Our family organization, the Agudas Hamispoche, was formed
in 1928 by dozens of cousins from the Rubinoff, Naftolin and
Arnoff families who came to Toronto from "White Russia"
(now Belarus), beginning about 1905. Many treasured friends
and in-laws were also "adopted into the mispoche"
over the years.
The original generation of immigrants and their children lived
with a closeness that was akin to being brother and sister.
They worked together, socialized with each other, helped each
other, shared simchas and sorrows, and practically lived in
each other's homes. In the early years they met regularly
in the homes of relatives, where refreshments sometimes included
shmaltz herring and cold beer tapped from a keg, and later
in rented halls such as the former Old Folks Home on Cecil
Street.
Most of the original generation and their children lived within
walking distance of each other on Queen St., Defoe (Adelaide),
Fenning, Shaw, Ossington, Turner and Mitchell avenues. Some
families lived in the Jewish neighbourhood in the West Toronto
Junction. They worked as grocers, bakers, tinsmiths, tailors,
barbers, hatters, plumbers, junkyard dealers, merchants and
builders. Several owned shops along Queen St. W.
An "aktzia" or loan society was formed in 1929 to
help relatives in financial distress. Many businesses were
started on the strength of a loan of $100 which was paid back
in small unhurried installments with no interest. The Ladies
Auxiliary tirelessly held teas, rummage sales and other events
to raise money for Jewish Palestine and many other charitable
causes. Beneficiaries included the former Old Folks Home,
Mount Sinai Hospital, Canadian Heart and Stroke Society, Canadian
Cancer Society and the UJA Federation and Jewish Foundation
of Greater Toronto.
Family members met weekly throughout the '50s and early '60s
in a hall on College St., then in uptown premises near Wilson
and Bathurst. They established the Relative Young Men's and
Relative Young Women's societies but over time these became
less active and amalgamated back into the main group. In 1988,
they established the Agudas Hamispocha Philanthropic Fund
at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. The Fund supports
numerous charities annually.
In recent years members meet for monthly breakfasts from spring
to fall. This year (2005) the Agudas Hamispoche marks its
77th anniversary. We hope to perpetuate the good deeds of
our beloved founders of blessed memory for many years to come.
"The world stands on three things: on Torah, Divine worship,
and acts of loving-kindness." -- Pirkei Avot, 1:2.
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