- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 17
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1936-1992
- Physical Description
- 47 m of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- By 1919 the plight of post-war eastern European Jewry and the need for a united community voice for Canadian Jewry led to the creation of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Its founding meeting was held on March 16, 1919 in Montreal. Though it briefly maintained a tiny regional office in Toronto, the CJC remained inactive until 1933, when it fully reconvened by opening offices in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto. Egmont L. Frankel was the first president of the new central division in Toronto. While the national office in Montreal focused on the overarching issues of the social and economic rights of European Jewry, assistance for Jewish immigrants, and combating prejudice in Canada, the Toronto office dealt with local, violent anti-Jewish demonstrations as well as continuing discrimination both in employment and in access to public recreational facilities. The structure was based on regular national biennial plenary conferences, at which policies were delineated and national and regional executives were elected. Between plenary sessions, national and regional councils were in charge. These were augmented by the following standing committees: administrative, officers, personnel, financial, publications, and educational and cultural. Special committees were created to deal with issues such as: youth, community loans, kashruth, fundraising, Israel, Russian Jewry, and various emergency issues such as refugees, immigration, and housing.
- During the 1930s the central division office moved several times and occupied offices in the following locations: Yonge Street, the Bond Street Synagogue, Scheuer House, the Zionist Building, and its long-term home at 150-152 Beverley Street, where it remained until its July 1983 move to the Lipa Green Building in North York.
- The CJC's activities expanded to include taking responsibility for Jewish educational standards, but by 1941 its main efforts shifted to support for Canada’s war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the focus again shifted to Jewish immigration projects and the maintenance of Jewish identity in small communities. By 1950, the CJC’s use of the title “division” was changed to “region” to accommodate internal operational divisions within each region. Also, by then, the central region was busy expanding its programs for all Ontario Jewish communities, creating a province-wide council of youth groups, and working with the newly-created Bureau of Jewish Education (later Board of Jewish Education, now Mercaz). Standardization of kashruth rules in Ontario was implemented. As well, regular educational conferences and cultural events were held throughout the province, while province-wide fundraising efforts in support of Moess Chittin for relief projects in Israel and for local Congress activities were expanded. Many of its educational and cultural responsibilities necessitated working with other Jewish organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS), Hadassah, the Canadian Legion, B’nai Brith, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and the many landsmenshaften (Jewish mutual benefit societies, each formed by immigrants originating from the same Eastern European community).
- During the 1960s, the central region began sending Moess Chittin relief shipments to Cuban Jews unable to acquire kosher foods for Passover. Its lobbying efforts included participation in the Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda, and its greatest success came with the introduction and implementation of Ontario’s fair employment and fair accommodation practices legislation, an achievement in which Congress played a pivotal role.
- From 1971 to 1989 the major focus became international and national lobbying for, and providing support to, Soviet Jewry. Virtually all local and Canadian efforts to assist the Soviet Jewish “refusniks” were organized and coordinated in Toronto by the Ontario region office, which provided staff and funding for the many lobbying activities and public demonstrations that characterized this successful effort.
- As of November 1975, the central region’s responsibilities in Toronto were radically altered. To improve cost efficiency in Toronto, CJC educational and social service program activities were merged with similar programs already provided by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal. The UJA assumed sole responsibility for these amalgamated programs in Toronto and was renamed Toronto Jewish Congress. The central region still retained province-wide responsibilities for Ontario’s smaller Jewish communities, and its office remained in Toronto. Also, following this reorganization, its name was changed to Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Although CJC no longer provided direct social and educational programs to Toronto, the TJC’s senior executive was, at the time, still obliged to continue to keep it notified about developments concerning previous Congress responsibilities.
- From 1983, the Ontario Region's offices were located in the Lipa Green Building at 4600 Bathurst Street. It continued its work of financially supporting various Israeli institutions and fostering Canada-Israel relations. It also spearheaded the movement to support and protect Jews in Arab lands, especially in Syria. Funding for the CJC came from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, which restributed a portion of the funds raised by the local Jewish federations across Canada.
- The CJC dissolved in 2011. Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) acts as the Jewish community's primary lobby group.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of the records of the Ontario Region office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Of primary importance in documenting this organization’s history are its minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees and the various standing, and short-term committees such as Community Organization, Finance, Fund Raising, Educational and Cultural, Research, Immigration, War Efforts, and Jewish Education. Most of these records are still managed all together within Fonds 17, Series 1.
Fonds 17, Series 2 contains the general subject and correspondence files of these committees. Records in both series require further processing.
- Records now found in Series 3 document the efforts of the Committee for Soviet Jewry in coordinating the activities of the many Toronto and Ontario organizations involved in assisting Soviet Jewry during the 1971 to 1989 period.
