What have been the major Jewish contributions of Canadian Reform Jews?
Rabbi Lerner: Rabbi Harry Joshua Stern, who served Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal for half a century, fought anti-Semitism in Montreal and Quebec. In bygone days, when McGill University had a stiff numerus clausus against Jews, Rabbi Stern reputedly told its principal, “Jesus Christ himself couldn’t get into this university.” Today, McGill has one of North America’s highest numbers of Jewish students. In addition, Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, who was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada after many years in the U.S., provided strong direction for the Reform Movement by building a base of congregations and educational institutions in Ontario; writing thought-provoking articles for the Canadian Jewish News that gave Reform Judaism a respected voice in Canada; and editing The Torah: A Modern Commentary , which remains the standard Torah commentary for virtually all of our North American congregations. Also, Toronto composer Ben Steinberg has enriched the world’s repertoire of Jewis
