions, and Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim.

== Table of Contents ==

# The Jewish Community
# Establishment of the Chabad Community
# The Surviving Students Arrive in Montreal
# The Community Today
# Rabbinate in the City
# Institutions in the City
# External Links
# Footnotes

== The Jewish Community ==
Montreal's Jewish community is one of North America's oldest and largest. Currently, over 100,000 Jews live in the city, including several thousand Israelis. The city has about 20 Jewish schools of various types, including the "Yavneh" school, which was directed by Rabbi Masoud Chai Habib, a Chabad Chassid.

The Jewish communities include a large Moroccan (French-speaking) community, the Tash Hasidic community led by Rabbi Meshulam Feish Lowy with hundreds of his followers in Kiryas Tash (near Montreal), hundreds of Belz, Vizhnitz, Satmar, and Skver Hasidim in Outremont, the Lithuanian community in De Vimy, and the Sephardic community in Côte St. Luc.

A large Chabad community operates in the city, which developed rapidly since the arrival of Tomchei Tmimim students from Otwock via Shanghai in 1941. Today, most of the Chabad community resides in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood.

== Establishment of the Chabad Community ==
There are no clear details about the establishment and members of the Chabad community in Montreal during its first decades until the arrival of Tomchei Tmimim students from Otwock in 1941.

In the 1880s, Montreal had a synagogue called "Anash Nusach Ha'Ari Community," and they appointed as their rabbi someone who had served as rabbi in several cities in Latvia but was not counted among Chabad - Rabbi Nathan Neta Afroimovich (Afrimovitz).

== The Surviving Students Arrive in Montreal ==
At the community's request, the Previous Rebbe decided to approach the Canadian government to grant visas to the Tomchei Tmimim students in Shanghai. The Canadian government agreed, and out of eighty visas distributed to all yeshiva students in Shanghai at the time, the yeshiva received nine visas. On the 2nd of Cheshvan 1941, nine students who received visas were sent: Yosef Rodal, Aryeh Leib Kramer, Yosef Menachem Mendel Tennenbaum, Menachem Zev Greenglass, Moshe Eliyahu Gerlitzky, Yitzchok Hendel, Yosef Weinberg, Yosef Tzvi Kotlarsky, and Shmuel Stein.

They traveled by ship from Shanghai to San Francisco, California, and from there by bus to Montreal.

The day after their arrival, the yeshiva opened, headed by Rabbi Yitzchok HaCohen Hendel. The students temporarily stayed in the Chabad Nusach Ha'Ari synagogue. As the yeshiva expanded, a larger, more organized space was needed. At that time, those responsible for the yeshiva began planning to purchase a large, magnificent building to accommodate all students comfortably. Until this plan was implemented, the yeshiva was housed in a local orphanage, where they received several rooms to run the yeshiva.

== Historical Development (continued) ==
A few days later, on the 9th of Cheshvan, the Previous Rebbe sent a long letter to the Tomchei Tmimim students detailing his holy instructions for their work in the city (Igrot Kodesh Rayatz Vol. 6, p. 48). During Cheshvan, the Previous Rebbe sent the distinguished mashpia Rabbi Shmuel Levitin to help establish the yeshiva in its first steps. Later, the Rebbe instructed to arrange an executive committee for managing Tomchei Tmimim, to be chosen by local Anash. The Rebbe instructed to appoint Mr. Yehuda Albert as head of the committee - apparently a businessman who greatly helped and supported the yeshiva. Rabbi Shmuel Levitin left the yeshiva shortly after the 10th of Kislev 1941, about a month after arriving at the yeshiva. When the yeshiva opened, there were 24 students. A year later, the yeshiva had over two hundred students. The Previous Rebbe sent a letter saying that after the great effort the students were investing, there should have been at least five hundred students.

On the 15th of Kislev 1944, the inauguration of the building purchased for the yeshiva took place, with the participation of Rabbi Shmaryahu Gurary (the Rashag), the Previous Rebbe's son-in-law, who came to Montreal specially for the celebration as his personal emissary.

On Sunday, 23rd of Iyar 1962, a new building for the yeshiva was inaugurated (the first building that Chabad built in North America). After Rabbi Peretz Mochkin's passing, the yeshiva expanded into his house. In 2004, a fire broke out in the yeshiva's dormitory building located near the yeshiva building (which also included the Lubavitch synagogue, study hall, and mikvah) at 6405 Westbury. Subsequently, on 26th of Sivan 2007, a new and magnificent building was inaugurated in place of the dormitory building at 6355 Westbury, and the large yeshiva - the "Zal" - moved to the new building.