- Series 4 consists of administrative and committee records of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies in Toronto from 1938 through 1967. These document its work rescuing the survivors of European Jewish communities, settling as many as possible in Ontario, and providing assistance to those attempting to obtain restitution payments.
- Series 5 consists of the records of the Community Relations Committee (1938-1976). Responding to depression-era anti-Semitism in Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith together established in 1938 a new joint committee. Since then this Committee has documented racist threats in Canada; initiated advocacy activities to work for improved civil rights; promoted legislation combating hate; worked to ensure equality of access to employment, education and accommodation; and investigated specific incidents of discrimination. The Committee, for example, played a key role in achieving the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1944, and the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951, key steps leading to Canada’s current Human Rights Code. Although originally named Joint Public Relations Committee in 1938, a series of name changes later occurred; s follows: Joint Community Relations Committee, Central Region (1962-1978), Joint Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1978-ca. 1991) Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1991-present) Records in this series were reorganized into 5 sub-series and a further 9 sub-sub-series during the 2009 to 2011 period. For further details please view the database records for Fonds 17, Series 5. Although this series will eventually hold all CRC records up to 1992, only those prior to 1979 are currently fully processed.
- Notes
- Physical description note: Includes 1839 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, 4 drawings, and 6 microfilm reels (16 mm).
- Processing note: Processing of this fonds is ongoing. Additional descriptive entries will be added in future.
- Name Access
- Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region
- Subjects
- Pressure groups
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records
- Arrangement
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records.
- Creator
- Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region (1919-2011)
- Places
- Ontario
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Larry Becker collection
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 34
- File
- 36
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1919
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a list of individual members running for election, their professions and number of votes. H. Dworkin, News Dealer, garnered the most votes with a total of 2,989.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Dov Noy : Toronto Yiddish Folklore Recordings fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 133
- Material Format
- sound recording
- textual record
- Date
- 1972-1973
- Physical Description
- 15 cm of textual records
- 222 sound recordings
- Admin History/Bio
- Dov Noy (1920-2013), renowned folklorist and ethnologist, was born on October 20, 1920 in Kolomyja, Poland. He immigrated in 1938 to Palestine, where he began his academic studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He obtained his doctorate in folklore from Indiana University in 1954 with a dissertation on the motif-index of Talmudic-Midrashic tales (under the name Dov Neuman).
- In 1955, he began his teaching career at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he taught aggadah, folk literature, general folklore, and Yiddish. He became professor and holder of the Max Grunwald Chair of Folklore and Hebrew Literature. From this post, he had a profound influence on the development of folklore studies in Israel, mentoring many students and colleagues to engage with folklore and ethnology. He taught and lectured all over the world, particularly on folk narrative and Jewish folklore. He founded and directed the Haifa Ethnological Museum and Folklore Archives (1956–82) and edited the Israel Folktale Archives Publications series until 1981. He founded the Israel Folktale Archives in 1955, now named after him. He was director of the Hebrew University Folklore Research Center from 1968 and edited its journal. He served as the Encyclopaedia Judaica departmental editor for folklore. He started the folklore section at Haifa University within the department of Hebrew Literature. From 1985 to 1992, he served as professor of Yiddish folklore at Bar-Ilan University. In 1992–93 he served as professor of folk literature at Ben-Gurion University and in 1995–96, professor of folklore at Haifa University. In addition to teaching in Israeli universities, Noy devoted himself to spreading Jewish folk culture all over the world. He also wrote and edited about sixty books, including English Folktales of Israel, Jewish Folktales from Morocco, and Studies in Biblical and Jewish Folklore. In 2004, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literary research. Biographies of Dov Noy can be found in the Encyclopedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions (ed. Haya Bar-Itzhak), Who's Who In Israel and Jewish Personalities from All Over the World, and in the Hebrew Wikipedia.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of audio reels, cassette tapes, and accompanying finding aids documenting Yiddish folk songs as recalled by Toronto residents. The recordings were made as part of a pilot project initiated by Professor Dov Noy while a visiting professor at University of Toronto. Participants were primarily residents at Baycrest's Jewish Home for the Aged. Participating organizations were the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies at the National Museum of Man; the Eliakum Zunser Centre for the Study of East European Jewish Folklore at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; and the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region. Fonds also includes various textual records produced during Dov Noy's research.
- Notes
- Scope & Content: Audio reels are copies of the cassette tapes. Cassettes are numbered from 1 to 148, with a DN prefix, and reels are numbered from 1 to 74, comprising two cassettes per reel.
- Associated Material Note: The Canadian Museum of History also holds cassette tapes related to this project.
