Threads of Time

An exhibition showcasing traditional crafts and their evolution through generations in rural areas.

Photographs along with textual records such as invitations, rabbi registries and ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) provide evidence of the growing Jewish community, and how it established itself in Canada during the first half of the twentieth century and into the post-war period. There is a rich vocabulary around marriage rituals that is deeply rooted both in Jewish tradition and contemporary culture. Elements drawn from contemporary culture reflect the social trends of the moment— from hair style, fashion, food and music. Conversely, Jewish wedding customs have their roots in millennia- old traditions from finding one’s bashert (soul mate), to the signing of the ketubah, to the chuppah (wedding canopy), and to the breaking of the glass at the ceremony’s finale.

Though these shared customs connect us to tradition across time and place, the wedding is also a reflection of the couple’s individual backgrounds. From the photographs presented here, we can glean information about their synagogue affiliation, their familial heritage, and even where they lived. This material also tells the narratives of important demographic shifts. As the community moved north from the city’s downtown neighbourhoods, the smaller shuls and home weddings gave way to fashionable suburban-style synagogues. Whether examining a highly formal, early-twentieth-century studio portrait or a glamorous 1940s bridal portrait, these images offer an opportunity to get lost in the romance and history of a flourishing community. L’chaim!

Chabad Lubavitch Traditions

On December 12, 2012, New York-born and raised Lea New married Torontonian Avi Minkowitz at the iconic 667 Eastern Parkway—headquarters of the Chabad movement—in Brooklyn, New York. Their wedding began with kabbalat panim, two separate welcoming receptions, one for the bride and one for the groom. In the Orthodox tradition, there are meaningful dress customs for grooms as well—a kittul (the white shirt representing the purity of angels) bound by a gartle, (belt) to separate the upper and lower halves of the (body) and a kapota, (overcoat). For this wedding, these garments had belonged to the Lubavitcher Rebbe and were thus very meaningful.

Like many Orthodox couples, Lea and Avi’s chuppah (wedding ceremony) was under the sky, symbolizing God’s blessing to Abraham that his children shall be “as numerous as the stars.” During the wedding ceremony, the groom’s buttons and shoelaces were undone, symbolizing the idea that on the groom’s wedding day, he is boundless.

A Match Made in Heaven

The couple stealing a kiss on this Toronto park bench is Dr. William Harris (b. 1895) and his new bride Tillie Shayne (b. 1896). The photo, reminiscent of Robert Doisneau’s iconic 1950 Parisian photo The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville, depicts romantic young love. In 1914, Harris inscribed a message on his University of Toronto graduation photo addressed to his “sweetheart” with a prophetic promise “May the next picture I take in my life be with her as my wife.” William and Tillie were married in Montreal on February 24, 1918.

The Yiddish term bashert, which means a person’s predestined romantic partner or soulmate, seems apt for this picture. In other words, they were “made” for each other.

Family & Wedding
Party Portraits

Large group portraits that feature family and friends flanking the couple are an important part of the wedding day and often take place after the bedeken ceremony. From these group photographs, we can learn a lot about the family depicted.

The backgrounds in these photographs, for example, often provide clues—the pattern of the flooring, the structure of staircases, the texture of the walls—that indicate the wedding venue: Is that Beth Tzedec or Temple Sinai? The wedding venue, in turn, gives us a 
better understanding of the family, their synagogue affiliation, and perhaps their neighbourhood (if they married at home).

The family portrait featuring multiple generations is a reminder of the importance of passing down tradition and values, from generation to generation—m’dor l’dor—especially at this important Jewish lifecycle event.

The
Chuppah

A Jewish wedding ceremony takes places underneath an intricately decorated canopy called a chuppah. The chuppah rests on four poles and is open on all sides to signify that the couple’s home will be open to guests. When the bride first enters the chuppah, she is led around the groom seven times. The circling signifies the
seven days of creation, the creation of a new home, and the
couple becoming one. The Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish mystical tradition, teaches that circling represents the intertwining of the partners’ souls.

Today, this action of circling is often performed by both partners with both taking turns circling each other. In the Sephardic tradition, no circling takes place. While the chuppah is the name for the physical canopy, it is also the term used to describe the whole of the wedding ceremony, which is divided into two parts: kiddushin (betrothal and exchange of rings) and nisu’in (matrimony).

Bunny & Jetta’s
Wedding Album

Bunny Bergstein recounted, “The first words I said to my wife were ‘shut up.’” It was 1942 and Bunny was a counsellor at Camp Yungvelt. He was on night duty when he first met Jetta Warnick, a rambunctious camper. The following summer while visiting the Colony cottages adjacent to Camp Yungvelt, he again met up with Jetta, now a first-year counsellor. But romance would have to wait. Bunny joined the Royal Canadian Air Force later that same year serving as a radar operator in Newfoundland.

It was fall 1945 when Bunny returned home and received an invitation from his buddy, Harry Gorman, to join him and his date for a Saturday night movie. By that time, everyone Bunny knew was either married or engaged, and then he thought of Jetta. Lucky for him, she was free. They became engaged in 1946 and married on June 1, 1949, at Toronto’s Bais Yehuda Synagogue. After sixty-nine years of marriage, Jetta recently reflected, “I couldn’t have picked a better one.”

Sylvia Schwartz’s Brides

Prominent Toronto portrait photographer Sylvia Schwartz (1914-1998) began her career during the 1940s. From her studio on Grenville Street, she captured images of families and servicemen during the war, as well as brides. She eventually carved out a niche for herself mid-career, specializing in child portraiture, but upon viewing these bridal portraits, one might wonder why. Schwartz’s dramatically lit studio portraits have a serene quality, marking a shift in wedding portraiture from formality to artistry.

At times, the brides are positioned in similar poses, gazing off into the distance. The overall effect is strikingly reminiscent of the promotional still photos used by Hollywood film studios of the era. The quality of these photographs speaks to the value the community placed on investing in wedding portraiture, and possibly the family’s affluence.

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About the OJA

The OJA, a department of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada. Through exhibitions, programs, research assistance, and walking tours, the OJA tells the stories of Ontario’s Jewish community. In our collection of hundreds of thousands of photographs, documents, letters, films, newspapers, memoirs, and architectural drawings (and much more) is something about your family’s past.