Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Executive Committee series

Executive director sub-series

Executive director's correspondence sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

5-5-1

File

215

Material Format

textual record

Parallel Title

Petah Tikva Anshe Castilla

Date

1970

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of two letters related to the potential purchase of a building in the North Bathurst area—Glen Park Avenue to be specific—that served as the location of the Jewish Public Library at the time the letters were written. The first letter (dated 20 May 1970) is addressed to Abe Posluns, president of the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto, from Leon Osiel, president of Petah Tikva Anshe Castilla Congregation. The second letter (dated 8 July 1970) is addressed to Leon Osiel from Abe Posluns.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as PDF/A files.

Name Access

Petah Tikva Anshe Castilla Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Buildings

Sephardim

Synagogues

Places

Glen Park Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

440

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1974

Physical Description

1 photograph

Notes

Credit: Gadi Hoz Photo.

Acquired April 1975.

Name Access

Petah Tikva Anshe Castilla Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Building

Sephardim

Synagogues

Places

Danby Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Photographic and audiovisual collection series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

27

File

591

Material Format

graphic material

Date

5 May 1982

Physical Description

7 photographs : b&w (7 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm

Scope and Content

File consists of seven negatives depicting women from the Women's Division at Petah Tikvah Anshei Castilla Congregation. Gay Berger is identified.

Notes

Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.

Name Access

Petah Tikva Anshe Castilla Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

616

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1975

Physical Description

2 photographs : (1 negative)

Notes

Negative: 2:4:25.

Acquired 1975.

Name Access

Or Hamaarav Sephardic Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Sephardim

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2016-12-28

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1997

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a a commemorative soft covered booklet dated 2 September 1997 celebrating the opening of the Sephardic Kehilla Centre. In the booklet there is a synopsis of the history of Sephardim in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. There are congratulatory messages from the prime minister of Canada, premier of Ontario, and the president of Israel, as well as other local officials. There are some ads from local merchants.

Subjects

Sephardim

Synagogues

Name Access

Sephardic Kehila Centre (Thornhill, Ont.)

Places

Thornhill (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1991-10-8

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

Date

1974-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material pertaining to the Sephardic community in Toronto including a "Final Report - Integration - North African Jewish Community in Metro Toronto" (1974), two reports by Joseph Kage, a presentation by Leon Oziel (1984), listings of Sephardic congregations and Chevra Kadisha and their officers, and letterheads for organizations and schools. In addition there is a paper titled "A History of the Sephardim in Toronto" written by a student William Myers for a university course in history. The course director was Professor Irving Abella.

Subjects

Communities

Sephardim

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

79

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

20 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm

Name Access

Magen David Sephardic 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

79

Material Format

textual record

Date

[ca. 1978]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains several newsletters and flyers.

Name Access

Magen David Sephardic 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

Level

Item

Item

6073

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1917]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm on mat 25 x 20 cm

Admin History/Bio

In 1914, a building was bought on Fifth Street in Crowland and converted into a synagogue, dedicated in 1917. A shochet was retained when available, a mikvah was erected adjacent to the shul, and a plot of land for a cemetery was obtained. By 1942, there were only a handful of Jews still living in Crowland, so the old synagogue was sold and the Italian-Canadian Club on Garner Avenue in Welland was purchased.

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of the interior of the Anshei Yosher Congregation in Welland, Ontario. The photograph features the bimah and the ark.

Name Access

Anshe Yosher Congregation

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

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.

Places

Welland (Ont.)

Accession Number

1992-8-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

908

Material Format

textual record

Date

1958

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

Correspondence relates two issues: the return of two "sepharim" (sifrei Torah) that were lent to a community of Sephardic Jews in Toronto and the need to secure a place for the same community to worship.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as PDF/A files.

Subjects

Sephardim

Synagogues

Torah scrolls

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2005-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

84

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

13 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm

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

Accession Number

2021-4-2

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

3.6 m of textual records and graphic material

Date

[195-]-2020

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting Temple Anshe Sholom of Hamilton, Ontario.

