By Neilia Sherman

Stan Asher sat down heavily on the steps in front of the Bagg St. Shul. At 71 and with knees that were now giving him trouble-leading a group around the Old Jewish area of Montreal was not an easy task. Yet, obviously, it was a labor of love for this historian and retired professor. He carried with him, a well read copy of ” The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” by the late Mordechai Richler and when we came to buildings that were mentioned in the book through very thinly veiled fiction, Asher actually read the excerpts out loud that pertained to the places that we were visiting.
There is always a feeling of sadness and nostalgia in visiting an area such as this that has drastically changed yet still bears clues of a once thriving Jewish population. In my hometown of Toronto, that area is Kensington Market but this was my opportunity to learn about the historic Montreal Jewish community, one of North America’s first Jewish enclaves. In 1760, the prohibition against non-Catholics settling in Montreal was lifted and the Aaron Hart, the first Jewish settler, arrived. Canada’s first synagogue was built in Montreal in 1777. The synagogue was called Shearith Israel and was established by Sephardic Jews. It no longer exists but was located in what is now Old Montreal.

However, our tour was of the formerly Jewish area known as “The Main” -that sprung up after the heavy immigration of the early to mid-1900. The main axes of this old Jewish quarter are famed Montreal streets -St. Lawrence Blvd (The Main), Clark Street, St. Urbain, Esplanade and Park Ave.

The tour had started with a nice breakfast at Beauty’s, a Jewish Montreal landmark that was opened in 1942 by Hymie and Freda Sckolnick and has somehow maintained its popularity throughout all the these years. The consensus seems to be that it is the nostalgic quality of the place with its 50′s diner feel that keeps people lining up for brunch every Sunday. Asher had the “Mishmash Omelet” which included hotdogs, salami, green pepper and friend onions. I stuck with pancakes.

Sufficiently sated, it was time to check out “The Main”. One of the first places that our group visited was Wilensky’s Deli at the corner of Fairmount and Clark streets. For the uninitiated, this place is a little scary. For one thing-the time warp is unbelievable. The place sports walls, signs, and décor that hasn’t been changed since its heyday in the 1940′s. The hand lettered signs try to warn patrons about some of their quirky food rules. The main thing that the sell is “the special”. They are premade in the morning with lots of mustard-so it costs extra to get one without mustard. The ingredients are bologna and salami and then the whole thing is heated on a bun which cannot be cut according to tradition. It sounds awful to me but at 3 bucks a pop this is a very popular lunch in these parts. The family/staff all stand around looking faintly irritated by our group and reluctantly allow some of us to take photos. Asher points out that a pivotal scene in the movie version of Duddy Kravitz’ was shot here as this was a favourite haunt of Richler in his boyhood.

Not far from Wilensky’s is the Fairmount Bagel which is open 24 hours a day in order to appease the apparent need of Montréal to have access to their beloved bagels at any time of the day or night. Originally opened in 1919, this place boasts hand rolled oven baked bagels which are a Montreal tradition. They claim to be the first bagel bakery in Montreal and a healthy rivalry exists between the Fairmount and St-Viateur Bagel down the street. The bagels are much harder and sweeter than those I am used to but I’m definitely starting to acquire a taste for them.

With Asher as a guide, it is easy to picture how Jewish this area once was. Apparently in the 1920′s and 30′s dozens of little shuls -usually located in houses, were all over the area. By the 1950′s many of the Jews moved to new Jewish communities and the small shuls were vacated and demolished or converted for other uses. We come to a building at 5116 St. Urbain which is now being used as a Polish Evangelcial church according to Asher. He told us to look closely at the cross near the top of the building. Sure enough we could all see a stained glass Star of David peering out from behind the cross.

As we looked at more buildings, this theme became evident. The new owners would paste on a new sign or half-heartedly attempt to erase some of the Hebrew writing but it was always easy to find evidence of the former Jewish function. Another example-College Francais which has school kids hanging out the window and waving at us was at one time-the first Jewish school in the area. It was known as the Jewish People’s school and Hebrew writing is still visible although attempts have been made to erase it. One of Asher’s favourite jokes is that most of the buildings used to have the Ten Commandments on them but that efforts have been made to erase them, although the tablets and some of the Jewish writing is usually visible. “Somewhere the must be a warehouse full of the Ten Commandments, he says.

Along the tour, it is notable that many of brick buildings in and around St. Urbain streets have become part of Montreal’s Chasidic Jewish community. They have established small houses of worship and tend to live next to one another in the old-fashioned Montreal- style flats.

Asher becomes visibly excited when we approach a worn out looking building that is now the Sun Youth charitable organization. Apparently this was the famous Baron Byng High School where he attended as a teenager. At that time, as non-Catholics, Jewish Children had no choice but to attend the Protestant schools. Ironically this Protestant school had a 90% Jewish population due to the strong Jewish presence in the area. Famous Jews that have come out of this school include, Irving Layton, William Shatner, David Lewis, Leonard Cohen and of course Mordechai Richler. We stop while he tells stories of odd teachers and classmates and most strangely admits that his mother moved the family right next door to the school so that he wouldn’t have to cross the street-” overprotective Jewish mother” he grumbles. We couldn’t argue. He was in high school at the time.

I’m eager to catch a glimpse of Mordechai Richler’s former home where he got worked up enough to write his diatribes about this celebrated Montreal community. He lived in one of a second floor coldwater flat in a building with one of the outdoor winding metal staircases that this area of Montreal is known for. Asher points out the exact flat where Richler lived but it has been renovated and doesn’t have the earthy look that I pictured.

It is time for more food-we have to fit in another famous Jewish Montreal landmark, Schwartz’s Deli with its amazing Montreal smoked meat. It is packed with people-standing room only with a line-up outside. The meat is mouth watering-worth the wait and the cramped quarters.

We end the tour sitting on the steps of the only original synagogue left in the Old Jewish area. Its official name is Congregation Temple Solomon though some people just call it Beth Schloime or the Bagg Street Shul. There is a Hebrew inscription on its cornerstone which describes it as having been built in 1925. It is a miracle that this one synagogue still exists as the membership barely can get a minyan together. Lately university students have been coming and trying to help give the shul much needed new life.

Asher has been giving these tours for about 15 years. It is a perfect mesh of his interest in Montreal history and literature. And although he consistently proclaims himself to be non-religious throughout the tour-he seems to take delight in finding Jewish symbols and Hebrew writing and of course the ever-present 10 commandment tablets that are still visible on almost every formerly Jewish building that we see. It makes you feel good-that somebody cares enough to help the rest of us to remember.
If you go:

Stan only gives tours that are pre-arranged and usually has some scheduled through the Jewish public library. He can be reached at stanleyasher@yahoo.com

For information on visiting Montreal check out: Montreal Tourism’s website:
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/