== Community Development ==
In 1949, the Previous Rebbe sent Rabbi Moshe Chaim Spotzkansky to serve as shochet for the community and also as rabbi of the Nusach Ari synagogue.

At the beginning of his leadership, the Rebbe sent three emissaries from Paris, France. In 1951, Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Zeitlin was sent to serve as mashpia, shochet, and mohel. In 1952, Rabbi Chaim Shneur Zalman Marozov was sent to serve as shochet and mashpia, and Rabbi Peretz Mochkin as mashpia.

Later, Rabbi Leibel Kramer and Rabbi Yosef Rodal were appointed as heads of the institutions and yeshiva, and they established a synagogue and mikvah.

In 1959, Rabbi Yehuda Spotz (who had previously studied in the yeshiva) was sent by the Rebbe to work in the yeshiva and in the Lithuanian girls' institution 'Beis Yaakov'. That same year, Camp "Gan Israel - Montreal" was founded in the Quebec mountains by Rabbi Reuven Tzvi Yehuda Feigelstock and Rabbi Berel Mochkin.

In 1970, Rabbi Leibel Kramer established the well-known institution "Beit Rivka Montreal" and the summer camp "Pardes Chana" in the mountains, named after Rebbetzin Chana. With the help of Rabbi Shalom Ber Kalmanson (who lived in Montreal at the time), he succeeded in recruiting many students for both institutions.

== The Community Today ==
Today, the community numbers hundreds of families and dozens of institutions. The community is served by:

* Mashpia Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Gurarya
* Chairman of Chabad Youth Organization of Canada, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Muchkin
* Rabbi Yoel Zusha Zilberstein, the Rebbe's emissary
* Rabbi David HaCohen Cohen and Rabbi Eliyahu Cohen (of blessed memory), mashpi'im for the French-speaking community
* Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Cohen, mashpia for the Hebrew-speaking community
* Rabbi Avraham Ben Shimon, among the distinguished Anash
* Mashpia Rabbi Shalom Leib Eisenbach (of blessed memory)

== Current Institutions ==

# Russian Speakers' Chabad Center, named after donor R' David and Ida Schottenstein, led by Rabbi Israel Sirota
# Hebrew Speakers' Chabad House and Semicha Institute, directed by Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Cohen and his nephew Rabbi Moshe Scharf
# Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim Montreal, headed by Rabbi Aryeh Leib Kaplan, Rabbi Shmuel Kramer, and Rabbi Moshe Abba Stern
# Beis Rivka Girls' Institution, educational director Rabbi Yosef Minkowitz and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Marozov
# Chaya Mushka Seminary for Girls, directed by Rabbi Michael Dahan
# Girls' Seminary in St. Agathe, directed by Rabbi Karlebach
# Or Menachem Yeshiva in Naperville (about an hour's drive south of Montreal), directed by Rabbi Yehuda Meir Dahan
# Mesivta Small Yeshiva, directed by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Raskin
# Côte St. Luc Chabad House for Moroccan Jews, directed by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Raskin
# Chabad Children's Cheder
# Lubavitch Study Hall and Mikvah for Anash, managed by gabbaim Rabbi Shmuel Zalmenov, Rabbi Peretz Matzkin, Rabbi Avraham Gurarya, and others

== External Links ==

* Gan Israel Montreal Camp homepage
* Côte St. Luc Chabad House website
* The Nine Emissaries to Montreal (English) - Brief overview and historical photos, Anash website
* Rabbi Yurkowitz's fascinating description of the city of 'workers' in our generation, on 'Lachlichut Geulati' website
* As per the Rebbe's instruction: Torah conference held in Montreal

== Footnotes ==

# No known connection with our Rebbes, except for signing a Chabad protest against Zionist destructions in the Holy Land, and a mention of his desire to receive the Previous Rebbe during his visit to the United States, as well as a humorous reference in the Rogatchover's letters about the situation where he became a Chassid due to being a rabbi of a Chassidic community.
# Latvia - Synagogues and Rabbis (where he is mistakenly called 'Mordechai'), Latvia and its Rabbis, Igrot Kodesh Previous Rebbe Vol. 7, The Rogatchover New Edition
# New building for the yeshiva
# Graduate of Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim
# Vaad Ha'ir website
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