Rabbi Jordan Pearlson, who rented a church for his congregation's first service, has died at 83.
While still a student in 1954, Pearlson founded the Temple Sinai Congregation in Toronto's Wilson Ave. and Bathurst St. area, and oversaw the synagogue's growth from 14 families to more than 6,000 worshippers by the time he retired in 1995.
"The synagogue had its first formal service on a Friday night under his guidance in Asbury & West United Church," his successor Michael Dolgin said. "In 1954, that was no minor thing, on either side – for the church to agree, or for him to initiate, together with our founding members.
"Throughout his career, both in the city and worldwide, he was strongly committed to interfaith dialogue and understanding."
Pearlson was born Sept. 2, 1924, in Somerville, Mass.
Before becoming a rabbi, he completed degrees in engineering and law.
His first focus was to build the synagogue, but he also distinguished himself nationally and internationally.
He was a Canadian member of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations and the only rabbi in the lectureship's 100-year history to give the Chancellor's Lectures at Queen's University School of Theology.
He was the first rabbi appointed to chair the National Religious Advisory Committee to the CBC and, from 1979 to 2004, he wrote a religion column for the Toronto Star.
"He had a ribald sense of humour," recalled Libby Stephens, his editor for the last few of those years. "I used to enjoy his calls ...
"He was outspoken in a friendly way," she said. "In his columns, you could hear his voice. His sentence rhythms were exactly the same as in his speech."
His successor also recalled Pearlson's wit.
"He had a sense of humour that many found surprising in a clergyman," Dolgin said.
"He loved humour and off-colour in particular.
"When he and I spoke privately, he would tell me that when you've seen what a rabbi of a community sees for decades, any excuse to laugh is a good one."
Pearlson died Feb. 19 of an undisclosed cause.
