Jewish Museums and Walking Tours

This summer, we’re updating and re-printing some posts from our old website. This one was first posted in 2019, pre-pandemic. A lot has changed, thanks (?) mainly to COVID.

Ellen writes:

If you’re travelling in Canada this summer, a visit to a Jewish museum or a Jewish walking tour can give you a taste of local Jewish history.

 There are a few museums – Pier 21 in Halifax, the Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Quebec, (across the river from Ottawa), and the Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg are the most obvious – that have Jewish stories, artifacts, and exhibits either permanently or temporarily on displa. Moving from west to east, what follows are some specifically Jewish museums and walking tours I found by searching online.

In Vancouver, The Jewish Museum & Archives of BC has no permanent exhibits, but offers several walking tours; this year, they are all on Sundays. You’ll need to sign up in advance. https://jewishmuseum.ca/calendar/ There’s an addiitonal walking tour of Jewish Oakridge, on request only. https://jewishmuseum.ca/program/jewish-oakridge-walking-tour/. In normal times, the museum also features several travelling exhibits, but they seem to be on hiatus for now. You can also take advantage of their self-guided walking tour entitled East End Stories: at https://jewishmuseum.ca/exhibit/east-end-stories/.

A display from the Jewish Museum of Western Canada

In Winnipeg, you can visit the The Marion and Ed Vickar Jewish Museum of Western Canada. It’s open whenever the the Asper Jewish Community Campus, at C150 – 123 Doncaster Street, is open.
Find current exhibit information at https://www.jhcwc.org/about/jewish-museum-of-western-canada .

It might surprise you to know (as it did me), that Toronto doesn’t have a main Jewish museum. But the Toronto Holocaust Museum recently opened, promising a range of experiences geared to a wide variety of visitors.

Toronto also offers a few smaller museum exhibits, making it easy to take in at least one. Plans for a new museum are on hold for now.

Baycrest Hospital houses The Morris & Sally Justein Heritage Museum, a small free museum with rotating exhibits. It’s located on the ground floor of their Bathurst entrance at 3560 Bathurst Street. It’s currently closed due to COVID, but keep checking for updates.

The Ontario Jewish Archives has photo exhibits at two of the GTA’s three Jewish community centres:

• The Lipa Green building at the Sherman Campus, 4600 Bathurst Street (North of Sheppard) and

• The Schwartz-Reisman Centre, at the Lebovic Community Campus 9600 Bathurst Street, (north of Rutherford Road in Maple.)

You can get current details here: http://www.ontariojewisharchives.org/Exhibitions/Current.

The Ontario Jewish Archives conducts private walking tours of Spadina and the Pape Avenue Cemetery. Contact them through their website them to arrange a tour.

They have also created a virtual walking, Scrolling Spadina. With a little planning you can visit the Kensington area armed with this tour, either by stopping and viewing on your mobile at each stop, or by previewing the tour before heading out.

A display from the Reuben & Helene Dennis Museum

Beth Tzedec Congregation, at 1700 Bathurst Street,  has the Reuben & Helene Dennis Museum within the synagogue. It houses the fifth largest Judaica collection in North America. Check ahead for hours.

Toronto is also home to a Holocaust Education Centre, the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre at 4600 Bathurst St, North York, but it’s closed due to COVID.

In Montreal, there is a Holocaust museum, and a Jewish museum, which also offers a number of walking tours to choose from.

Inside the Montreal Holocaust Museum

The Montreal Holocaust Museum is at 5151, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
(Cummings House). It features features items and survivor stories. You must book your tickets in advance, and they recommend downloading an audio guide as well. There are also virtual exhibits which the museum recommends viewing after your visit.

The Museum of Jewish Montreal is closed as it moves to 5220 St-Laurent Boulevard, but it offers three different walking tours in English, as well as a food tour. The food tour must be booked 48 hours in advance, and they recommend booking walking tours 12 hours ahead so they can book and confirm a guide. Register and get information at https://museemontrealjuif.ca/

Saint John Jewish Historical Museum

Lastly, in St. John, New Brunswick, you can visit the St. John Jewish Historical Museum at 91 Leinster Street. They are open Sunday through Friday this summer and through to November.  

Call (506) 633-1833or visit http://jewishmuseumsj.com/home.html  for more information.

Grab your Simply Shabbat Bag and enjoy your travels!