Ben Zion Hyman (October 22, 1891 – July 17, 1984) was a Canadian Jewish bookseller. Originally from

Mazyr russian: Мозырь , nickname = , image_skyline = Mazyr Montage (2017).jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_flag = , image_shield = Coat of Arms of Mazyr, Belarus.svg , image_map = , map_caption ...

in what is now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, Hyman graduated from the Odessa Polytechnical Institute. After coming to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(settling first in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

), he graduated in electrical engineering from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Hyman and his wife, Fannie (née Konstantynowski), (in Polish, Fela; in Yiddish, Faigel), opened Jewish

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

's most prominent book store,

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe, 1926–1971, was widely known in the Jewish community as Hyman's Bookstore. It was an important part of the early history of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, as well as the early Jewish community of Toronto. The store was ...

(later known as Hyman's Booksellers, and still later known as Hyman & Son) at 412

Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...

in 1926. In 1953, his son Gurion Hyman opened a branch at 1032 Eglinton Avenue West in the Cedarvale/Forest Hill area of Toronto. Hyman closed the store in the early 1970s after the death of his wife. During his life, Hyman was active as a member, founder and/or president of a number of organizations. These included: Hadassah, JIAS, Toronto Zionist Council, Toronto JNF, Keren Hatarbut,

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

, and

Farband There were two American Jewish organizations colloquially known as the Farband: the Communist-oriented Yidisher Kultur Farband (Jewish Culture Association) and the Labor Zionist-oriented Yidish Natsionaler Arbeter Farband (Jewish National Workers ...

. Hyman was an elected delegate to the first

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (, , ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for human r ...

in 1919. He also founded the Toronto Jewish Public Library in 1941.

References

* Gasner, Cynthia. "Hyman's provided sforim for every occasion." The Canadian Jewish News, August 26, 1999, p. B5. * Goldstein, Bonnie and Shulman, Jaclyn, eds. "Voices from the Heart: A Community Celebrates 50 Years of Israel." Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1998. (See section "412 Spadina: From a Conversation with Gurion Hyman." p. 90-91). * Abella, Irving. "A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada." Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd., 1990, p. 125. * Metro Page. "Little Jewish library moves its 30,000 books." The Toronto Star, October 28, 1983, p. A6. * Speisman, Stephen. The Jews of Toronto. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979.Speisman, Stephen. The Jews of Toronto. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979 * Gottesman, Eli. Who's Who in Canadian Jewry, 1967. Page 275. Montreal: Central Rabbinical Seminary of Canada. Compiled by The Canadian Jewish Literary Foundation. *

Canadian Jewish Review The ''Canadian Jewish Review'' was a Canadian weekly newspaper, published in English between 1921 and 1966.UncreditedHistory of the ''Canadian Jewish Review''; www.multiculturalcanada.ca. The ''Canadian Jewish Review'' merged with the ''Canadian J ...

, January 28, 1927

*

(Organizational Records 1919-). CJC0001,SA Administrative Records. CJC,SB Minutes. (https://web.archive.org/web/20071219085531/http://www.cjccc.ca///national_archives/archives/arcguideCJC.htm) * Ontario Jewish Archives entries for Hyman's Bookstore (both the 371 and 412 Spadina Avenue locations): https://web.archive.org/web/20160917021038/http://search.ontariojewisharchives.org/List?q=%22Hyman%27s+Books+and+Art%22&p=1&ps=50 * Regarding Ben Zion Hyman's father, the Rev. M. Hyman see: Ontario Jewish Archives on Toronto Synagogues: (http://www.ontariojewisharchives.org/exhibits/TorontoSynagogues/synogogues/Minsk/images/Early%20history/06.html) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Ben Zion 1891 births 1984 deaths People from Mazyr People from Mozyrsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada Canadian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Canadian booksellers University of Toronto alumni