In the riverside border city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Jewish community leaders are stepping up to run programming for the 35 member families of Congregation Beth Jacob. The synagogue—gearing up to celebrate its 80th anniversary next year—can no longer afford to hire clergy to conduct High Holiday services. Instead, over the next month, the prayers will be all DIY, led by local congregant Tova Arbus, who’s filling the shoes of her father, Jeff Arbus, a former union activist. But while the younger Arbus prepares to take the reins, she recognizes that even her father only led the High Holidays prayers once, last year. For decades, he led everything else, including Shabbat services. This year, Jeff is facing sudden medical issues. Another of the shul’s former presidents, 80-year-old U.S. Army veteran Gil Cymbalist, died on Sept. 8, after battling ALS. With the older generation passing the baton, Arbus is determined to help revitalize Jewish life in her hometown. She’s helping to prep pre-teens for their bar mitzvahs; she’s holding family Jewish education classes; she’s even working with the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. to mount a new exhibit on Jewish life, in honour of Beth Jacob’s upcoming 80th anniversary in 2026. Tova Arbus joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast to discuss her efforts to sustain the Jewish community’s future ahead of a hectic High Holiday season.

Related links

• Learn more about Beth Jacob Synagogue in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, and how to lend artifacts for the exhibit.
• Read more about Sault Ste. Marie’s famous novelist, author and lawyer Morley Torgov, profiled in The CJN archives.
• Watch the 1973 National Film Board documentary on small Jewish communities in Northern Ontario and how they survive.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Bret Higgins

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