Our Collections

The OJA’s records span all segments of Ontario’s Jewish community. We have records from businesses, families, labour unions, organizations, and synagogues. These records date from the community’s earliest days to its present. What’s more, they come from all over Ontario and in every format you can think of. If you were to lay out all of our boxes, they would stretch from the foot of Yonge Street to Dundas Square!

Below you can find highlights from our newest acquisitions as well as collections that have recently been processed and added to our website search.

Do you have records to donate to the OJA? Click here to learn how.

Acquisition of the Month

In October, the OJA accessioned a small donation documenting Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Catharines. Included in the accession are two commemorative booklets marking the congregation’s fiftieth anniversary in 1975 and centennial in 2025.

The booklets offer more than congratulatory messages; together, they trace the congregation’s development from a small group of Jewish families holding services in private homes to a flourishing community that, in 1925, completed the construction of its synagogue on Church Street. Each booklet includes reflections from members, accounts of the congregation’s founding and activities, historical photographs, a message from Rabbi Israel Freedman, and a timeline of synagogue leadership.

The two booklets document a century of Jewish life in St. Catherines and are thus well worth preserving.