Accession Number

2022-8-4

Material Format

architectural drawing

graphic material

object

textual record

sound recording

Physical Description

ca. 11 m of textual records and other material

Date

1930-2012

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the life and career of Rabbi Benjamin Friedberg. Included are subject files, eulogies, sermons, marriage records, funeral record cards, conversion certificates, gittin (Jewish divorce documents), addresses for High Holiday services, and photographs. Also include are a few artifacts, such as felt patches and medallions, as well as sound recordings. A large number of documents are relating to Rabbi Friedberg's rabbinical career at Beth Tzedec Congregation.

Administrative History

Rabbi Joseph Benjamin Friedberg (1927-2022) was born on June 26, 1927, in Toronto to Chaim (Chamel) and Rochel Rose Friedberg. Rochel Friedberg was born in Polaniec, Poland (Russian part of Poland), the daughter of Moshe and Sura Poss. Rochel had little formal education but learned Talmud from her father. In her youth, Moshe came to Toronto to make a living and had to leave the family behind; shortly thereafter, World War I broke out, and Rochel was sent to the town of Stopnitz. She was then sent to Crackow to work. Rochel married Chaim (Chamel) Friedberg from Patchenev, who was enlisted in Pilsudski’s army. Before the Great Depression, Rochel and Chaim immigrated to Canada. Later on, Chaim took ill and had to go to the Western Sanitarium; soon after that, he passed away in 1957. Rochel passed away in 1992.

Rabbi Benjamin Friedberg was a native of Toronto and received his basic religious and secular education there. He attended Harbord Collegiate in his youth. After spending a number of years at the Yeshiva University in New York, he returned home to attended the University of Toronto, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. In 1950, Rabbi Friedberg entered the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He received his Master of Hebrew Letters degree and rabbinical ordination in 1954.

Rabbi Friedberg’s first pulpit was in Rochester, New York. He served as assistant rabbi at Beth Tzedec Congregation in 1955; and then as rabbi of B’nai Israel Congregation in London, Ontario. In 1959, he received his Master of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in Bible and Archaeology. As part of his doctorial program, he studied in the Department of Archaeology and Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; he also spent several years studying in the Department of Religion at the University of Ottawa with special emphasis on the Samaritans.

In 1961, Rabbi Friedberg was called to the pulpit of Agudath Israel Congregation in Ottawa, Ontario, where he served for thirteen years until 1974.

In 1974, he was appointed senior rabbi at Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto. His major emphases in the congregation were the development of both child and adult education and emphasizing Israel as the dominant fact in Jewish life today. Much of the programming at Beth Tzedec that he instituted dealt with Israel.

Rabbi Friedberg’s interest in Jewish education was responsible for the founding of a Hebrew High School in Ottawa. His concern with Jewish youth prompted him to devote his time as counsellor to the Hillel Organization on the campuses of the University of Western Ontario, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa. He taught Bible, Biblical Hebrew, and courses in Judaism at the University of Ottawa; and was an occasional lecturer at the University of Western Ontario in the Orientals Department. While living in Ottawa, he was active in a number of Jewish communal organizations. He was the founder and the organizer of the Ottawa Soviet Jewry Committee and was head of the Jews in Foreign Lands Committee and Canada-Israel Committee. Also, he was on the Social Welfare Council and was chairman of the Aliyah Committee in Ottawa.

Rabbi Friedberg was active with the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and the Canadian Zionist Federation (CZF). He worked actively on behalf of the CJC’s Educational Department. He was on the executive of the CJC Central and Eastern Regions and served as national chairman of the CJC’s International Affairs Committee. As an active Zionist, he served as national chairman of the Hasbara Committee of the CZF and was president of Mercaz Canada, the Zionist organization of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement. He also organized Israel tours and led Israel tour groups for a number of times. Rabbi Friedberg was the recipient of citations of the UJA, State of Israel Bonds, and various other awards in recognition of his communal work. In addition, he had also been invited to serve as a member of Teddy Kollek’s Jerusalem Committee.

Rabbi Friedberg was a contributor to Anglo-Jewish press, television work, and radio. He was chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Religious Advisory Committee and hosted his own television program called “Focus.” He had written for the London Free Press, and the Ottawa Citizen, and a number of Jewish periodicals.

Rabbi Friedberg was married to the former Lola Constant of Montreal (1930-2022). They had three children together—Mark, Gilah, and Esther. Lola Friedberg had a degree from McGill University in Arts and Music. She had given two-piano recitals in conjunction with her twin sister, Miriam “Mitzi” Leboff, on a number of occasions. Lola had taught piano and conducted choirs in Montreal and Ottawa.

