Congregation Maghen Abraham in Montreal is a Sephardi

Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

 Jewish Lebanese

History of the Jews in Lebanon

The history of the Jews in Lebanon deals with the presence of Jews in Lebanon, which stretches back to Biblical times.-Jews in Lebanon today:Lebanese Jews are traditionally a Mizrahi community living mostly in and around Beirut...

 community located in the district of St-Kévin in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

It is named in honor of the Maghen Abraham Synagogue

Maghen Abraham Synagogue

The Maghen Abraham Synagogue , is the oldest synagogue in Beirut, Lebanon. Located in the former Jewish district of Wadi Abu Jamil it was abandoned after Israeli shelling destroyed the synagogue during the Lebanese Civil War...

 in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded to meet the needs of those Jewish Lebanese families moving to Montreal.

In the sanctuary, Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 is read to the congregation from the bimah

Bimah

A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...

 and the Torah scrolls are stored in the aron kodesh on the east wall. The congregation face towards the east, and Jerusalem, in praying. The ornamentation features symbols such as Stars of David, signs of the zodiac and natural forms.