Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

General office records sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-5

File

80

Material Format

textual record

Date

1981

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a letter from Ben Kayfetz describing a negative experience with a phone-in program

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2010-11-6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

Physical Description

ca. 60 cm of textual records and other material

Date

[ca. 1930] - 2002

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the personal and professional activities of Ben Kayfetz. Personal records include correspondence with family and friends, including letters home while serving overseas, Kayfetz's marriage and high school certificates, Kayfetz's memoirs, tributes and obituaries written about Kayfetz, as well as a portrait of him. Personal records also include audio cassettes of Yiddish music by Toronto musicians Honey Novick and Faye Kellerstein.

Professional records include articles, book reviews and newspaper clippings written by Kayfetz, event invitations, correspondence, lecture notes, and speeches. Professional records also include an Order of Canada membership book and event programme, meeting minutes for various organizations Kayfetz was involved in, such as, the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, photographs of Kayfetz receiving various awards, and photographs of various Canadian Jewish Congress and B'Nai Zion Club events. Finally, professional records include sound recordings of interviews, lectures given at various events, and the meeting minutes of various organizations, such as, CJC, JCRC and the Yiddish Dialects in Toronto.

Administrative History

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 and is survived by his wife Eva.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 20 audio cassettes, 1 audio reel, and ca. 25 photographs (4 negatives)

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2010-12-11

Material Format

textual record

textual record (electronic)

sound recording

Physical Description

1 box of textual records

1 audio cassette

1 CD

Date

1932-2001

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the personal and professional activities of Ben Kayfetz. Personal records include correspondence with family and friends, Kayfetz's high school examination reports, and speeches, invitations and other material relating to a tribute dinner for Kayfetz. Personal records also include correspondence about the Ben Kayfetz Scholarship Fund at the University of Toronto.

Professional records include articles, book reviews and newspaper clippings written by Kayfetz, correspondence, lecture notes, speeches and transcripts for Kayfetz's CHIN Radio broadcasts. Professional records also include notes from Kayfetz's interview of Arthur Gelber, obituaries written by Kayfetz for Frank Shuster and Ben Lappin, and early teaching contracts with the Huntsville Board of Education. Finally, professional records include a CD that contains records transferred over from Kayfetz's old computer floppy disks and one audio recording of a CBC Radio broadcast featuring the Yiddish Luncheon Club.

Administrative History

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 and is survived by his wife Eva.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Language note: some records are in Yiddish.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-3-69

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1950-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of interviews with various persons concerning their link with Goel Tzedec and its successor synagogue, Beth Tzedec. The interviews were primarily conducted by Ben Keyfetz and Jack Orenstien, the latter serving as the executive director of Beth Tzedec at that time. Persons interviewed included Carl Keyfetz, N. N. Levine, Meyer Axler, and Bert Godfrey. There is also other information in the file concerning cantors and rabbis who served at Goel Tzedec, including Julius Price, Bernard Wladowsky, Jacob Gordon, and Samuel Sachs. There is a document from Bert Godfrey—undated but with a reference to 1950—titled "Report of Construction Sub-Committee." This presumably preceded the construction of the building housing the Beth Tzedec Synagogue on Bathurst Street. Also included is a 1955 publication of the Ne'ilah Service of Beth Tzedec to take place on 6 February 1955, concluding a half century of worship at the synagogue on University Avenue. Lastly, there are several pages of notes concerning the synagogue and its history.

Custodial History

There is no information on the acquisition of this material.

Subjects

Committees

Synagogues

Rabbis

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Places

Toronto, Ontario

Source

Archival Accessions