From the Archives: Nathan Robinson (1840—1899)

From the Archives: Nathan Robinson (1840—1899)

Michael Cole and Sheila Smolkin, Holy Blossom Archives Committee

In the early years of Holy Blossom’s existence, we didn’t have a rabbi. Founded in 1856, we didn’t engage a rabbi until 1890. We did, however, need someone who could read from the Torah, slaughter chickens, teach children, and circumcise baby boys. Needless to say, finding one person who could fill the duties of ba’al koreh, shoichet, melamud, and mohel was not easy. Indeed, several candidates were tried and found wanting in at least one of these tasks and dismissed.

Eventually, we did find one man who could fulfill all the required duties. Nathan Robinson had been engaged by a small, short-lived congregation that was absorbed into Holy Blossom shortly after we moved into our first permanent building on Richmond Street in 1876, and he became our first employee who lasted more than a short time. (There was a period when, after an argument with the congregation over whether he would be allowed to provide kosher meat to non-congregants, Mr. Robinson left Holy Blossom. He returned a few years later when the dispute was resolved.)

A learned Jew with a Yeshiva background, Nathan Robinson was an unusual presence among the Holy Blossom crowd in that he was from Eastern Europe. Most of our members, like most Torontonians of the day, were British by birth and/or persuasion. Nevertheless, Mr. Robinson stayed with us until his passing in 1899, and he is buried in our Pape Avenue cemetery.

This past September, we were approached by Mr. Robinson’s great-great-grandson, David Robinson, who asked to visit Nathan’s burial site, and on Monday, September 29, we accompanied David and three of his cousins to Pape Avenue. David told us that Nathan’s son moved to Winnipeg, and David lives there still. David has taken a great interest in his ancestry, and we were happy to provide him with information on Nathan’s part in Holy Blossom’s history and to lead him to his ancestor’s final resting place.