The founder of Vancouver’s first Jewish high school, who spent 15 years at the helm of Congregation Schara Tzedeck, is remembered for helping develop a vibrant and inclusive community in Canada’s third-largest city.
Rabbi Mordechai Feuerstein died on April 5 in Teaneck, N.J. He was 78.
After growing up in Boston—where his grandfather, Samuel Feuerstein, founded the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools in the 1940s and his father served as president of the Orthodox Union—he worked as the first assistant appointed to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, a famed American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern Jewish philosopher.
It was 1984 when he arrived at Schara Tzedeck—along with his wife Shayndel Feuerstein—to helm a pulpit in Vancouver, whose Jewish population numbered approximately 15,000.
At the time, Rabbi Philip Bregman of Reform congregation Temple Sholom had recently formed the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver (RAV).
“RAV is one of the very unique rabbinical associations that includes all of the denominations. All of the synagogue rabbis are involved. There’s tremendous respect for each other. Reb Mordechai and I became instant friends despite the major difference between us—he was a Boston Red Sox and I a Toronto Blue Jays fan.
“Beyond his scholarship, which was immense, was his empathy and kindness,” Rabbi Bregman told The CJN.
Temple Sholom was hit by a Molotov cocktail in January 1985. The building and much of the interior was destroyed, including many Torah scrolls. Several weeks after the fire-bombing Rabbi Feuerstein contacted Rabbi Bregman with an idea.
“‘Phil, I know that you’re holding services at the JCC and your religious school classes are at the Vancouver Talmud Torah. But where is your daily office work taking place?’
“I told him that we were operating in a small, two-bedroom apartment but had come to realize that the space wasn’t big enough and we were now looking for some alternative. And then he said to me the most incredible thing. ‘Phil, I have space here at Schara Tzedeck and I would be honoured if you’d consider moving your office here.’ Shortly after, we moved into Schara Tzedeck synagogue where we remained for two-and-a-half years while our building was being built. And he vehemently refused to take any rent for the time we were there.”
When the Orthodox synagogue decided to refurbish their mikveh, they turned to the Vancouver Jewish community, including Temple Sholom to participate in their fundraising campaign. When it reopened, the refurbished mikveh was also renamed: The Community Mikveh at Schara Tzedeck. “That mikveh is open to every synagogue in the city,” said Rabbi Bregman.
The current rabbi of Schara Tzedeck praises Rabbi Feuerstein for setting an example he has tried to follow.
“He was kind, straightforward, and he was someone who lived very much by the ethics of Jewish law. He was a person of exceptionally high moral character,” said Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt. “He was inclusive, but always within the boundaries of Jewish law.”
Rabbi Feuerstein and his wife regularly welcomed people of all backgrounds and faiths into their home for meals and believed that everyone deserved a chance or a second chance. However, he was surprised to discover that on one occasion he and his family had extended their hospitality to a professional con artist who was subsequently featured on the show America’s Most Wanted.
Rabbi Feuerstein’s spirit of inclusion extended to the rituals surrounding the end of life as well.
“We have our own Reform cemetery, the Conservative synagogue has their own cemetery and there is an Orthodox cemetery,” said Rabbi Bregman. “The Orthodox community also administered the Chevra Kadisha, the Jewish burial society. For years it was only Schara Tzedeck members who were represented on the Chevra Kadisha. Then one day my wife was asked to join. That opened up another avenue in the community. Today every synagogue is represented.
“Because of our relationship with each other we had a tremendous amount of cohesiveness in the community.”
Rabbi Feuerstein was also passionate about Jewish learning. In 1987, he founded the Maimonides High School. “He planted seeds even if others would reap the harvest,” his daughter Nechama Rosengarten said.
Reisa Schwartzman, a former board member at King David High School, praised Rabbi Feuerstein and his wife Shayndel for their pioneering spirit.
“He was really involved in establishing the high school when it was Maimonides. Many years later when we when we needed to make changes to make it more financially viable, we started the King David High School. But without his foresight of making Vancouver ‘bigger minded’ than just having a Talmud Torah it would have been a lot harder to start the expanded King David High School. We would have had to start from scratch.”
Over the past 40 years, the Vancouver Jewish community has gone from around 15,000 to a number approaching 30,000, securing its status as the third-largest in Canada.
After Rabbi Feuerstein left Vancouver in 1999, he moved to the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston, N. J. He retired in 2013, and remained passionate about learning for the rest of his life.
Rabbi Feuerstein leaves his children Leah Feldman, Dovid Feuerstein, Shifra Tepper, Penina Samet, Aviva Feuerstein, Yosef Feuerstein, Elisheva Dinter and Nechama Rosengarten and many grandchildren. He also leaves his sisters Joanne Greer and Esther Zemelman and brother Henry Feuerstein. He is predeceased by his wife Shayndel.
