A Brief History of The Beth Tzedek Congregation

In the spring of 1996 eighteen members of the Edmonton Jewish community inaugurated the participatory, self-reliant, egalitarian congregation Beth Tzedek. For the first three months of its existence it met for Saturday morning services in the Jewish Drop-In Centre. Then the congregation rented a room at the Robertson United Memorial Hall where it continued to hold Saturday morning services. Soon after this the congregation acquired its own Torah from the Beth Israel synagogue in North Battleford, Saskatchewan to replace the one it had on loan.

Beth Tzedek held its first High Holiday services in 1996 with Cantor Avinoam Sharon leading the services to usher in the New Year 5757. Cantor Sharon returned three more times ('97, '98 & '99) to lead the services of Beth Tzedek in celebrating the Yom Tovim. In 1998 Beth Tzedek moved to the chapel of the Edmonton Talmud Torah, where it has held regular services up to the present time. In the new century, 2000, Cantor Jack Goldberg was engaged to lead the Yom Tovim services for the New Year 5761 and he has remained as cantor in residence.