Use Conditions

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Subjects

Rabbis

Sermons

Eulogies

Name Access

Friedberg, Benjamin, 1927-2022

Beth Tzedec Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Ottawa (Ont.)

London (Ont.)

Jerusalem

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1981-9-1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

text

Physical Description

1.5 m of textual records and graphic material

Text

Artifacts

Date

1928-1981

Scope and Content

Accession consists of textual records and graphic material documenting the life and career of Rabbi David Kirshenbaum of London, Ontario. Included is material related to Congregation B’nai Moses Ben Judah and Congregation Or Shalom, communal records, minutes, articles, sermons, orations, correspondence, books, periodicals, notes, photographs, scrapbooks, personal and family records and awards. Also included are the following artifacts:

Shochet's knife and sharpening stone. -- [ca. 1925-1960]. -- 1 sharpening stone : stone, black ; 0.8 x 7.5 x 2 cm; 1 knife : metal, gold, black and silver ; 21 cm. This shochet’s chalef (ritual slaughtering knife) and sharpening stone belonged to Rabbi David Kirshenbaum (1903-1981), who served in London, Ontario from the mid 1920s until his retirement in the 1960s. This size of knife, used for poultry, was specially-designed to maximise cleanliness, speed, and efficiency, and minimise pain. During the height of the Jewish markets in the Kensington area, from the 1920s until the 1940s, buyers had the option of paying someone to pluck the chicken’s feathers, or they could bring the animal home and do it themselves.

Pen and pad given to the Zionist Organization of Canada, Central Division 27th Convention.

Ontario Zionist Region conference delegate badge. -- 1 badge : textile, blue and gold ; 10 cm in length. -- A light blue ribbon with a pin at the top saying "Rev Kirshenbaum, London".

Administrative History

Rabbi David Kirshenbaum (1902-1981) was born in Koriw, Poland and came to Canada in 1921. In 1926 he became rabbi of B’nai Moses Ben Judah Congregation in London, Ontario and remained in that position until his retirement in 1966. During his tenure in London he was active in many Jewish organizations including the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Jewish National Fund, the Israel Histadrut Campaign and the Jewish Community Council of London. He was a regular contributor to Yiddish and Anglo-Jewish publications. His articles appeared in the Hebrew Journal, Kanader Adler, Voice of Radom and The Jewish Standard. He was also the author of several books : Our Chassidic Treasuries, What is General Zionism?, Ships at Sea, A Journey to Israel, Mixed Marriages and the Jewish Future, Religion: Love or Hate? and Feast Days and Fast Days. He was also elected to the Board of the Victoria Hospital Trust and served on the University Assembly of the University of Western Ontario.

Rabbi David Kirshenbaum was married to Pearl Kirshenbaum.

MG_RG

MGC 6

Subjects

Rabbis

Name Access

Kirshenbaum, David, 1902-1981

Places

London (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch file

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

25

Material Format

textual record

Date

1983, 1995

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Rabinovitch left England to take a rabbinical postion in Israel.

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence relating to a visit to Toronto by Rabbi Nachum L. Rabinovitch and newspaper articles about his activities in Israel.

Name Access

Rabinovitch, Nachum L., 1928-2020

Subjects

Rabbis

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

4939

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1981

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 21 x 26 cm and 12 x 10 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Chaim Weber died on 8 February 1987 in Miami, Florida. He was the husband of Faye and father/father-in-law to Barry and Marsha, Sheryn, and Solomon and Shirey, as well as the grandfather of Mark, Rochelle, and Janna.

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Rabbi Chaim Weber of Pembroke, Ontario. He is pictured standing on a staircase wearing a tallis and holding a prayer book.

Name Access

Weber, Chaim

Subjects

Rabbis

Places

Pembroke (Ont.)

Accession Number

1987-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

4940

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1981

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 26 x 21 cm and 12 x 10 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Chaim Weber died on 8 February 1987 in Miami, Florida. He was the husband of Faye and father/father-in-law to Barry and Marsha, Sheryn, and Solomon and Shirey, as well as the grandfather of Mark, Rochelle, and Janna.

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Rabbi Chaim Weber of Pembroke, Ontario. He is pictured in a suit, standing in front of some bushes.

Name Access

Weber, Chaim

Subjects

Rabbis

Places

Pembroke (Ont.)

Accession Number

1987-3-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2010-11-10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 photographs : col. and b&w ; 12 x 12 cm

Date

1945-2006

Scope and Content

Accession consists of bound memoir of Cohen's experiences during the Second World War, writings on Lieutenant Theodore Herman as well as two photographs.

