The life of Joseph (J.B.) Salsberg, humanist, labour leader, political activist, politician, newspaper columnist and a man who dedicated his life to Yiddishkeit and the advancement of social justice, was remembered and honoured recently on his 10th yahrzeit (anniversary of his death). More than 300 people gathered October 28 (2008) at Bialik Hebrew Day School,…
Category: Jewish Toronto
On Goldhars, Golds, Greens & Grinsteins
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Sam Goldhar, age 62, and his sons Bernie, 33, and Jack 29, were purveyors of Nu-Jersey Creme seltzer via their company, Jersey Creme Beverage Distributing Co. Ltd., located at 299 Manning Avenue, according to a story in the Canadian Jewish News of July 4, 1985. The seltzer came spouting out of genuine, original Nu-Jersey Creme…
Phil Givens in conversation, 1984
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Former Toronto Mayor Phil Givens grew up on Augusta Avenue and later Euclid Avenue, attended school at Parkdale and Harbord Collegiate, and got his education at the old Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim on D’Arcy Street, the Canadian Jewish News reported in a story by Gary Cohen on March 15, 1984. Then finishing a 10-year term…
Pioneers of Toronto’s Jewish Community
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From The Jewish Times, 1912 (as reprinted in The Jewish Standard, 1934) by S. J. Birnbaum The Jewish Standard’s introduction: The following article is part of a thesis written by Mr. Birnbaum, now an attorney in Toronto, when he attended the University of Toronto. It is to our knowledge the most authoritative history of Toronto’s…
Toronto’s Rabbi Shemen adds to Jewish scholarship
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Talmudic scholar, journalist and the author of more than 20 books, Toronto’s Rabbi Nachman Shemen recently published (1989) two volumes titled Jewish Attitudes Towards Man. Shemen’s latest contribution to Jewish scholarship includes interpretations on Biblical, Talmudic, rabbinic and literary studies. The two volumes, published in Tel Aviv In Yiddish, discuss issues that date back to creation…
Pre-1950 Jewish Toronto manuscript published
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A 60-year-old manuscript titled The Rise of the Toronto Jewish Community has been found in the archives of Beth Tzedec Congregation. Ralph Berrin, a volunteer in the Beth Tzedec Museum, brought the manuscript to the attention of Bill Gladstone, the publisher of Now and Then Books. Gladstone identified the author as the late Shmuel Mayer…
Independent 97-year-old leads a fulfilling life
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At 97, Anne Gitterman could be the poster model for successful aging. Gitterman is legally blind, travels in Toronto with Wheel Trans, and has an oxygen tank for when she needs it. Yet she participates in a weekly pottery/sculpting workshop at Bernard Betel Centre. “Whenever one of my students or someone new to pottery says…
Shapira family held key to Terauley Street synagogue
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Zelig Shapira, who lived in Toronto from 1890 to 1907, was remembered at a family reunion that 93 of his descendants attended in Toronto in October 1983, according to a story that appeared in the Canadian Jewish News of November 3, 1983. Shapira was born in 1851 in Pamoren, Galicia, and was active in the…
Rose family has 35th annual gathering, 1980
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Because Beryl and Mintzi Rose wanted the family to stay together, Beryl organized a family club in Toronto in 1945, shortly before he died. In 1980, more than 100 members of the Rose clan attended a 35th anniversary reunion at Beth Torah Synagogue, the Canadian Jewish News reported on October 2, 1980. Eleven of Beryl…
Obit: Nathan Smith (d. 1936)
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From the Jewish Standard, January 1937 With the passing of Nathan Smith, Toronto was bereaved of one of the most interesting and one of the most remarkable Jews in its city. The late Nathan Smith was like an oak transplanted from the old Jewish forest of Eastern Europe, a sturdy young oak which has taken…
