Tam Tam vs. Tum Tum: A tale of two feuding Canadian matzah bakeries
What company comes to mind when I say matzah? Chances are you thought of Manischewitz. Since its founding by Rabbi Dov Ber Manischewitz in Cincinnati in 1888, the Manischewitz brand has become nearly synonymous with Passover, dominating the matzah market. This was certainly true 75 years ago, when in 1948 the company made a big […]
Treasure Trove: ‘Take me out to the ball game’ with David Matlow
Rabbi Yosef Langer is the leader of Chabad of San Francisco. In 2006, an executive for the San Francisco Giants invited him to blow the shofar behind home plate during the third inning on Jewish Heritage Night. The fans appreciated the blasts so much that he was invited to do it again three innings later. […]
Treasure Trove: David Matlow looks at early home-building in Israel
The B’nai B’rith Palestine Housebuilding Fund was established in 1924 to build communities for immigrants. The fund purchased 25,000 dunams of land (2,500 hectares or a little over 6,000 acres) in western Jerusalem and developed the neighbourhood now called Bayit Vegan (house and garden). Conceived as a utopian community where all classes of people would work […]
Treasure Trove: David Matlow looks at a fund that helped Jewish settlements protect themselves
Kofer HaYishuv (literally, the “Jewish Settlement Ransom”) was a special fund established by the Vaad Haleumi or Jewish National Council in 1938 to finance the protection of the Jewish communities in the Land of Israel. Created in response to the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 and the Jewish population’s concern that the British were not doing […]
Treasure Trove: David Matlow looks at a sketch of a British soldier in Palestine, before the creation of the IDF
Noah Bee (originally Birzowski) was a cartoonist who also designed the JNF’s blue box and Israel’s first currency. Born in Warsaw in 1916, he became a member of the Betar youth movement where he sketched a young Menachem Begin and other Revisionist leaders who spoke to his group. He lived in Palestine from 1934 until 1943 […]
Who is the fairest in the land? A look back at Montreal’s Queen Esther beauty contests
Jewish communities across Canada will come together this week to celebrate Purim by hearing Megillat Esther and participating in various festivities. Perhaps some will opt for costume contests; others carnivals and Purim shpiels. Yet, if we were to flip the calendar back almost a century, the flagship event of Canadian Jewry’s Purim celebrations looked a […]
Treasure Trove: David Matlow explains the connection between a flying camel and Purim
Megillat Esther(the Book of Esther) is read on Purim, which begins at sundown on March 7 this year. This 1940s postcard printed in pre-state Palestine shows micrography—a Jewish art form from the ninth century which uses tiny Hebrew lettering to make an image. This image of the whole megillah is by artist Tzvi Dushnik (1911-1979) who […]
Treasure Trove: David Matlow looks at the Israeli phone token with Talmudic roots
The asimon or telephone token (like this 1953 version) was how you would pay for a call at a payphone in Israel until the early 1990s. The word originally meant a metal that could not be used as money. The Talmud in Bava Metzia 47b considers the asimon: “The Gemara asks: What is an asimon? […]
Treasure Trove: A weekly piece of our history from the collection of David Matlow—second year archive (2022-23)
The latest items via @TheCJN on Instagram.
The Canadian Jewish Flashback: A collection of archives from across the country
Abraham Bernard Illievitz was born in Bessarabia (now Moldova or Ukraine) in 1890 and immigrated to Montreal as a child. After graduating from McGill Medical School in 1915, he joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and treated soldiers across Europe. During his service, Dr. Illievitz worked with members of the Don Cossack Choir, which kickstarted […]