Administrative History

Kelman Cohen is a Second World War veteran of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. Cohen was born in Toronto, the second child of Morris Cohen and Esther Minden. Morris, a carpenter, immigrated from Russia in 1912 and Esther immigrated from Russian that same year with her parents to Hamilton. The two met in 1920, married and lived in Toronto. They had a daughter, Jacqueline in 1921, and Kelman in 1925. Cohen joined the Royal Canadian Engineers Reserve Unit at the Exhibition Armories at the age of sixteen. In May 1944, at the age of eighteen, he joined the regular army and was placed in basic training at Brantford, Ontario with the Canadian Infantry Corps. He was sent overseas to England in December 1944 and saw action in Belgium, France and Germany.

Source

Archival Accessions

Level

Item

Item

5085

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[198-]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Jack Riemer of Beth David Congregation in Miami, Florida. Riemer's photograph was kept by Beth Sholom's adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Congregation Beth David (Miami, Fla.)

Riemer, Jack

Subjects

Portraits

Rabbis

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

Miami (Fla.)

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5088

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi David Hartman. Hartman's photograph was kept by the Beth Sholom Synagogue adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Hartman, David, 1931-2013

Subjects

Portraits

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5093

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1987

Physical Description

1 photograph ; b&w ; 14 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Benjamin J. Segal. Segal's photograph was kept by the Beth Sholom Synagogue's adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Segal, Benjamin J.

Subjects

Portraits

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5096a

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich at home of Ken Saltsman. The snapshot features several men and women.

Notes

There are two photographs that have been assigned the photo #5096.

Subjects

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5096b

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich at home of Ken Saltsman. The snapshot features several men and women.

Notes

There are two photographs that have been assigned the photo #5096.

Subjects

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2015-9-10

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1930-1989

Scope and Content

Accession consists of various lettters, one in Polish and others in Hebrew and Yiddish. One of the letters appears to have been addressed to Rabbi Shemen's mother (Gitl), although undated, it appears to be from the late 1920s or early 1930s. A letter in Yiddish is addressed to the Boimoil family of Chodel, Poland. Boimol was the original last name of Rabbi Shemen.

Custodial History

It appears that the documents came directly from Rabbi Nachman Shemen

Administrative History

Rabbi Shemen was a Rabbinic scholar, author and Jewish civil servant. He held the following positions: Executive secretary of the Canadian Federation of Polish jews (1940-1993), Director of Orthodox Division of CJC, Ontario (1950-1992). Rabbi Shemen died in 1993.

Subjects

Families

Letters

Rabbis

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993

Places

Toronto, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2017-12-2

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

15 cm of textual records

22 photographs : col. (12 negatives) ; 9 x 9 cm and 35 mm

3 signs

Date

1938-1982

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records belonging to Rabbi Abraham A. Price. The bulk of the records are marriage registers from 1938 to 1982. There are also some loose marriage certificates spanning 1939 to 1946, Price's registration certificate as a marriage officiant from 1938, a letter in Yiddish, and his Isaac Kook Award of Merit certificate, as well as some photographs and corresponding negatives of a family vacation. Also included are three kashruth signs. One was issued by the Kashruth Council of the Canadian Jewish Congress (likely in the 1950s); the other two are hand-painted and were issued by Rabbi Price (likely in the 1940s). They are in both Yiddish and English and read: "Certificate of Kashruth. All meat and meat products of this butcher shop is strictly Kosher under the supervision of Rabbi Abraham A. Price."

Custodial History

The donor is the son-in-law of Rabbi Price.

Administrative History

Rabbi Abraham A. Price (1900–1994) was a prominent rabbi and Talmudic scholar in Toronto. He was born on 10 December 1900 in Stopnitz, Poland, to Rabbi Joseph and Basia Price. He married Sarah Wine and had two children: a son, Moshe Leib, who predeceased him, and a daughter, Leah (Lola) Zuchowsky. He also had a brother, Lazar.

Price lived in Poland until 1923, when he moved to Berlin and became a banker. He left Berlin for Paris in 1931 and lived there for six years, before fleeing to the United States in 1937. Rabbi Price originally went to New York City but spent only ten days there before moving to Toronto.

