The founding meeting for the Reform congregation, later to be known as Temple Emanuel, was held on August 23, 1882, in Lindsay Hall, St. Catherine Street West.

The May 2, 1884 issue of Hamelitz, a Russian newspaper printed in Hebrew, record of events that lead up to the breakaway of members who would create Temple Emanuel.

The building included facilities for education, social gatherings and auxiliary groups, and an auditoriumlike sanctuary with mixed seating.

[2] The new building, which had been built in 1911 in Westmount on land donated by Sir Mortimer Davis, was expanded significantly to the west in 1941 to add an additional all purpose hall and school facilities.

On Friday, April 22, 1960, the new building and its sanctuary were dedicated at a service, conducted by Dr. Harry J- Stern, leader of the congregation.

[4] The pieces that form the Aron Museum's collection come from around the world, like a silver Hanukah menorah from Uzbekistan, and reveal both the diversity and continuity of Judaism across time and space.