St. Lawrence Main: Hopeful Promise

Rebecca Margolis Dept: Less noticed that day was another happy event for the community - or at least an event of hopeful promise. On March 3, 1912, in the immigrant quarter along St. Lawrence Main, the doors opened to a small Jewish library, according to Montreal Gazette. A library could fill a void, writes Rebecca Margolis in her new book Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil, "where they could meet, further their education and enjoy their leisure time after a long day at the factory." The joyful festival of Purim was celebrated a century ago by Montreal's Jews in the time-honoured way. The Book of Esther, describing the thwarting of Haman's plot to murder Persia's Jews, was read in the city's synagogues. "The social side," The Gazette reported, "was also given free scope, consisting of interchange of visits and gifts, with alms for the poor, and several balls were arranged." One of its founders was Poalei Zion, a workers' association that had begun running a rudimentary library of its own in 1905. Another was the Zionist group Dorshei Zion, which had sponsored a reading circle since 1903. Their joint aim was to establish something more substantial "for the advancement of learning and of Yiddish literature in particular." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.