Kensington Market was historically one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in Toronto. In the 1920s and 1930s, however, so many Jewish immigrants moved to the Market that it became known as "the Jewish Market". 

This was the third centre of Jewish life in Toronto, after the East End and The Ward, where today Nathan Phillips Square stands. When they moved into the Market, Jewish immigrants created many communities, congregations, and social centres. They opened dozens of shops from groceries to butcheries, tailors and textiles, and often sold goods imported from Eastern Europe, from which many of them came.  At the height of Jewish life in Kensington Market, it became home to about 60,000 Jews and served as the centre of Jewish political, religious, and economic life in the city. 

It was then that secular Jews came together to form the United Jewish People's Order, an organization that represents secular Jews in Canada to this day. The UJPO's Morris Winchevsky school is also home to the city's Jewish students who learn about the four thousand year Jewish civilization from a secular perspective, focused on Social Justice. In 2021 Winchevsky's teachers created this soundwalk about some of Kensington Market's Jewish history.

Special thanks to the MWS educators Sharoni Sibony, Lainie Basman, Miriam Brookman, Iris Benedikt, and Tal R. for writing and narrative this soundwalk. Sound editing by MWS Education Director Lia Tarachansky.

Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator Sharoni Sibony & B'nai Mitzvah educator Lainie Basman introduce Sammy Luftspring, a Jewish boxer who lived here, at 84 Nassau Street in the 1930s.

Sammy Luftspring was named to Canada's Olympic team for the 1936 Olympics which were taking place in Berlin, Germany. His parents encouraged Sammy to boycott the Games to protest the Nazis treatment of Jews. In his public statement, he protested that "the German government was treating its Jewish brothers and sisters worse than dogs" and that "the German government would exterminate Jews if they had the opportunity." (too much for the little ones?)
 
Sammy and a fellow Jewish boxer, Norman “Baby” Yack signed up to attend a counter event in Barcelona Spain. The “People’s Olympics” was organized to protest and boycott the Berlin Olympics and Nazi rule in Germany. (Picture of Sammy and Baby on the boat) In this photo you can see Sammy and Baby Yack on a boat to Barcelona, getting in a little extra training. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the People’s Olympics was cancelled before Sammy made it to Spain. Disappointed, he returned home to Toronto without having the chance to compete.

On June 8, 1933, when Sammy Luftspring was 17 years old, 60,000 people crowded into Yankee stadium to watch the world heavyweight boxing match between two major competitors: Max Baer, from California, was a Jewish boxing champ and a hero to Sammy and the other boxers who trained at the Jewish gym on Brunswick Avenue. Fighting him that night was German-born Max Shmeling, who was known as “Hitler’s Darling”. Shmeling was the pride of Germany, which had just elected Hitler to power. For Sammy and his friends, who crowded around their radios to listen to the match, this was more than a fight over the heavyweight title. It was a chance for them to fight back against Hitler’s hateful and discriminatory treatment of Jews. They cheered when Max Baer came into the ring wearing a big Star of David on his boxing shorts. And they were ecstatic when, in the 10th round, Baer picked up steam and landed 21 blows against his opponent and the referee separated the two men, thrust the Jewish boxer’s hand into the air announcing his victory. (Sound clips from the fight)

A few months after the Baer, Shmelling fight, Toronto had its own, local brawl over anti-semitism.  That summer, in 1933, anti-semitic “Swastika Clubs” began forming, mainly around Toronto’s east end Beaches area. Members of these clubs publicly flaunted the swastika to provoke Toronto’s Jewish residents. On August 16, a group of racists unfurled their homemade swastika flag at Christie Pits park, in the middle of a baseball game involving the Harbord Playground Baseball team, whose players were mainly Jewish and Italian immigrants. (picture of the team). A spark was lit, and a riot broke out. (Picture of the riot).While you can’t make out Sammy in this picture, the only one ever taken of the riot, he did join the 10,000 people who fought into the night, using fists, boots and lead pipes to settle the issue about who “belongs'' in Toronto. 

Fortunately, no one was killed in the riot. But it was a clear signal that Canada had a serious problem with racism in general, and anti-semitism in particular. Following the riot, Toronto mayor William James Stewart promised to prosecute future displays of the swastikas. This was one of Canada’s first policies prohibiting hate speech.

Want to see what the Christie Pits riot was like?  Find the QR Code and click "View in AR" when the link loads in your browser.

7 - Sammy Luftspring & the Christie Pits Riot

The Beth Israel Anshei Minsk congregation, also known as the "Minsker", was the first synagogue formed in the Kensington Market area. Although many Jews lived in the Ward at this time, most of the Minsk 's founding members had settled in the Kensington area. Established in 1912, in a typical shtibelShtibel or Shteiblach - very small synagogue that often occupied storefronts. This kind of synagogue was prevalent in poorer Jewish immigrant communities such as The Ward in the early twentieth century. , the congregation followed the particular Jewish traditions that were practiced in Minsk , since most of the members were landsmenLandsmen - people originating from the same town or region. from Russia who arrived in Canada at the turn of the century. In 1913, the Minsk had about 50 members. Few records exist from these early years, but it appears as if the shul was first located across the street from its current location at 10-12 St. Andrews Street .

Phonetic Alphabet: https://dictionary.co.il/images/aleph-bet_pronunciation4_letters.gif

Toronto in the early 1900’s was a hub for immigrants and refugees to land. With this, came an abundance of languages that were spoken.
One of the languages of the Eastern European Jews is Yiddish and it arrived here with thousands of refugees, fleeing pogroms and anti-Semitism in Europe. So many came that Kensington Market was known as The “Jewish Market” for many years. 

As they began meeting and working with other immigrants and English-spekers, they began learning this new language and blending it with their mother. This blending gave birth to what is known colloquially, as “Yinglish”. 

As you might guess, Yinglish is a form of Yiddish with words and phrases in English peppered in. You might recognize Yinglish words like “schmooze”, “schlep” and “chutzpah,” as products of this smoothie of languages, blended right here in the Market.

In another clip on this Sound walk you heard Sharoni Sibony talk about how the inscription at the entrance to the Minkser Synagogue is in fact in Yinglish. Around the same time it was chiseled into the stone you would have found many businesses all around here with Yinglish inscriptions. While these storefronts may have come and gone, the legacy of Yinglish remains to this day. Can you find some Yinglish words right here? They’re all around you!

Want to read in Yinglish?  Find the QR Code to load a phonetic alphabet in your browser. 

Music by the Klezmer Conservatory Band playing "Meron Nign"

Imagine waking up, in the morning, splashing some water on your face and in the middle of your yawn- *prayer service sounds*. What is going on downstairs in my house?? Or rather who is singing? The year is 1915, and you are a tenant at 10 St. Andrew street right here in Kensington market in Toronto. You are feeling a bit tired from working the night shift in a nearby linen factory, but you decided to wake up early anyways to beat the morning crowd at the nearby fish and vegetable market. Just a few years back in 1912, a tiny Jewish congregation was established by new immigrants
from Belarus, and as much as you have little knowledge on Jewish culture, living above the congregation has exposed you to the music, language and festivities of your Jewish neighbours. Your next door neighbours at 12 St. Andrew are also sharing their home with this tiny new Jewish community, the first of its kind right here in Kensington market!
Now, imagine that you ARE one of the founding members of the new shul in Kensington. You don’t have too much money, but you and many people from your shtetle back in Belarussia are new immigrants to Canada where they do not speak your language, practice your traditions or know who you are. Moving with others from Minsk is helpful to build a support network of friends, family and just generally people you relate to. Your orthadox Jewish religion is important to you, but whats more than that, the Jewish community back home has always given you support and emotional comfort in times of need. At the turn of the century in 1912, there are no established Jewish organizations that feel like home in Kensington market. Although the Ward is a walking distance away, it feels just a bit out of reach. Money is tight, but with the support of the new Jewish community, an informal organization called the Beth Israel Anshei Minsk congregation, was formed. Everyone who knows anything about this new congregation though, just calls it the “Minsker”.

Music by the Yiddish Children's Choir - Un Mir Zaynen Ale Brider

Since no one could put a downpayment on a mortgage for a proper building, friends, family, and other Jewish immigrants from Belarus gathered together in living rooms. Even though by 1913 your tiny community only had 50 members, you still had to pack in like sardines with some of the kids sitting on the floor, which is not great news for a growing congregation! You’ve heard of other Jewish congregations that need to do something similar, and these informal synagogues in houses or storefronts were known as “shteibels.”
Now, you might say... why in the world would it be sooo important to pack in LIKE SARDINES to people’s basements or living rooms just to go to shul? Why not go to the Ward and find a synagogue that is more established since it’s a walking distance away for gods sake??? Why not just have synagogue outside?? Why not abandon going to shul altogether??
WELL, while the question about just having synagogue outside is unforgivably silly given how cold Toronto winters can be (and you KNOW very well how cold they can be), the other questions are really really great. First of all, coming from Minsk (hence the name MINSKER) your community had very specific rabbinic traditions and customs that were different from other regions. Now, it's not that everyone was not open to any kind of change, but let's face it, you just CROSSED AN OCEAN to get to Canada and in those days, traveling was no easy task, let alone saying goodbye to everything and
 everyone you knew. I think its SORT OF reasonable to want SOME things to stay the same. Have you ever gone to someone else’s house who practices similar traditions to your family or sings similar songs, but they sing them in a different tune or slightly different lyrics and your just like “SO WEIRD” not that it's bad, but it's just weird right? You want to explain how you do things differently?? Well imagine that feeling but ALL the time. That is sort of kind of like the feeling of being a new immigrant in a new place where even the other Jewish people are doing things differently, so it's nice to be around people who share a little of what you did back home.
But don’t get me wrong, this synagogue was definitely not only for squishing into tight spaces and practicing prayers as they were done in Belarus. The congregation becomes your second family, your home away from home, the place you go to gossip with your friends, and a place to have excuses to celebrate weddings, b'nai mitzvahs, you name it.
You might be wondering why though am I insisting that the Minsker was this tiny shul in someone’s living room across the street when you are standing right in front of it? Well, a group of the congregation's women, called the Women’s Auxiliary worked to raise money for the synagogue and spearheaded the move to its current location and its current existence the way it looks now. In 1916, the synagogue moved to where it is now, but it was still in a squished location, in a storefront on St. Andrew. The Women’s Auxiliary worked to raise money for the building you see now to be constructed (construction noises??)
It was a loooong time coming but in 1930 the building was finally complete and by 1937 the mortgage was paid off! An extravagant dinner was held for all congregation members, and the mortgage documents were burned in celebration at this glorious event.
In the years that followed, the Minsker continued to have a legacy of social connection, celebration and orthadox Jewish practice. Many met, fell in love and married at the Minsker, and the children of older members continue to be active in the synagogue to this day.
Some people nick name the Minsker “the businessperson’s synagogue” since travellers doing business from out of town will often come to the Minsker since it is the only downtown Jewish Orthadox congregation that still has daily services, but Jews of many denominations are welcome.
In March of 2002, a person was walking by the Minsker when they saw smoke. They called 911 and the fire department arrived immediately. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but the fire damaged many religious texts and the women’s balcony of the shul. The investigation into what happened had revealed that there was a case of arson, meaning someone purposefully set the shul on fire but the police said it was not a hate crime. Even still, this even was devastating to the

community who has such an important connection to this early Toronto synagogue. Community members came together, sharing songs and food, and held services on the sidewalks. Money was raised for the restoration of the building, and even other religious organizations like local churches raised money and awareness for the Minsker’s restoration. Rabbi Spero noted that even though this event caused destruction, it was also an opportunity of renewal, since the restorations made the facilities even better than they had once been, it it brought love and compassion from both Jewish community members and non Jewish community members alike.

Music by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble - Sweet Home Bukovina

The very first Jewish immigrants in Toronto were mostly British traders who settled here in the first half of the 19th century. That’s two hundred years ago! Some were involved in the fur trade and some even in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. They formed the city’s first synagogue in 1856 on the East End, where today stands the oldest Jewish Cemetery, in the heart of Leslieville. 

It was around this time, however, that European anti Semitism and the Industrial Revolution pushed thousands of impoverished East European Jews into migration. Escaping pogroms, or massacres, they came in waves and settled in what was known as Toronto’s first “slum” - St. John's Ward. 

Music by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble - Sweet Home Bukovina

So you're nearing the end of the Soundwalk and you're feeling that rumble in your belly. It's time to listen to Sharoni Sibony talk about some of the food cultures of the Market and grab yourself something yummy to enjoy in the park!

Music: "Ukulele" from Bensound.com, Royalty Free Music online

What would have it been like to see, touch, hear, and smell Kensington Market from the point of view of a child? Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator Sharoni Sibony tells us all about it. 

Want to see what the corner of Bladwin & Augusta looked like 100 years ago?  Find the QR Code and click "View in AR" when the link loads in your browser. 

Music: Ukulele from www.bensound.com

No part of the chickens went to waste when this was known as Shochet Alley, or Butcher's Alley. Some would pluck its feathers for pillows others would use its blood for fertilizer, and many many a Matzah Ball Soup would be cooked from its bones,  tells us Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator, Sharoni Sibony. 

Music by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble.

As you turn to Kensington Ave walk slowly as you're about to miss Shochet Alley, or Butcher's Alley, as it was once known. This story is told to you by Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator Sharoni Sibony. 

Music by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble

Looking above the storefront of Sanci's Tropical Fruit at the corner of Kensington Ave and Shochet Alley, what can you see about the brick work? Do you notice anything? 

Read more about Salvatore Sanci here: https://kmhs.ca/footnotes/2013/02/14/sancis-tropical-fruits/

Royalty free music from www.bensound.com

Today we get our groceries in massive supermarkets indoors but 100 years ago, here in Kensington Market people would shop almost daily, buying only what they need and only from the sellers they loved.

Here, at the corner of Bellevue & Denison, Kensington Market got it's colonial origin story with the construction of the Denison family's massive mansion, the Bellevue. 
Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator Sharoni Sibony tells us about how this once-Black Oak savannah turned into the Kensington Market we know and love.  

Denison served in the military of Upper Canada during the first half of the 19th century. He inherited his wealth and built the Belle Vue estate, which extended all the way to Queen, Lippincott, Bloor, and Augusta and included a farm and an orchard. The path that led up to the house is now Denison Avenue. One of George Denison’s sons, Robert, inherited the estate after his father’s death in 1853, and sold it in 1889. It was demolished the following year.

Want to see what the Denison's mansion looked like? Find the QR Code & click "View in AR" or click https://go.echoar.xyz/SiAq  

Royalty Free Music from www.bensound.com

Rachel Epstein, the Executive Director of the Morris Winchevsky School and its parent organization, the United Jewish People's Order welcomes you on this soundwalk! 

A special thanks to Sharoni Sibony, the Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator, on whose coattails this soundwalk has sailed. Pieces researched, narrated, and edited by Education Director Lia Tarachansky and teachers Lainie Basman, Iris Benedikt, Miriam Brookman, and Tal Rock.

1- Introduction to the Winchevsky Kensington Market Soundwalk

As we set off on our soundwalk we’d like to acknowledge the colonial conditions of our collective presence on the land that Kensington Market occupies and acknowledge that this is the homeland of the Anishinaabe, Haudenasaunee and Huron Wendat peoples. We can never forget what this means, to occupy. It means to take by force for the benefit of one group at the expense of another.  This is Treaty 13 territory, also known as the Toronto Purchase, signed in 1787 by representatives of the Crown and a band of Anishinaabeg known as today the Mississaugas of the New Credit.  
The treaty was under dispute for more than 200 years - partly because the boundaries and size of the territory were unclear, and because the Mississauga’s understood that they were renting the land through the agreement, not extinguishing rights to the land.  The exchange was mainly in trade items – gun flints, brass kettles, mirrors, laced hats, a bale of flowered flannel, and rum. The purchase was revised 1805 and a land claims dispute followed, which was settled in 2010. Today Toronto is home to many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis as well as many other diverse communities. This soundwalk will exist on the Echoes app, virtually annotating the landscape. We are grateful to the Indigenous people here and across Turtle Island for their hospitality and are committed to working toward decolonial justice with them.

To learn more about the Toronto Purchase: https://vimeo.com/221326995

Special thanks to Dr. Mary Bunch & Dr. Dolleen Tisawii'ashii Manning for this Land Acknowledgement.

In the mid-19th century waves of Jewish immigrations began arriving in Canada from Eastern Europe. The arriving Jews were mostly coming from Eastern Europe, but from where and why were they coming? Winchevsky Adult B'nai Mitzvah educator Sharoni Sibony tells us about the Pale of Settlement and how Kensington became a new world Shtetl.

Learn more about Shtetls: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shtetl-in-jewish-history-and-memory/ 

Music by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble

3 - Where did Kensington's Jews Come From?

The Labour Lyceum was a hub of activism from the 1910s to the 1960s. When the Lyceum opened in 1913, about 80% of the city’s Jewish population lived within a short walk from it. This building was so important to the community - it was a place to plan protests, hold concerts, host guest speakers, and have dances. Depending when you went, it could serve so many different purposes! Let’s pretend it’s an average week at the Labour Lyceum. 

This piece was written by Miriam Brookman, the Grades 2-3 teacher of the Morris Winchevsky School.

The Labour Lyceum was founded in 1913. It served as an important social and political hub for the Jewish immigrant community, including political groups, socialists, anarchists, and labour activists who would gather and strategize how to improve working conditions and ensure shorter work days. In the early 1970s, “The Canadian Jewish News” announced that the Labor Lyceum was being replaced by a Chinese restaurant. In their article, they said that no building was more important to Jewish workers than the Lyceum. The Lyceum moved to a building on Cecil Street, which is now the United Steelworkers Hall. Recently, 346 Spadina Ave had dramatic architectural changes, and the building looks much more like a generic condo. By looking at it, you would never know the history it holds!

Look for a QR Code that can show you how this historic building transformed over time! 

This piece was written by Winchevsky Grades 2-3 teacher Miriam Brookman.

The Winchevsky Kensington Market Tour

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The Echoes

5 - Sammy Luftspring's House

6 - Sammy Luftspring & the 1936 Olympics

7 - Sammy Luftspring & the Christie Pits Riot

15 - The Minkser Synagogue

10 - Yinglish!

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The Winchevsky Kensington Market Tour

room 20 ECHOES

AUTHOR

DOWNLOAD OUR APP TO DISCOVER THIS TOUR AND MANY OTHERS.

The Echoes

5 - Sammy Luftspring's House

6 - Sammy Luftspring & the 1936 Olympics

7 - Sammy Luftspring & the Christie Pits Riot

15 - The Minkser Synagogue

10 - Yinglish!

Discover more geolocated content in our apps.

Are you a creator?

Get in touch

Echoes creative apps

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About us

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