The Winnipeg Beach Synagogue celebrated its 75th anniversary in style with over 100 people crammed in to the tiny structure. The shul was founded in 1950 when a group of cottage owners in Winnipeg Beach bought a single room log school house in Beauséjour and had it moved. It was initially moved to the corner of Hazel Avenue and Grove Street and transformed into a shu1, a great location, not far from the town’s downtown. The schoolhouse was turned into a synagogue.
But in 1998, the Town of Winnipeg Beach made it mandatory for all buildings to have indoor plumbing which would have meant the congregants would have had to pay an for what they considered to be expensive renovations. As a result the shul was hauled to nearby Camp Massad, a Zionist Hebrew-speaking camp and relocated to a little used parking lot on the Camp. Camp Massad itself was founded in 1953 in Sandy Hook, by a group of Winnipeg educators and volunteers dedicated to the State of Israel and the Hebrew language. Marla Binder reminisces that her father Bernie Binder, z"l, who had a cottage in Loney Beach in Gimli "loved going to the Winnipeg Beach shul and as a former preseident of the Board of Camp Massad he was "very pleased when the shul moved to the campsite."
In 2010, a small reception room was added to the shul where the kiddish after services is held. Volunteers helped build this addition, and a sound system was donated.
There are no paid staff of the synagogue, with volunteers running everything. Years ago, while he had a cottage at the beach, Rabbi Peretz Weizman did lead services.
As Marla says "My dad Bernie felt at home there and very much enjoyed the services and contributed to the shul by way of managing the after service whiskey shots as well as contributing financially." She noted that sometimes her mother Bev, z"l, knew about Bernie's contributions bu tthere were "probably other times when she didn't know!"
It’s not surprising that the Winnipeg Beach Synagogue came into being, as historically the town of Winnipeg Beach was a destination for members of the Jewish community, who were barred from Victoria Beach and other resort areas on the Eastern Shore of Lake Winnipeg.
For its first many years, there were Shabbat morning services as well as daily services throughout the rest of the week, with 10 men needed for a minyan. Initially there was twice daily minyan and during that time there was a kosher butcher shop in Winnipeg Beach. Then the twice daily minyan became a once daily minyan and eventually services were held only on Saturday. Then in 2007 when the synagogue services became egalitarian one, with women being counted in the minyan and reading from the Torah. This change to egalitarian services helped ensure the ongoing viability of the synagogue.
Marla Binder recalls how her father Bernie was so pleased wheen his " aynekal" Dylan would join him at services arriving a bit later with his father and her husband Rob Vittera. When Dylan was young he and Rob came for a shorter amount of time. "As Dylan grew up, he and Rob continued to join Bernie at seervices and as a testament to our family's love of the shul, Dylan had his bar mitzvah there in 2017."
People who attend the synagogue say its atmosphere is“ Hamishah”—it has a close-knit atmosphere where attendees feel at home. Usually for a regular Shabbat service there are 30-40 people. Camp Massad holds daily morning prayer services and Shabbat services for its campers and staff but they are not held in the shul.
The Winnipeg Beach Synagogue is one of the few “vintage” log-cabin synagogues in all of North America.
'Bernie is, I'm sure, wishing the shul a big mazal tov & l'chatim on its 75th anniversary," says Marla
Anyone wishing to get in touch with the Winnipeg Beach Synagogue or to make a donation, you can phone 204-488-8519 or email wpgbeachshule@shaw.ca
Mazel Tov to The Winnipeg Beach school turned Shul on its 75th Anniversary. May you go from strength to strength.
