Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Eastern Canada synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

4

File

7

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

38 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

Saint John (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Eastern Canada synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

4

File

8

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

27 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints ; 25 x 19 cm and smaller

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

Saint John (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Quebec synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

1

File

48

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

23 photographs : col. slides, (2) 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.

Physical Condition

Photographs have yellow discolouration due to damaged emulsion.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

42

Material Format

textual record

Date

1954-[1960?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains copies of informational booklets with synagogue's history.

Name Access

Shaare Zedek

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

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds

Seminars series

Level

File

Fonds

31

Series

12

File

5

Material Format

graphic material

Date

June 1976

Physical Description

51 photographs : b&w (2 contact sheets) ; 21 x 26 cm

Accession Number

2008-12-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Eastern Canada synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

4

File

5

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

37 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.

Physical Condition

Yellow discolouration on prints due to damaged emulsion.

Places

Moncton (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

[ca. 1965]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains article, "A History of Moncton Jewry."

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

Moncton (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

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

194

Material Format

textual record

Date

1969-1970

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence.

Places

Jerusalem

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

10

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

61 photographs : col. slides, (8) 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

Hamilton (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

69

Material Format

textual record

Date

1953

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a copy of the 1953 self-survey conducted by the Jewish community of Sudbury. In the 1950s several such studies were commissioned by the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Name Access

Shaar Hashomayim

Subjects

Communities

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

Sudbury (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

109

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

78 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints, (3) 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

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

43

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

[ca. 1960]-1975

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains 50th anniversary booklet (1975), and two blueprints of the building.

Name Access

Shaare Zion Congregation (Montréal, Québec)

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

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

96

Material Format

textual record

Date

1930-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains the shul's dedication programme from 1930, the 25th (1954) and 49th anniversary programmes (1978).

Name Access

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim

Subjects

Anniversaries

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

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Eastern Canada synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

4

File

1

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

24 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

Fredericton (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

10

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1961-1962

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains two architectural drawings and a Service of Dedication programme for the synagogue from 1962.

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

Fredericton (N.B.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2018-9-2

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

16 cm of textual records

1 photograph : b&w ; 15 x 10 cm

Date

1945-1992

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records related to the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation and B'nai Brith of Sudbury, Ontario. Included are Shaar Hashomayim cash receipt books for donations and membership dues, income and expense ledgers, bank reconciliation statements, a change of address notice, list of members of the Jewish Community of Sudbury, B'nai Brith Sudbury Lodge No. 1592 membership record book, and a letter from the Canadian Jewish Congress with a population list of Jewish communities in Ontario based on the 1971 census. Also included is a photograph taken at a B'nai Brith banquet in the mid-1950s. Pictured in the photograph are David Schwartz, David Greenspan, David Valensky, Sam Speigel and D. Field.

Subjects

Synagogues

Fraternal organizations

Name Access

B'nai B'rith

Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue (Sudbury, Ont.)

Places

Sudbury (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1977-8-11

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1940-1966

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material from B'nai Jacob Congregation in Niagara Falls, Ontario. These include bank cheques, utility and hardware bills, insurance policy statements from the 1940s, general correspondence, as well as a report on the dedication of the rebuilt synagogue.

Subjects

Synagogues

Communities

Name Access

B'nai Jacob Congregation (Niagara Falls, Ont.)

Places

Niagara Falls, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2008-11-12

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

technical drawing

Physical Description

56 cm textual records

172 photographs

2 technical drawings

Date

[194?]-1998

Scope and Content

Accession consists of minutes of meetings, ledgers, correspondence, notes, and photographs documenting the former B'nai Jacob Congregation in Niagara Falls. The material includes records of the Rose Dunkelman chapter of Hadassah (1940s–1950s), Sisterhood (1970s), the merged Hadassah-Sisterhood (1977–1986), Lundy's Lane Cemetery, and the Niagara Falls Jewish Federation (1943-1966). The records include a file with lists of Torah Fund donations, the constitutions of Sisterhood and of B'nai Jacob, many copied newspaper clippings about the Greenspans and Barbara Frum, and a copy of the 1953 CJC Community Self-Survey. There are also two copies of the 1977 Sisterhood New Year's community directory and textual and graphic material on the Holocaust Memorial at the cemetery. Records also include a photocopied chapter from a young adult book telling the story of Niagara Falls resident Irving Milchberg and how as an adolescent he survived the Second World War in Nazi-occupied Warsaw after escaping from the ghetto.

Accession includes 172 photographs; ninety-six are colour prints from the 1998 Holocaust Memorial dedication ceremony in the cemetery and the rest are special events and shul members in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition there is a collage of twelve photographs picturing music classes and performances. Finally, two oversized landscape technical drawings also relate to the proposed Holocaust Memorial.

Photo Caption 001-007: Festival of Holidays at B’nai Jacob Congregation, Niagara Falls, 1980.

Administrative History

B'nai Jacob Synagogue was a Conservative shul founded in 1918. It amalgamated with the Reform congregation in St. Catharines and became B'nai Tikvah in 1998 and is still located in the original shul building in Niagara Falls.

Use Conditions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Subjects

Communities

Synagogues

Name Access

B'nai Jacob Congregation (Niagara Falls, Ont.)

Places

Niagara Falls (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

64

Material Format

textual record

Date

1958, 1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains newspaper clippings and pages from an architectural magazine with pictures.

Name Access

Congregation Beth El

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

St. John's (N.L.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Quebec synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

1

File

45

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

30 photographs : col. slides and (2) b&w photographs ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

1 architectural drawing

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

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

111

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

54 photographs : col. slides, b&w negatives ; 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

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

92

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

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

Name Access

Congregation Shaarei Tzedec (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

Congregation Beth David fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

88

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1916]-1996, predominant 1940-1996

Physical Description

38 cm of textual records (9v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Brantford Hebrew Association, Congregation Beth David’s precursor, was founded in 1907 when Rabbi Backer officiated Brantford’s first public Jewish religious service in an upper hall on George Street. Services had previously taken place in the homes of Jewish families, who had begun settling in the area around the turn of the century. By 1911, services had moved to the old Conservative Hall at Dalhousie and King Street. In 1915, the congregation purchased a building at 33 Palace Street and remodeled it into a synagogue. This building was also used as a community centre and for the Congregation’s Hebrew school.

On October 13th, 1911 the congregation was incorporated, and the following year it purchased land for a cemetery in the northeast corner of Mount Hope Cemetery. Due to increasing membership, a new synagogue was built at 50 Waterloo Street in 1948. In January 1950, the congregation changed its name to Beth David in honour of member David Axler, who died during the Second World War while training as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The congregation was at its peak in the 1960s with 150 member families. However, membership drastically fell after the children of this generation moved to larger cities and their parents followed after retirement. By 1999, only 28 families remained as members and services were reduced to being held on the High Holidays and special occasions, such as, b'nai mitzvah. Dwindling resources and membership forced the congregation to close around 2001. Throughout its existence, over 30 rabbis served the congregation, including Rabbi Saul Wolfe Gringorten (ca. 1910-1923). Its cemetery continues to be looked after by Allan Norris, a past president of the congregation.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the acitivities, religious programs and services, membership, and finances of Congregation Beth David, as well as the recognition and honours awarded by and to Brantford's Jewish community. Included are meeting minutes, photographs, plaques, a key, a marriage register, general ledgers, ledgers and lists of membership dues and receipts, audited financial statements, budgets, correspondece, bulletins, office stationary, newsclippings, certificates, library book cards, bookplates, rabbi contracts, and surveys.

Fonds has been arranged into the following six series: 1. Meetings ; 2. Religious programs and services; 3. Finances & accounting ; 4. Administrative functions ; 5. Bulletins ; and, 6. Events.

Notes

Includes 10 microfiches of textual records, 5 architectural drawings, 11 photographs (4 negatives), 3 plaques, 1 mounted letter and 1 key.

Fonds was reduced from ca. 1 metre to ca. 45 cm. See accession 2001-10-3 for further information about the culled material.

Name Access

Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

Communities

Synagogues

Physical Condition

The binding on some of the general ledgers is fragile and coming apart. They have been stored flat to reduce any strain.

The architectural drawings have some tears and should be flattened.

Related Material

Please see the Sadie Stren fonds 78 for other records documenting Brantford's Jewish community and the Beth David Congregation, including the synagogue's original letters of incorporation.

For other photographs documenting Congregation Beth David, see: accesssion 1976-6-5 (photo # 1133); accession 1976-6-6 (photos # 1138, 1137, 1136); accession 1976-6-13; accession 1986-2-2 (photos #3593-3595, 3856, 3889-3894), photo #918; and, photo #578.

For records related to Beth David's namesake, David Axler, and photographs of its cemetery, please see accession #2004-5-71.

For records of Rabbi Gringorten, see accession #2009-2-5 and 2008-11-3

For additional records related to Brantford families and other Jewish organizations, such as the Hadassah chapter and B'nai Brith lodge, please see accession #2001-10-3; MG 2J29a, #2009-7-1, 1978-11-4, 1977-8-16, 1992-8-3, 1980-1-14, 1978-1-2, 2008-7-1, photo# 109, photo# 755, and photo #758.

Arrangement

Fonds is arranged to the file-level, but only described to the series-level. Three file-level descriptions exist for files attached directly to the fonds. Photographs with existing item-level descriptions were also attached to the fonds.

Creator

Congregation Beth David (Brantford, Ont.)

Places

Brantford (Ont.)

Accession Number

2001-10-3

1978-11-4

1981-12-2 / MG3 B16

1976-6-8

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2007-6-31

Material Format

textual record (electronic)

Physical Description

1 document (4 jpgs) : col.

Date

[19--]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of scanned copy of the constitution of the B'nai Jacob Congregation of Niagara Falls, 4 pages in four separate files.

Subjects

Synagogues

Communities

Name Access

B'nai Jacob Congregation (Niagara Falls, Ont.)

Places

Niagara Falls (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

• 
• 
• 

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

67

Material Format

textual record

Date

1954

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a copy of the historical sketch from the 1954 self-survey of the Jewish community of Sault Ste. Marie. Several self-surveys were conducted in the 1950s under the auspices of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Name Access

Congregation Beth Jacob

Subjects

Communities

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

Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2016-8-9

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Physical Description

1.3 m of textual records

ca. 50 architectural drawings

Date

1974-2016

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the activities, programs and governance of Shaar Shalom Synagogue. Included are financial statements, meeting minutes, by-laws, brochures, architectural drawings, reports, membership lists, forms filled in by participants in life cycle events (such as weddings and conversions), holiday bulletins, invitations, speeches, Yizkor booklets, office manuals and correspondence. Of note is a land title document from 1981.

Administrative History

Shaar Shalom Synagogue was a conservative synagogue in Markham founded in 1972. The synagogue closed in 2016.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Shaar Shalom Synagogue (Markham, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-7-11

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

architectural drawing

Physical Description

ca. 6 m textual records and graphic material

ca. 20 architectural drawings

Date

1972-2016

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the activities, programs and governance of Shaar Shalom Synagogue. Included are financial records, meeting minutes and agendas, architectural drawings, general administrative files, and photographs.

Administrative History

Shaar Shalom Synagogue was a conservative synagogue in Markham founded in 1972. The synagogue closed in 2016.`

Use Conditions

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

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Shaar Shalom Synagogue (Markham, Ont.)

Places

Markham, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2017-2-3

Material Format

object

Physical Description

1 plaque ; 28 x 35 cm

Date

2016

Scope and Content

Accession consists of one plaque documenting Shaar Shalom Synagogue's presidents from 1974-2016.

Administrative History

Shaar Shalom Synagogue was a conservative synagogue in Markham founded in 1972. The synagogue closed in 2016.

Subjects

Synagogues

Name Access

Shaar Shalom Synagogue (Markham, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Julius P. Katz fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

55

Series

2

File

165

Material Format

textual record

Date

1947

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

This file consists of lists of congregations in Toronto.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Material Format

graphic material

Date

15 Apr. 1978

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 11 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a colour photograph of the interior of the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue in Sudbury, Ontario.

Notes

This photograph is very dark.

Name Access

Shaar Hashomayim Congregation of Sudbury (Sudbury, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Sudbury (Ont.)

Accession Number

1978-9-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Quebec synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

1

File

49

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

63 photographs : col. slides, (4) 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

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

38

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

28 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

Sudbury (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Ontario synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

2

File

89

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1979

Physical Description

6 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

Level

Item

Item

1376

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1977

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w and col. ; 12 x 10 cm and 35 mm slide (Kodachrome)

Scope and Content

This item is an original slide and copy negative of the exterior of the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue in Windsor, Ontario.

Name Access

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim (Windsor, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Windsor (Ont.)

Accession Number

1977-6-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

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

Material Format

graphic material

Date

15 Apr. 1978

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 11 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a colour photograph of the exterior of the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue in Sudbury, Ontario.

Name Access

Shaar Hashomayim Congregation of Sudbury (Sudbury, Ont.)

Subjects

Architecture

Synagogues

Places

Sudbury (Ont.)

Accession Number

1978-9-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1377

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1977

Physical Description

1 slide (Kodachrome) : col. ; 35 mm

Scope and Content

This item is an original slide of an aerial view of the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue in Windsor, Ontario.

Name Access

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim (Windsor, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Places

Windsor (Ont.)

Accession Number

1977-6-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

6019

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1954

Physical Description

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

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation's religious school board members. Pictured are:

Back row, left to right: Mrs. Victor, M. M. Beranholtz, P. Strosberg, Rabbi Stollman, Mr. Victor (principal), Cantor [Nadvap?].

Front row, left to right: H. R. Schwartz, M. Tabachnik, Joe Cohen, Morris Mussman.

Subjects

Portraits, Group

School boards

Places

Windsor (Ont.)

Accession Number

1991-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Philip Givens fonds

City of Toronto Mayor series

Official engagements sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

51

Series

4-6

File

1

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Dec. 1963

Physical Description

7 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs documenting Phil Givens' visit to the site of a Trans-Canada Airline plane crash in Ste. Therese, Quebec. Included are images of Givens flying to the site in a helicopter, gathered with other politicians visiting the site, and standing by commemorative wreaths at the site. Mayor Jean Drapeau of Montreal is also identified in the photographs.

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

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Quebec synagogues series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

1

File

50

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

54 photographs : col. slides, (3) b&w prints ; 35 mm and 12 x 9 cm

Name Access

Beth Yehuda Congregation (Montréal, Québec)

Congregation Shomrim Laboker (Montréal, Québec)

Shaare Tefillah (Montréal, Québec)

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

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2013-5-2

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

10 cm of textual records and other material

Date

2011-2012

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the 100th anniversary celebration of Congregation Knesseth Israel. The records were compiled in an indexed binder by Edwin Goldstein, president of the synagogue. Included are newsclippings, press releases and advertisements; invitations and programs; a commemorative calendar; a volunteer t-shirt, a kippa and a gift bag; correspondence with the Ontario Trillium Foundation; information on a guided architectural walking tour of the area; an Israel Today DVD featuring the synagogue; the book "One Hundred Years at the Junction Shul" written by Neil Ross and Lorne Miller; and a DVD compilation featuring video and photographic highlights from the various anniversary events.

Administrative History

Congregation Knesseth Israel was established in 1911 at 56 Maria Street in the West end of Toronto. Early 20th century membership in the synagogue consisted mainly of new jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, many of whom lived and worked in the Junction as artisans, peddlers, shop owners and scrap and metal collectors. Known as the Junction Shul, Knesseth Israel Synagogue was built with the labour and funds provided by the founding members and their families.

Orthodox services first began in 1913 and since the 1930s the synagogue has functioned without a rabbi, with services being led by a cantor or the congregants themselves. Some family names associated with this early period include: Alexandroff, Goldstein, Nickolaevsky, Kronis, Greenblatt, Usprich, Tanenbaum, and Naftalin.

Knesseth Israel is the oldest Toronto synagogue still in use as a synagogue today and is now cared for by the descendents of these founding families. Although members of the synagogue are now few (as the Jewish population of the Junction has waned greatly since the 1960s), the synagogue still performs High Holiday services for some 75-80 full members and 300 associate members.

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes 1 text, 3 objects and 2 DVDs.

Subjects

Anniversaries

Synagogues

Name Access

Knesseth Israel (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2017-1-6

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

2011-2012

Scope and Content

Accession consists of three editions of the Beth Tzedec Bulletin dated January 2011, September 2011 and January 2012. The contents of each contain a commentary by the rabbi and president, news, milestones, celebrations, tributes and activities going on at the synagogue. Paid advertising also appears in each bulletin. A monthly calendar of events is printed on the back cover of each edition.

Subjects

Synagogue bulletins

Name Access

Beth Tzedec Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions