Rabbi Israel Levi Hurwitz was born in Grodno province of Lithuania in 1893, the son of Simon Aaron and Chaya Hurwitz. He was educated in the Novogrodok and other yeshivot. He was active in Vilna as an orator and became a “shaliach” to Canada for a yeshivah in Hebron, Eretz Israel. In 1933, according to…
Profile: Wilferd Gordon (1909-1994)
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As the son of the revered Toronto Rabbi Jacob Gordon and his wife Lifsha Gordon, Wilferd Gordon came to be respected and admired in his own right for his own profound learning, and he, too, came to exercise great influence in the Toronto Jewish community during its formative years. Wilferd, or Bill, Gordon grew up…
J. B. Salsberg on Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart
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Class of Talmud Torah with R. Yakov Kamenetsky, and Rabbi Y.L. Graubart (inset photo). ca 1950s The death of Rabbi David Graubart of Chicago in 1984 prompted J. B. Salsberg to write a poignant two-part reminiscence in the Canadian Jewish News of May 10 and 17, 1984. The Graubart dynasty was world-famous and centred in…
10,000 Criminals in Toronto’s Police Records (1914)
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Fingerprints Practically Infallible — Inspector Duncan an Expert at Identification — A Card With a Peculiar History — How Prisoners Behave Before the Camera By Leo Devaney From The Toronto Star Weekly, January 17, 1914 Probably the most important and yet the least known department of Toronto’s police system is the identification bureau, where the…
Obits: Goodman, Graubart, Grosberg & Hausman mourned (1982)
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Leo Hausman, studio photographer Leo Hausman, a photographer who did much work for and within the Jewish community of Toronto, died in Toronto in January 1982 and his body was flown to Tel Aviv for burial, the Canadian Jewish News reported on January 28, 1982. Hausman was born in Aachen, Germany and moved to Israel…
Service for Reb Fortinsky
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Yeshivah Torath Chaim held a “shloshim” service for Reb Israel Fortinsky in late November 1977, according to the Canadian Jewish News of November 25, 1977. Fortinsky was a scholar and teacher who had taught students in the upper grades at the Torah Chaim Rabbinical Seminary. Born in Poland, he came to Canada in 1926 and…
Toronto Jews Rally for the Allies in WWI
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Toronto Jews showed their support for Britain and the Allies against the forces of “Prussianism” in the First World War. The popular author Solomon Asch (here spelled Ash) spoke at this rally in Massey Hall in 1915. This article appeared under the title “Great Jewish Host Prays For the Allies” and the subtitle “Unique Sunday…
Inside Toronto’s All-Night Restaurants (1910)
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Toronto’s All-Night Eating Houses, A Study of Those Who Dine While Most Others Are in Bed Sleeping First Customers Are The “Half-Soused” Individuals, Who Come In To Get Sobered Up Before Going Home — They Have Enormous Appetites. Spending The Night In The Shelter of The Kindly Restaurant. From the Toronto Star Weekly, December 17,…
Hillcrest racetrack was at Davenport & Bathurst
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One of numerous vanished racetracks in Toronto history was the Hillcrest Racetrack, which attracted throngs of horse-racing enthusiasts to a spot near the intersection of Davenport and Bathurst almost exactly a century ago. Hillcrest Racetrack opened in August 1912. Despite its name, it was located not on the crest or top of the Davenport hill…
Opening of Toronto’s Lyric Theatre, 1909
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Grand Opening of New Jewish Theatre Quite an Up-to-Date Playhouse with All Sorts of Conveniences — Notables See the Play. From the Toronto Star, May 5, 1909 With waving of flags and the making of many speeches, the new Jewish theatre, called the Lyric, at Agnes and Teraulay streets, was opened last night as the…
