ART, ARTIFACT, or ARCHIVE

ART, ARTIFACT, or ARCHIVE

By Judy Winberg, Archives Committee

Holy Blossom Temple’s archives collection houses treasures which are historically significant not just to the congregation, but to the Jewish community in Toronto and elsewhere. Some were gifted by congregants, and many were endowed by the families of the original owners. It’s been an honour to work with the archives and to be one of the custodians of our congregation’s rich history.

The collection is varied. Historic papers such as legal documents, contracts, original deeds and maps, drawings, and photographs testify to the early days in the life of the congregation. More recent holdings include official minutes of the Temple’s Boards of Directors, the Temple Foundation and committees.  Printed programs and tribute books chart significant events at Temple while photographs, manuscripts, prayer books and hymnals, as well as works of art document our cultural and spiritual life as a congregation and are proudly and carefully maintained by the Archives Committee.

As you enter the main sanctuary through the Schwartz/Reisman Atrium take a moment to examine an important artifact from 1857 in a specially designed showcase. It’s the original Yad, the silver engraved pointer used to guide the reading of the Torah; it was received with the first Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll), donated to the “holy congregation Pirchei Kodesh (Holy Blossom) as a gift in perpetuity from the benefactor Elyakum, son of Isaac of the family Asher (and) his wife the lady Rachel”. (This translation was provided by the late Rabbi Dow Marmur z”l.)

The original Offering Book from 1876 recorded the weekly donations. Entries were made with a shoelace (no writing instruments on Shabbat!). It is preserved and on display in the historical Timeline showcase located along the north window wall of the Schwartz/Reisman Atrium.

In 1962 The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Holy Blossom Temple as part of a ‘Brotherhood Forum’ The program and follow-up letter of thanks signed by King can both be viewed in the Timeline showcase.

The parochet, or fabric curtain used to line the inside of the ark protecting the Torah scrolls (due to be re-installed in the anteroom of the Max E. Enkin Boardroom in the Lawrence Bloomberg Leadership Centre) is an interesting artifact because of the name on it – Sons of Israel. This name appears in our Minute Books as the name of the congregation four times in the early months of our existence in 1856. The name then disappears. We are not sure where the parochet was used (perhaps in our first location above Coombes Drug Store on Richmond Street).   Decades later Executive Director, Mel Olsberg, found it among items returned to us from St. George’s Congregation which moved into our Bond Street location after the move to 1950 Bathurst Street.

These are just four examples of some of the archival objects that are in our safekeeping.   Watch this space for more and if you think you may be housing some treasures in your homes and want to talk to us, please reach out to [email protected].