Administrative History

In the early 1850s, a small group of German Jewish families settled in the city of Hamilton. In 1853, they banded together to form the Hebrew Benevolent Society Anshe-Sholom of Hamilton. Religious services began in 1856 and in the next year, a half-acre plot was purchased as a cemetery site. On May 5, 1863, a “Body Corporate and Politic under the name of the Jewish Congregation Anshe-Sholom of Hamilton” was formed listing 19 founding members. Early meetings were held in members’ homes, with religious services, at first, largely restricted to the High Holy days. In 1866, a room was rented above a leather goods shop in downtown Hamilton; this was the first formal synagogue location for Temple Anshe Sholom.

Less than 20 years later, a site was chosen and the necessary funds were raised to construct a synagogue. Often referred to as the Hughson Street Temple, this building was dedicated in 1882. It served as the congregation’s home for almost 70 years. Edmund Scheuer, who arrived in Hamilton in 1871, served as president of Anshe Sholom for thirteen years from 1873 to 1886. Scheuer was the founder and first teacher of the religious school. He was an early proponent of interfaith understanding, a value and tradition that Anshe Sholom carries forward to the present day. The congregation pioneered in introducing English into the service, both in prayer and in the sermons, which had previously been given in German. Women no longer sat in a separate gallery; families sat together in pews. Music was introduced, both instrumental and vocal.

In 1870, the Deborah Ladies’ Aid Society (later Deborah Sisterhood) was founded, being the first group of Jewish women organized for charitable purposes in all of Canada. Sisterhood has always been a vital part of Temple Anshe Sholom, involved in numerous humanitarian, educational, charitable and social projects.

The great wave of immigration that swept into Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought many families, mainly Orthodox, to the community. During this period, men and women from Anshe Sholom were instrumental in founding such vital Jewish organizations as the B’nai Brith, Council of Jewish Organizations, Jewish Social Services and the Council of Jewish Women.

After the Second World War, Temple Anshe Sholom became the first synagogue in Hamilton to make the post-war move westward. On April 15, 1951, the sod was turned for the new building and in June of 1952, a dedication weekend saw the scrolls ceremoniously installed in the Ark. Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath was on hand to preach the Dedication Sermon. Thirteen years later, the addition that houses the present Reiss-Frank Auditorium, Religious School classrooms, library, youth lounge and offices was erected, more than doubling the size of the building on its present site.

Throughout the years, the following served as spiritual leaders: Wolf Landau, Herman Birkenthal, Joseph Friedlander, Jacob Minkin, Julius Berger, Iser Freund, Arthur A. Feldman, Arthur Lebowitz, Emil Fackenheim, Luitpold Wallach, Bernard Baskin, Irwin Zeplowitz, Phil Cohen and our current rabbi, Jordan D. Cohen (Anshe Sholom’s first Canadian born Rabbi), who began his service to this congregation on January 1, 2007.

At this time, Temple Anshe Sholom is traditional yet innovative in its worship and ritual observance. The congregation is inclusive and embraces diversity. Its core values include education, social justice, egalitarianism, creative expression, congregational participation in prayer and leadership, strong identification with Israel and dynamic, relevant spirituality. The Temple building also serves as home to the Temple Playhouse Multicultural Enrichment School and the Kehila Jewish Community Day School and Les Petites Pommes French School, and hosts many community organizations such as a Storytellers Group, The Shalom Community Teaching Garden, The Asper Foundation Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program, The Mahjong Club, The Hamilton & Area Jewish Genealogical Society, various community meetings and gatherings and several youth arts and activities programs and summer camps.

Temple Anshe Sholom celebrated its 170th anniversary in 2020 as Canada’s first Reform Jewish congregation.

(text taken from https://anshesholom.ca/about-us/our-history, 2023-02-24)

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Temple Anshe Sholom (Hamilton, Ont.)

Places

Hamilton (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

73

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

7 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

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

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

88

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

109 photographs : col. slides, b&w and (1) col. prints, b&w negatives ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

Custodial History

Also known as the "Keiver Shul."

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

Accession Number

2004-1-2

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

1 drawing : pen & ink ; 36 x 30 cm

Date

1978

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a drawing by Martin Mendelow of the Anshei Minsk synagogue.

Subjects

Drawing

Synagogues

Name Access

Anshei Minsk Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

11

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

45 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints, b&w negatives ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

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

Hamilton (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

81

Material Format

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a newspaper article, "Shul has historical interest" from The Canadian Jewish News (1979).

Name Access

Kiever Synagogue (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

Accession Number

1982-11-2

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

[between 1940 and 1945]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a flyer from the synagogue urging congregants to make a pledge to a fund to purchase a new building for their Talmud Torah.

Subjects

Synagogues

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

64

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

9 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm

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

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

71

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

23 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints and negatives ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

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

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

81

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

3 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm

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

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

82

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

35 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints and b&w negatives ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

Name Access

First Narayever 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

80

Material Format

textual record

Date

[1979?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a one-page historical sketch of the congregation.

Name Access

First Narayever 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

Solomon Edell fonds

General community activities series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

11

File

101

Material Format

textual record

Date

1971-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of invitations and programmes.

Name Access

Congregation B'nai Torah (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3179

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1920]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 9 cm and 12 x 10 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of the exterior of the Anshe Sholom Synagogue, located on Hughson Street in Hamilton, Ontario, as it appeared circa 1920. The photo was reproduced from a slide, which was reproduced from the original photograph, sometime during the 1970s.

Name Access

Temple Anshe Sholom (Hamilton, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

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.

Places

Hamilton (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2017-1-8

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

2011-2012

Scope and Content

Accession consists of two monthly bulletins of Ei-ru'im published by Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto, dated December 2011 and January 2012. Each edition includes messages from the president and rabbi, time of services, calendar of events, milestones and bereavements.

Subjects

Synagogue bulletins

Name Access

Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1977-12-4

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

ca. 120 cm of textual records

Date

1904–1969

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the First Narayever Congregation of Toronto. Included are membership books, minute books, insert cards used to record aliyah pledges, correspondence, ledger sheets, contracts, and other material.

Administrative History

In 1914, Jews from eastern Galicia (now in modern Ukraine) established the First Narayever Congregation in Toronto as a landsmanshaf, i.e. a society of Jewish immigrants from the same town or region. The synagogue takes its name from the small market town of Narayev, which is located in eastern Galicia. The synagogue's founders belonged to the working class and many worked in Toronto's garment industry.

Initially, congregation members met in different locations, but by 1923 their numbers and financial means had grown such that they were able to rent a small house at 70 Huron Street at the corner of Huron and Dundas. This house served as the congregation's home for twenty years.

The congregation's first president was Israel Chaim Katz and its first meeting was held at the Katz home at 156 William Street. The congregation's first rabbi was Solomon Langner, who was hired by the congregation in 1923. He retained this affiliation despite serving the Kiever Synagogue as a full-time rabbi from 1929 until he died in 1973.

In 1943, the congregation purchased property at 187-189 Brunswick Avenue from Bethel Church. This is where the the synagogue is located today.

In 1950, Henry Young became president of the congregation. He occupied that position until his death in 1976. Shalom Langner, the son of Rabbi Solomon Langner, succeeded Young as president.

As Toronto's Jewish population began to move north, the First Narayever continued to serve Orthodox Jews living downtown. In the 1980s, the congregation struggled to balance the needs of this older generation with the young generation's desire to make the synagogue more egalitarian with respect to gender. In 1983, the congregation's new leadership team successfully advanced a proposal to allow the full participation of women in traditional services. This innovation led to several long-standing members taking legal action, but their case was dismissed on the grounds that it was not a matter for civil law.

