Slova Greenberg

Immigration to Canada

Slova Greenberg was born Slova Shaperow (Shapiro) in Romania. Records give her birth year as either 1860 or 1866. Little is known about her exact place of origin or her upbringing. In 1903, she immigrated to Canada with her husband, Hershel Zvi “Harris” Greenberg, and their six children, born between 1886 and 1900. They were part of a Jewish mass emigration from Eastern Europe in the decades around the turn of the 20th century, driven by economic factors as well as discrimination and persecution. (See Jewish Canadians.)

On 6 June 1903, the Greenberg family arrived in Montreal on the SS Lake Michigan, a Canadian Pacific Line steamship; they soon settled in Toronto. The Greenbergs became part of a rapidly growing Jewish community in the city. In the first two decades of the 20th century, Toronto’s Jewish population increased more than tenfold, with many newcomers immigrating from Eastern Europe.

Harris Greenberg died in 1904. By 1911, Slova Greenberg was remarried to Maurice Rosin, a labourer. With the five younger children and two boarders, they lived on Louisa Street in the Ward (the area now occupied by City Hall and Eaton Centre), a slum-like neighbourhood inhabited by poor immigrants.

Mutual Benefit Societies and Ezras Noshem

In Toronto’s Jewish community, mutual benefit societies were common around the turn of the century. The societies provided free loans, medical coverage and other support to their members. They often comprised immigrants from the same area (landsmanshaftn) and raised funds to benefit the communities in those areas as well as its local members.

In 1913, Slova Greenberg was involved in founding a women’s society, Ezras Noshem (“Women’s Aid”), which recruited its volunteers from the working class. The society focused on support for the sick such as help with household chores. Greenberg served Ezras Noshem in a leading role from the beginning. She remained its chairperson until at least 1930.

Founding of Toronto Jewish Old Folks’ Home (now Baycrest)

Among those receiving support from Ezras Noshem was a 96-year-old woman living in a city-run home for the elderly. The home did not provide kosher food, so the volunteers brought meals for her daily. This case made Slova Greenberg aware of the growing need to accommodate elderly Jewish citizens’ needs for kosher food, care in their own language and religious care. In 1916, she mounted a fundraising campaign for a dedicated home for elderly Jewish people. In 1917, the society purchased a building on Cecil Street (near Kensington Market). The Toronto Jewish Old Folks’ Home, the first of its kind, opened in 1918 and grew rapidly; by the mid-1930s it had 75 residents and was extended to the adjacent buildings. It also prompted other institutions serving the Jewish community to open on or near Cecil Street.

The facility’s current name, Baycrest, was adopted in 1954 after further extensions and relocation to Bathurst Street. Baycrest’s website features a quote from Greenberg that illustrates her dedication to the cause: “We can’t have our old folks sleeping in the park. Go knock door-to-door. Tell the people what’s the matter and ask for donations!”

Founding of Mount Sinai Hospital

Healthcare was another concern in Toronto’s Jewish community. The existing hospitals did not accommodate Jewish patients’ food and language needs, nor did they hire Jewish doctors. Efforts in 1908 to establish a Jewish hospital had been abandoned for lack of funds.

By the early 1920s, Ezras Noshem had become dedicated to the cause, encouraged by experience and success in raising funds for the Old Folks’ Home. Slova Greenberg also had a personal interest, since one of her sons was a medical student and would be denied employment in the existing system. Collaborating with Dorothy Dworkin, a nurse and healthcare advocate, the group raised sufficient funds to purchase a hospital building on Yorkville Avenue in 1922. The facility started out as a maternity hospital. It changed its name to Mount Sinai Hospital in 1923. Ezras Noshem continued to run it until the end of that year, when a major donor established a board of directors.

Later Life and Legacy

Few records exist of Slova Greenberg’s later life. She remained active with Ezras Noshem in a leading role until at least 1930. Border crossing records indicate that in 1931 she visited her eldest son, Joseph, in Brooklyn, New York. She died on 20 November 1938 in Mount Sinai Hospital, which she had helped establish.

Arriving in Canada middle-aged with a large family and little money, Greenberg became influential in her community by connecting with other women. Her leadership was instrumental in building a healthcare system for her community. Baycrest Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital became renowned healthcare institutions in the city of Toronto, attesting to her determination and success.