- Name Access
- Noy, Dov, 1920-2013
- Subjects
- Songs, Yiddish
- Folk singers
- Yiddish folklore
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1974-16
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Julius P. Katz fonds
- Mizrachi series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 55
- Series
- 1
- File
- 53
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1938-1940
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This file consists of notes from the Administrative committee of the Mizrachi Organization World Central and a news bulletin from the Hebrew University
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- David Pinkus fonds
- David Pinkus’ personal records series
- Documents and letters in Yiddish and Hebrew file
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 138
- Series
- 1
- File
- 51
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [ca. 1930]-[ca. 1967]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of records in Yiddish and Hebrew that David Pinkus collected. Included are flashcards, a notebook used as an accounting ledger, documents relating to Talmud Thora Jeshivath Haye Olam and Orphans Kitchen of Jerusalem, a letter written to Mr. [Y.?] Majerowicz in 1932, and a document concerning [Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan’s speech?].
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- General community activities series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 11
- File
- 65
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [ca. 1990]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a programme for a Yom Ha'atzmaut service.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Julius P. Katz fonds
- Mizrachi series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 55
- Series
- 1
- File
- 49
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1936-1939
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This file consists of a updates and letters from the Mizrachi Organization World Central. Also included is a 1948 publication from the Mizrachi Organization World Central.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- B'nai Brith Youth Organization, Lake Ontario Region fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 98
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- sound recording
- Date
- 1932-2001, predominant 1990-1996
- Physical Description
- 86 cm of textual records
- ca. 300 photographs
- 2 wire recordings
- Admin History/Bio
- In accordance with the mandate and ideals of the International B'nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO), the Lake Ontario Region (LOR) is dedicated to helping Jewish youth understand their history and culture while developing leadership skills through various activities and community service programs. BBYO was first introduced in Ontario as early as the 1920s but LOR was not officially established until after the Second World War. In 1929 the B'nai Brith Toronto Lodge sponsored the first youth chapter with 35 young men as bearers. Membership steadily grew overtime and new chapters began opening throughout the province. By the end of the Second World War, the rapid growth of new lodges and chapters resulted in the formal creation of the Southern Ontario Region (SOR), LOR's precursor. SOR included chapters in Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Guelph, and Peterborough. By the 1990s, its name had changed to LOR and chapters from Buffalo, Rochester, and Upstate New York were added to its jurisdiction.
- LOR is organized into a series of chapters comprised of AZA (Aleph Zadik Aleph) for boys and BBG (B'nai Brith Girls) for girls with a focus on teens from grades 8-12. Chapters are supervised by an adult board and are youth-led. Members are democratically elected to office by their peers and have control over planning and organizing programs, which include dances, sports activities, festivals, fundraisers, group discussions, community services, trips abroad, and weekend conventions with other BBYO members. Summer camp programs are also offered with the goal of building interpersonal and leadership skills. LOR remains faithful to its original purpose of providing learning experiences for its youth and instilling within them the desire to contribute to their communities as confident and responsible adults.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records documenting the activities and programs of the B'nai Brith Youth Organization Lake Ontario Region. Included are meeting notices, agendas and minutes, correspondence, reports and evaluations, constitutions and by-laws, policies, financial records, membership statistics, brochures and booklets, scholarship and award applications, manuals, grant requests, photographs, scrapbooks, event invitations,newspaper clippings, programs, lists, publications, and flyers. Records such as statistics and by-laws also document the Laurentian Region, Red River Region, North Star Region, Evergreen Region and Northwest Canada Region.
- Fonds is arranged into sixteen series: 1. BBYO Canada; 2. Regional Board of Directors; 3. Administration; 4. Relations; 5. Correspondence; 6. Reports and Evaluations; 7. Financial Accounts; 8. BBYO Youth Groups; 9. Chapter Advisors; 10. Chapters; 11. Membership; 12. Fundraising; 13. Scholarships and Awards; 14. Programs and Events; 15. Published Material; and 16. Photographs. There are two files attached to the fonds level.
- Notes
- Associated material note: additional material can be found in the B'nai Brith Canada fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
- Name Access
- B’nai Brith Youth Organization. Lake Ontario Region
- Subjects
- Youth movements
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Physical Condition
- Scrapbooks are in fragile condition with loose material inside. Some photographs are ripped, torn, and/or faded. The wire recordings need to be reveiwed and, if the contents are usable, digitized.
- Creator
- B'nai Brith Youth Organization, Lake Ontario Region
- Places
- Ontario
- Accession Number
- 1977-7-4
- 2005-9-8
- 2006-3-10
- 2007-6-5
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Dr. Alexander Brown fonds
- Jewish communal activities series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 95
- Series
- 4
- File
- 11
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [ca. 1967]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of brochures, biographies, and correspondence.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Dr. Alexander Brown fonds
- Jewish communal activities series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 95
- Series
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1934-1982, predominant 1958-1982
- Physical Description
- 7 cm of textual records
- 37 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of textual records documenting Dr. Alexander Brown's various Jewish communal activities. Included are meeting minutes, speeches, publications, correspondence, invitations, flyers, photographs, biographies, newspaper clippings, brochures, a list, and a program.
