Print - The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network - Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives

Scope and Content: Minutes (1974). Reports (1930-1987, with gaps). Pamphlets (1943-1974 with gaps). Financial reports (1901-1902, copy; 1949). Officers list (1896-1956). Correspondence (1930s-1970s, h/e). Student statistics (1901-1945, 1971-1972). Campaign information (1924-1990, with gaps). Volunteers kit (1930s). F…

Scope and Content: Minutes (1974). Reports (1930-1987, with gaps). Pamphlets (1943-1974 with gaps). Financial reports (1901-1902, copy; 1949). Officers list (1896-1956). Correspondence (1930s-1970s, h/e). Student statistics (1901-1945, 1971-1972). Campaign information (1924-1990, with gaps). Volunteers kit (1930s). Fundraising article (Keneder Adler 1908 copy). Dinner speeches (1956, 1975). Sample report card. Textbook. Hebrew Educational Institute program (1931). Curriculum information and reports (1940, 1970s). Reports on U.T.T. or Jewish education in Montreal 1906 (Jewish Times typed copy, 1910, e/y, 1925, 1956, 1979, 1986). Copies of Bill 38 and Legislative Assembly Debates (1904). Act 62 (1932). Student and school magazines (1940-1955, with gaps, e/h; 1967-1973, with gaps). Programs and invitations. Clippings (1898-1913, copies, with gaps, 1922-1991, with gaps, e/y).

History / Biographical: With the influx of massive Jewish migration to Montreal in the 1880s, the need for Jewish schools became urgent. The few Sunday and private schools in existence were not considered up to Eastern European standards, and so in 1896 Rabbi A. Ashinsky founded the Talmud Torah. Through the years, the school moved, purchased buildings, opened new branches, and increased its size from its original 20 students. Classes were first conducted in Yiddish, but eventually Hebrew was emphasized. In 1917, the six individual Talmud Torah schools merged as the United Talmud Torahs of Montreal. Other changes, such as a Hebrew kindergarten (1934), day schools (1935), and a high school (1946), followed. Despite financial struggles and the need for constant expansion the U.T.T. system, with a recognized high standard of Jewish education, is nearly a century old, comprising two elementary and two high schools and nearly 2000 students.