Accession Number
2016-1-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-1-9
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
11 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 12 cm or smaller
Date
1943-2016, predominant 1943-1966
Scope and Content
Accession consists of personal records and photographs relating to Miriam Beckerman née Dashkin. Textual records include correspondence with Miriam's childhood friend Bea Madger, Bialik School reports belonging to her son Dan Beckerman (1962-1966), Dan Beckerman's YM & YWHA swim badge (1968), seven Jewish National Fund (JNF) certificates (1956-65); Toronto Happening Brochure listing Dan Beckerman's performance at the St. Lawrence Centre (1978); Newspaper clipping of death notice for Miriam's father David Dashkin (1976); Yiddish newspaper clipping of death notice for Miriam's grandmother Malka Yadashkin (Dashkin) Cohen; Yiddish correspondence; typed letter by Miriam Beckerman's mother Ethel Dashkin describing the Toronto Yiddish theatre scene; and photocopies of photographs documenting Miriam's trip to Palestine as part of the Habonim, a Jewish Labour Zionist youth movement (1945-47).
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (née Dashkin) is an award-winning Yiddish literature translator. She was raised in a Yiddish-speaking home, surrounded by Yiddish books and newspapers, and attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto in the 1930s. An ardent Zionist in her teens, she trained at the Smithville Hachsharah farm to prepare for making aliyah. She later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario region, Canadian Jewish Congress.
In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters."
Beckerman received a 1998 prize from the Dora Teitelbaum Foundation Inc. in Choral Gables, Fla., for her accomplishments in translation. She said if it were not for translations, "many things would be lost to future generations. Moshe passed away in 1993.
Subjects
Yiddish language
Name Access
Beckerman, Miriam Dashkin
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Personal series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 20; Series 1; File 12
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Personal series
Level
File
Fonds
20
Series
1
File
12
Material Format
textual record
Date
[196-]
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of a Yiddish language and literature quiz, and the answers to the quiz in English.
Subjects
Yiddish language
Yiddish literature
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2010-6-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-6-9
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 cm of textual records
Date
1959-2008
Scope and Content
Accession consists of materials documenting Miriam Beckerman's translation activities for the Ivansk Project -- an initiative to preserve the history of the Jewish community in Ivansk, Poland. Among these professional records are original and copied notes, translations and correspondence. The accession also contains personal correspondence from Miriam's husband, Moshe, regarding the transfer of repatriation payments owed to him as an Israeli prisoner of war.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables Fla. Moshe passed away in 1993.
Descriptive Notes
Language Note: material is in English and Yiddish
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-7-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-7-11
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
2002, 2009
Scope and Content
Accession consists of english translations conducted by Miriam Beckerman on behalf of Norton Taichman, a memeber of the Ivansker Mutual Benefit Society in Toronto. Included are translations of an Ivansker Mutual Benefit Society Jubilee book from 1961, along with a print-out of the Society's e-newsletter announcing the Ivansk Project and presenting the reproduction of the jubliee book to its membership. There is also one letter sent to Miriam from Edith Kalev (Meslin) of Jerusalem. Kalev was originally from Toronto.
Custodial History
The records somehow made their way into the possession of Mordechai Ben-Dat, former editor of the Canadian Jewish News. They were returned to Miriam Beckerman in 2013, who subsequently donated them to the Archives.
Subjects
Societies
Name Access
Ivansker Mutual Benefit Society (Toronto, Ont.)
Kalev, Edith
Beckerman, Miriam
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-12-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-12-2
Material Format
moving images
textual record
Physical Description
3 DVDs
1 folder of textual records
Date
2007-2013
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records collected by Miriam Beckerman. Included are oral history interviews with Miriam in Yiddish, a video of Miriam reading the Megillah in Yiddish on Purim at the Free Times Cafe on College Street in Toronto, a recording of author Lily Poritz Miller's appearance on the TV Show Israel Today as well as a brochure for her novel The Newcomers. Finally, the accession includes a program booklet for the Simcoe Chapter Lambda Alpha International fraternity's 46th annual meeting. Edward Levy was honoured at this meeting.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario Region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Fla. Moshe passed away in 1993.
Descriptive Notes
Language note: Yiddish and English.
Subjects
Purim
Name Access
Beckerman, Miriam
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-4-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-4-2
Material Format
moving images
textual record
Physical Description
3 videocassettes : VHS
1 folder of textual records
Date
[ca. 1960]-[ca. 1975]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of home movies documenting the activities of Miriam Beckerman and her family. Included is footage of winter activities, birthday parties and family celebrations, a children's Halloween party, and family trips to Montreal, the United States, Israel, and Niagara Falls. Also included are two greeting cards received by Miriam.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario Region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Fla. Moshe passed away in 1993.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-7-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-7-2
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
ca. 30 cm of textual records and other material
Date
1939-2005, predominant 1955-1978
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the personal and family life of Miriam Beckerman. The bulk of the material is correspondence written to Miriam and her husband from their children Daniel (who was studying abroad in England) and Rina (who was studying and living abroad in Israel). Also included is correspondence from Miriam's brother-in-law and sister-in-law Tziporah and Chanan Piran as well as her sister-in-law Malka (Malkin) Beckerman and Malka's parents .
