Toronto's First Synagogues - Site Credits

Team 1

       
       

 

Thank-you to the following people for their significant contributions to this display

Mrs. Helen Aaron for her recollections of the Anshei Minsk Synagogue.

Mr. Harry Alexandroff for providing extensive information about Congregation Knesseth Israel through interviews and documents and for donating materials to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Mr. Aba Bayefsky’s Family for granting permission to publish his painting of the Kiever synagogue.

Ms. Eleanor Bessen for kindly inviting us into her home and sharing her memories of the Beach Hebrew Institute.

Jim Broadbent with the Waverley Road Baptist Church, for the tour of the Church and the glance into the Kenilworth Avenue Church's past.

CGI-IAO for allowing use of the fire insurance maps detailing the communities surrounding the three synagogues during their peak attendance.

Rabbi Ed Elkin for providing access to the First Narayever synagogue.

Mr. Edwin Goldstein for providing access to Knesseth Israel and for donating many historic documents to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Joe Heller for identifying Anshei Minsk synagogue members in photographs.

Ms. Anne Kesterbaum for donating several photographs and documents about Knesseth Israel synagogue and her family, the Nikolaevskys, to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Mr. Avrom Isaacs for granting permission for us to use William Kurelek’s painting from his series Jewish Life in Canada.

Ms. Michele Landsberg for the interview about her family’s role in the Anshei Minsk shul.

Rabbi Dr. Allan Langner for providing valuable information about Congregation Knesseth Israel and about his father Rabbi Mordecai Langner. He also provided us with the photograph of Rabbi Langner.

Mayor Mel Lastman for recounting his experiences at the Minsk Synagogue.

Mr. Victor Levin of School Services of Canada for granting permission to publish a clip from William Kurelek’s film entitled Jewish Life in Canada.

Mr. Sheldon Levitt, Ms. Lynn Milstone, Mr. Sid Tenenbaum for donating the Treasures of the People research and photographs of the First Narayever, Kiever, and Knesseth Israel to the Ontario Jewish Archives and for granting us permission to publish some of these photographs in the display.

Markson, Borooah, Hodgskin Architects Ltd. for granting permission to include in the display, the architectural drawings of the First Narayever synagogue.

Mr. Martin Mendelow for donating his artwork of the Kiever as well as providing the OJA with a photograph of his grandson for the display.

Mr. Arie Nerman at the Beach Hebrew Institute, for allowing us to use the Synagogue's records and sharing his memories with us.

Mr. David Pinkus for providing access to the Kiever for photographing; for consenting to requests made for the reproduction of several documents and photographs owned by the Kiever; and for supplying information through interviews.

Mr. Ben Orenstein for his insights into life in the Beach district in the 1930s.

Chazan Reuben Schwebel for telling us about his long history with the Anshei Minsk synagogue.

Mr. Avrum Siegel for kindly inviting us into his home and sharing his recollections of the Beach Hebrew Institute.

Rabbi Shmuel Spero for providing historical artifacts and documents of the Anshei Minsk Synagogue and guidance regarding the history and, most of all, for his efforts in preserving and continuing the historical role of the Minsk synagogue in Toronto.

Ms. Carole Stimmell at the Beach Metro News for providing us with photographs.

Mr. Joey Tanenbaum for providing information regarding a family photograph and for granting permission to publish the photograph.

Stephen and Alan Troster for granting permission to publish a clip from a film directed by their brother David Troster entitled, Spadina.

Ms. Sharon Weintraub for providing valuable information about the First Narayever through a telephone interview.

Dr. Sydney Wise for the providing the photograph of his father-in-law, Asher Pritzker.

Mr. Arto Yuzbasiyan for permission to publish his watercolour of Bellevue Avenue.

Ms. Ruth Zaltz for kindly inviting us into her home and sharing her memories of the Beach Hebrew Institute.

Also Thank-you to

The Archives of Ontario
The Board of Jewish Education Media Library
The City of Toronto Archives
The City of Toronto Building Division
The CPR Archives
The National Archives of Canada
The Toronto Public Library – Special Collections Centre
The West Toronto Junction Historical Society

 

 

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