Rabbi Kravetz joins as our new rabbi accompanied by his wife, Adina, and their children.

No one will soon forget the impact of Covid! As a shul we had to stop our minyanim for a short time due to government regulations, but for the most part we continued with regular minyanim at the shul and held classes over Zoom. Masks and social distancing…oy vey! Every cloud has a silver lining, and now we have a tent in which we can enjoy Shabbat Kiddush’s outside.

After a long career of service to our shul and the Ottawa community at large, Rabbi Howard Finkelstein becomes Rabbi Emeritus.

After a tragic car accident in June 2010, Rabbi Yehuda Simes was left a quadriplegic. Strengthened by his faith, and with the love and support of his family and friends, the Rabbi was able to teach and started his “Rolling Rabbi” blog that had more than 10,000 followers. Rabbi Simes passed away seven years after the accident. As a testament to his faith and strength, and in recognition of his impact on all of us, a new torah was purchased for the shul through the support of many donors within the city and beyond.

The idea to make a hügelkultur garden on the shul front lawn started as a vision of a few congregants and, over time, expanded into a community project. This beautiful garden complements the CBTO flower garden – also designed and maintained by members of our community. The hügelkultur garden generates fruit and vegetables that are regularly donated to the food bank.

Sadly, today’s reality means that we need to be even more vigilant and prepared. To this end, doors, windows and locks were strengthened and security cameras added to our building.

Ian Kagedan, one of our past presidents and a pillar of our community, developed a motor neuron disease. Inspired by his determination to attend Shabbat services as long as he possibly could, the shul embarked on a project to install a Shabbat elevator. This effort was part of a wider set of accessibility improvements made to the shul to support our members and visitors with mobility issues.

Chazzan Subar joins our shul as cantor, enhancing our services with his wonderful voice.

Our Shul becomes independent of Beth Shalom and acquires a new name: Congregation Beit Tikvah of Ottawa.

The shul receives the wonderful aron kodesh from the old Adath Jeshurun synagogue (on King Edward Avenue). Originally built in 1904, the aron is a beautiful enhancement of CBTO and represents a link across generations in the Ottawa Jewish community.

Cantor Danny Benlolo joins our clergy. Along with his wonderful voice, he brings his Sephardi culture to enhance our services.

Although some had come to love the exposed girders above (!), it was now time to round out our wonderful sanctuary with a proper ceiling. The large fleishig kitchen was also completed as part of the phase III enhancement.

Rabbi Finkelstein joins as our new rabbi, accompanied by his wife Rivka. During his tenure at our shul Rabbi Finkelstein also serves as an educator at the community schools and is one of the driving forces behind the establishment of Yitzchak Rabin High School.

The social hall in our lower level was completed. The shul now boasts a wonderful area for enjoying kiddush or a meal after a simcha.

The final panes of glass on the front doors are installed at 6:50 p.m. and the first Shabbat services are held starting Friday 7:00 p.m. But, our new home still requires numerous finishing touches.

After numerous delays in site plan approval and obtaining building permits, construction finally begins. Beth Shalom West is located on Chartwell Avenue in the heart of Craig Henry on one acre of land, generously donated by Jack and Irving Aaron.

Rabbi Gershon Sonnenschein becomes our first full-time rabbi.

The dream of our shul began, led by Rabbi Basil Herring and a small group of Jews from Ottawa’s west end. As this dedicated group grew in size, so did the dream of a permanent facility. Travelling from party room to roller disco cafeteria to daycare centre became such a tedious task that in June 1982 the first plans for Beth Shalom West “The Building” were unveiled. In 1983 the Project Management Committee was formed and given the task of creating the specifications for a building which could house our needs and fall within our financial boundaries.