- Part Of
- Zionist Organization of Canada fonds
- National Administrative Council and Executive Board series
- Minutes of meetings sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 28
- Series
- 1-1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1919-1970
- Physical Description
- 32 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- The sub-series consists of the minutes of meetings of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (1919-1921) and of the National Administrative Council and Executive Board (1919-1970).
- Prior to 1947, minutes of the National Administrative Council and the Executive Board were interfiled by date. Beginning in 1947 Council and Board minutes were kept in separate binders, and only the minutes of the Executive Board have survived.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Zionist Organization of Canada fonds
- National Administrative Council and Executive Board series
- National Treasurer sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 28
- Series
- 1-3
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1929-1968
- Physical Description
- 16 cm of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- The National Treasurer of the Zionist Organization of Canada was a member of the National Administrative Council and the Executive Board. The National Treasurer was responsible for reporting on the financial situation of the Zionist Organization of Canada through the presentation of auditor's reports and financial statements. These documents were presented for review and approval at national conventions.
- Scope and Content
- The sub-series is organized into two sub-sub-series: auditor's reports (1929-1966); and, copies of financial reports submitted by the treasurer to the national conventions (1922-1968).
- 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
- Part Of
- Zionist Organization of Canada fonds
- National Administrative Council and Executive Board series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 28
- Series
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1919-1977
- Physical Description
- 86 cm of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- The National Administrative Council was the executive and administrative body of the Zionist Organization of Canada. From 1919 to 1921, its predecessor for the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada was known as the Executive Committee for Zionist Affairs in Canada, or the Executive Committee of the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada.
- At its convention in 1921, the Zionist Organization of Canada adopted a constitution which called for the election of a National Administrative Council at each convention, to be responsible for administration of the Organization between conventions. The first meeting of the National Council took place on 7 February 1921, at the Zionist Headquarters in Montreal. The Council was composed of the Organization's executive officers, regional representatives and representatives from Hadassah-Wizo and Canadian Young Judea. An Executive Board was also formed, which included members elected at the conventions, ZOC executive officers and the immediate past-president, the chairs of National Administrative Council standing committees, representatives of Hadassah-Wizo and Young Judea, and other National Administrative Council regional representatives elected from the Council's members. The Board could also appoint additional members at its discretion to assist in its work. The Executive Board was delegated to carry out the decisions and ongoing work of the National Administrative Council and of the Organization generally.
- Scope and Content
- The series is organized into five sub-series, which includes: minutes of meetings of the National Administrative Council and the Executive Board and their predecessor, the Executive Committee for the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (1919-1970); correspondence of the Council and the ZOC Executive Vice-President (1970-1976); auditor's reports and financial statements maintained by the National Treasurer (1929-1968); records of the Council's Constitution Committee (1952-1975); and, records of the Commission of Enquiry Regarding Canadian Olim (1975-1977).
- Source
- Archival Descriptions