- Notes
- Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.
- Physical Condition
- A number of the photographs are starting to curl along the edges and have become stiff due to poor storage conditions.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Larry Becker collection
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 34
- File
- 70
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1970-1971
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of miscellaneous correspondence pertaining to the Jewish National Brotherhood (a.k.a. the Jewish National Club).
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- B'nai Brith Lodge No. 1154 fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 91
- File
- 3
- Material Format
- object
- graphic material
- Date
- [196-?]
- Physical Description
- 1 plaque
- 1 album
- 2 pins
- Scope and Content
- File consists of records documenting the lodge's support of the Jewish National Fund. Included is one tribute plaque that was presented to lodge president Maurie Stren, one "Let my People Go" pin, one Israel 46 pin, and one photo album presented by the Karen Kayemeth Leisrael. Photographs in the album document Kibbutz Lakav.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
- Jewish community involvement series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 92
- Series
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- object
- Date
- 1914-1993
- Physical Description
- 11 cm of textual records (1 v.) and other material
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of records documenting J.B. Salsberg's involvement with various Jewish organizations, including: the I.L. Peretz School, the Canadian Jewish Congress, UJA Federation, the New Fraternal Jewish Association, the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and the Canadian Zionist Federation. Included are medallions, pins, a coin, a poster, certificates, photographs, meeting minutes, a test, booklets, event programmes, a transcript, bulletins, notes, newspaper clippings, articles, reports, newsletters, a brochure, and a flyer.
- Notes
- Physical description note: includes 17 photographs, 4 pins, 4 medallions, 1 coin, 1 poster, and 1 certificate.
- Related Material
- For other records documenting the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry see also fonds 17, series 3.
- For other NFJA records see MG 2B-1P and MG9 ("Fraternally Yours" publications).
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- Shomrai Shabbos Synagogue series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 7
- File
- 18
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1958
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence relating to the purchase of trees by the Shamrai Shabbos synagogue as well as a certificate from the Jewish National Fund.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
- Jewish community involvement series
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 92
- Series
- 4
- Item
- 2
- Material Format
- object
- Date
- [ca. 1980]
- Physical Description
- 1 medallion : bronze ; 5 cm in diam. + 1 cardboard box
- Scope and Content
- Item is a JNF Canada Park medallion.
- Notes
- Artifact number 142.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- General community activities series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 11
- File
- 103
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [19-]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a booklet containing a memorial service for the departed and Mourner's Kaddish.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Board of Jewish Education fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 48
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1936-2001
- Physical Description
- 21.5 m of textual records
- ca. 180 photographs : col. and b&w (ca. 165 col. negatives) ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
- Admin History/Bio
- Established in 1949 as the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) is the central Jewish agency in Toronto whose mandate is to preserve, enrich, and promote Jewish education in the Greater Toronto area. Its primary tasks are to coordinate and provide leadership in teacher training and professional development, curriculum development, school administration, and inter-school activities, and also to allocate funds to affiliated Jewish schools raised through the annual UJA Federation fundraising campaign.
- The BJE was established following the recommendations of a 1948 study of Jewish education in Toronto undertaken by Dr. Uriah Z. Engelman of the American Association for Jewish Education, and sponsored by the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF; now, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto) and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Central Region. In its constitution, the bureau was described as having the dual characteristics of being an autonomous agency of the UJWF and also as acting for the UJWF in the field of Jewish education. The bureau was governed by a board of governors with representatives from affiliated schools, the UJWF, CJC Central Region, and from the community at large. The inaugural meeting of the board took place on 20 March 1950.
- The organizational structure of the Bureau of Jewish Education mirrored that of the UJWF, with a board of directors and executive committee, standing comittees, and a professional staff. Samuel Posluns was the first president of the BJE and Dr. Joseph Diamond was its first executive director, serving in this position for 18 years. In the 1950s, the staff consisted of the executive director, an administrative assistant, and a school consultant. Over time, the staff was expanded to meet the increased demand for BJE services as the number of affiliated schools grew. For example, the position of director of school finances was created in 1976 to oversee school budgets, monitor tuition fees and teacher salary profiles, and perform other duties relating to financial management.
- The BJE's offices were located with those of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, first on Spadina Avenue and then on Beverley Street, until the 1960s, when the board moved to offices in the Jewish Public Library on Glen Park Avenue. The board remained there until 1983, when the BJE moved into the newly built Lipa Green Building, on Bathurst Street, along with the other departments of the Toronto Jewish Congress, as the UJWF was renamed in 1976.
