Ralph David Barer was born July 8, 1922 to parents Michael and Fanny Barer. He had one brother, Harry Barer, and one sister, Thelma Stein (nee Barer). Ralph grew up in Vancouver, attending Magee Secondary School before going on to UBC, where he received a BASc in Engineering in 1945. This was followed by varied industrial and academic experiences, including a period as an assistant professor at UBC. He completed a Masters degree in Metallurgical Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948. Ralph married Aileen (nee Gordon) in Sarnia, Ontario in 1950, after which he spent over a year working for Cominco in Trail, B.C. He then accepted a position in Victoria to head up a new material science and engineering group for Defence Research Canada in the fall of 1952. This group focused on material failures in naval, aircraft and military equipment. He led this group for 36 years, until his retirement in 1988. Ralph enjoyed raising a large family, and was particularly proud of the achievements of each of his children in their own pursuits. Ralph and Aileen had five children: Morris, Denise, Daniel, Philip and Steven. He was able to enjoy the early years of all ten [at the time of this publication in 2004] grandchildren: Justin, Naom, Michael, Ariana, Lisa, David, Benjamin, Elliot, Amichai and Simon. Ralph was an avid hiker, and spent some of his happiest times tramping through the woods of southern Vancouver Island. Walking the woods with him was always an education, as he had extensive knowledge of all things that move and grow in the Pacific Northwest. He was a passionate supporter of many of the environmental groups struggling to protect the dwindling wilderness places in British Columbia and the rest of Canada.
When Mr. Barer arrived in Victoria in 1952, the Emanuel Congregation had a lay rabbi who led infrequent services and a Jewish community which was run by a few individuals. Due mainly to his and his wife’s desire to create a Jewish environment for their growing family of five, Ralph became actively involved in the Jewish community with special emphasis on the revival of the synagogue. This led to over 50 years of dedicated work on many different committees, serving on the board, serving as a president and editing for 12 years the synagogue’s bulletin “Koleinu” (Our Voice). The results of his work were spectacular. Professional Rabbis were hired and took care of the spiritual life of the growing congregation, funds were raised to improve and enlarge the physical structure of the synagogue, Jewish teachers grew the Hebrew school, and as a result membership grew larger.
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Title based on the collection
Fonds is arranged into 7 series: Congregation Emanu-El board minutes; Congregation Emanu-El financial matters and synagogue constitution; Congregation Emanu-El correspondence; Congregation Emanu-El publications; Fundraising; Victoria BC Jewish Federation; Synagogue matters.
7-A-4, File 8, Rabbi David Seidenberg and Rabbi Victor Reinstein, is restricted.
Copyright applies; permission to publish must be obtained prior to publishing.
Finding aid available.
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The series consists of Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minute files.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1962 - 1979.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1979 - 1980.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1981 -1985.
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Files contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1986 - 1989.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1990 - 1992.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1993 - 1997.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1998 - 2000.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 2001.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 2002 - 2003.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1984-1990.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1990-1994.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El board meeting minutes from 1995-1998.
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The series consists of files on Congregation Emanu-El financial matters as well as their constitutions.
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File contains financial records from Congregation Emanu-El from 1966 - 1988.
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File contains financial records from Congregation Emanu-El from 1991-2002.
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File contains a petty account book from Congregation Emanu-El from 1942 - 1946.
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File contains a receipt book from the 1940s.
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File contains records on cemetery issues from 1961, and 1989 - 2002.
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File contains records of the presentation by Jack Gardner on the cemetery in 2002.
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File contains records pertaining to the cemetery trust fund and cemetery plan.
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File contains copies of the Congregation Emanu-El constitutions and their revisions.
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The series consists of Congregation Emanu-El correspondence files.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1963 - 1964.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1965 - 1966.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1967 - 1968.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1969 - 1970.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1971.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1972 - 1973.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from 1980 - 2002.
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File contains Congregation Emanu-El correspondence records from approximately the 1950s - 1990s.
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The series consists of Congregation Emanu-El publication files, most notably Koleinu files.
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File contains copies of the Emanu-El Bulletin from 1964 - 1973.
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File contains copies of Koleinu from 1993.
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File contains copies of Koleinu from 1994.
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File contains copies of Koleinu from 1995.
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2 photographs (1 exterior of synagogue, copy of L.00872, and 1 interior of a bar mitzvah, new L.17737)
1 copy photo (exterior of Synagogue) on card stock
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File contains a bound ledger from the Congregation Emanu-El from 1942.
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The series consists of fundraising files, most notably files on the Matanah G’Dolah which was a large fundraising campaign to build the new Educational and Cultural Centre attached to the synagogue.
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 1996-1997
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 1998.
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 1999.
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 2000.
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 2001
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File contains records pertaining to Matanah G’Dolah from 2002.
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File contains records pertaining to How to Fundraise from 1981.
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The series consists of miscellaneous Victoria Jewish Federation files (unrelated to Congregation Emanu-El).
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File contains miscellaneous records of the Victoria BC, and US Jewish Federation.
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File contains records pertaining to the Jewish Federation of Victoria, including two issues of Shalom.
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The series consists of miscellaneous files on Congregation Emanu-El matters.
7-A-4, File 8, Rabbi David Seidenberg and Rabbi Victor Reinstein, is restricted.
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File contains general synagagoue matters records from 1967 - 2003.
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File contains membership lists from 1967 - 1992.
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File contains job descriptions from 2002.
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File contains Ecology and Environment Committee records from 1999.
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File contains records of the Israel Michalson Estate from 1968.
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File contains Shalom School amalgamation records.
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File contains Victoria Day Care records from 1990.
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File contains Rabbi search records from 1971, 1975, 1981, and 1998.
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File contains material on Rabbi David Seidenberg and Rabbi Reinstein.
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File contains an article by A.E. Alexander, ‘How Israel impressed me’ (1960); and writings by Fred Cooperstock from 1984.
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File contains newspaper clippings from 1960 - 2003.
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File contains records pertaining to the emergency fundraising during Israel's Six Day War from 1967.
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File contains Land Registry and Site Plan records from 1892 - 1990.
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File contains Ralph Barer Presidency records from 1963 - 1968.
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File contains hand written fragments belonging to Ralph Barer from 1960.
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File contains miscellaneous material on synagogue matters.