Most of us were upset to read about the large-scale protest that took place in front of Mount Sinai Hospital and the obscene slurs being shouted by some of the protesters. While all such protests should and do concern us, the one at this location may resonate more strongly with us as Holy Blossom has had a long-time connection with this hospital.

Mount Sinai Hospital was established in 1923 at 100 Yorkville Avenue and moved to University Avenue in 1953. Jule J. Allen, an important member of Temple who helped raise significant funds for our Bathurst Street building, also raised considerable money for the creation of the hospital. Later, Ben Sadowski, who later became President of Holy Blossom, worked tirelessly to see the relocation of the hospital to its University Avenue site.

Two of Mount Sinai’s earliest doctors contributed greatly to the Archives of the Temple. Dr. David Eisen served as Archivist at the Temple for many years. He graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1922 and joined the staff of the Mount Sinai Hospital shortly after as Toronto’s first Jewish radiologist. His book, Diary of a Medical Student, chronicles not only his life but gives details of many other Jews who played important roles in Toronto’s medical professions.

Dr. A.I. Willinsky, in addition to being a doctor, was an amateur filmmaker and produced a short film called Our Dream Come True. It tells the story of the Temple’s move from Bond Street to our new home on Bathurst Street. As a doctor, he specialized in spinal anesthesia and was considered the most prominent of Mount Sinai’s original staff where he became chief of surgery.

Over the years, many other members of Holy Blossom served as doctors at the hospital or in other medical positions. Board Members, Foundation Chairs, Auxiliary Chairs, etc. were often members of our congregation and continue to be so. Heather Reisman, who along with her husband, Gerald Schwartz, has been a significant benefactor of both the hospital and of Holy Blossom has also been the target of obscene anti-Semitic slurs.

One of the members of our current Archives Committee, Ruth Ellen Greenwood, has shared these memories of her family’s connections to the hospital:

My Mom worked as a nurse at the original Mount Sinai on Yorkville. She graduated as a nurse from St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg and came to Toronto to accept the job at Mount Sinai. She told many stories about her experiences as a young Orthodox Jewish girl “in training” at St. Boniface, a strictly Catholic institution. Her family and the Jewish community in Winnipeg were very concerned about a young single Jewish woman travelling alone for three days on the train all the way to Toronto.

My Mom kept in touch with her friends and associates at Mount Sinai over the years. Fast forward to 1969 when, in labour, I arrived at Mount Sinai at 550 University Ave. Mom’s friend Marion Jacobs was now in charge of Labour and Delivery. I announced, ”Please tell Marion Jacobs that Janet Hershfield’s daughter is here.” Marion was very kind and reassuring to a very nervous young woman about to have her first baby. I went on to have three more children, all born at Mount Sinai. I even made it into the newer Mount Sinai at 600 University for the birth of our fourth son, David.

In the 70’s, my Mom worked as a volunteer in the Echogram Department (as it was called then.) I still have her smock that she wore, some pictures, her volunteer pin and some other items from her nursing career. I believe she worked under the supervision of Dr. Samuel Norris, a well-known ObGyn. His family are members of Holy Blossom, and I was friends with his daughter, Marsha. Dr. Abe Eisen and Dr. Abe Bernstein (also members of Holy Blossom) took over Dr. Norris’s practice, and Dr. Eisen delivered all four of our sons. These two doctors were fondly known as “the Bobbsey twins.”

Our family has very fond and deep ties to Mount Sinai Hospital. I can’t begin to describe my anguish and distress over the reports of the assault on Mount Sinai during yet another hateful demonstration.

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We suspect many of you reading this article have memories of your family’s connection to the hospital as well. We would love to hear from you. Send us your stories at [email protected].

Mount Sinai Hospital is indeed an institution of which the Jewish Community and Holy Blossom should be very proud.

If you have any items of archival interest that you wish to donate, please email us at [email protected].

You may wish to visit the Archives Committee displays at the far end of our atrium as well as the Living Museum display by the elevator.