In this Podcast, learn how the Jewish community was impacted by the Spanish flu from 1918-1920, how the early Jewish institutions responded to the crisis and the parallels with today's response to COVID-19.

The Spanish Flu Revisited

In this podcast, OJA researcher Miriam Borden discusses the life and poetry of Yiddish poet Shimon Nepom who also worked as streetcar conductor for Toronto’s public transit system, the TTC. His poetry is dark, heavy, full of loneliness, disappointment, frustration, and inertia. But there are also, at times, glimmers of wonder at the depth of the human spirit, and the hope for better days.
Sounds for this podcast were found on freesound.org:
Trolly_Car.wav by @gddrunzweig: https://freesound.org/people/dggrunzweig/sounds/341563/
- streetcarstereo.wav by @sagetyrtle: https://freesound.org/people/sagetyrtle/sounds/32840/

The Yiddish Typewriter of Poet Shimon Nepom

Founded in 1973, the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada. The OJA's collections span all segments of Ontario's Jewish community, including families, businesses, cultural organizations, and synagogues. These records date from the community's earliest days in the province in the 1850s to the present. The OJA serves a wide range of researchers through its vital work. Through exhibitions, programs, research assistance, and walking tours, the OJA tells the stories of Ontario’s Jewish community.

The Yiddish Typewriter of Poet Shimon Nepom

OJA

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