Holy Blossom Temple - Welcome and History

Welcome to Holy Blossom Temple

	We are located at 1950 Bathurst Street, one block south of Eglinton Avenue West, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
	(see maps and directions)
	Our History Holy Blossom Temple dates its history to September 1856, when 17 members of the small Toronto Jewish community met to form a congregation and make plans for the upcoming High Holy Day Services. Seven years earlier, some members of the Jewish community had created a cemetery on Pape Avenue, which was later absorbed by the new congregation. The Ontario Heritage Foundation lists Holy Blossom as the first Jewish congregation in Canada, west of the Ontario/Quebec border.

For the first 20 years of the Temple's existence, Services, conducted in the traditional orthodox manner, were held in a rented room over Coombe's Drugstore on the southeast corner of Yonge and Richmond streets. In 1876, the congregation built its first synagogue a block east on Richmond Street.

By the 1890s, the congregation had outgrown the Richmond Street Synagogue and made plans for a new one. The dedication of the Bond Street Synagogue on September 15, 1897 attracted much media attention. By that time, Temple membership had grown to 119 families.

During the latter part of the 19^th century, changes began to be introduced to ritual and the way services were conducted. Music was introduced and mixed seating allowed. In 1920, Holy Blossom invited Rabbi Barnett R. Brickner, ordained at the Hebrew Union College, to be its rabbi and made application to affiliate with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform Movement's umbrella organization.

While the sanctuary of the Bond Street Synagogue was indeed beautiful, space for the growing religious school and social programs was severely lacking. By the 1930s, the congregation recognized that the time had come to move again. At the height of the depression, with a membership of just over 250 families, enough money was raised to buy the land and to build a sanctuary at a location on the then outer edge of the city. Holy Blossom Temple at 1950 Bathurst Street was dedicated on May 20, 1938.

Today, Holy Blossom has more than 7,000 members and will celebrate its 150^th anniversary in 2006.

How Holy Blossom Temple Was Named

Early records indicate that one of the congregation's first names was 'Sons of Israel.' Why was it changed to 'Holy Blossom?'

While there is some uncertainty about its origins, research done by the late Heinz Warschauer, while Director of Education, indicates our name comes from a Hebrew inscription found on the yad given to the early congregation by the Asher family of Montreal. The inscription says that the yad, along with the scroll and Torah ornaments, were given to 'Pirchay Kodesh,' translated as 'holy blossoms.' In the Talmud, young men preparing for the priesthood are called 'Blossoms of the Priesthood' or 'Holy Blossoms.' Perhaps our founding members recognized that the new congregation consisted of dedicated, religious people and hoped that it would bloom into a large congregation. It is possible that the English translation was used because some of the early members were English and wished to be known by a name the general public would understand. The singular simply sounded better in this context.

Our official name, throughout most of our history, was 'Toronto Hebrew Congregation — Holy Blossom.' The congregation began to refer to itself as 'Holy Blossom Temple' upon relocating to Bathurst Street. The Board of Directors recently adopted this as our official name.

For more information on the history of the congregation or the origin of its name, contact the Temple Archivists at (416) 789-3291, ext. 274.