Rabbi Price studied with world-famous scholars Rabbis Abraham Borenstein and Sillman, by whom he was ordained at the Rabbinical Seminary Sochatzow (Sochatov), Poland, in 1919. He was hired in 1937 by Moishe Oelbaum, Moishe Sigal, and W. J. Silverberg to head Yeshivah Torath Chaim and to act as the official rabbi of Chevra Shas Congregation. Price remained dean of the yeshivah until at least 1985. He published ten volumes of highly-acclaimed rabbinical studies, including three volumes of Mishnath Avraham with commentaries of the Book of the Pious "Sefer Chasidim," which were awarded the Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook Award of Merit in 1965. It was the first time this prize was given to an author outside Israel.

Price was one of Toronto's most influential rabbinic authorities. He worked tirelessly to help European yeshivah students during and after the Second World War. In 1942, he orchestrated the release of over fifty German-Jewish men from an internment camp in Quebec and brought them to study at the yeshivah. In 1948, he again intervened to sponsor fifty-five young yeshivah boys from Prague. He brought these boys to study at Torath Chaim as well.

Rabbi Price died on Thursday, 31 March 1994, in Toronto.

Descriptive Notes

Language: Records are in Yiddish and English.

Subjects

Marriage records

Rabbis

Name Access

Price, Abraham A., 1900-1994

Source

Archival Accessions

Level

Item

Item

4334

Material Format

graphic material

Date

11 Apr. 1980

Physical Description

2 photographs : (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Right to left: Rabbi Yitzchok Kerzner; Rabbi Gedalia Felder; Rabbi Zolty, chief rabbi of Jerusalem; Yitz Feldman; and Rabbi Nachman Shemen.

Name Access

Felder, Gedalia, 1922-1991

Feldman, Yitz

Kerzner, Yitzchok

Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993

Zolty, Yaacov Bezalel, 1920-1982

Subjects

Portraits, Group

Rabbis

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1987-12-9

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch file

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

25

Item

2

Material Format

textual record

Date

21 Nov. 1995

Physical Description

1 newspaper clipping

Scope and Content

Item is a newspaper clipping from the 21 November 1995 edition of the Toronto Star

Notes

Physical condition: Severely faded.

Availability in other format: Also available as a PDF file.

Subjects

Rabbis

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

4008

Material Format

graphic material

Date

14 Sep. 1984

Physical Description

1 photograph : col

Notes

No restrictions.

For identification of others, see accession record.

Name Access

John Paul II, Pope, 1920-2005

Pearlson, Rabbi Jordan

Toronto Board of Rabbis

Subjects

Rabbis

Popes

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-9-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6009

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Aug. 1987

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Harvey Meirovich officiating at a wedding ceremony between Mr. Neuman and Ms. Le.

Subjects

Marriage service

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6011

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Aug. 1987

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Mr. Neuman and Ms. Le on their wedding day with Rabbi Harvey Meirovich, who officiated at the ceremony.

Subjects

Couples

Rabbis

Weddings

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6012

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Aug. 1987

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Mr. Neuman and Ms. Le on their wedding day with Rabbi Harvey Meirovich, who officiated at the ceremony.

Subjects

Couples

Rabbis

Weddings

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Fonds

Fonds

103

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1993

Physical Description

45.9 m of textual records

35 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Nachman Shemen, a rabbinic scholar, author, and Jewish civil servant, was born Nachman Boimoil in Chodel, Poland on 15 March 1912. His great-grandfather was a disciple of the founder of Hasidism in Poland, known as the “Seer of Lublin,” and both of his parents were descendants of Hasids and scholars. Shemen was ordained in Warsaw in 1929 at age seventeen by the chief rabbi of Warsaw, Rabbi Eliezer Ezra Kershenbaum of Lublin, and the famous scholar Rabbi Pinchas Eliezer Grosfershtand. In 1930, he settled in Toronto with his family, becoming a teacher at the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah until 1965. He was also a disciple of Rabbi Yehuda Lieb Graubart, spiritual leader of the city’s Polish Jewish community and an internationally respected rabbinic authority and author. In 1936, he married Toby Rosenberg and they had a son and three daughters.

From 1940 until his death in 1993, Shemen was a secretary of the Canadian Federation of Polish Jews, later known as the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, serving as secretary of the Toronto branch and executive secretary of the national executive. From 1954 to 1993, he was director of the Orthodox Division of the Canadian Jewish Congress, now known as the Kashruth Council of Canada.

Shemen was a prolific writer, contributing articles to periodicals not only in Canada, but also in the United States, Europe, South America, and Israel. Shortly after his arrival to Canada, Shemen began a journalistic career with the Toronto Hebrew Journal. Writing under seven pen names, his works appeared in numerous Yiddish dailies, weeklies, and periodicals around the world. From the mid-1950s, he served as the editor of Yidishe Nayes for a decade, a monthly bulletin published jointly by the Canadian Jewish Congress and the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto. He edited commemorative volumes for many Toronto Jewish organizations and wrote more than twenty books ranging from biographies of rabbis to works on fascism, Chasidism, and labour issues. He was also a founder and volunteer rabbi for the Torah V’Avodah Congregation.

Custodial History

The records of this fonds were housed in the basement study of Rabbi Shemen's home on Lonsmount Drive in Toronto until 1987, when a flood prompted an emergency effort by his family to rescue the collection. Material was not packed carefully, and was transferred to dry boxes without regard to size or subject. The flood also encouraged Shemen to offer the collection to the archives.

It was Shemen's intention to donate the material piecemeal as he reordered it, and to assist in its processing at the archives following his retirement; however, illness prevented him from doing so. The collection was instead transferred to the Ontario Jewish Archives in a state of disarray in several accessions between 1987 and 1991. Processing began in May of 1996 when funds were made available from the Canadian Council of Archives and other sources.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records that provide insight into the career and thought of Rabbi Nachman Shemen, an influential figure in Canadian Orthodox Jewry. It consists primarily of textual records, both in English and Yiddish, and includes minutes and correspondence related to Canadian Jewish Congress, the Kashruth Council of Toronto, the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, and the Kehilla of Toronto, as well as Shemen's own articles and monographs together with research material for his writings. Also included are Shemen's private correspondence with scholars and literary figures throughout the Jewish world. Of special interest is the plethora of ephemera collected over a half-century.

Notes

Associated material: For related material, refer to records at the Archives of Religious Zionism at Bar Ilan University in Israel.

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, 1912-1993

Torah V'Avodah Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Authors

Orthodox Judaism

Rabbis

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

For related material at the OJA, refer to the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah fonds, Canadian Jewish Congress fonds, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds, United Jewish Refugee and War Relief series and the Rabbi David Kirshenbaum accession.

Arrangement

Attempts were made to restore the collection as much as possible to its original order, which required educated guesswork. Duplicate and irrelevant material were culled, and the remainder cleaned as required. Records were arranged into a preliminary series. Further rearrangement of the series and rehousing of material have been carried out by archivists to improve accessibility and address conservation needs.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5081

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1987

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Avraham Feder grew up in New York and attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. After being ordained a rabbi, he moved to Canada. In 1967, he was involved in the founding of Toronto's Beth Tikvah Synagogue and the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto. A cantor as well as a rabbi, he was known for incorporating singing into his sermons. Later, he earned a PhD in philosophy of education from the University of Toronto. He also held master's degrees in Hebrew literature and sacred music.

An arden Zionist, Rabbi Feder made aliyah with his first wife, Leona, in 1981. Despite this move, he made repeated trips to Toronto to deliver lectures and visit with friends. In 1983, he was appointed rabbi of Beit Knesset Moreshet Yisrael in Jerusalem, retiring in 2003.

Rabbi Feder died in 2018. He was surivived by his second wife, Tzipora; his seven children; and his six grandchildren.

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Abraham Feder. The photograph was kept by Beth Sholom's adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he spoke in Toronto.

Name Access

Feder, Abraham

Subjects

Cantors (Judaism)

Portraits

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5060

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Places

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5061

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Places

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5062

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Places

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5063

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Places

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5064

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Places

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5065

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6000

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 24 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Simcha Dinitz, of Israel, standing with Rabbi Harvey and Cheryl Meirovich.

Subjects

Portraits, Group

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3896

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1982

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Rabbi Moshe Yeres at a picnic organized by the Canadian Jewish Congress for members of the small Jewish communities of Ontario. He is standing with an unidentified man, woman and child.

Name Access

Yeres, Moshe

Subjects

Communities

Picnics

Rabbis

Places

Brantford (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3595

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Aug. 1983

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 13 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of the Beth David Congregation's rabbi speaking at the podium at the seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the synagogue and Brantford's Jewish community. The celebration took place in the synagogue.

Notes

Acquired in 1983.

Subjects

Anniversaries

Communities

Rabbis

Places

Brantford (Ont.)

Accession Number

1986-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6001

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 24 cm

Subjects

Cantors (Judaism)

Couples

Rabbis

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

File

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

1986

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a memo and flyers promoting Rabbi Menahem Fogel's lecture on "The Righteous Among the Nations: The Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust."

