Miscellanies: Moses Montefiore and Canada

<plain_text><page sequence="1">Moses Montefiore and Canada MICHAEL BROWN Canada is a country which Moses Montefiore did not visit! A chronically depressed and politically unsettled outpost of the Empire in the first half of the nineteenth century, it had little attraction for Montefiore either as a business? man or as the statesman-philanthropist of Jewry.1 In all probability the country's faltering economy and political disturbances (a major rebellion was suppressed in 1837) contributed to Montefiore's feeling, in 1838, that Jewish settlers had a 'greater certainty of success' in desolate Palestine than in British North America.2 Even towards the end of his life, when pogroms and poverty in Russia created an immediate and desperate need for new territories for Jewish settlement, Sir Moses still opposed sending Jews to Canada.3 The Jews of British North America, no less than the country itself, may well have inspired Montefiore's scepticism. In 1784, when he was born, the community was only 2 5 years old, the settlement of Jews having been forbidden under the previous French regime; and it numbered no more than a few dozen people. When Montefiore died, almost 101 years later, Canada's Jewry still numbered only some 2500 people. Canada's Jews, living in the British Empire, did not, of course, require Montefiore's intercession with hostile powers on their behalf; in fact, they were granted full civic equality 26 years before the Jews of the mother country. Their small number, however, precluded their being of any significant assistance in Sir Moses' various endeavours to help beleaguered brethren elsewhere in the world.4 Rather, the small community sought financial aid from British Jews - Montefiore among them- all during the period. Montefiore generally responded to such requests with less than his accustomed munificence: ?5 in 1834 towards the building of a new synagogue in Montreal; ?20 in 1863 to Montreal's Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in memory of his wife; ?10 to Montreal's Montefiore Social and Dramatic Club when it was organized in 1880; ?5 to the Sabbath School Fund of Bethel Hebrew Congregation of Winnipeg in 1885.5 Only once, in 1872, was a more substantial gift forthcoming: ?150 to Montreal's Spanish and Portuguese congregation to assist them in discharging debts, including back taxes.6 Like others in Britain, Montefiore was undoubtedly aware that at least a few Canadian Jews had acquired substantial fortunes by the mid-century and could well afford to provide for their own small community.7 Perhaps, too, he felt that Canada would some day 'go the way of all colonies', while in any case not being an ideal place for settlement.8 171</page><page sequence="2">172 Michael Brown If Montefiore was unenthusiastic about Canada, it cannot be said that Canadians were apathetic about him. Montefiore's was an age of 'adherence to religious tradition [combined] with participation in public life'; and to many, including Canadians, Sir Moses appeared to epitomize the ideal of the time.9 In his popular travel book, A Few Months in the East; or, A Glimpse of the Red, the Dead, and the Black Seas (Quebec, 1861), Holy Land pilgrim J. Bell Forsyth recounted for Canadians Montefiore's 'charitable undertakings' in Palestine.10 In the same years Montreal's Jewish poetaster, Isidore G. Ascher, was eulogizing him in verse as 'a true-born, loyal knight,/'Loyal of God and holy works of love.'11 Henry Wentworth Monk, the Canadian prophet of British Israel, unsuccessfully appealed to Montefiore to assist him in his work. Monk, who sought a restoration to Palestine of both the Jews and the 'lost ten tribes', whom he believed to be the Anglo-Saxons of Britain, Canada, and the United States, expected that Montefiore's endorsement and financial aid, along with that of other influential Jews, might lend his movement much-needed legitimacy in the eyes of Jews and of the international powers.12 Even after his death Sir Moses continued to exercise the imagination of Canadians. In his Chronology of Montreal and of Canada from A.D. 1752 to 1893 (Montreal, 1893), Frederick William Terrill included two events from Montefiore's long life, his participation in the organization of the Alliance Assurance Company in 1824 and the hundredth anniversary of his birth 60 years later.13 Twice - in 1864 when he received the freedom of the City of London and again on his hundredth birthday - Montefiore received widespread notice in Canada. On both occasions he was hailed as a symbol and model of British success, tolerance, and philanthropy; indeed, the epitome of the Victorian era. In commenting on Montefiore's 1864 honour, the Montreal Herald asserted that it was 'an additional assurance that "the world still moves," and that men are daily discovering more and more, - that, though of diverse creeds and nationalities, they may yet put aside minor differences of opinion and dogma, sink the odium theologicum, and walk hand in hand together, to do the great work, which patriotism and philanthropy points out.'14 Twenty years later, the Toronto Globe, in an editorial of considerable length, congratulated Sir Moses on his long and noble life'. Although the paper emphasized the centenarian's great wealth, and omitted mention of his stewardship of the Jewish people, it expressed confidence that 'Jew and Gentile alike [would] recognize his virtue and join with equal cordiality in his praise'.15 As Rabbi Dr Hermann Adler noted at the time, the Montefiore centenary was cause for celebration 'in every city and townlet in the whole world-wide Dispersion of Israel'.16 Canadian Jewry was no exception. To Jews, Montefiore was more than the epitome of his age, he was the symbol of possibility. To</page><page sequence="3">Moses Montefiore and Canada 173 Canadian Jews he was even more than that. Despite some notable advances, the largely British heritage of the country, and their own small numbers, nineteenth-century Canadian Jews remained outsiders in their own land. They endeavoured, as one of the Winnipeg congregations wrote to Montefiore in 1884, In a new country to better... [their] position in life', but often found the task difficult.17 As a means of social advancement and of increasing their self-respect, Canadian Jews of the Victorian era often found it desirable to associate themselves with illustrious coreligionists in other countries, particu? larly Great Britain, the mother country. This tendency became blatantly manifest in the last decades of the nineteenth century, when a British family connection was an important status-symbol in Canada.18 It seemed natural, then, for Canadian Jews to hitch their wagon to Montefiore's star. As the Winnipeg congregation put it, 'your noble and manly character is ever held up by us as an example to those whom God in his infinite goodness, has entrusted to our care [and, as well, to those in whose care he has entrusted us].'19 For Canadian Jews, Montefiore was not merely a symbol but an instrument; and one senses clearly in their centennial celebrations more than a desire to pay homage to Jewry's benefactor. The festivities served to focus the attention of all Canadians on Montefiore and offered Jews an excellent opportunity to underscore to themselves and to others their 'family' relationship to him, thereby enhancing their own position. One way in which some of Canada's more established Jews thought to honour Sir Moses in 1884 was by establishing the Montefiore Agricultural Aid Association, 'to make organized efforts to direct the enterprise and industry of our coreligionists into ... new fields of labor.' They felt such a step particularly 'desirable at the present stage of our relations with other races and peoples'.20 The Association was singularly unsuccessful, lasting only a short time and directing the enterprise of no one. Other honours were more intentionally ephemeral. Toronto's Jews and their gentile guests gathered in Holy Blossom Synagogue for a Sunday thanksgiving service on 26 October, the day before the birthday anniversary. The service was graced by 'a Hallelujah by the [ladies'] choir', the recitation of 'Old Hundredth', and a sermon in which the Reverend Herman Phillips pointedly reminded those present that Sir Moses was 'beloved by the sovereign of his country'.21 Winnipeg's two fledgling congregations held separate services, but came together for a joint ball.22 In Montreal the Montefiore Club held 'a grand ball', while both the Spanish and Portuguese and the German and Polish congregations held commemorative services. At the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue the standing-room-only service closed with the singing by the male choir of a Hebrew rendition of 'God Save the Queen'.23</page><page sequence="4">174 Michael Brown Not only in 1884 but at other times as well, Canadian Jews proved eager to associate themselves with 'the most distinguished citizen of London'.24 They did this most often by naming institutions after him. In 1870 the Toronto Hebrew Ladies Sick and Benevolent Society (Chebre Gemilas Chesed) became the Ladies' Montefiore Hebrew Benevolent Society.25 Ten years later the Monte fiore Social and Dramatic Club was formed in Montreal 'for the purpose of fostering literary and social intercourse among its members, . . . [taking for itself] the revered name of the great and famous philanthropist.'26 In 1910, American-Jewish emigrants in Alberta adopted Montefiore's name for their new agricultural colony in the vain hope of imitating his longevity, while a year later the Montefiore Club of Winnipeg was organized 'for the purpose of affording a meeting place for the young business men'.27 On one occasion, at least, an individual Jew became similarly bound to the great philanthropist. In 1851, the Abraham Josephs of Quebec, themselves children of pioneer Canadian Jews, named their new-born son, Montefiore. Montefiore Joseph became a distinguished resident of Quebec, president of the Board of Trade, the Quebec Snowshoe Club, and the Quebec Skating Rink. He died at the age of 92, having lived almost as long as the man whose name he bore.28 No Canadian more persistently pursued association with Montefiore than Rabbi Abraham De Sola, the country's first ordained rabbi, who served in the pulpit of Montreal's Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue from 1847 until his death in 1882, and who may be said to have put Jewry on the Canadian map almost singlehandedly. De Sola, who also served as professor of Hebrew and Spanish at McGill University in Montreal from whom he received an honorary doctorate, was by far the best-known Jew in Canada during his lifetime. He was also well known in the United States and Great Britain. In the Montreal of his day he was one of the most respected religious and intellectual figures.29 And yet, despite his accomplishments and considerable stature, De Sola, like other Canadian Jews, seemed to feel the need to identify himself publicly and privately with Sir Moses. In point of fact, De Sola actually had some tenuous personal connections with Montefiore. His father, David Aaron De Sola, was senior minister of the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London; his maternal grandfather, Raphael Meldola was the Haham there, both of them prominent officials of the congregation to which Moses Montefiore belonged and in whose affairs he played an important role. Meldola, who appointed Montefiore an executor of his will, was succeeded as presiding minister of Bevis Marks by his son,David, Abraham De Sola's uncle. De Sola's father was succeeded at his death by another son, Samuel. All of them worked closely with Montefiore, although none so much as David Aaron De Sola.30 The latter became a minister of the congregation in 1818, the same year</page><page sequence="5">Moses Montefiore and Canada 175 in which Montefiore assumed its lay leadership. It was David Aaron De Sola who preached the sermon of thanksgiving, 'The Providence of God with Israel', in March 1841, welcoming Montefiore home after his triumphant mission to Turkey to rescue the imperilled Jews of Damascus.31 As Hazan of Hebra at Be vis Marks, a post connected with poor relief, the senior De Sola was supported most ardently in his work by 'the lamented Lady Judith Montefiore'.32 In publishing the Cheap Jewish Library for Jewish working people, De Sola collaborated with Charlotte Montefiore and with her sister, nieces of Sir Moses. Charlotte was especially helpful, contributing, among other works of her own authorship, a volume entitled, The Way to Get Rich, a subject in which she may be presumed to have had some expertise and of which her audience had undoubted need.33 Sir Moses himself extended considerable support to the publishing ventures of Hazan De Sola. His first work, The Blessings (London, 1829), an interlinear translation of prayers, apparently originated with a suggestion by Montefiore. Later works, including a translation of the Sephardi prayer book, were dedicated to Montefiore and Lady Judith in recognition of friendship and financial support.34 It was quite fitting, then, that Abraham De Sola dedicated his own biography of his father to Montefiore, who, in turn, felt 'obliged ... for the opportunity ... of connecting my name with that of a gentleman for whom I always entertained the sincerest regard and friend? ship'.35 The ties to Montefiore through his family were not the only ones of Abraham De Sola. Born in 1825 in London, he grew up in the shadow of Montefiore and was apparently fascinated by him. One of the young De Sola's three surviving copybooks, of which there were unquestionably many more, is dedicated entirely to a semi-fictional account of Montefiore's journey to Turkey in 1840-1, his negotiations with the Sultan, and his reports to the Jewish community in Britain.36 For a time before his departure for Canada at the age of 22, De Sola was tutored by Louis Loewe, Montefiore's scholarly amanuensis and travelling companion, and later the principal of the college he established at Ramsgate.37 Legend had it that Sir Moses himself dispatched De Sola to Montreal in answer to a request from the Canadians for a suitable rabbi.38 In fact, De Sola left London after failing to be elected minister at Be vis Marks.39 In all likelihood the legend grew out of De Sola's having frequently trumpeted abroad his relationship with Sir Moses, a relationship he worked hard at cultivating by soliciting funds for Sir Moses' favourite charities, by reporting to him his successes, and by inquiring about Montefiore's, and in other, more personal ways. The record of charitable contributions forwarded by De Sola to Montefiore seems actually surprisingly sparse. As noted earlier, however, Canadian Jews of</page><page sequence="6">176 Michael Brown the period still considered themselves have-nots; and existing records may be incomplete. On four occasions between December 1859 and February i860, De Sola's synagogue sent a total of $4 50 to Monteflore for the relief of Moroccan Jews, and in 1861 a small sum for Persian Jews.40 On two occasions during the first half of 1870, De Sola's congregation and 'friends' sent a total of ?25 to Montefiore for the relief of 'distressed brethren in Jerusalem'.41 In 1872 Sir Moses received ?3.5.6 from the Montrealers, again for Persian relief, and three years later ?20.9.1, 'for distribution among the poor in Jerusalem'.42 Two remittances destined for Moroccan Jews in the Holy Land in 1878 totalling ?25.11, complete the list.43 Montefiore sent a polite letter of thanks to De Sola for each donation. One cannot help but feel, however, that the paltry sums reinforced Montefiore's doubts about Canada, however much they may have served to maintain contact between the rabbi and the philanthropist. In fact, Sir Moses personally contributed more to Canadian Jewry during his lifetime, mostly to Montreal, than De Sola was able to collect for Montefiore's charities from all his friends and congregants, some of whom, as noted above, including his wife's family, the Josephs, were very wealthy. Rabbi De Sola's reports to Sir Moses of his triumphs in the New World may have created a more favourable impression, except, perhaps, for the air of self-congratulation about them. (By contrast, Montefiore's reports to De Sola of his 1863 Morocco mission, of his 1872 mission to Russia, and his mission to the Holy Land in 18 7 5 are written in rather modest tones and appear to have been sent at De Sola's request.)44 De Sola seemed very eager for Montefiore to know of his achievements, perhaps not only because of his desire to associate with the great Englishman, but also because he wished Montefiore to know he had done well in Canada after his defeat at Bevis Marks. In any case, he made sure in i860 that Lady Judith received a copy of the Sephardi prayerbook, which he had translated and published, and that Sir Moses received a 'handsomely bound copy' of the sermon he preached in 1864 to commemorate Montefiore's receiving the freedom of the City of London.45 In 1865 De Sola sent Montefiore a report of his successful activities as a member of the McGill University faculty and in 18 70 a copy of his remarks 'on the occasion of Prince Arthur's presence' at a meeting of the Natural History Society of Montreal of which De Sola was president.46 The rabbi's proudest hour came in January 1872, when he delivered the invocation at a session of the House of Representatives in Washington. Although the circumstances behind the invitation to De Sola are not clear, everyone at the time understood his appearance to mark the end of the tension that had obtained between the United States and Great Britain since the early days of the Civil War. The rabbi was inordinately proud to have been the first foreigner to pray before the Congress and saw to it that his visit was well</page><page sequence="7">Moses Montefiore and Canada 177 publicized in Canada, the United States and Great Britain.47 Among those fully informed was Moses Montefiore, who congratulated the rabbi on his honour and praised him for having mentioned 'the cordial feeling which should subsist between the United States and our own glorious old England'.48 If De Sola's remittances and reports to Montefiore have about them an air of the ulterior, the personal exchanges between them seem more genuine. They consoled each other on the loss of loved ones.49 De Sola invited the 99-year-old Sir Moses to the wedding of his son, Joseph, to Amanda Davis in Montreal in 1881, repeating an earlier invitation to visit the New World and assuring Montefiore of a most enthusiastic reception. Montefiore regretted that he would be unable to attend, and in uncharacteristic confusion sent a cheque for De Sola's 'esteemed daughter and her fiance'.50 Montefiore contributed to the testimonial fund collected for De Sola in 1872 on his twenty-fifth anniversary with the Montreal congregation, while De Sola dedicated the 1878 revised edition of his prayerbook translation to Sir Moses and his late wife.51 However useful the relationship between the two may have been to De Sola, a bond of affection certainly did exist. Sadly, the rabbi who as a youth had been fascinated by the statesman-philanthropist, and who as an adult continued to view him as a model and hero, preceded the centenarian in death by more than two years, thus severing Canada's most intimate tie to Moses Montefiore even before the 'century of Montefiore' came to its natural close. In later years, as times changed, Montefiore came to epitomize and symbolize a bygone, heroic era in Canada and in the Empire as a whole, and, of course, to recede from memory. As the Canadian-Jewish community grew and became better rooted in the country, as Jews achieved distinction in their own right and a measure of self-confidence, the Montefiore connection - indeed, the British connection in general - declined in importance. As late as 1902, however, almost two decades after Montefiore's death, Rabbi Bernard M. Kaplan, in his farewell address to the German and Polish Congregation of Montreal, reminded his listeners that the day had not yet come when they could stand on their own without holding onto the coat-tails of famous and successful coreligionists in the mother country. Kaplan, who was returning to the United States, wished for his congregation and all 'Canadian Jews [that they] might produce some day such men as Disraeli and Montefiore' and achieve for themselves the standing and self-respect of Jews in the mother country.52 Curiously, in 1912, almost three decades after his death, a relative of Sir Moses, who bore his name, emigrated to Canada. William Sebag-Montefiore, grandson of Joseph Sebag-Montefiore, the nephew and heir of the childless Sir Moses, moved to Montreal, where he lived until his death except for service in the British army during World War I. Sebag-Montefiore married successively</page><page sequence="8">178 Michael Brown two daughters of Horace Joseph, thereby becoming related to both Montefiore Joseph and Rabbi Abraham De Sola. He joined the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and served as its secretary while Meldola De Sola, the son and successor of Abraham De Sola, was still rabbi. Later he served as president. It goes almost without saying that Montreal Jews, and especially the members of the Sephardic congregation, were very proud to have in their midst a live Montefiore; and that his name and family connections, as well as his being a British officer (he continued to be referred to as 'Captain Sebag-Montefiore'), had something to do with his being chosen for synagogue office.53 Nearly half a century after his death, then, Moses Montefiore continued to serve in Canada, albeit in descendant strength, both as symbol of achievement and British tolerance, and also as an instrument of social advancement for local Jews. NOTES 1 The evidence is largely negative. The two volumes of printed diary extracts, Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, ed. L.[ouis] Loewe, 2 vols (Chicago, 1890, facsimile edi? tion London 1983), contain only the slightest mention of Canada (I, p. 167) and no mention at all of Canadian Jews. There may, of course, have been some reference in the 85 manu? script diary-volumes, now known to have been destroyed, but it is doubtful that a very differ? ent picture would emerge. 2 Montefiore quoted in S. U. Nahon, Sir Moses Montefiore (Jerusalem 1965), p. 67. 3 Ha-Melits (Hebrew) 8 Nisan 1882. 4 See Louis Rosenberg, Canada's Jews (Montreal 1939) for a brief survey of early Canadian-Jewish history and population growth. 5 Minutes of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Shearith Israel, Montreal (here? after, MSP), 16 January 1863; Lawrence M. Lande, comp, and ed., Montefiore Club ([Mon? treal] 1955), p. 3; Arthur Chiel, Jewish Exper? iences in Early Manitoba (Winnipeg 1955), p. 26; Benjamin G. Sack, History of the Jews in Canada, tr. Ralph Novek (Montreal 1965), p. 108. 6 MSP, 3 July 1872, 26 December 1872; personal letter, Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 5 December 1872, in McGill University Archives, Mon treal, Abraham De Sola Papers (hereafter, ADSP). 7 See Albert M. Hyamson, The Sephardim of England (London 1951), p. 384. 8 Oscar Douglas Skelton, Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, I (Toronto 1965), p. 108. See also, Norman Macdonald, Canada: Immig? ration and Colonization, 1841-1903 (Toronto 1966), passim. 9 V. D. Lipman, 'The Age of Emancipation, 1815-1880', in Three Centuries of Anglo-Jewish History, ed. V. D. Lipman (Cambridge 1961), p. 69. 10 P. 10. 11 'To the Memory of Lady Montefiore', in Isidore G. Ascher, Voices from the Hearth (Montreal 1863), p. 11. 12 See Richard S. Lambert, For the Time Is at Hand (London [1947]), pp. 58, 127-8. 13 Pp. 95-6, 367. 14 5 November 1864. 15 24 October 1884. See also, 20 October 1884. 16 Quoted in Paul Goodman, Moses Mon? tefiore (Philadelphia 1925), p. 207. For a contemporary discussion of Montefiore's sym? bolic value to Eastern-European Jews, see 'The Birthday of Moses, Servant of God', Ha-Melits (Hebrew), 19 Marheshvan 1884. 17 Address of Sons of Israel, Winnipeg, to Montefiore, quoted in Chiel (see n. 5), p. 26.</page><page sequence="9">Moses Montefiore and Canada 179 18 Compare Carl Berger, The Sense of Power (Toronto and Buffalo 19 71), pp. 87-9. 19 Address of Sons of Israel, Winnipeg, to Montefiore, quoted in Chiel (see n. 5), p. 26. 20 Invitation letter from Mark Samuels, president and Lewis A. Hart, secretary, Monte? fiore Agricultural Aid Association, Montreal, 8 January 1885, in Jewish Public Library, Mon? treal, Bronfman Collection, Scrapbook on Jew? ish Farming. 21 Toronto Globe, 27 October 1884. 22 Chiel (see n. 5), pp. 21-7. 23 Undated newspaper clippings, Jewish Public Library, Montreal, Bronfman Collec? tions; New York Jewish Messenger, 31 October 1884. Although Sir Moses was probably spared knowledge of the fact, his birthday, which in most places served as an occasion for an outpouring of goodwill, sparked controversy in Montreal. At first the two congregations had attempted to get together to honour Monte? fiore. The effort collapsed, however, when the contentious new rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, Meldola De Sola, claimed to have been 'grossly insulted' by the president of the German and Polish congrega? tion, John Moss. De Sola retaliated by using the thanksgiving service in his own synagogue as a platform to inveigh against Reformers, who, he implied clearly, were even to be found in the very traditional German and Polish syna? gogue. MSP, 17 March, 20 April, 15 October 1884; New York Jewish Messenger, 31 October 1884. 24 The Lord Mayor of London at a meet? ing of the London Common Council, 29 July 1885, quoted in Goodman (see n. 16), p. 212. 2 5 Stephen Speisman, The Jews of Toronto, a History to 1937 (Toronto 1979), p. 56. 26 'Montefiore Club, Montreal', in The Jew in Canada, ed. Arthur Daniel Hart (Toronto and Montreal 1926), p. 453. See also, Lande (see n. 5), passim. 27 'The Montefiore Club, Winnipeg', in Hart (see n. 26), p. 454; Simon Belkin, Through Narrow Gates (Montreal 1966), p. 82. 28 'Montefiore Joseph, Quebec', in Hart (see n. 26), p. 340. See also E. C. Woodley, The House of Joseph in the Life of Quebec (Quebec 1946), pp. 56-70. 29 Sea, for example, London Jewish Chronicle, 29 September 1876; Montreal Gazetta, 7 June 1882; New York Jewish Mes? senger, 9 June 1882; American Hebrew, 9 June 5642 [1882]. 30 Loewe (see n. 1), I, p. 56. 31 Abraham De Sola, Biography of David Aaron De Sola (Philadelphia 5624 [1864]), pp. 11-13, 33; Loewe (see n. 1), I. p. 23. 32 De Sola (see n. 31), p. 45. 33 Ibid. p. 28. 34 Ibid. pp. 16, 21, 36, 47-8, and dedica? tion page; Goodman (zee n. 16), p. 218. 3 5 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal 4 June 1865, in ADSP. See also letter of 9 February 1865. 36 Copybooks in ADSP. 37 Hyamson (see n. 7), p. 304. See also, Loewe's note in copybook in ADSP, in which he complains of his pupil's 'cramped hand', and suggests he practise his writing more diligently. 38 Yosef Eliyahu Bernshtein, letter Ha Melits [Hebrew], 7 Iyyar 1884. 39 London Jewish Chronicle, 5 September 1845, 16 October 1846; Hyamson (see n. 7), P- 341. 40 MSP, 16, 23, 30 December 1859, 10 February i860; Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 28 December 5622 [1861], in ADSP. 41 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letters to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 29 April, 16 June 1870, in ADSP. 42 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 16th January 1872; Moses Montefiore, London, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 2 December 1875, both in ADSP. 43 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letters to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 16 August 5638 [1878], and 30 January 5639 [1879] in ADSP. 44 Moses Montefiore, London, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 17 June 5624-1864; Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letters to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 10 October 1872, 5 December 1872, 18 November 1875, all in ADSP. 45 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 9 Febru? ary 1865; Lady Judith Montefiore, London,</page><page sequence="10">i8o personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 29 February [i860?], both in ADSP. In ADSP is a copy of the sermon, 'The Righteous Man', which was preached on Sabbath 'Noah', 1864, in the Spanish and Portuguese Syna? gogue, Montreal. 46 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letters to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 9 February 1865, 16 June 1870, in ADSP. 47 See among other sources, Congres? sional Globe, 9 January 1872; Montreal Gazette, 12 January 1872; New York Jewish Messenger, 12 January 1872, London Jewish Chronicle, 29 September 1876; Canadian Jew? ish Times, 28 February 1902. 48 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, Febru? ary, 1872, in ADSP. 49 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 29 December 5623-1862; Moses Montefiore, London, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 22 February 1866, both in ADSP. Sir Moses was also sent a condolence resolu tion by De Sola's synagogue, which placed Lady Judith's name on the list of people for whom a perpetual memorial prayer was to be recited. MSP, 26 October 1862. 50 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, 30 May 5641-1881; Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, London, 8 June 1877, both in ADSP. 51 Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, personal letter to Abraham De Sola, Montreal, Febru? ary, 18 72, in ADSP; