Social Activities
On 20 September 1978, the Dorothy Rothschild Chapter of Hadassah celebrated its 50th anniversary at the synagogue. The national Vice President of Hadassah, Lilly Frank, attended the event and presented long-service pins to individuals such as: Mrs. J. Lesser (50 years), Mrs. G. Moses (50 years), Mrs. A. Robins (45 years) and Mrs. S. Singer (30 years). Others who had been associated with this chapter for many years were also honoured.
During the 1990s, Hadassah produced a cookbook in conjunction with the North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie chapters. This project brought together the cherished recipes that they had and enabled them to sell the book and use the proceeds to support their respective initiatives.
Another cooking project that took place in 2006 brought together women from many of the different groups in town. This initiative involved discussing and documenting the production of bread by different groups. It was launched at City Hall and funded by a government grant. It included women from the Ukrainian, Finnish, Aboriginal, Greek, Italian and Jewish communities. Judy Cartman served as the representative from the Jewish community and contributed her challah recipe. All of the women came together to bake their respective bread recipes and to share their stories with one another. The final product was a cookbook which included all of the recipes.
The final and largest social event involving the Jewish community was a reunion that was held from 19-21 June 1987, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Jewish community. The event was co-chaired by Judy Cartman and Mitchell Speigel. Over 200 people attended, some of whom had moved away from Sudbury as long as 50 to 60 years earlier. The three day event began with Shabbat services on Friday evening and Saturday morning at the synagogue, followed by a banquet on Saturday night, and brunch the following day at a restaurant. The weekend ended with a boat tour of Lake Ramsay Sunday afternoon. The planning committee hired a sculptor to produce a tree of life that was placed in the shul. It included small plaques to honour the family members of donors.
Slide Show - The 75th Reunion
Throughout its history, the Jewish community in Sudbury has witnessed many of their members come and go for a variety of reasons. Some, like Rabbi Rosenthal, chose to leave Sudbury to join larger Jewish communities in places like Toronto or Montreal. Others left to seek greater educational opportunities at universities across the country. Although these members may have left, Vivian (Ironstone) Field believes that there is a strong bond or "connectedness" that these people feel towards Sudbury. It is with this in mind that Field, along with Mitchell Speigel and a committee of the current residents, organized a reunion of the Sudbury Jewish community. The reunion ran from 19-21 June 1987 and was attended by hundreds of former residents who traveled from across North America to take part.
Ontario Jewish Archives, accession 2007-8/6