The First Narayever's identity continued to evolve. In 2009, its membership voted to allow its rabbi, Edward Elkin, who began serving the congregation in 2000, to officiate at same-sex marriages.

MG_RG

MG3 A55

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

First Narayever Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1979-11-12

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 volume

Date

1979

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a Shaarei Shomayim jubilee book, the First Fifty Years.

MG_RG

MG3 A31

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Shaarei Shomayim Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Level

Item

Item

476-487

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1975

Physical Description

12 photographs : col. ; 9 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

Photographs of interior and exterior of Congregation Machzika Bnai Israel, Dovercourt Road, Toronto.

Notes

Acquired July 15, 1975.

Donor retained the photograph negatives.

Name Access

Congregation Machzika Bnai Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Dovercourt Road (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

95

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

32 photographs : col. slides, b&w negatives ; 35 mm

Name Access

Stashover-Slipia 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

82

Material Format

textual record

Date

[1962?]-1963

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains an information brochure and copied pictures from The Canadian Architect.

Name Access

Shaarei Tefillah 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

83

Material Format

textual record

Date

1972

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a commemorative book from the 20th anniversary testimonial dinner honouring Rabbi Gedalia Felder.

Name Access

Felder, Gedalia

Shomrai Shaboth-Chevra Mishnayoth 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

Accession Number

1996-2-2

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

4 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

1 folder of textual records

Date

1956-1976

Scope and Content

Accession consists of copy photographs of Sydney Bendahan addressing a Sephardic congregation at a Purim dance and Sydney Bendahan delivering a speech at a regional CJC conference ca. 1973. Ben Kayfetz and J. B. Salsberg are in the audience. In addition there are two photographs taken by Raphael Bendahan. First is an unidentified man (with son) holding a Torah (possibly the donor). Second is Rabbi Elias Toby, a Magen David Congregation leader holding the Torah outside the Viewmount Building.

Also included is photocopied correspondence between Bendahan and a number of individuals regarding the Magen David Congregation, copies of meeting minutes and a constitution and by-laws from the congregation, speeches written by Bendahan on the history of Moroccan Jewry in Toronto as well as copies of newsclippings regarding Sephardic Jewry and the Mogen David Congregation.

Administrative History

Sydney Bendahan was born and raised in English speaking Gibraltar before coming to Casablanca, Morocco at the age 13. He spoke English, French and Spanish. He was the first representative of the Moroccan Jewish community in Toronto to JIAS and president of the Magen David congregation. Magen David Sephardic Congregation's first location was a home converted into a synagogue across the street from the Labour Farband Zionist Building (which had housed their initial meetings until they had their own building). As of 2016 the Congregation is located at 10 McAllister Road.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Sephardim

Name Access

Magen David Sephardic Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1979-9-34

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1967-1972

Scope and Content

Accession consists of one program for the dedication of a mural by Ronald Satok at the Shomrai Shaboth Synagogue, a twentieth testimonial dinner book honouring Rabbi Gedalia Felder, and a letter to the membership about a booklet written by Rabbi I. Rabinowitch of Montreal.

MG_RG

MG 3 A 11

Subjects

Dedication services

Synagogues

Name Access

Shomrai Shabbos Synagogue

Felder, Gedalia

Rabinowitch, I.

Satok, Ronald

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2019-10-3

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 newsletter

Date

Apr. 1978

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the first newsletter issued by Congregation B'nai Kehillah of Toronto. Only the first two pages have survived.

Administrative History

Congregation B'nai Kehillah ("Children of the Communtiy") was the successor group to Toronto's first gay Jewish group, Ha' Mishpachah ("The Family"). The group met for approximately two years in the late 1980s, holding Friday night services downtown at Holy Trinity Church. The group also held High Holiday services one year. In addition to holding religious services, the congregation printed newsletters in 1978 and 1979. And, in conjunction with the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations, it hosted a Shabbaton in Toronto with visiting members of gay Jewish groups from the United States.

Descriptive Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF.

Associated material: Other records documenting Congregation B'nai Kehillah of Toronto can be found at the Arquives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives.

Subjects

Sexual minorities

Synagogues

Name Access

Congregation B'nai Kehillah of Toronto

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2006-12-4

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

0.3 m. of textual records and other material

Date

1973-2005

Scope and Content

The records in this accession consist of early minutes of the Executive Committee, high holiday sermons, sidureem (booklets) that were produced by the synagogue for Shabbat and the holidays, a cassette containing instructions for bar/bat mitzvah children, a CD of music entitled "Solel Sings "Kids" Songs!", and a videotaped recording of the 25th Anniversary celebration of the shul.

Custodial History

The records were donated to the OJA from their archives committee. This committee will be responsible for overseeing future transfers and for helping to establish an information management program within the synagogue.

Administrative History

Solel Congregation was established in1973. It is a reform synagogue, situated in Mississauga, that currently has a membership of 300 families.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Solel Congregation (Mississauga, Ont.)

Places

Mississauga (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-3-27

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

30 cm of textual records

Date

1981-2014

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records of the Congregation Habonim. Included are synagogue bulletins, general correspondence with the membership, event programs and flyers, three financial statements from 1981 and 1987, and records related to invited speakers at the synagogue's breakfast club.

Administrative History

Congregation Habonim Toronto, founded in 1954, is a liberal synagogue located at 5 Glen Park Avenue in Toronto, and one of the first Holocaust refugee/survivor congregations to develop in Canada. Although currently independent of any official denomination, its early founders modeled the synagogue on the example of early Reform Judaism in Germany.

Most of the early members were refugees from Central Europe: some were Holocaust survivors; some were part of the Kindertransport. All arrived in Canada after the Second World War and began to frequent the New World Club, an organization that was dedicated to helping these newcomers settle into Canadian life. In 1953, they organized High Holiday services, and in 1954, they began to hold regular religious services. In 1955, the Congregation was officially chartered. They began holding services in rented premises at 44 St. George Street, Toronto and then moved to the Borochov Centre on Lippincott Street. In 1958, the present building at 5 Glen Park Avenue was rented, and then purchased in 1968.

One of its founders and first president was George Spitz, a Jewish refugee from Berlin, who unsuccessfully attempted to bring over his family from Germany in 1939 on the ill-fated MS St. Louis. Paul Alexander, also a refugee of Berlin, was an early vice-president of the synagogue. Some of the notable figures associated with the Congregation are Esther Ghan Firestone, the first female cantor in Canada; Rabbi Reuben Slonim (author, and also associate editor of The Toronto Telegram), known for his outspoken views on the Israeli-Arab conflict; Cantor Henry Weingluck, a well known artist who was a pupil of Max Liebermann; and Avrum Rosensweig, founder of Ve’ahavta, the Canadian Jewish Humanitarian Relief Organization.

The synagogue makes its facilities available to a number of other organizations, including Ve’ahavta, co-sponsoring a Passover Seder for the Homeless every year and the Toronto Partnership Minyan, an Orthodox egalitarian initiative in Toronto spearheaded by Professor Martin Lockshin, and has co-sponsored events with other organizations outside the Jewish community such as Free the Children and Me to We. The Congregation supports a choir, the Habonim Youth Choir and is also home to Canada's only multi-denominational introductory conversion course.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Congregation Habonim of Toronto

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Level

Item

Item

1017

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Sep. 1976

Physical Description

2 photographs : (1 negative)

Notes

Negative: 10:6:4.

Name Access

Shaarei Tefillah Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

1982-2-3

Material Format

object

Physical Description

1 key

Date

1921

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a gold key presented on 18 September 1921 to Fred and Sophie Torno at the opening of the Eastern Children of Israel Congregation, popularly known as the Berkeley Street Synagogue.

Descriptive Notes

B'nai Israel Hamizrachim.

MG_RG

MG 3 A 43

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Eastern Children of Israel Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Berkeley Street (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Photographic and audiovisual collection series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

27

File

269

Material Format

graphic material

Date

19 Feb. 1977

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (2 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm

Scope and Content

File consists of two negatives depicting a cheque being presented to Petah Tikvah.

Notes

Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

94

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

46 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints, b&w negatives ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

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

Level

Item

Item

3208

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1944

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Scope and Content

Photograph of Bais Yehuda Congregation, Dovercourt Rd., Toronto with Talmud Torah students, teachers, and synagogue officials.

Notes

For identification information, see accession record.

Name Access

Bais Yehuda Congregation

Talmud Torah

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

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.

Places

Dovercourt Road (Toronto, Ont.)

Ossington Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1982-5-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

George Morrison fonds

Level

Item

Fonds

99

Item

161

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1978]

Physical Description

1 slide : col. ; 35 mm

Name Access

Moriah Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

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

Waterloo Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1980-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1000

Material Format

graphic material

Date

April 1959

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Notes

Graphic Artists.

Name Access

Beth Emeth Congregation

Subjects

Building

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1977-8-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

1977-8-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

60 cm textual records

1 photograph

Date

[194-]-[196-]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of materials documenting the National Council of Jewish Women of Welland and the Welland Hebrew Congregation. Materials include certificates, posters, financial documents, blueprints, correspondence, program newsletters, educational docuements, scrapbooks, photographs and executive notebooks

Administrative History

The Welland Jewish Congregation, also referred to as the Welland Hebrew Congregation, originally served the Jewish community of Welland from a synagogue located at Burger and Grove Streets in the mid-1940s. By the mid-1950s, a new shul was under construction on Summit Street which would serve the community from that point onward.

The Congregation participated in many fundraising drives and social events and worked closely with other faiths in their community

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Welland (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1978-5-2

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

15 cm of textual records

Date

[ca. 1971]-[ca. 1976]

Scope and Content

This accession consists of newspaper clippings and correspondence relating to the dismissal of Rabbi Stuart Rosenberg by the Beth Tzedec Board and relating to the Rabbi Hollander case; copies of "The Committee of 10 Report" and "Setting the Records Straight: Analysis and refutation of The Committee of 10 report"; Beth Tzedec Board letters and Bulletins; Beth Tzedec Congregational School Education and Youth Committee minutes and newsletters; Beth Tzedec Congregation Constitution and By-Laws; a report on membership dues policy; and records relating to the Board elections.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Beth Tzedec Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Rosenberg, Stuart E., 1922-1990

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1974-002

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1928

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a certified copy issued in 1928 of the letters patent incorporating Machziki Hadas Congregation in 1909.

MG_RG

MG3A6

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Machziki Hadas Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2008-2-3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

2.7 m of textual records and graphic material

Date

[197-]-2007

Scope and Content

This accession consists of 2.7 m of textual records and graphic material related to the functions and activities of the Solel Congregation in Mississauga. The records include general correspondence, B'nai Mitzvah sermons; board of director, executive, and brotherhood minutes and motions; memorabilia, brochures and pamphlets; leadership manuals; newsletters; photographs; and the synagogue's constitution.

Administrative History

Mississauga 's Solel Congregation was founded in 1973. It currently has a membership of over 300 families and has established itself within the broader Mississauga community and Region of Peel. It is a Reform congregation, led by Rabbi Lawrence Englander. Solel has both a religious school, an adult education program as well as many participatory groups and activities.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Solel Congregation (Mississauga, Ont.)

Places

Mississauga (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

4

File

8

Material Format

textual record

Date

1985-1994

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Name Access

Congregation B'nai Torah (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2015-9-18

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

85 cm of textual records

184 photographs : b&w and col. (tif and jpg)

ca. 200 photographs : b&w and col.

14 moving images : mov and mp4

Date

[192-]-2015, predominant 1983-2015

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the records related to the activities and operations of the First Narayever Congregation. Included are board and general meeting minutes (1984-1996); general correspondence, high holiday tickets and membership lists (1970s-1990s); membership and dues ledger (1929-1983); Ritual Committee meeting minutes (1984-1988); Implementation Committee records (1970s-1980s); constitutions (1980s); newsletters (1983-2004); a blank seat deed (1920s); a cemetery map (1950s?); records regarding burial rights for the Owen Sound Hebrew Congregation (1966-1980); records regarding a court case filed by members of the congregation surrounding the egalitarian changes being planned; an album documenting SHTICK! A Celebration of Jewish Playwrights (2005-2006); an album documenting the congregation's participation in a UJA Mission to Israel (2003-2004); a binder of material containing photocopied and original records in support of the research for the congregation's 100th anniversary celebrations (1970s-2014); photographs and a video recording of the 100th Anniversary exhbition opening at the Miles Nadal JCC; photographs of events hosted by the congregation; and 9 video interviews with individuals connected to the shul conducted by Sharoni Sibony, Peter Gold, and Harry Schachter for the anniversary celebrations. Interviewees are: Peter Gold, Sharon Weintraub, Murray Teitel, Rosalyn Katz, Julia Gluck, Shaya Petroff, Stuart Schoenfeld, Sylvia Solomon and Ben Rothman. Also included are family photographs and written transcripts of oral interviews conducted with members of the Hersh Petersiel family, who lived in Hastings, Ontario and had early connections to the Narayever Congregation.

Custodial History

The records related to Hersh Petersiel were given to the First Narayever by Marsha Beck for their upcoming one-hundredth anniversary. Marsha agreed to donate them to the OJA along with the Narayever records.

Administrative History

In 1914, Jews from eastern Galicia (now in modern Ukraine) established the First Narayever Congregation in Toronto as a landsmanshaf, i.e. a society of Jewish immigrants from the same town or region. The synagogue takes its name from the small market town of Narayev, which is located in eastern Galicia. The synagogue's founders belonged to the working class and many worked in Toronto's garment industry.

Initially, congregation members met in different locations, but by 1923 their numbers and financial means had grown such that they were able to rent a small house at 70 Huron Street at the corner of Huron and Dundas. This house served as the congregation's home for twenty years.

The congregation's first president was Israel Chaim Katz and its first meeting was held at the Katz home at 156 William Street. The congregation's first rabbi was Solomon Langner, who was hired by the congregation in 1923. He retained this affiliation despite serving the Kiever Synagogue as a full-time rabbi from 1929 until he died in 1973.

In 1943, the congregation purchased property at 187-189 Brunswick Avenue from Bethel Church. This is where the the synagogue is located today. In 1950, Henry Young became president of the congregation. He occupied that position until his death in 1976. Shalom Langner, the son of Rabbi Solomon Langner, succeeded Young as president.

As Toronto's Jewish population began to move north, the First Narayever continued to serve Orthodox Jews living downtown. In the 1980s, the congregation struggled to balance the needs of this older generation with the young generation's desire to make the synagogue more egalitarian with respect to gender. In 1983, the congregation's new leadership team successfully advanced a proposal to allow the full participation of women in traditional services. This innovation led to several long-standing members taking legal action, but their case was dismissed on the grounds that it was not a matter for civil law.

The First Narayever's identity continued to evolve. In 2009, its membership voted to allow its rabbi, Edward Elkin, who began serving the congregation in 2000, to officiate at same-sex marriages.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

First Narayever Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Petersiel, Hersh

Places

Hastings (Ont.)

Owen Sound (Ont.)

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions