Thank you to all of you who have enabled the
restoration of the Rose Window!

The unique and irreplaceable stained glass was threatening to bend and crack; the concrete lattice work needed reinforcement. Experts said that one more winter would cause irreversible damage.
 
Thanks to the many who donated in support of this restoration project, the Rose Window and the lancets beneath it have been removed and taken to the studios of professional glass artists, where they are being completely taken apart, thoroughly cleaned, repaired and reassembled. The window will be reinstalled in the spring as soon as temperatures can be expected to remain at the minimum level required. At that time, the many smaller windows which remained in place will be cleaned and inspected for damage and repaired as required.
 
The success of our Rose Window campaign is a tribute to the power of our Temple community and to the promise of renewal that lies ahead.

The History of the Rose Window

Early in 1942 Dr. Sigmund Samuel approached the Board of the synagogue with an offer to present the Temple a great rose stained glass window over the main doors of the Sanctuary. After much deliberation the design was awarded to Peter Haworth, an exhibiting painter and well known stained glass artist who had emigrated to Canada from London, England in 1923. The Rose Window was manufactured at Robert McCauslan Limited (the oldest stained glass studio in North America) under Haworth’s guidance and unveiled in 1943.

The Rose Window or “The Circle is Complete” (the title of the work by the artist, features a red centre triangle containing the word Adonai (Yad, Hey, Vav, Hey) set into the concrete Magen David. The twelve circular panes around the centre contain the emblems of the twelve tribes of Judah, with the symbol of each tribe. The seven lower panels offer symbolic representation of the biblical account of the seven days of creation and the lower medallions in the same windows contain images of the implements of Judaic ritual.

Sigmund Samuel dedicated the Rose Window in memory of his parents Lewis and Kate Samuel, among the founders of Holy Blossom in 1856.

If you would like to make a contribution in support of the restoration of the Rose Window, please click below or call the Holy Blossom Temple Foundation office at (416)789-3291 ext.265.