Part Of

Dr. Alexander Brown fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

95

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1934-1982

Physical Description

58 cm of textual records

125 photographs

1 print

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Alexander Brown (1909-1984) was a leader in the field of Jewish education in Toronto. He held various positions with Toronto’s Board of Jewish Education (BJE) and the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, and was actively involved with other Jewish organizations, such as the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and the United Jewish Welfare Fund (UJWF).

Brown was born in the Ukraine on 14 February 1909 to Louis and Bessie Brown. The family immigrated to Canada in 1920. Brown attended the Simcoe Street Talmud Torah and studied under Rabbi Jacob Gordon. He continued his education at the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago and returned to Toronto in 1933. Between 1934 and 1936 Brown served as the first executive secretary of the CJC, Central Region. From 1936 to 1937 he was an announcer for the Jewish Radio Hour, where he read the News of the Week. In 1945 he graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA and then again in 1948 with an MA in Oriental languages. Brown was married to Dorothy Mercovitch (1912-2009) of London, Ontario, and together they had two children: Martin and Paul.

Brown entered the field of Jewish education as the principal of Shaarei Shomayim Hebrew School from 1942 to 1948, as a principal of the AHS of Toronto and as dean of the Midrasha L'Morim. From 1957 to 1964 he worked as a consultant with the BJE in Toronto and then became the BJE's associate director until the early 1980s. He also was a member of the UJWF’s Study Committee on Jewish Education, the National Council of Jewish Education, the Toronto Zionist Council, and the Educational and Cultural Committee of the CJC. In 1969, he received an honourary doctorate in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois.

Dr. Brown died on 15 September 1984 at the age of 75.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Paul Brown, Dr. Brown's son, until their donation to the OJA.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of textual and graphic material documenting the professional activities of Dr. Alexander Brown. The bulk of the material relates to his involvement with the BJE and the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto. Included are meeting notices, agendas, and minutes, reports, studies, speeches, proposals, constitutions, correspondence, financial records, publications, questionnaires, photographs, booklets, articles, biographies, press releases, newspaper clippings, programmes, invitations, flyers, lists, applications, statistics, and a directory.

Records have been arranged into the following four series: 1. Board of Jewish Education; 2. Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto; 3. United Jewish Welfare Fund Study Committee on Jewish Education; and, 4. Jewish communal activities. Two files are attached directly to the fonds level. Records are described to the file level with a selection of item level descriptions.

Notes

Fonds was reduced from approximately 1.2 metres to 0.74 metres. Records that were culled include duplicate or damaged photographs, duplicate graduation programmes and invitations, duplicate UJWF Study Committee Interim reports that are located elsewhere in OJA's holdings, and other duplicated material. Also removed were American and other non-Canadian booklets.

Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.

Name Access

Brown, Alexander, 1909-1984

Gordon, Jacob, Rabbi

Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto

Board of Jewish Education (Toronto, Ont.)

United Jewish Welfare Fund (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Education

Physical Condition

The photographs are in poor condition. They have begun to curl and have become stiff from being stored in a dry environment. They should be flattened through humidification and encapsulated in mylar to prevent re-curling.

Related Material

See: Oral history interview with Dr. Brown (AC 140), Board of Jewish Education fonds 48, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds 67, AHS of Toronto MG2 G-1E, accession 1981-11-4, United Synagogue Day School accession 1990-5-2, accession 1991-12-5, and accession 1988-11-3. For photographs of Jewish schools see Gordon Mendly fonds 18, series 3.

Arrangement

Arrangement has been created by the archivist since there was no discernable original order.

Creator

Brown, Alexander, 1909-1984

Accession Number

2009-7-9

2010-12-9

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Dr. Alexander Brown fonds

Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto series

Level

Series

Fonds

95

Series

2

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1945-1982

Physical Description

37 cm of textual records

84 photographs

1 print

Admin History/Bio

The non-denominational and Zionist Toronto Hebrew Religious School (the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto ‘s precursor) was established in 1907 to provide Jewish children with a Jewish education based on Torah values. Originally situated on Simcoe Street, the school moved to Brunswick Avenue in 1925. As the Jewish population in the city grew, additional branches of the school were opened throughout the city. Although classes were originally taught five days a week in the evenings, the first day school opened in 1943 with 25 students. The Associated Hebrew Day School expanded in the late 1950s to include a junior high, and in the 1960s the Community Hebrew High School (now TannenbaumCHAT) opened. Dr. Alexander Brown began his career with Associated as the Principal of Shaarei Shomayim Hebrew School from 1942 to 1948. He later served as Principal at Associated.

Scope and Content

Series consists of textual and graphic material documenting Dr. Alexander Brown's involvement with the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto. Included are meeting notices, agendas and minutes, reports, speeches, articles, press releases, publications, correspondence, photographs, invitations, programmes, financial records, statistics, lists, constitutions, and educational resources.

Notes

Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.

Name Access

Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto

Physical Condition

Many of the photographs have begun curling along the edges and have become stiff due to poor storage conditions. Some photographs also have had sections cut out of them.

Source

Archival Descriptions