Fought with Jewish Brigade during WWI David Gold, one of few surviving fighters in the Jewish Brigade which fought in Palestine in World War One, died in Toronto in March 1984 at the age of 91, the Canadian Jewish News reported in its issue of April 12, 1984. Gold was born in Jassy, Romania and…
Memorial to Rabbi Israel Hurwitz of Toronto (d. 1979)
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Rabbi Israel Levi Hurwitz was born in Grodno province of Lithuania in 1893, the son of Simon Aaron and Chaya Hurwitz. He was educated in the Novogrodok and other yeshivot. He was active in Vilna as an orator and became a “shaliach” to Canada for a yeshivah in Hebron, Eretz Israel. In 1933, according to…
Profile: Wilferd Gordon (1909-1994)
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As the son of the revered Toronto Rabbi Jacob Gordon and his wife Lifsha Gordon, Wilferd Gordon came to be respected and admired in his own right for his own profound learning, and he, too, came to exercise great influence in the Toronto Jewish community during its formative years. Wilferd, or Bill, Gordon grew up…
J. B. Salsberg on Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart
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Class of Talmud Torah with R. Yakov Kamenetsky, and Rabbi Y.L. Graubart (inset photo). ca 1950s The death of Rabbi David Graubart of Chicago in 1984 prompted J. B. Salsberg to write a poignant two-part reminiscence in the Canadian Jewish News of May 10 and 17, 1984. The Graubart dynasty was world-famous and centred in…
10,000 Criminals in Toronto’s Police Records (1914)
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Fingerprints Practically Infallible — Inspector Duncan an Expert at Identification — A Card With a Peculiar History — How Prisoners Behave Before the Camera By Leo Devaney From The Toronto Star Weekly, January 17, 1914 Probably the most important and yet the least known department of Toronto’s police system is the identification bureau, where the…
Obits: Goodman, Graubart, Grosberg & Hausman mourned (1982)
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Leo Hausman, studio photographer Leo Hausman, a photographer who did much work for and within the Jewish community of Toronto, died in Toronto in January 1982 and his body was flown to Tel Aviv for burial, the Canadian Jewish News reported on January 28, 1982. Hausman was born in Aachen, Germany and moved to Israel…
Service for Reb Fortinsky
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Yeshivah Torath Chaim held a “shloshim” service for Reb Israel Fortinsky in late November 1977, according to the Canadian Jewish News of November 25, 1977. Fortinsky was a scholar and teacher who had taught students in the upper grades at the Torah Chaim Rabbinical Seminary. Born in Poland, he came to Canada in 1926 and…
Toronto Jews Rally for the Allies in WWI
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Toronto Jews showed their support for Britain and the Allies against the forces of “Prussianism” in the First World War. The popular author Solomon Asch (here spelled Ash) spoke at this rally in Massey Hall in 1915. This article appeared under the title “Great Jewish Host Prays For the Allies” and the subtitle “Unique Sunday…
Some Famous Captures by Toronto Police (1903)
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Notorious Criminals Whom the Detectives Have Arrested at the Request of Distant Authorities From the Toronto Star, December 5, 1903 The work of the Toronto police authorities is not confined to the depredations committed within the city limits. A generous portion of their work consists in ferreting out and apprehending criminals who have committed offences…
Inside Toronto’s All-Night Restaurants (1910)
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Toronto’s All-Night Eating Houses, A Study of Those Who Dine While Most Others Are in Bed Sleeping First Customers Are The “Half-Soused” Individuals, Who Come In To Get Sobered Up Before Going Home — They Have Enormous Appetites. Spending The Night In The Shelter of The Kindly Restaurant. From the Toronto Star Weekly, December 17,…