In addition, accession includes family films documenting family life in Toronto and trips around Canada and other locations such as Israel and Hawaii. Also included is a grade 5 Bialik school class photo of Dan Beckerman (1967), Miriam's diploma and composite graduation photograph from Glendon College at York University (1972-3) as well as flyers and programmes for Dan's various musical performances. Of note are photographs of Miriam's father David Dashkin beside the memorial to his father Yom Tov Yudashkin in Roselawn Cemetery (1939), a photograph taken on the ship (Marine Carp) that Miriam took from New York to Palestine/Israel (Dec. 1946), a scanned copy of Miriam's Palestine Identity card and Israel military registration card (1947) as well as a University of Toronto graduation photo of Miriam's life-long friend Ruth (nee Zaionce?) Young. Finally, accession includes the Rosh Hashanah cards of Rabbi Nachman Shemen and a State of Israel Bonds of Toronto brochure (1968).
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario Region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Fla. Moshe passed away in 1993.
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.
Descriptive Notes
Physical description note: includes ca. 20 film reels (8 mm), ca. 10 photographs, and 1 audio reel.
Language note: English and Hebrew
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-3
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
6 photographs : b&w and col.
Date
[194-]-2016
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual and graphic material documenting the family and activities of Miriam Beckerman. Included are thank you cards, certificates from Baycrest Centre and Jewish National Fund, a bat mitzvah invitation for Shira Levine, a biography of Nachman Shemen, general correspondence sent to Mirriam, a Yiddish Vinkel event flyer, a Friends of Yiddish meeting invitation, a newspaper clipping, a program for a performance by the Feuersteins, and a graduation program from the Hebrew Union College featuring Torontonian Deborah Staiman. Also included is a snapshot of Miriam with other participants at the 10th Conference of Associaton of Yiddish Clubs in New Jersey, a graduation portrait of Miriam's brother, Ubby Dashkin, an image of Miriam with other students from Central High School of Commerce on a class bicycle hike (1940s), and class photographs from Don Mills Junior High and the Overland Drive Public School. Identified in the photographs are Daniel Beckerman, Rina Beckerman, Miriam Beckerman, and Ubby Dashkin.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario Region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: A story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Fla. Moshe passed away in 1993.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-11
Material Format
object
textual record
Physical Description
1 artifact
1 birth certificate
Date
1929-1977
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the life of Ubby Dashkin of Lipson & Dashkin Architects. Included are: Dashkin's birth certficate (1929), an artifact given in appreciation to Dashkin for supporting the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Physics Weitzman [sic] Institute of Science, Israel (1977).
Administrative History
Ubby Dashkin (1929-1981) was born Aaron Abi Dashkin on 4 April 1929 in Toronto to and David and Ethel Dashkin. As an adult, he was part of Lipson & Dashkin Architects. He passed away on 17 July 1981 and is buried in Dawes Road Cemetery in Scarborough, Ontario. Ubby was the younger brother of Yiddish literature translator Miriam Beckerman (1927- ).
Subjects
Architects
Birth certificates
Name Access
Dashkin, Ubby, 1929-1981
Lipson & Dashkin Architects (Toronto, Ont.)
Places
Toronto
Israel
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-10-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-10-1
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
45 cm of textual records
Date
[197-]-[198-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of materials that were sent to Miriam Beckerman by various Jewish organizations. They are arranged as subject files.
Use Conditions
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-6-18
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-6-18
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w ; 15 x 10 cm or smaller
2 letters
Date
1930-1948
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Miriam and Moshe Beckerman. Incuded are: one photograph taken of road builders in Palestine in 1930; one photograph of the British Eighth Army (pre-Jewish Brigade), of which Moshe was a part, in the first half of the 1940s; one letter in Hebrew addressed to Miriam by a friend of hers; one photograph (enclosed with the aforementioned letter in an envelope) of Moshe Beckerman, Mrs. Mirsky, and Miriam Beckerman taken in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1948; and one letter sent by Miriam Beckerman, then residing in Tel Aviv, to Esther Berger in Canada and dated January 12, 1948. The last letter briefly mentions the tense situation prevailing in Mandatory Palestine.
Photo Caption (001): British Eighth Army, [194-]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-6-18.
Photo Caption (002): Road builders, Palestine, 1930. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-6-18.
Photo Caption (003): Moshe Beckerman, Mrs. Mirsky, and Miriam Beckerman, Ramat Gan, Israel, 1948. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-6-18.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman immigrated to British Mandatory Palestine in 1947. Only nineteen years old, she made her way to Kfar Blum, a kibbutz in Hula Valley. After a few months, she relocated to another kibbutz, Ramat Yochanan. After relocating to Ma'ayan Baruch, another settlement, she mer her husband Moshe Beckerman. Moshe had been with the British Eighth Army, serving in the North Africa campaigns. The couple married in October 1947 and moved to Tel Aviv, where Moshe was originally from. In 1952, Miriam and Moshe made the decision to move to Canada.
Descriptive Notes
Conservation: The archivist removed two sticky notes from the back of photographs for preservation reasons. Prior to removing them, he scanned them so that researchers would be able to read what was written on them.
Language: One of the letters is in Hebrew.
Subjects
Families
Palestine
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Beckerman, Miriam
Beckerman, Moshe
Great Britain. Army. Army, Eighth
Places
Canada
Israel
Palestine
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1980-9-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1980-9-2
Material Format
textual record
object
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
30 photographs : b&w
1 pin
Date
1940-1982
Scope and Content
Accession includes a printed notice of a meeting at Shaarei Tzedec synagogue (1945) and material associated with Habonim (Labor Zionist Youth). Included is an insignia pin, concert programmes, and an organizing committee planning binder for a 1983 Habonim reunion. Also included are photographs of the Dashkin family, Camp Kvutza, and the Hechalutz Hachshara farm in Grimsby, Ontario.
MG_RG
MG 6 E-6
MG 2 J 1P
MG 3 A 36
Name Access
Beckerman, Miriam
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-6
Material Format
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audio cassette
Date
22 June 2010
Scope and Content
This accession consists of one audio cassette of an inteview with Yiddish translator, Miriam Beckerman. The interivew was conducted by Myrna Levy of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (Toronto). There is an accompanying transcript attached to the accession record.
Administrative History
Miriam Beckerman (nee Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folkshule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Ontario region, Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple and their children emigrated from Israel to Toronto in 1952.
Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator for individuals, scholars and institutions. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: a story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Florida. Her husband Moshe passed away in 1993.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-2
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
3 m of textual records and other materials
Date
[194-?]-2016
Scope and Content
This accession consists of records documenting Adam Fuerstenberg's life and career as educator, scholar and expert in Yiddish and Canadian Jewish literature; director of the Holocaust Centre of Toronto and active involvement in Jewish community organizations. Included are manuscripts, drafts, correspondence, newspaper clippings, grant proposals, audiocassettes, videocassettes, photographs, and research related to scholarly and non-scholarly articles, reviews, lectures, speeches on Jewish literary figures, such as A.M. Klein, J.I. Segal, and Sholem Shtern; Canadian Jewish Studies; and the Holocaust, including publications of the journal Voice of Radom. Also included are administrative records, submissions, and correspondence related to his role as founder the Canadian Jewish Book Awards, director of the Committee for Yiddish, president of the American Association of Professors of Yiddish, and editor of Parchment. In addition, the accession includes correspondence, minutes, newspaper clippings, brochures, pamphlets and other records related to the Holocaust Centre of Toronto's exhibitions on Anne Frank and Bergen-Belsen and Holocaust Education Week. The accession also includes records related to his tenure as Professor of English, Continuing Education Coordinator, and member of the Board of Governors at Ryerson University; establishment of a Toronto Jewish museum; and other community activism and civic engagement. Some family records and correspondence are also included in addition to biographical material and genealogical research.
Administrative History
Adam Fuerstenberg (1939 - 2016) was a scholar, educator, community leader, and authority on Canadian Yiddish and Jewish writers. He was born in Radom, Poland on March 25, 1939 to Regina and Henry Fuerstenberg. After some years in Central Asia and Displaced Persons camps in Germany, the family, including his sister Anna, arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1951. Adam studied at the Sir George Williams University (Concordia University) and received his M.A. in English at State University of New York, Buffalo. He also studied Yiddish and Yiddish folklore at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with folklorist Dov Noy and Yiddish critic Dov Sadan. In 1964, he married Gloria Lidsky in Montreal and the couple soon moved to Toronto. Adam was a professor of English at Ryerson University from 1964 to 1998, and was a long serving member of Ryerson’s Board of Governors. After retirement from tenured faculty, he continued to teach and serve at Ryerson as Adjunct Professor and Professor Emeritus. He was also the Continuing Education Coordinator, English, from 1977-1982 and 1988-1993. As a scholar and authority on Yiddish, the Holocaust, Canadian Yiddish literature, and Canadian Jewish writers, in particular A.M. Klein, Adam has lectured and presented papers at various conferences, and written articles and reviews in academic journals and other publications, such as the The Forward, Canadian Jewish News, The New Canadian Encyclopedia, and The Globe and Mail. Adam founded the Canadian Jewish Book Awards in 1987 and was the editor of Parchment, a journal of contemporary Canadian Jewish creative writing from 1994. He also provided editorial consulting to individuals and firms with publications. From 1998 to 2003, he was director of the Committee for Yiddish and after was director of the Holocaust Centre of Toronto at the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto from 2003 to 2005. As director, he created a partnership with the General Romeo Dallaire Summer Institute on teaching the Holocaust and Genocide, brought the exhibits “Bergen-Belsen DP Exhibit” and “Anne Frank Family Photo Album,” and organized an educational Holocaust trip to Europe. He was active in the community and was involved in various organizations, such as the Canadian Jewish Congress, Board of Metro-Credit Union, the Ryerson Faculty Association, Canadian Association for Jewish Studies, Association of Canadian University Teachers, and the American Association of Professors of Yiddish. He ran to be a school board trustee for the North York Board of Education and was involved as an advisor to issues related to housing, as co-author of a report on Senior Citizens’ housing development in Metropolitan Toronto. He was also committed to the development of a Toronto Jewish Museum.
Subjects
Yiddish literature
Name Access
Fuerstenberg, Adam, 1939-2016
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2020-1-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2020-1-1
Material Format
textual record
text
Physical Description
1 book
1 folder of textual records
Date
1959-2011
Scope and Content
Accession consists of materials collected by Lil Blume for an anthology called "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase". The anthology was published in 2011 for a Jewish Literary Festival that Lil Blume ran in 2010. Included in the collection is handwritten autobiographical pages as well as photocopied pages from Miriam Beckerman. In addition, there are two photocopies of a 1959 letter to the Irgun regarding redirecting of reparations due to Moshe Beckerman. The document provides a summary of Moshe Beckerman's wartime experience including enlistment with the British Military serving with the Regiment of Royal Engineers (1940), transfer to Greece (1941), capture by Germans (1941), escape and recapture in Italy and eventual internment in Minchen and then Danzig prior to his release in 1945 by the second British Army.
The Beckerman's contribution to the anthology included translated copies of four Yiddish language letters written by Miriam and Moshe Beckerman to Miriam's parents in Toronto while the couple were living in Palestine and then Israel in 1947 and 1948.
In addition, there is a copy of the publication "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase" edited by Ellen S. Jaffe and Lil Blume. Contributors to the anthology listed in alphabetical order include Alvin Abram, Larry Anklewicz, Miriam Beckerman, Maxianne Berger, Steven Michael Berzensky, Helen Blum, Aha Blume, Lil Blume, Baila Ellenbogen, Shelley Halpern Evans, Joi Freed-Garrod, Ellen S. Jaffe, Beth Kaplan, Nomi Kaston, Agnes Klinghofer, Myrna Neuringer Levy, Carol Lipszyc, Malca Litovitz, Janice Masur, Seymour Mayne, Maria Meindl, Wendy Morton, Sharon H. Nelson, Aviva Ravel, Karen Shenfeld, Ken Sherman, Sharon Singer, Joan Sohn, J.J. Steinfeld, Pia Taavila, Carolynne Veffer, and Thomas Verny.
Custodial History
Miriam Beckerman sent handwritten autobiographical pages as well as photocopied pages to Lil Blume, as part of her contribution to the anthology that Lil Blume published in 2011.
Administrative History
In 2011, Lil Blume published an anthology called "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase". The publication was edited by Ellen S. Jaffe and Lil Blume for a Jewish literary Festival that Lil Blume ran in Hamilton in 2010.
Miriam Beckerman (née Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folks Shule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple married in October 1947 and emigrated from Israel to Toronto with their children in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator for individuals, scholars and institutions. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: a story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Florida. Her husband Moshe passed away in 1993.
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
World War, 1939-1945
Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
Israel--Emigration and immigration
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 414
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
414
Material Format
textual record
Date
1991
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 471
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
471
Material Format
textual record
Date
1994
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Committee meeting agendas, minutes, reports and correspondence series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 1; File 257
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Committee meeting agendas, minutes, reports and correspondence series
Level
File
Fonds
17
Series
1
File
257
Material Format
textual record
Date
1970 - 1971
Physical Description
1 folder of textual materials
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 687
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
687
Material Format
textual record
Date
1971
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 752
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
752
Material Format
textual record
Date
1974
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 932
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
932
Material Format
textual record
Date
1992
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 126
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
126
Material Format
textual record
Date
1997
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 164
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
164
Material Format
textual record
Date
Aug. 1977 - Oct. 1979
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 263
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
263
Material Format
textual record
Date
1998
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 275
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
275
Material Format
textual record
Date
1962
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 345
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
345
Material Format
textual record
Date
1995
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 1051
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
1051
Material Format
textual record
Date
1976
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 1240
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
1240
Material Format
textual record
Date
1980 - 1981
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 1305
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
1305
Material Format
textual record
Date
1996
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Subjects
Yiddish language
Access Restriction
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Accession Number
2005-2-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds
Women's Auxiliary series
Scrapbook file
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 14; Series 4; File 2; Item 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds
Women's Auxiliary series
Scrapbook file
Level
Item
Fonds
14
Series
4
File
2
Item
5
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1960]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 11 x 9 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of residents listening to Mr. H. Levine (resident) reading from a Yiddish text. Mr. Levine read every Thursday.
Subjects
Yiddish language
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Organizations series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 20; Series 3; File 17
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Organizations series
Level
File
Fonds
20
Series
3
File
17
Material Format
textual record
Date
1965-1967
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of two newsletters.
Subjects
Yiddish language
Source
Archival Descriptions
Name
Charna Galper
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
15 Aug. 2018
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Charna Galper
Number
OH 448
Subject
Immigrants--Canada
Synagogues
Camps
Musicians
Yiddish language
Yiddish literature
Interview Date
15 Aug. 2018
Quantity
1 MP4 file
Interviewer
Naomi Raichyk
Total Running Time
1:42 minutes
Biography
Charna Galper was born in 1921 in Bershet, Ukraine and immigrated with her family to Toronto in 1923. Charna grew up and lived in the Kensington Market area until 1955, when she moved north of the downtown core. Charna attended Landsdowne Public School and Harbord Collegiate, where she graduated as a legal secretary. She was a member of Hashomer Haztair and attended its summer camp at the Stroud, Ontario location. Charna married Abe Galper in 1947. Abe's career as a musician allowed them to travel to New York, Israel, and China. Charna has volunteered for Circle of Care and today spends her time pursuing her interest in Yiddish and attending programs at the Baycrest Centre.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)
Transcript
0:40: Charna born in 1921 in Bershet, Urkaine, tells the story of how she her parents and siblings fled Ukraine for Canada. Sponsored by Joe and Philip Finkler her mother’s brothers, the family arrived in Toronto in 1923. 3:24: Charna describes the living conditions of the family’s first home at 237 Beverley St., Fitzroy Terrace in the Kensington area and Grange Ave. 4:55: Charna talks about her elder sister’s contracting diphtheria and the resulting quarantine her family had to endure 5:2: Charna talks her parents first home at 210 Robert St. and the family’s move to Albany Ave. 6:15: Charna describes in detail the family’s living conditions prior to their move to 210 Robert St. 7:15: Charna talks about some of the challenges her parents faced when they first came to Toronto. She describes the hardships her father endured working as a carpenter during the depression 9:40: Charna talks about Joe and Philip Finkler as instrumental in helping her parents buy the house on Robert St. in 1926, the year her brother Shloime was born 10:00: Charna recalls some memories of the Robert St neighborhood, a closely knit Jewish immigrant community with Yiddish spoken as the primary language and her experiences at the Landsdowne Public school 11:40: Charna recalls her grandmother as being a wonderful davener 13:00: Charna talks about the details of the Robert St. house mortgage 14:1: Charna talks about her first job working for Harry Grainer as a legal secretary and later with Lou Rasminsky, the first Jewish governor of the Bank of Canada. 15:33: Charna recalls the area around Rasminsky’s storefront at 418 Spadina Ave. Spadina was filled with many businesses, egg stores, Hyman’s bookstore and Goodmans on the corner of Oxford, “we all knew each other, it was a leibedik velt. 16:00: Charna talks in more detail about her job as a legal secretary for Lou Rasminsky 18.45: Charna describes her daily walk to Harbord Collegiate 19:30: Charna talks about not having enough money for carfare and riding the bus for free 20:33: Charna talks about her best friend Rose Ruskin 21:35: Charna talks about how as a child she was spoiled by her older sisters Nechama and Ethel 22:04: Charna talks about helping with the household chores 22:15: Charna describes family laundry day on Sunday. We had laundry tubs in the backyard, my sisters and I had scrubbing boards and my mother was good at wringing, it was a team effort 22:46: Charna talks about the Kosoys who owned a home laundry at Borden and Harbord St. They had what was called wet wash, they would bring the clean laundry back to us wet and we would hang it to dry. 23:27: Charna talks about getting their first refrigerator 23:41: Charna describes their first refrigerator 24:01: Charna describes their icebox and Katz the iceman who came once a week to deliver ice 24:44: Charna talks about buying groceries on credit 25:37: Charna talks about why her parents wanted her to go to school rather than working in a factory 25:50: Charna talks about helping with the shopping in Kensington market 26:05: Charna talks about going to Kensington market on Thursday morning to buy a big carp, bring it home, put it in the tub until Friday morning when her grandmother would kill it and turn it into gefilte fish 27:33: Charna describes her own gefilte fish recipe 28:35: Charna recalls going to the market on Friday to buy a live chicken for Shabbat and taking it to the Schoichet on Major St. to be killed and plucked 29:03: Charna describes how to hold a live chicken 29:23: Charna describes bargaining for goods in the market 30:41: Charna recalls the pickled crabapple treats from a delicatessen located at Dundas in Kensington Market 32:04: Charna recalls Tryman’s family run grocery store on Baldwin St., Little Eaton’s on Kensington that sold Eaton’s castoffs, Hyman’s bookstore on Spadina Ave that sold office supplies, religious books and had a registry for bar-mitzvahs and weddings. 34:45: Charna describes her brother Shloime’s bar-mitzvah held at their Robert St. home and catered by her grandmother 35:42: Charna recalls about the days when her grandmother was a caterer in Russia and also in Toronto 37:12: Charna describes her grandmother’s cooking 37:49: Charna talks about her grandmother as a very orthodox woman who wore both a sheitel and kerchief 38.22: Charna talks about the family’s traditional observance of Shabbos and Jewish holidays, the Russian Shul on Centre St, and her grandmother’s cooking for Rosh Hashanah 40:36: Charna talks about the Russian Shul’s move to Markham St. and describes its interior 42:39: Charna talks about Joe and Philip Finkler’s connection with the Kiever Shul 43:42: Charna talks about her grandmother’s passing in 1939 44:04: Charna talks about her sisters Elsie and Nechama 45:35: Charna talks about her surprise birthday party in celebration of her 95th year 46:08: Charna talks about her sister Nechama’s move to Palestine 46:34: Charna talks about her father in-law’s move to Palestine in 1930 47:30: Charna talks about her involvement with Hashomer Hatzair 49:24: Charna talks about Hashomer Hatzair’s summer camp locations in Keswick, Stroud, Parry Sound, and Lake Ooty in Perth, Ontario 50:25: Charna describes her camp experience at the Stroud location 52:05: Charna talks about accompanying her husband Abe, a clarinet teacher to camp Hashomer Hatzair in Perth, Ontario 52:59: Charna talks about her past and present affiliation with schlichim coming to Toronto 53:45: Charna talks about her affiliation with Pioneer Women, now known as Na’amat 54:32: Charna tells the story of how she met her husband Abe in 1947 57:18: Charna describes her first date with Abe 57:43: Charna talks about walking with Abe to the Tivoli theatre at Victoria and Shuter. “Who used cars, who used streetcars, we walked. On the way back I got the most terrible blisters, I was with new shoes, with high heels.” 58:26: Charna continues to describe her first date with Abe 59:01: Charna describes the inside of the Tivoli theatre 59:49: Charna talks about City Dairy where she and Abe went for ice cream on their first date. City Dairy was located at Spadina Crescent near College St. 1:00:36: Charna explains why she and Abe decided to get their marriage license in May 1948 1:02:08: Charna talks about the attraction she and Abe had for one another 1:02:42: Charna talks about her wedding held in the family’s backyard at Albany Ave. in August of 1948 1:04:47: Charna describes her wedding cake and how she preserved it in a tin box until her 25th wedding anniversary 1:06:04 Charna talks about her first apartment with Abe at College and Crawford 1:06:52: Charna talks the period following her marriage and her mother’s stroke 1:07:45: Charrna talks about her first pregnancy and birth of Batsheva in November 1949 1:07:54: Charna talks about moving into her parent’s home on Albany St. 1:09:25: Charna talks about thinking of buying their own home 1:10:16 Charna talks about why they waited a year before moving into their own home. She explains everything she needed was close by the house on Albany, including Starkman’s and Honest Ed’s. 1:11:28: Charna describes their first house as it looked when they moved in 1955 1:12:14: Charna talks about the shifting demographics of the neighborhood from primarily Gentile to Jewish 1:12:40: Charna talks about the neighborhood Daysbury public school her children attended 1:12:55: Charna talks about how life became easier for them when Abe’s work with the symphony increased from 26 weeks to 42 weeks a season 1:13:34: Charna talks about the death of her mother before the move to their own home and her father who moved in with them 1:13:50: Charna talks about Abe’s music students and his work with the Conservatory 1:14:26: Charna talks about her 2 youngest children attending the Bialik School 1:14:59: Charna gives the ages of her 5 children, Batsheva 69 years old, Chaya 68 years old, Devora 64 years old, Penina 56 years old, and Yanke 55 years old1:16:03 1:14:60: Break in interview as Charna speaks with her daughter Devora 1:17:40: Charna talks about Abe’s relationship with her parents 1:18:07: Charna talks about Abe’s career as a musician 1:19:02: Charna talks about Abe playing for the Israel Philharmonic in 1962 and their thoughts about making Aliyah 1:19:39: Charna talks about their return from Israel to Toronto, his work with the conservatory and some of his music students 1:20:36: Charna talks about Abe’s medical condition 1:20:51: Charna talks about how she and Abe worked as a team 1:21:11: Charna talks about accompanying Abe to New York when he played with the New York Philharmonic 1:22:08: Charna talks about Abe’s work following his heart attack 1:22:22: Charna talks about Abe giving a master class in Israel for Israeli clarinetists 1:24:00: Charna talks about Abe’s experience playing with the Palestine Symphony 1:26:25: Charna talks about how she came to know famous people such as Frank Shuster, John (Louie) Wayne, Sylvia and Ben Lennick, and pianist Leo Barkin 1:29:14: Charna talks about musicians from Israel who moved to Toronto 1:31:08: Break in conversation as Charna gets up from her chair 1:31:57: Charna talks about her children being what is most important to her 1:32:41: Charna talks about her son Jacob’s 25th wedding anniversary 1:33:15: Charna talks about her current interest in Yiddish, going to the Baycrest program and meeting interesting people 1:36:13: Charna talks accompanying Abe to China during a 3 week master class program 1:40:17: Charna talks about the evening’s upcoming anniversary party and invited guests 1:42:00: Charna talks about her service volunteering for Circle of Care and the Jewish elderly 1:42:33: Charna talks about learning to drive her first car, a blue and white chevy with wings
Source
Oral Histories
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Organizations series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 20; Series 3; File 1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Lipa Green fonds
Organizations series
Level
File
Fonds
20
Series
3
File
1
Material Format
textual record
Date
1966
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of letterhead for the Association for Yiddish Cultural Radio Program and Yiddish Literature Group at I.L. Peretz Workmen's Circle School.
Subjects
Radio broadcasting, Yiddish
Yiddish literature
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2009-6-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2009-6-5
Material Format
graphic material
sound recording
moving images
textual record
object
Physical Description
187 photographs : b&w and col. ; 24 x 20 cm or smaller
20 audiocassettes
10 videocassettes
1 folder of textual records
1 object
Date
[193-]-2006
Scope and Content
Accession consists predominantly of records collected by Bess Shockett in her work with UJA Federation's Committee for Yiddish and Friends of Yiddish. The accession also contains some personal family records. The photographs document programmes of the Committee for Yiddish in the late 1980s and 1990s, including an outdoor Yiddish concert, several International Conferences of Yiddish Clubs (1995, 1998, 1999), Sunday morning Yiddish classes, and a 1993 Hanukah concert. There are also three photographs of the New Fraternal Jewish Association and its celebration of J. B. Salsberg's eightieth birthday in 1980. The videocassettes contain recordings of other events including a storytelling workshop, Purim Mystery Night, a farewell for Miriam Waddington and several Sof Vokh (weekend retreat) programmes of 1993.
The twenty cassette tapes feature panel discussions, lectures and interviews, including "Yiddish education," "Yiddish and the Media," "Yiddish and the Younger Generation," "Yiddish and the Performing Arts," and "Yiddish Language and Translation." There are several interviews with Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever, as well as two Toronto Yiddish concerts. Other tapes contain radio interviews with [Aaron?] Lansky; "Chava Rosenfarb--Book Fair", 1988; "Plenary reports and presentations"; and an episode of the program The Forward Hour on Peretz Miransky, an influential Polish writer in the inter-war years.
Personal records in the accession consist of family snapshots dating from the 1930s and 1940s. These were taken in Israel and include images of farming, landscapes, travel, a canal, groups of people, city buildings, and processions. These photos all have Yiddish writing on the back. There is one formal portrait, ca. 1890s, of an elderly Jewish man. As well, there is a folder of original and photocopied poetry (in Yiddish) written by a Jack Shockett.
Accession also includes a Yiddish typewriter, in case, that Bess used in the late 1960s/early 1970s when the Committee for Yiddish was under Congress.
Custodial History
Records were entrusted to the estate of Bess Shockett after her death, and given to her Committee for Yiddish colleague Ethel Cooper, who brought them to the archives.
Administrative History
Bess Shockett was born in the Ukraine in 1919. Her father, Solomon Maltin, was the mayor of the town and helped establish a number of Jewish community institutions. He and his wife had two sons along with Bess: Sam and Ben. In 1925, the family moved to Montreal. As an adolescent, Bess became very active in the Jewish community and joined the United Jewish People's Order. She helped organize a union for workers in the knitting industry and later did the same for fur workers. She also travelled to Winnipeg to organize a laundry workers union. She met her husband, Barry Shockett, in Toronto and they married in 1952 and had three children: Michael, Elka and Eric. Bess eventually became very active in the Toronto Jewish community, particularly in regards to supporting and launching several innovative Yiddish programs. She staffed the office of CJC's Committee for Yiddish in its early years, and was Director from 1974 to 1989. She helped found the Friends of Yiddish in 1985 and served as executive vice-president until her death on August 27, 2007.
Descriptive Notes
There is little written material; what there is (captions and poetry) is mostly in Yiddish; some captions are in English.
Subjects
Committees
Yiddish language
Name Access
Committee for Yiddish (Toronto, Ont.)
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-8-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-8-5
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder textual records
Date
1937-1970
Scope and Content
Accession consists of personal records of Bunny Bergstein. Included is his certificate of graduation from "shule", or Yiddish school, and documents related to the B'Nai Brith Lodge.
Subjects
Education
Yiddish language
Name Access
Bergstein, Bunny
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Isaac Matenko fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 89
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Isaac Matenko fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
89
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Date
1911-1971, predominant 1911-1935
Physical Description
6 cm of textual records
17 photographs
Admin History/Bio
Isaac Matenko (1874–1960) was a founder, teacher, and principal of the I. L. Peretz School. He worked tirelessly to preserve and promote secular Jewish culture and the Yiddish language in Toronto. He was also a prominent member of local Jewish organizations, such as the Socialist-Territorialist Club and the Yiddish Kultur Gesellshaft.
Isaac was born on 1 February 1874 in the town of Makariv, located in the Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. He married Elke Yelia Moshkevitch (1878–19 November 1953) on 4 August 1900 in Yekaterinoslav (today Dnipro). They immigrated from czarist Russia to Toronto in 1906, passing first through New York with their two children, Percy (30 June 1901–May 1987) and Theodore (1903–1906, died of measles at Ellis Island), and Yelia’s three sisters, Dvora, Bracha, and Celia, and Isaac’s younger half-brother, Paul Frumhartz. They had two more children after arriving: Abraham (14 August 1908–October 24, 1989) and Shoshana (Sue) (1911–2001). Although he had been a teacher in Russia, Isaac worked as an operator in a cloak factory in Toronto, where he was instrumental in forming the union (likely the Cloakmakers’ Union of Toronto, which later affiliated with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union).
As a child, Isaac received a traditional Jewish education. This, combined with his self-taught secular education and the teachings of Yiddish nationalist Dr. Chaim Zhitlovski, informed his future career and philosophies. He was described as an idealist by his friends, whose dedication to Yiddish culture and language motivated him to bring this knowledge to a younger generation.
On 11 July 1911, Isaac and his fellow Socialist-Territorialist members established the Toronto Yiddish National-Radical School. By 1916, it had been taken over by the Workmen’s Circle and renamed the I. L. Peretz School, after the well-known Yiddish author and playwright. The school began in a rented room at the Zionist Institute on Simcoe Street, moving to larger locations on Richmond Street West, then Beverley Street as it grew. Eventually, several more branches opened, such as the Maria Street school that Isaac was affiliated with. He taught at the school for free in the evenings after working during the day in a shop. His brother Paul was also a founding teacher at the school.
Isaac was described by family, friends, and community members as a passionate teacher with an iron will. He was well-versed in Jewish knowledge, with a desire to pass it on to a younger generation and his fellow union members. He remained involved in the school and in teaching, even after retirement. He died on 2 June 1960 at the age of eighty-six.
Custodial History
These records were donated to the OJA by Sue Levy, daughter of Isaac Matenko.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records documenting Isaac Matenko's involvement with the Workmen's Circle and other Jewish organizations. Included are photographs, programmes, certificates, I. L. Peretz School jubilee books, a songbook, a yearbook, articles, and newsclippings.
Fonds has been arranged into one series for the Workmen's Circle. There are also two files attached to the fonds-level. The records are described at the series and file-level, with some item-level descriptions.
Name Access
Arbeiter Ring
Arbeiter Ring Schools
Arbeter Ring
Camp Yungvelt
Frumhartz, Paul
I.L. Peretz
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Matenko, Percy
National Radical School
Peretz Shule
Workman's Circle
Workmen's Circle
Subjects
Schools
Teachers
Yiddish language
Related Material
For additional Workmen's Circle records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1980-2-2, 1983-6-3, 1984-10-1, 1986-4-1, 1992-1-2, 1997-2-1, 1998-3-32, 2004-5-41, 2004-5-105, and fonds 30.
For additional Camp Yungvelt records, see: accessions 1979-4-4, 1986-4-1, 1991-12-4, 1993-6-6, 1999-5-1, 2004-5-37, 2005-6-4, 2006-12-3, photographs # 2964, # 4014, # 6021, MG2N1K, Benjamin Brown fonds 49, and Dorothy Dworkin Fonds 10 (item 14).
Creator
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Accession Number
1987-11-4
1991-4-2
2007-5-3
2007-6-28
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
1993-7-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1993-7-4
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
75 m of textual records
Scope and Content
Accession consists of the records created and collected by Rabbi Nachum Shemen. Included are correspondence, newsclippings, writings, and organizational records.
Among the organizational records are subject files including: Vegetarianism (1944); Warsawer-Lodzer mutual Benefit Association; Rabbi Berel Wein; Kurt Weinberg; Weizmann Institute of Science; Windsor; Anselm Wise obituary (1977); Attitudes Toward Women; World Jewish Congress; Rabbi Dr. W. W. Wurzburger; Yad Vashem; Yavneh - Nir-Etzion Projects; Yeshiva Gedorah Ateres Yaakov, Yeshiva of Staten Island; Yeshiva Torah Chaim; Yeshiva Tiferes Shmiel D'Aleksander; Yeshiva University; Yeshivas; Yiddish Cultural Council; Yizkor Fund; Yivo Institute; York University; Rabbi Aaron Zimmerman; Zionist Organization of Canada; Zionist Revisionist organization of Canada; Rabbi Zolty; Louis Zuker.
Use Conditions
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Subjects
Rabbis
Yeshivas
Yiddish language
Name Access
Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993
Source
Archival Accessions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3637
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3637
Material Format
graphic material
Date
April 1945
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Name Access
Beckerman, Miriam
Chudleigh House
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.
Accession Number
1984-1-12
Source
Archival Descriptions
Passenger Names
Beckerman, Dine Leah
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Source
Rotenberg Ledger
Passenger Names
Beckerman, Dine Leah
Page Number
337
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Photographer
Harvey and Adena Glasner
Source
Rotenberg Ledger
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 35
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
35
Material Format
textual record
Date
1967-1972
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 52
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
52
Material Format
textual record
Date
1956-1968
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 173
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
173
Material Format
textual record
Date
1959-1960
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 204
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
204
Material Format
textual record
Date
1967
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 269
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
269
Material Format
textual record
Date
1951
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 333
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
333
Material Format
textual record
Date
1951-1968
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 361
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
361
Material Format
textual record
Date
1957-1960
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 393
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
393
Material Format
textual record
Date
1968-1969
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 48; Series 2-4; File 425
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Board of Jewish Education fonds
Executive director series
Teacher files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
48
Series
2-4
File
425
Material Format
textual record
Date
1949-1975
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2023-3-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2023-3-12
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
10 Oct. 1946-12 Nov. 1947
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the post-war identification of Miriam Friedman. Included is a United Nations DP Identification Card assigned to Mirjam Frydman on October 10, 1946 in Linz, Austria and a Certificate of Identity issued in Zalzburg on November 12, 1947. The certificate documents her immigration to Canada from a children's home in Strobl, Austria with transit through Germany.
Administrative History
Miriam Ziegler (née Friedman) was born in Radom, Poland, in 1935. In 1939, Miriam and her mother Rose travelled to Ostrowiec. Miriam survived in temporary hiding spots until it became too dangerous, and she joined her parents in the Ostrowiec labour camp. In August 1944, authorities deported the family to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration and Death Camp, where they were separated. The Soviet Army liberated Miriam in January 1945. After the war, Miriam learned that her father was killed during a death march. Miriam spent time in a sanatorium and multiple children's homes and eventually reunited with her mother and aunt. In 1946, the family went to Bindermichl Displaced Persons Camp in Austria. Rose, unable to look after Miriam, sent her to the Strobl Children’s Home and in February 1948, Miriam arrived in Canada as a war orphan, settling in Toronto. In April 1958, Miriam married Holocaust survivor Roman Ziegler and had three children.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
Holocaust survivors
Source
Archival Accessions
Passenger Names
Rosenberg, Miriam
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Source
Rotenberg Ledger
Passenger Names
Rosenberg, Miriam
Page Number
654
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Photographer
Harvey and Adena Glasner
Source
Rotenberg Ledger