Admor of Montreal, Rabbi David Flaum - Residence

1928 - 1960
4690 Clark

Hasidism, a form of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, developed in Eastern Europe during the eighteenth century as a spiritual response to overly meticulous religious practices. Sects quickly spread, creating dynasties of charismatic leaders called rebbes, who were named after the communities they served.

Rabbi David Flaum (1896–1971) was one of the first, if not the first, Hasidic rebbes to settle in Montreal. He earned the title of “Admor of Montreal,” and was considered as one of the most important Hasidic leaders of Canada. The acronym of Adonenu, Morenu, Vibarenu [our master, our teacher, and our rabbi], Admor is an honorific title used uniquely for Hasidic rebbes, and was granted to Flaum over his better-known counterpart, Chief Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg. Rabbi Flaum’s devotion to instilling Hasidic values and strengthening religious life in the community as a spiritual leader distinguished him from Rosenberg, who had arrived in Montreal a few years earlier as the successor to Rabbi Simon Glazer, with the objective of settling the kosher meat disputes of the time. Rabbi Flaum’s following extended beyond Montreal, with many people travelling from Ontario to seek his blessings and advice.

Born in Galicia, Eastern Europe, Flaum was the son of Yitzchak Flaum, a descendant of the Hasidic dynasties of Belz, Lutzk, Olesk, Rimanov, and Ropshitz. After serving as rebbe to the Strettiner Hasidim of Boberik, David Flaum left for Canada in 1920. Two years later, he married Sarah Langner, a member of a prestigious family of Hasidic leaders based in Toronto, and sister-in-law of the Tolner Rebbe. Upon his arrival to Montreal that same year, Rabbi Flaum established the Ahavas David Bes Medresh for Torah and Hasidus Synagogue, attracting the support of Hasidim who had immigrated to the city. Contrary to popular scholastic conception, the vibrant Hasidic community of Montreal preceded the post-World War ll period, and was greatly enhanced by the devotion and leadership of Rabbi Flaum. Rabbi’s Flaum’s son, Shalom, a renowned Torah scholar, has continued in the Hasidic rabbinical tradition of his father, serving as the head of a yeshiva for many years and marrying the daughter of the Turka-Strettiner rebbe, Rabbi Yechiel Michal Brandwein, before establishing himself as the Strettiner Rebbe in New York.

Compiled by Marian Pinsky

Links

Liens

"The Forgotten Hasidism: Rabbis and Rebbes in Prewar Canada" by Steven Lapidus

Sources

Brym, Robert, William Shaffir and Morton Weinfeld. The Jews in Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Gutwirth, Jacques. "Hassidim et Judaïcité à Montréal." Recherches Sociographiques 14 (1973): 291-325.

Lapidus, Steven. "The Forgotten Hasidim: Rabbis and Rebbes in Post-war Canada." (2004).

Robinson, Ira. "The First Hasidic Rabbis in North America." American Jewish Archives 44 (1992): 501-15.

Shaffir, William. "Chassidic Communities in Montreal." The Canadian Jewish Mosaic. Ed. Morton Weinfeld, Irwin Cotler, and William Shaffir. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 1981. 273-85.

Shaffir, William. "Separation from the Mainstream in Canada: The Hassidic Community of Tash." Jewish Journal of Sociology 29 (1987): 19-35.

*Image courtesy of Steven Lapidus.

Media

Media