The heading, Have Yichus, Will Travel, might have appeared above the following notice which attracted the attention of the city’s Jewish community when it ran in The Toronto Star on various dates in 1957 and the late 1950s: “GRAND RABBI J. RABINOWICZ. “Kishinower Rabbi, one of the world famous rabbis from Europe, now in New…
In 1930, when Yiddish writer and playwright Sholem Asch celebrated his 50th birthday, he seemed to be riding on top of the world. His newest book, Fam Mabul, was a critical and popular success among Yiddish readers– it would soon become vastly more popular in its English translation as Three Cities — and his various…
Trying to put a yarmulke on the King of rock ‘n’ roll From the Forward, 2002 Evan Popoff, co-producer of a new documentary that demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that American rock idol Elvis Presley was Jewish according to halakha or Jewish law, says that the film uses Elvis “as a metaphor for identity —…
A look back at the CJN from more than 50 years ago: From the Canadian Jewish News, March 6, 1974 Spry Ben Sherman has no thought of retiring, and plans to work a full day in the hardware store he founded 55 years ago, the Canadian Jewish News reported in March 1974. Sherman’s family wasn’t…
From the Canadian Jewish News, December 2004 What do you get when you put a popular shtetl folk tale into a pot and add some flavourful compositions for full orchestra, rich klezmer sounds, a pinch of Hanukkah seasoning and live narration by Barbara Budd, the Toronto-based actor and co-host of the immensely popular CBC radio…
December 10, 2025 Librarians are a cautious bunch. How else to explain why those at the main branch of the Toronto Public Library have taken to hiding away the latest Toronto phone books from public view? They are all on the open shelf, they will tell you. But they are not. The phone books on…
From Globe, September 24, 1901 SACRED SCROLL THREATENED Excited Jews Besiege a Burning Synagogue The sacred scroll in the Austrian Jewish Synagogue in Chestnut street, containing the laws as set down by Moses, was threatened with destruction at 1.30 o’clock this morning. Fire broke out in the rear of the edifice and when the Jews…
“I’m working on a book of family history,” Sara Edell Kelman declares, as she shows me her massive collection of archival documents, ketubot, photographs, Yiddish letters and other family memorabilia, spilling out of diverse albums, binders and boxes. “No, it’s more than one book — it’s a series of books. There’s a lot of stuff…