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Rabbis

Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5066

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5067

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5068

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family and friends at a dinner.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5069

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5070

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5071

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5072

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5073

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family and friends at a dinner.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5074

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured are the rabbi's family.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5075

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the graduation ceremony of Rabbi Harvey W. Meirovich from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Pictured is Rabbi Meirovich being presented with his scroll.

Name Access

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Subjects

Graduation (School)

Rabbis

Theological seminaries

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

New York (N.Y.).

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

1983-7-2

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records

Date

1899-1982

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the life and career of Rabbi Ernest Klein. Records include personal as well as professional correspondence, certificates, newspaper clippings and book reviews, a marriage register, bar mitzvah invitations, and Klein's birth certificate.

Administrative History

Ernest Klein (1899-1983) was born in Szatmar, Hungary on 26 July 1899. He studied at the University of Vienna and served as a rabbi in several countries including Czechoslovakia, Romania, and France. The Second World War brought great hardship for Klein, who survived Auschwitz and Dachau (his wife and son were killed in Czechoslovakia just before the war). After the War, Klein came to Canada, where he became rabbi of Congregation Beth Yitshak in Toronto. A polyglot and a scholar, Klein wrote three etymological dictionaries, the most famous of which was his Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1966-67). For his work, he received honourary degrees from McMaster University and the University of Guelph in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Canada in 1978. He passed away on 4 February 1983.

Use Conditions

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.

Descriptive Notes

USE CONDITION NOTE: Accession contains medical records that are closed to researchers until January 2034.

MG_RG

MG 6 D

Subjects

Birth certificates

Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)

Invitation cards

Marriage records

Rabbis

Name Access

Klein, Ernest, 1899-1983

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1990-10-1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 24 cm

1 folder of textual records

Date

1941-1990

Scope and Content

The accession consists of 1 photograph of the 1941-42 officers of Viceroy Reading Lodge, B'nai Brith, Hamilton; correspondence between Joseph Alexandroff and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lincoln M. Alexander, 1985; a bencher for the bar mitzvah of Joseph Alexandroff's great nephew, Brandon Alexandroff, May 19, 1990 at Congregation Knesseth Israel; and photocopies of letters written to, and newspaper clippings from, the Hamilton Spectator.

Administrative History

Joseph Alexandroff was born on October 19, 1907, the first-born son of Boris and Rebecca Alexandroff and one of the first Jewish children born in the Junction. He was a long-time member and supporter of Congregation Knesseth Israel.

Use Conditions

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Name Access

Knesseth Israel (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2007-5-2

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

1 item

Date

1981

Scope and Content

This accession consists of one oversized portrait photograph of Joseph Shoham, the first director of the BJE Media and Resource Centre, from 1972 to 1980. The photograph is a print created in 1981 from an original negative and is fixed onto a matte. The original frame has been discarded.

Custodial History

The portrait was in the possession of the BJE Media Library until donated to the Archives on 2007-05-03.

Subjects

Portraits

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

28

Material Format

textual record

Date

1973-1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence between Dunkelman and Joseph (Yossie) Mann relating to the 7th Brigade. The correspondence also relates to Dunkelman's autobiography and to donations he made to the Brigade's Veterans Fund.

Physical Condition

Records are in good condition, but fragile.

Related Material

See fonds 2, series 6 for more information about Dunkelman's autobiography Dual Allegiance.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

1999-10-6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

5 photographs : b&w ; 11 x 15 cm on matte 21 x 25 cm or smaller

8 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 15 cm or smaller

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photographs and records relating to the Fox, Goldberg, and Dennis families, with the bulk of the materials relating to Joseph H. Fox, a storekeeper in Orillia and Toronto. Accession includes a photograph of the Canadian Hebrew Benevolent Society picnic at Port Dalhousie Park on July 23, 1939. Documents include translations in English of birth registrations for Chaim Fuchs and Rose Bleich, an affadavit by a police magistrate in Orillia, Ontario for Joseph Fox, deed of sale for a seat in the University Avenue Synagogue (Goel Tzedec) by Z. Shore to Joseph Fox, and a biography of Joseph Fox by his grandson Melville Goldberg. In addition there is a military passport in German for Chaim Frichs.

Name Access

Fox, Joseph H.

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds

Jewish Community Centre Archives Committee series

Photograph collection sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

61

Series

2-2

File

2

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1944, 1981

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w and col. ; 17 x 11 and 9 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

This file consists of two photographs of Judge Joseph Addison, who was a member of the YM-YWHA and a handball enthusiast. One photograph is of Addison holding a handball and is affixed to a board which says: Although he is no longer playing handball, he was noted for his long arms and legs and excellent condition. He has, and is devoting a lot of time and effort into promoting handball from coast to coast and is the present Commissioner of Handball. The second is a snapshot of him sitting in an office chair, consulting some papers.

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2018-1-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records

104 photographs : b&w and col. (3 slides) ; 30 x 23 cm and smaller

1 banner

Date

1919-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of handwritten Yiddish writings from the 1930s and 1940s; newspaper clippings about Salsberg's move away from the Communist Party; tributes to Dora Wilensky including newsletters and journals from the Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Ontario Welfare Council, and the Neighborhood Workers Association; correspondence and a newspaper clipping about the Dora Wilensky Fund; drafts and newspaper clippings of tributes to poet Melech Ravitch; and miscellany including a banner from the Labour Council of Kiryat Yam commemorating a medical centre named in honour of Salsberg, a floor plan of the 21st legislature of Ontario parliament, and a publication of the story The Young Wanderer by Eliezer Smoli and Moshe Smilansky 1945. In addition, the accession includes letters by J. B. Salsberg to his wife Dora Wilensky and various letters to Salsberg from individuals such as politician Leslie M. Frost, actor Lou Jacobi, and president of the Workmen's Circle Israel Breslow. Of particular note is a letter from the Consulate General of the United States, including a copy of an order from the Department of Justice confirming his defection from the Communist Party and granting entrance into the United States according to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Also included are photographs of an art exhibition by Israel Kaplansky 1983; family photographs and portraits; photographs of J. B. Salsberg at various events; photographs of Dora Wilensky's family; and three 35 mm slides of J. B. Salsberg.

Administrative History

Joseph Baruch Salsberg (1902-1998) was a labour leader, political activist, politician, insurance salesman, and journalist. He was also active in various Jewish organizations, including: the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, and the New Fraternal Jewish Association. He is well-remembered by contemporaries, such as Sam Lipshitz, as a “champion of the people”, committed to social justice, the plight of the working class, and the preservation of Jewish culture.

J. B. was born in Lagov, Poland on November 5, 1902 to Abraham and Sarah-Gittel Salsberg. Abraham immigrated to Toronto in 1910 and J. B. followed with his mother and two younger sisters in 1913. They settled at 73 Cecil Street. Abraham and Sarah-Gittel had additional children in Canada: Nathan (b. 1915), Reuven (Bob or Robert, b. 1917), Betty, and Thelma. Abraham worked as a peddler in Toronto.

J. B. briefly attended Landsdowne Public School, but dropped out around 1915, against his parents' wishes, and took a job in a leather goods factory to contribute to his family’s income. J. B.’s parents had hoped he would become a rabbi and, despite his full-time employment, J. B. continued to study the Torah with scholars at the synagogue on Centre Avenue.

In 1917, J. B. decided to pursue the ideas of Zionism and socialism and, abandoning his plans to become a rabbi, became involved in establishing the Young Poale Zion organization, a Labour Zionist youth group dedicated to secular aims. Around 1922, J. B. was made secretary general of the Young Poale Zion of America in New York, where he worked for one year. Shortly after returning to Toronto, he became the organizer for the Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union of North America in Chicago. J. B. married Dora Wilensky in 1927.

In 1926, J. B. joined the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). He was an active member of the CPC for 30 years, serving as the head of its Trade Union Department for two decades. In 1929 he was suspended from the party for one year as a dissenter. In 1932, he became the Southern Ontario District union organizer for the Communist Workers' Unity League.

It was as a member of the CPC that J. B. entered electoral politics. After a series of failed bids in municipal and provincial elections between 1935 and 1937, J. B. was elected alderman of Ward 4 in Toronto in 1938. He only held the position for one year. In 1943, J. B. was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the representative for the St. Andrew riding. J. B. sat as Member of Provincial Parliament for the Labor-Progressive Party (the provincial wing of the CPC) for 12 years. For several years, he was the only elected Communist in North America. As MPP, he helped create legislation banning discrimination in public places and introduced a bill that would ensure fair employment practices in the province. He lost his seat to Allan Grossman in 1955 and unsuccessfully ran in the federal election later that year. Remembered by journalist Gordon Sinclair as “one of the best debaters in the house”, J. B. was well-respected by members of all political parties. Out of admiration for J. B., Conservative Premier Leslie Frost named Salsberg Township in Northern Ontario in his honour.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, J. B. had grown increasingly concerned about reports of Soviet antisemitism and privately urged party leaders to pursue the issue. In 1956, when Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev exposed the transgressions of Stalin’s regime, J. B. went to Moscow as part of a CPC delegation. After meeting with Khrushchev himself, it became clear to J. B. that antisemitism was indeed a problem in the USSR and that his efforts to probe the situation were being stonewalled.

J. B. publicly expressed his concerns about Soviet antisemitism in a series of articles published in the Vochenblatt from October 25, 1956 to December 13, 1956. He finally left the Communist Party in 1957. However, he remained a member of the United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), a Communist Jewish fraternal organization.

Entering the business world, J. B. established the Model Insurance Agency Limited in 1957, where he served as president for several years. In 1959 J. B.’s wife, Dora, passed away. Around this time J. B. also resigned from the UJPO, along with other members who felt the organization needed to be more critical of the Soviet Union. They founded an alternative, non-Communist left-wing Jewish organization, the New Fraternal Jewish Association, where J. B. served as president for several terms and edited its publication “Fraternally Yours”.

In his later life, J. B. was active as an executive member of organizations, such as the CJC and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was the first chairman for the CJC Ontario Region’s Soviet Jewry Committee and the Committee for Yiddish. He also began writing an award-winning weekly column for the Canadian Jewish News. J. B. was awarded the CJC’s Samuel Bronfman Medal for distinguished service, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto’s Ben Sadowski Award of Merit. A strong supporter of Israel, he was involved in the creation of two Israeli medical centres that are named in his honour. He also helped establish the J. B. and Dora Salsberg Fund and the J. B. Salsberg Fund for Yiddish at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. J. B. passed away in 1998.

Name Access

Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998

Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2021-9-1

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of graphic material and textual records

Date

1992, Nov. 1993

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting Joseph and Joyce Herman. Included are thirty-three photographs taken at a gathering held at the Beth Ezekiel Synagogue in Owen Sound, Ontario, on 10 November 1993, on the occasion of their move to British Columbia.

Identified in the photographs are: Carol Brooman, David Brooman, Molly Cadesky, Sarah Cadesky, Marilyn Fedorenko, Rynaldo Fedorenko, Bernie Fishman, Myrna Fishman, Hy Fromstein, Sylvia Fromstein, Avrum "Av" Gorbet, Norman "Norm" Gorbet, Ruth Gorbet, Tillie Gorbet, Avrum Green, Emmy Green, Joe Herman, Joyce Herman, Steven Hershoran, Gary Levine, Julia Levine, Bertha Rabovsky, Mike Rabovsky, Miriam Rabovsky, Karen Rich, Lorne Rich, Goldie Ronald (née Rabovsky), and Alisa Van Wyck.

Also included are two textual records: a copy of the speech given by Tillie Gorbet at the 1992 synagogue event held in honour of Joyce when she stepped down as synagogue president and Joyce’s acceptance speech from the same event.

Administrative History

Joe Herman (29 April 1925–21 April 2005) was born in Toronto. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at age seventeen and trained as a navigator. He was a graduate of the the School of Optometry of Ontario. Joyce (11 July 1927–23 April 2020) was born Roslyn Joyce Cainer in Miami, Florida. Her family returned to Toronto in 1929. Joe and Joyce married in 1948 and moved first to Timmins, Ontario, and then to Owen Sound, where they lived for thirty-seven years. Joe maintained his optometric practice in Owen Sound from 1956 to 1993, with Joyce working alongside him in the office. Joyce was a weaver and an active member of the Pottawatomi Spinners and Weavers Guild and the Maker’s artist cooperative. Joe and Joyce had three children: Shawn Herman Hawkins, Nessa Herman, and David Herman.

Joyce was president of Owen Sound’s Beth Ezekiel Synagogue from about 1973 to 1992. She was possibly the first woman president of a synagogue in Canada. Her father (Israel) David Cainer was president of Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue from 1943 to 1945.

Use Conditions

Conditional Use. Researchers must receive permission from the donor prior to publication. Please contact the OJA for more information.

Descriptive Notes

Availability of other formats: Accession has been digitized: photographs are available as JPEG images; textual records are available as PDF files.

Terms governing use and reproduction: Not to be used for external advertising in any medium. Permission to publish required.

General: Av Gorbet's wife is Tillie Gorbet, and Norm Gorbet's wife is Ruth Gorbet. The four were owners of B. Gorbet and Sons Furriers and clothing store.

Subjects

Married people

Parties

Synagogues

Name Access

Beth Ezekiel Synagogue (Owen Sound, Ont.)

Herman, Joseph, 1925-2005

Herman, Joyce, 1927-2020

Places

Owen Sound (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions