Only Yesterday: Collected Pieces on the Jews of Toronto

Toronto’s old Jewish neighbourhoods centered in the Ward and on Spadina Avenue are vividly recalled in these 18 evocative pieces by Ben Kayfetz and Stephen Speisman, both well-known chroniclers of Toronto’s Jewish community. ONLY YESTERDAY features colourful stories of the Jewish community and its daily concerns, synagogues and social institutions, Yiddish theatres and newspapers, and an assortment of memorable characters from Mayor Nathan Phillips to anarchist Emma Goldman. Kayfetz is at his best as he explains the names of Toronto synagogues, reminisces about the city’s once-formidable Jewish press, and profiles the legendary J. B. Salsberg; he also revisits the days when dis-crim-ination against minorities in everything from private clubs to the professions was both legal and socially acceptable. Speisman’s articles include a masterful essay on the vanished downtown neighbourhood of St. John’s Ward, a thumbnail history of the once-vibrant local Yiddish theatre, and a profile of Benjamin Brown, Toronto’s first Jewish architect who designed many city landmarks. The text is enhanced with 144 photographs and illustrations, including dozens of photographs of former Toronto synagogues, many taken by Speisman and not published before. Additional photos came from the City of Toronto Archives, Ontario Jewish Archives, Archives of Ontario and private collections.