- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 62
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1919-2001
- Physical Description
- 93 cm of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born on December 24, 1916 in Toronto, graduating from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a B.A. in modern languages. Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. In 1943, he joined the war effort, working for the Department of National Defense in Postal Censorship and was responsible for reviewing prisoner of war mail. After the war, Kayfetz traveled to British Occupied Germany where he worked as a censor of telecommunications with the Control Commission until 1947.
- Upon returning to Toronto, he was hired as the National Director of Community Relations by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), and as the Executive (National) Director of the Joint Community Relations Committee (JCRC), a CJC - B'nai B'rith cooperative organization. He also served as the Central Region Executive Director of the CJC between 1973 and 1978. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups to develop anti-discrimination laws and for the protection of minority and religious rights. Kayfetz was also actively involved in promoting the welfare of Jewish Communities worldwide, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985, to study and report on the state of these Jewish Communities. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote Human Rights, he was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1986.
- In addition to his professional activities, Kayfetz wrote articles for various Jewish publications under both his own name and the pseudonym, Gershon B. Newman, and gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), Canadian Jewish Historical Society and Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died in 2002.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of materials produced or acquired by Ben Kayfetz in both his personal and professional capacity. It includes biographical materials, minutes, correspondence, recorded CJC and JCRC meetings, memorabilia, transcripts and recorded versions of CHIN radio broadcasts he delivered, as well as various interviews, speeches, articles, book reviews and works he composed. Fonds also consists of minutes, agendas and other records of various Yiddish and historical associations Mr. Kayfetz was involved in.
- Notes
- Physical Description note: includes 20 photographs, 107 audio cassettes, 1 Beta video cassette and 1 object.
- Fonds includes audio tapes 1-5, 7-32, 35-37, 39-42, 44-45, 47-50, 53-56, 58-64, 66-67, 70-85, A1-A5, A7-A9, A12-A14, A16-A20, A23-A28, A30, A32-A38 and A40-A43.
- Name Access
- Kayfetz, Ben, 1916-2002
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Related Material
- Audio tapes AC 246-AC 275 belonged to Ben Kayfetz and are related to this fonds.
- Creator
- Kayfetz, Ben, 1916-2002
- Accession Number
- 1975-012, 1976-10-4, 1980-12-13, 1982-2-2, 1983-6-2, 1985-4-2, 1987-2-3, 1996-5-4, 1998-3-22, 2000-11-4, 2004-3-1, 2004-5-20, 2006-2-9, 2006-8-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Personal series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 1
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1933-1999
- Physical Description
- 5 cm of textual records and other material
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of biographical materials and memorabilia relating to Ben Kayfetz and his family. Materials include newspaper articles, a taped interview, certificates, awards, university examinations, personal memorabilia from his service in Germany and materials relating to the Bronfman Medal and Order of Canada he received. This series also contains the video "The Life and the Times of Ben Kayfetz".
- Notes
- Audio tape A14 is part of this series.
- Physical description note: includes 1 photograph, 1 audio tape and 1 Beta video cassette.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Canadian Jewish Congress and Joint Community Relations Committee series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- sound recording
- Date
- 1948-1986
- Physical Description
- 9 cm of textual records
- 45 audio cassettes
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of correspondence, minutes, reports, audio recordings of meetings and other materials relating to Ben Kayfetz’s tenure with the Canadian Jewish Congress and Joint Community Relations Committee. This series also includes records of the Joint Public Relations Committee, which was a precursor of the Joint Community Relations Committee.
- Notes
- Audio tapes 13-19, 26, 30-32, 36-37, 40-45, 50, 53-56, 58, 61, 64, 66, 70, 80, 85, A4, A8, A12, A14, A18, A23, A26, A34, A36, A38-A42 are part of this series. Materials in this series have been physically arranged into three categories: CJC materials, JCRC materials and correspondence. The files have been
arranged chronologically within these categories.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Correspondence series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 2
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1942-1996
- Physical Description
- 13 cm of textual records
- 1 photograph
- Scope and Content
- Series consits of incoming and outgoing correspondence between Ben Kayfetz and various individuals and organizations, and includes correspondence during his service in British-occupied Germany. Correspondence relating to Canadian Jewish Congress/Joint Public Relations Committee and correspondence relating to the various societies and associations Ben Kayfetz belonged to, are located in their respective series.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Collected materials series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- object
- Date
- 1919-1970
- Physical Description
- 11 cm of textual records
- 18 photographs
- 1 object
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of various materials collected by Ben Kayfetz. It includes various items from Nazi Germany including a Jewish yellow star and number on a badge, Nazi hymn book and a service book of a Nazi Stormtrooper. Among the other materials are photographs of the Bronfman family, World War II enlistment posters, Peretz School Composition books and Jewish Old Folks Home Committee minutes.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Correspondence series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 2
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1942-1945
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence between Ben Kayfetz and various people during the Second World War.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Personal series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 1
- File
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1927-1999
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of certificates of honour, a high school diploma, a university diploma and other memorabilia of Ben Kayfetz and his family.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Personal series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 1
- File
- 6
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1945-1947
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of materials relating to Ben Kayfetz's service with the Control Commission in British Occupied Germany. Materials include troop movement orders, a berthing card, an immigration identification card and other materials.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Correspondence series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 2
- File
- 2
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1945-1946
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence between Ben Kayfetz and his brother David while Ben was stationed in Germany.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Correspondence series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 2
- File
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1945-1947
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 6 postcards
- 1 photograph
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence between Ben Kayfetz and his family while he was stationed in Germany.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Correspondence series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 2
- File
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1946-1947
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records.
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence between Ben Kayfetz and various people while he was stationed in Germany.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Collected materials series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 3
- File
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- object
- Date
- [1940?]-1946
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 badge
- Scope and Content
- File contains a yellow star badge that Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis and the letter Kayfetz sent along with it. He acquired the item while working in British-occupied Germany in 1946.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Collected materials series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 3
- File
- 13
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1948
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of an operating budget and plan for the development of the Jewish Community Centre on Bloor street, which was erected in the 1950s.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Collected materials series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 3
- File
- 14
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1947
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains issues no.12 and 18 of Unzer Sztyme (sometimes spelled Unzer Sztime), a Yiddish periodical expressing the concerns of post-WWII Jewish refugees. Unzer Sztyme was published in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons camp after the Second World War.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Personal series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 1
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1933-1999
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 photograph
- Scope and Content
- File consists of newspaper articles, resumes and other materials documenting and summarizing various aspects of Ben Kayfetz's personal and professional life and includes articles documenting awards he received, career changes and his retirement.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ben Kayfetz fonds
- Canadian Jewish Congress and Joint Community Relations Committee series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 62
- Series
- 4
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1948
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains a kit distributed by the Fair Employment Practices Commission regarding combating racial and religious discrimination in the workplace. This kit was distributed to Ben Kayfetz in his capacity as the National Director of Community Relations at the Canadian Jewish Congress.
- Notes
- "To gauge public opinion, the JPRC commissioned the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion to take a poll on anti-discrimination legislation. Canadians were asked to consider the following: 'In some parts of the United States, it is against the law to refuse a man a job because of his race, color or religion. Some people approve of this because it ensures equality for all; others disapprove, claiming it interferes with employers. Would you approve or disapprove of such a regulation in this province?'(77) Although the public would remain unaware of it, the Canadian Jewish Congress paid for the poll. Congress officials did so because they were uncertain of the outcome and wanted to reserve the right of publication in the event that the results were unfavourable.(78) Since a majority of those polled favoured anti-discrimination legislation, the results formed the basis of a massive publicity campaign in Ontario. Editors of newspapers and magazines could now confidently be approached to publicize fair employment practices legislation. The poll's results were also included in a fair employment kit that was prepared by the Canadian Jewish Congress and distributed to a large number of community groups." - Ruth Frager and Carmela Patrias
- Subjects
- Discrimination in employment
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1859-1980
- Physical Description
- 35 cm of textual records
- 10 photographs
- 41 architectural drawings
- Scope and Content
- Series contains reference materials created by and written about the synagogues. Primary records include commemorative booklets, a small number of newsletters, brochures, and programs from special events. There are also newspaper clippings and copied articles providing histories of synagogues. There is a small number of photograph prints and negatives, but many of the files also include photographs from books, magazines or photocopies. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by city, then by synagogue. Not every synagogue the project team researched has a reference file, and there may be reference files for shuls for which no photographs survive.
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 64
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1859-1980, predominant 1977-1979
- Physical Description
- ca. 5178 photographs and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- The “Shuls Project” was the work of three University of Toronto architecture students, who in 1977 wrote a research paper on the eight Toronto synagogues built before World War II. Concerned at the lack of resources on these synagogues, Sidney Tenenbaum, Lynn Milstone and Sheldon Levitt foresaw the loss of communities’ recorded history as membership dwindled and elders passed on. The students conceived a project that would photograph and document every synagogue in Canada, gathering visual evidence, memorabilia, plaques and stories before they disappeared and history was lost. The students’ goal was to document synagogues’ architecture, art, and historical development through research, interviews and site visits.
- The students secured a large portion of the required funding for the project from the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in Montreal, funding which was matched by the Canadian Jewish Congress. This financial support enabled Levitt, Milstone and Tenenbaum to begin their study, named “Shuls… A Study of Canadian Synagogue Architecture.” They began in the summer of 1977, traveling through the Western provinces. The next summer, they visited eight Maritime cities, Montreal and other Quebec communities. Financial support in the project’s second year was again provided by the Bronfman Family Foundation, along with the Canadian government and donations in kind from businesses, including Benjamin Photo Finishers in Toronto, and Polaroid. The summer of 1979 was spent in Ontario, with an added grant from Wintario. In total, the Shuls project team traveled over 24,000 kilometres, taking thousands of photographs and conducting several hundred interviews. Photographs were taken by Tenenbaum, with Levitt and Milstone assuming primary responsibility for researching synagogues’ history and gathering historic records. Interviews were conducted by all three researchers, in both English and Yiddish.
- With no handy index of every shul in Canada, the researchers located small shuls by word of mouth. They spread word of their project and solicited assistance using press releases, letters to known communities, and slideshow presentations as they traveled. They would first examine a building to get an idea of a community’s character and heritage, then conduct interviews with designers, architects, rabbis and other prominent community members.
- With the research and photographs created, the team compiled three catalogues of the Western, Eastern/Quebec, and Ontario phases of the project. These catalogues have entries on each synagogue that include historical summaries highlighting the founding, growth, mergers and decline of Jewish communities, their changing needs, changing architectural expressions and trends, and the evolving uses of synagogues over the course of the twentieth century. There are also building descriptions, some with critical comments by the authors, and lists of the photographs and slides produced.
- The compilation of materials and preparation of these catalogues took place at the Project’s offices at 26 Ava Road in Toronto, and continued through the summer of 1980 when the Ontario catalogue was completed. In 1985, Tenenbaum, Milstone and Levitt published a book highlighting their work, called Treasures of a People: The Synagogues of Canada.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of the records created and collected by the team of students conducting the Shuls study from 1977 to 1980. The majority of the fonds is made up of graphic material, in the form of 35mm colour slides and black-and-white Polaroid prints and (print-size) negatives. There are approximately 5110 photographs in the fonds. Fonds also consists of notes and inventory forms of buildings' architectural features. There are no interview transcripts, but the fonds does include three audio cassettes with recorded interviews and shul tours. Reference materials used in researching the history of the shuls include dedication and anniversary commemorative books and programmes, newsletters, articles and newspaper clippings. In addition the fonds contains 47 blueprints, the majority from Montreal synagogues. The fonds is arranged in the following series: 1. Quebec synagogues; 2. Ontario synagogues; 3. Western Canada synagogues; 4. Eastern Canada synagogues; 5. Reference.
- Notes
- Physical description note: includes 92 cm of textual records, 42 architectural drawings, 3 audio cassettes, and 1 drawing.
- Physical extent note: many of the slides were culled because they were felt to be reproductions. Some of the synagogue images in the research book may therefore not be included in the fonds.
- Name Access
- Shuls Project
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Creator
- Levitt, Sheldon
- Milstone, Lynn
- Tenenbaum, Sidney T.
- Places
- Canada
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 12
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1949
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains photocopied pages from the synagogue's 1949 Dedication program.
- Name Access
- Beth Isaiah Congregation (Guelph, Ont.)
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Guelph (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 23
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Date
- [ca. 1910]-1978
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 4 photographs : b&w prints (2 negatives) ; 12 x cm
- Scope and Content
- File contains notes, lists, clippings, copied pages from directories and 4 unidentified photographs (2 negatives).
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Montréal (Québec)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 33
- Material Format
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1947
- Physical Description
- 7 architectural drawings
- Scope and Content
- File contains 7 blueprints for the 1947 extension and alterations to the shul.
- Name Access
- Congregation Ahavath Shalom
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Montréal (Québec)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 41
- Material Format
- textual record
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1859-1978
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 4 architectural drawings
- Scope and Content
- File contains photocopied articles, a newspaper clipping, photocopied photographs, a greeting card with photograph on cover, copies of the 1859 contract commissioning the erection of the synagogue as well as a list of specifications for the masons, and blueprints for the 1967 extension.
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Montréal (Québec)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 45
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1932-[ca. 1965]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains dedication book for new building (1960), copied articles, assorted pamphlets and programmes.
- Name Access
- Temple Emanu-El (Montréal, Quebec)
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Montréal (Québec)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 48
- Material Format
- textual record
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1949, 1978
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 architectural drawing
- Scope and Content
- File contains a form letter from the congregation regarding High Holiday services (17 July 1978), and a blueprint for the auditorium building (1949).
- Name Access
- Young Israel of Montreal
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Montréal (Québec)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 49
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1925, 1945
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains one copied newspaper article and several other transcribed newspaper articles.
- Name Access
- House of Israel
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Moose Jaw (Sask.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 54
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1944, [1975?]
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains two short historical overviews.
- Name Access
- Temple Israel
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Ottawa (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 66
- Material Format
- textual record
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1920-1977
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 architectural drawing
- Scope and Content
- File contains a copied photograph from The Jewish Post, the congregation's constitution adopted in 1920, and a blueprint from 1955.
- Name Access
- Agudas Israel
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Saskatoon (Sask.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 75
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1935-1979
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains a 1979 newsletter, "Voice of Radom," and copies from the 10th and 30th anniversary booklets.
- Name Access
- Beth Radom Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)
- Subjects
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- The Shuls Project fonds
- Reference series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 64
- Series
- 5
- File
- 96
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1930-1978
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains the shul's dedication programme from 1930, the 25th (1954) and 49th anniversary programmes (1978).
- Name Access
- Congregation Shaar Hashomayim
- Subjects
- Anniversaries
- Synagogues
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Windsor (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions