About
Established in 1985 as a registered charitable organization, JGS Toronto provides a forum for the exchange of genealogical knowledge and information through this website and also via its newsletter, Shem Tov, its collection of books at the Toronto Reference Library, regular monthly presentations, workshops, and Special Interest Groups.
In 2025, we celebrated the Society's 40th anniversary with a gala celebration. You can view the legacy video which was shown at the gala on our YouTube channel.
What's New
Our extremely popular annual Brick Walls and Breakthroughs meeting features stories by our members who share their challenges, techniques, and solutions that led to research breakthroughs.
โข ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐-๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ
โข ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐
โข ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐๐ป-๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ
โข ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐
Click on the More Information button for details regarding the evening's presentations and speakers.
Date:ย Wednesday 17 June 2026
Time:ย 7:30 PM ET
Location:ย In person at Cong. Shaarei Shomayim (470 Glencairn Ave, North York) and online via Zoom
All are welcome to attend; advance registration is required for participation via Zoom. There is no charge for attendance at this program.
Gert Rogersย z"l
It is with profound sadness that we advise our members and friends of the deathย ofย Gert Solnik Rogers zโlย onย Tuesday,ย 21 April 2026, in Toronto.
Gert had been a member of JGS Toronto since November 1987 and served in numerous roles, including as the society's president from 1998 through 2001.
Spotlight
For over forty years โ since March 1985 โ the members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto have been gathering to share stories and to assist one another in discovering their own family histories. Along the way, they have shared research techniques, discovered sources of information, and have documented their Jewish family histories that contribute to the worldwide collection of Jewish genealogical data.
In 2011, on the occasion of the Societyโs 25th anniversary, we published Tracing our Roots, Telling our Stories. Forty-four of our members shared stories of family, migration, cousins, loss and discovery, and life in the old country and in their new home, Canada.
In 2025, we celebrated our fortieth anniversary and we were pleased to share more accounts from our members of the results of their family history research: Tracing Our Roots, Telling More Stories. Thirty-six authors have shared personal stories that will hopefully inspire each of us to trace our own roots and tell our own stories.
Copies of Tracing Our Roots, Telling More Stories are available for purchase for $40 each. The books can be picked up at a future JGS Toronto in-person event or can be shipped to you (additional charges apply).
Shem Tov
Shem Tov is our award-winning quarterly newsletter, published since our inception in 1985. Past issues are accessible to all our visitors. Current issues are available only to members of JGS Toronto and can be accessed from the Members page.
Articles in the March 2026 issue:
- Yad Vashem: Finding Relatives Lost in the Holocaust
- The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York launches online access to its permanent collection
- Transmitting Family History
- For Those with Connections to Vienna
... and more!
Search our Website
Enter your search terms in the box below and hit the "Enter" key or button.
Upcoming Events
Brick Walls and Breakthroughs
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto will once again be hosting our extremely popular annual Brick Walls and Breakthroughs meeting on Wednesday evening, 17 June 2026.ย This program features stories by our members who share their challenges, techniques, and solutions that led to research breakthroughs. In person at Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, [โฆ]