- During the 1950s and early 1960s, the BJE sponsored adult education programs in Toronto through the Institute for Jewish Studies, in collaboration with the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) and CJC. The BJE also provided assistance and advice to the CJC in support of Jewish education in the smaller Jewish communities in Ontario. The BJE's role in adult education diminished significantly after its reorganization in 1968, but this again became a responsibility for the BJE in the late 1990s.
- The BJE has gone through several periods of reorganization since it was founded: in 1968, when the bureau became the Board of Jewish Education and its board was reduced in size significantly; in the late 1970s, with the implementation of recommendations of the 1975 UJWF Study Committee on Jewish Education; in the early 1990s, following the development of a strategic plan for the BJE; and in the late 1990s, following the recommendations of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto Commission on Jewish Education (1996). The 1968 reorganization was the most significant of these, with the BJE Board of Directors reduced from over 80 members to just 20 members approved by the UJWF, and the number of standing committees was reduced to two. Stephen Berger was appointed as first chairman of the Board of Jewish Education in 1968, and in 1969, Rabbi Irwin E. Witty became the second executive director of the BJE. Later reorganizations typically involved alterations to the number and responsibilities of BJE committees.
- Although its primary function is to support existing educational institutions, the BJE has also participated in establishing several new instititions in Toronto. In 1953, to meet the need for qualified teachers in affiliated schools, the BJE and CJC Central Region founded a Jewish teachers' seminary (Midrasha L'Morim) in Toronto, which was jointly funded by the BJE and CJC for many years. In 1960, the BJE and UJWF sponsored the establishment of a non-denominational Jewish high school, the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto (CHAT), with the BJE Executive Director as its director. In 1978, the Orah School for Jewish Children from the Soviet Union was established by the BJE, to meet the special needs of the large numbers of recent immigrants from the Soviet Union.
- At its founding, the BJE served a total of 21 day and supplementary schools. When it ceased functioning in 2012, the BJE served more than 70 day and supplementary schools in the Greater Toronto area, with the position of chair held by Baila Lubek and the position of executive director held by Dr. Seymour Epstein. The Board was replaced by the Mercaz and later, the Centre for Jewish Education.
- Custodial History
- The BJE records in accession 1995-8-2 were in the possession of Harvey Raben, formerly a school consultant with the BJE, for several years prior to his donation in 1995, while Raben worked on his Doctor of Education thesis on the history of the BJE.
- Scope and Content
- The fonds documents the interactions of the BJE with affiliated schools, the UJWF and its successors -- the Toronto Jewish Congress (TJC), Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto (JFGT) and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto -- and the community in its work of facilitating and financing Jewish education in Toronto. The bulk of the records consist of the files of the executive director, associate director and director of school finances, and minutes of the BJE Board of Directors and its committees. As well as meeting minutes, these records include memoranda, correspondence, committee reports, budget and financial statements, and a small number of photographs of individuals and of BJE events.
- The fonds is arranged into eighteen series defined by the BJE's organizational units, projects and programs, institutions established by the BJE or its officers, and by record form. These series are as follows: Board of directors and executive committee, Executive director, Director of school finances, Subject files, School files, Chronological correspondence and memoranda, Newsletters and other publications, Midrasha L'Morim, Bible contests, Canada-Israel Secondary School Program, Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Orah School for Russian Jewish Children, Dr. Abraham Shore She'arim Hebrew Day School, Toronto Jewish Media Centre, Meyer W. Gasner Memorial Scholarship Fund, Principals councils, Association of Jewish Day School Administrators, and Parents Council of Hebrew Day Schools
- Name Access
- Board of Jewish Education
- Subjects
- Education
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Related Material
- The records of the Educational and Cultural Committee in the Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region fonds document the CJC's involvement in the establishment of the BJE and the operation and funding of the Midrasha L'Morim. The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto fonds, accessions 2002-10-54, 2004-6-4 and 2004-6-9 contain records on the establishment of the Bureau of Jewish Education, the appointment of UJWF representatives to its board, the reorganization of the bureau as the Board of Jewish Education in 1968, the various studies conducted of the BJE, and the annual review and approval of allotments for Jewish education in Toronto by UJA Federation and its predecessors. Accession 2004-6-4 also contains records on the funding of Jewish education in Toronto by the UJWF in the late 1930s and the 1940s, prior to the establishment of the BJE.
- Arrangement
- Files at the BJE were typically organized alphabetically by subject with no clear division by function or program. While some files were kept in a central filing system maintained by an administrative assistant and shared by all professional staff, staff members also kept their own series of alphabetical subject files. Since staff responsibilities for programs and support of board committees shifted over time, records relating to these programs and activities became dispersed across several sets of files. The archivist has extracted files relating to programs, committees, and areas of activity from these various sets of subject files and defined series according to these activities, programs and functions. The remaining alphabetical subject files have been integrated into one subject file series. File titles have been edited to bring together records relating to similar topics, events and activities within this series.
- The other two common filing methods employed at the BJE were to store correspondence, memoranda and committee minutes chronologically (often in 3-ring binders), and in series of "School files" -- files organized alphabetically by school name, containing correspondence and other records relating to the school. The school files have been brought together into one school file series. The chronological series have been left in their original order.
- Creator
- Board of Jewish Education (1949-2007)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- General community activities series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 11
- File
- 101
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1971-1984
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of invitations and programmes.
- Name Access
- Congregation B'nai Torah (Toronto, Ont.)
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 87
- Material Format
- textual record
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1928-1943
- Physical Description
- 67 cm of textual records
- 1 architectural drawing
- Admin History/Bio
- Sometime around 1919, the Family Welfare Committee was set up within the newly created Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto (FJPT) to perform social welfare work with Jewish families. Around 1931, the Committee was reorganized as an independent member agency of the FJPT and renamed the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau (JFWB). At the same time, Dora Wilensky (1902-1959), a professionally-trained social worker, was hired as the agency’s executive director. Throughout its existence, most of its funding came from the FJPT (later the United Jewish Welfare Fund).
- Located at 179 Beverley Street, the JFWB’s core activities included: relief provision; helping families meet basic needs, such as medical care, heating and clothing; housekeeping assistance; counseling; and case work. The JFWB’s major concerns shifted over time from a rise of immigration and desertion cases in the 1920s to the dramatic increase of wife abuse, suicide, and unemployment cases during the Great Depression of the 1930s. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the JFWB sought ways of assisting soldiers and their families, such as, investigating special government grants to soldiers.
- In an attempt to meet community needs, the JFWB initiated various programs, such as a Homemaking Club to teach women house management skills, and a Clothing Centre to provide families with inexpensive household goods. It also partnered with other local Jewish organizations in the early 1940s in the Liaison Project for troubled Jewish youth. In the 1930s, the Jewish Employment Service and Hebrew Free Burial Society became departments of the JFWB and, in 1941, the JFWB began guaranteeing loans for clients through the Hebrew Free Loan Association. In the same year, the Jewish Big Sister Committee became affiliated with the agency and the Jewish Big Brother Movement followed soon after.
- In 1936, the JFWB became one of the first unionized social agencies in Canada when it formed the Staff Association with the Jewish Child Welfare Association (JCWA), another member of the FJPT. Although the JFWB’s focus was work with families and the JCWA’s focus was work with children, both agencies found it necessary at times to work with both children and families. In order to prevent service duplication and reduce confusion over casework responsibility, the Joint Application Bureau was set up within the FJPT to review all case work applications and determine the appropriate agency to provide assistance. However, a merger between the agencies was still believed necessary to improve service to the community and ease confusion. Discussions regarding the co-ordination of services between the JCWA and the JFWB began as early as 1935 and in February 1943, the JCWA and JFWB merged to form the Jewish Family and Child Services (JF & CS).
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of textual records and one architectural drawing documenting the programs, operation, finances, and special studies of the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau as well as its relationships with other organizations. Included are reports, meeting notices, agendas and minutes, correspondence, memos, budgets, statistics, theatrical scripts, newsclippings, and one architectural blueprint. A number of the records relate to special short-lived committees and projects that the JFWB participated in with other agencies, such as the Jewish Big Sister Committee, Jewish Big Brother Committee, Jewish Child Welfare Association, the Jewish Community Centre Association, the Young Men's and Women's Hebrew Association, and the Jewish Old Folks' Home.
- Records have been arranged into the following 19 series: 1. Board of Directors; 2. Executive Director; 3. Jewish Federation Communal Council; 4. United Jewish Welfare Fund Men's and Women's Service Council; 5. Case Committe; 6. Joint Meetings and Committees; 7. Joint Application Bureau; 8. Homemaking Club; 9. Clothing Centre; 10. Liaison Project; 11. Operational statistics; 12. Finance and accounting; 13. Human Resources; 14. Special projects and studies; 15. Publicity; 16. Liaison with other social welfare organizations; 17. Canadian Association of Social Workers; 18. Welfare Council of Toronto; and, 19. Conferences.
- Notes
- Associated material note: for related records held at the City of Toronto Archives, see also: Welfare Council of Toronto records in the University Settlement House fonds (fonds 1024, series 658); and, Department of Public Welfare records in the Former City of Toronto fonds (fonds 200).
- Name Access
- Jewish Family Welfare Bureau
- Jewish Community Centre Association
- Young Men's-Young Women's Hebrew Athletic Association (Toronto, Ont.) (subject)
- Jewish Old Folks Home (Toronto, Ont.)
- United Jewish Welfare Fund (Toronto, Ont.) (subject)
- Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto (subject)
- Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
- Subjects
- Charities
- Children
- Families
- Nonprofit organizations
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and the head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing some of the records.
- Related Material
- See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family and Child Services fonds (fonds 79); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).
- Arrangement
- Records relating to programs, committees and liaison with other organizations that continued after the formation of JF & CS are arranged with that fonds.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Hillel Foundation, University of Toronto fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 65
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1945-1988
- Physical Description
- 3.72 m of textual records, graphic material and architectural drawings
- Admin History/Bio
- The B’nai Brith Hillel Foundation was founded at the University of Illinois in 1923 by Rabbi Benjamin Frankel. The University of Toronto chapter was established in 1946, by which point there were over one thousand Jewish undergraduates at the university. Hillel’s mandate was to foster students’ Jewish identity, creating a religious, cultural, and communal environment and coordinating the activities of many affiliated sub-groups. Hillel was supported by the B’nai Brith Foundation and the United Jewish Welfare Fund (later the Toronto Jewish Congress), with increasing operational funding from the latter as the decades passed.
- Hillel’s predecessor at the University of Toronto was the Menorah Society, founded in 1917 and disbanded in 1931 due to waning interest. In 1944 the Jewish Student Fellowship was formed, and on January 23, 1946 it was transformed into the University of Toronto B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation.
- Hillel chapters were run with the guidance of a professional appointed by the B’nai Brith Hillel Foundations at American and Canadian Universities. During the period covered by this fonds, U of T Hillel had four directors: Rabbi Aaron Kamerling (director 1946-1970), Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezri (1970-1971), Ben Mayer (1971-1978), and Gerry Fisher (1978-1981). The director answered to a board of advisors, drawn from the university and Jewish communities, that was responsible for maintaining Hillel House, overseeing staffing, and representing the foundation to the public. Early chairmen of this board included Edward E. Gelber, Jack D. Pearlstein, Cyril Houser, Dr. Alexander Lipson, Sidney Midanik, and E. M. Sprackman.
- At the day-to-day operations level, Hillel was run by an elected council of thirteen students under the director’s guidance. At U of T, the Hillel student council created and implemented a yearly program, edited the literary magazine and Hillelite bulletin, and over the years maintained the following standing committees: religious; cultural; house; social; publicity; art, music and drama; United Jewish Appeal; debates; membership; and seminar. The council met monthly and was required to call general meetings bi-monthly.
- Hillel’s first administrative offices were at 492 Spadina Avenue, with programs held in various locations, including the B’nai Brith Youth Organization space at 750 Spadina Avenue, and local synagogues. From the beginning, Hillel joined forces with the B’nai Brith Youth Organization to raise funds for a permanent home on campus for Hillel. Programs in the early years included Shabbat services and lectures, arts performances, dances, personal counseling, and courses such as Jewish literature and Hebrew. Three times a year Hillel published the Scribe, a literary magazine addressing topics of Jewish heritage, life, and prominent figures. This was replaced in the 1950s by an annual magazine named Reflections. The Hillelite bulletin informed members of activities and events. Hillel continued to build the Judaica collection of its Norman Raitblat Memorial Library. It also sent delegates each year to the Hillel Summer Institute in New York State; the Brandeis Camp Institute, a leadership training program sponsored by the American Zionist Youth Commission; and, beginning in 1948, the Inter-Hillel Conference, which was hosted alternately by Queen’s University, McGill University, and U of T.
- In 1950, Hillel acquired a house at 186 St. George Street. Hillel House was formally dedicated at Convocation Hall on January 21, 1951. In December 1977 Hillel House was destroyed by fire, after which its offices were moved to space in the YMHA building at Bloor and Spadina. Programs were hosted for several years at ‘The Lower East Side’ in the Newman Centre at 89 St. George Street. In June 1979 Hillel acquired office space in a house at 604 Spadina Avenue.
- In the 1970s Hillel’s numbers across North America were in decline. In 1974 the Jewish student population at U of T was approximately 3000, but only 400 were registered members. This slump was apparently reversed by the end of the decade, however, when student interest grew enough that a general council of forty students was established to supplement the elected student council (steering committee). 1970s programs included conventions and retreats, United Jewish Appeal fundraising campaigns, a Shabbat co-op, a choir, the Coffeehouse lounge, a film series, a music club, a library society, an annual Purim Bash, an art festival, and counseling groups.
- Hillel also served as the voice of Jewish students at the university. The U of T chapter participated in the fight against quotas for Jewish students and faculty, advocated for kosher food availability on campus, and was successful in persuading the university to avoid having examinations on Jewish holidays. In addition, Hillel often represented the views of the Jewish community to the general student population. It has been involved in the dissemination of Holocaust awareness material and in counteracting propaganda against Israel.
- In 1970, partnering with the Jewish Student Federation of York University, Hillel established the Free Jewish University. Its courses were held on the U of T and York campuses and featured free courses covering a range of intellectual, personal and practical topics. Also in conjunction with York, Hillel published Or monthly newspaper and the Masada quarterly magazine. The latter evolved into a non-partisan newspaper, Migdal, which in turn became Images in the early 1980s. In addition, the Jewish Students’ Enquirer was published monthly, a joint publication of Jewish students at U of T, York University, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, and Seneca College.
- In 1978, with a view to modernize and reinvigorate its image, Hillel changed its name to the Jewish Students’ Union–B’nai Brith Hillel. The decision involved some contention with the Hillel advisory board, and reflected a closer association with the Toronto Jewish Congress. A third unofficial organization name, J.U.S.T. (Jewish University Students of Toronto), was used for the monthly newsletter, J.U.S.T. News. This newsletter was briefly renamed The Rolling Scribe before being discontinued in 1980.
- The 1980s saw Hillel coordinating the efforts and activities of a large number of interest groups: Student United Jewish Appeal, Toronto Student Zionists, Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, Jewish Residence Council, Jewish Studies Course Union, Student Mobilization for Jews in Arab Lands, Moadon Aliyah, Canadian Branch: North American Jewish Students Network, and Israeli Students Organization. Hillel is now represented on three Toronto universities and three college campuses.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists mainly of textual records created, received and maintained by Hillel directors from 1945 through 1988. The records document the directors’ administration and programming activities, Hillel events, and relations with outside organizations. The most concentrated set of records are those of Rabbi Kamerling from the 1940s and 1950s. The fonds is comprised of correspondence, memoranda, reports, newspapers and newsletters, publicity material, calendars of events, financial records, event programmes, and catalogues. There are blueprints of the proposed extension to Hillel House in the 1960s, the mid-1970s renovations, and the new Hillel House on Huron Street considered in 1978. The fonds also includes annual reports for 1953-1955 and 1960-1970, and a number of publications (incomplete sets): the Hillelite and the Hillel Scribe from the 1940s, the J.U.S.T. (Jewish University Students of Toronto) News, its successor The Rolling Scroll, and newspapers Masada, Migdal, Reflections, Or, and the Jewish Students’ Enquirer.
- The fonds contains 130 photographs, predominantly black and white, in the form of prints, contact sheets and 35mm negatives. Aside from 32 head shots of speakers and performers from 1950s events, the photographs date from the 1970s. There are images of plays, meetings, special events, and executive members.
- Fonds is arranged with each director’s files separate and in approximate alphabetical order by file name. The files are loosely based on subject/function, likely as they were originally created. Rabbi Kamerling’s records are in two groups since they were acquired in two accessions (see note below).
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: A small amount of material has been digitized.
- Name Access
- B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation at the University of Toronto
- Related Material
- See MG 9 for a more complete run of publications with which Hillel was involved (eg. Midgal, Images).
- Arrangement
- Processing of the collection maintained each director’s files separate and in their original order. Following the Hillel House fire in 1978, Rabbi Kamerling’s records (1945-1955) were acquired by the Archives. In 1986, additional Kamerling files were acquired (1946-1970). These overlapping sets of records were described and processed separately.
- Creator
- B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.)
- Accession Number
- 1978-3-7
- 1981-5-2
- 1988-11-2
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds
- Letters from Individuals series
- Envelopes file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 148
- Series
- 1
- File
- 196
- Item
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1946
- Physical Description
- 1 envelope
- Scope and Content
- Item is an envelope addressed to the United Ostrovtzer Hilfs Committee and Max Hartstone. The return address is for Arieh Tanenbaum in Haifa, Palestine. A typed translation is included.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- File
- 71
- Item
- 1-2
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- May 1977-Sep. 1977
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 4 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, photographs, news releases, fact sheets, and programmes concerning the annual commemoration held on 11 August 1977. Guest readers included Peretz Miransky, a Toronto area poet, and Mordechai Husid from Montreal. File also contains notes and notices in Hebrew.
- Notes
- Photographer unknown.
- Name Access
- Husid, Mordechai
- Miransky, Peretz
- Subjects
- Poets
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Solomon Edell fonds
- Shomrai Shabbos Synagogue series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 4
- Series
- 7
- File
- 20
- Item
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 4 Sep. 1954
- Physical Description
- 1 booklet
- Scope and Content
- Item is a booklet titled "The Shomrai Shabos Congregation of Toronto: An Appreciation (With Comments on Decorum in Synagogues)." The following is written near the bottom of the front cover: "A sholosh se'udos address to the Shomrai Shabos Congregation, Toronto, Ont., Sept. 4, 1954."
- Subjects
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
