A synagogue and a church break bread

Last Friday, as the setting sun shone into the high windows of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Cantor Leslie Emery opened a pair of sliding brass doors at the front of the sanctuary to reveal six scrolls wrapped in coverings embroidered with Hebrew letters.

Five of the scrolls contain the complete Torah — the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — handwritten with a quill and ink on parchment. Some of the scrolls are more than 100 years old.

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The congregation reads aloud from these scrolls several times a week.

“When we read the stories of the Bible, when we read the stories of the prophets, when we observe Jewish holidays, we’re actually recounting the history of our ancestors,” Emery said.

Every Friday evening a rabbi and a cantor lead the congregation in a prayer service to welcome the Sabbath.

This particular Friday was different. The service was part of an interfaith exchange. Half of those gathered in the room were Jews, the other half were Christians. Twenty-five members of Charleswood United Church joined the congregation of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue for worship, followed by a meal. Next month, 25 members of the synagogue will do the same at Charleswood United.

“We’re not walking into each other’s buildings trying to persuade one another to join our religion. That’s not what it’s about,” Rabbi Carnie Rose said. “We want to be in fellowship, sharing what makes us tick, what makes us feel, what makes us special and unique.”

“We want to be in fellowship, sharing what makes us tick, what makes us feel, what makes us special and unique,” Rabbi Carnie Rose says. (Photo by Mike Sudoma/ Free Press)

“We’re recognizing that there’s been some tensions and difficulties for the Jewish community in Winnipeg, and we want to be part of the resolution to that, to be neighbours and friends,” Charlewood United Rev. Michael Wilson said.

Some might be surprised to hear about a United Church joining a synagogue for prayer, given the historic tensions between the United Church of Canada and some Jewish organizations. In December 2023, the United Church of Canada called Israel’s destruction of Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack a genocide and called for a ceasefire, a move that upset the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. The United Church of Canada has also angered Jewish groups by supporting boycotts of certain goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Wilson said he was aware of those tensions, but they weren’t the focus of the exchange. “I don’t think our congregation is totally on board with some of the positions the United Church has taken, and in the United Church you’re allowed to do that,” he said.

The focus, he said, was on being “good neighbours” with another spiritual community in Winnipeg.

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As the service was about to begin, Emery translated a quote from the Torah inscribed in Hebrew on the front of the lectern — “love your neighbour as you love yourself” — familiar words for anyone from a Christian tradition.

“I feel like I’m welcoming some neighbours into our sacred space today,” she said.

A member of Charleswood United wanted to know why Hebrew is read from right to left.

“You think that’s difficult? I was a rabbi in Japan,” Rose said, gesturing vertically. “That’s a whole other story.”

As Emery tuned her guitar, Rose explained the cantor’s role. “The cantor is the minister of music, the heart and soul of what happens up here. Much of what we do is singing, because we know that music moves the spirit and allows us to feel the presence of the divine in our lives.”

Cantor Leslie Emery leads the audience in song during a joint interfaith service with members of Charleswood United Church Friday evening at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. (Photo by Mike Sudoma/ Free Press)

Emery encouraged the visitors to do their best to sing along with a transliteration of the Hebrew text, which was projected on a screen next to the original.

“Nobody in the history of Jewish tradition has ever been thrown out of synagogue for singing too loud or off key,” Rose said. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. That’s what it’s all about.”

The service opened with the Kaddish, a mourner’s prayer for those who have recently died. Then the congregation sang a prayer welcoming the Sabbath, followed by Psalms. At least one melody — written by Judaism’s most famous bard, Leonard Cohen — was familiar to most.

After the prayer service, the two congregations mingled over a meal of roast chicken and vegetables. They talked about differences and similarities between their traditions and the challenges each congregation faced.

How did a bar/bat mitzvah differ from a confirmation? What does the cup of wine symbolize in Jewish tradition? (It symbolizes joy, not blood, as it would in a Christian communion service.)

And what was happening in the Blue Bombers game that night, which observant Jews weren’t allowed to watch because the Sabbath had begun?

“Unless someone else turns on the TV and you just happen to walk through the room,” Rose said.

Nancy Jeffries, a lifelong member of Charleswood United, said her congregation worried about dwindling attendance and few young families. “How do we make it relevant for parents and their children?” she asked.

“It’s not just the Christian community asking those questions,” said Paulie Rose, who is married to the rabbi.

Karen Riddell told the story of how Charleswood United decided to become affirming of 2SLGBTQ+ people. “Every person voted yes,” she said, “even people in their 80s and 90s.”

Wilson asked Rose how Jews and Christians read the Scriptures differently. Rose explained that in the Jewish tradition the sacred texts are always read together with a commentary.

“We believe the Messiah is still on his way, and you believe he’s on his way back,” he said, smiling. Then, turning serious: “It’s nice to talk about the things that are different. Not because they divide us, but because they’re interesting.”

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Josiah Neufeld is a writer in Winnipeg and the author of “The Temple at the End of the Universe.”

This story was produced in conjunction with Winnipeg Free Press, as part of a joint Religion in the News partnership covering issues of faith in Manitoba and nationally.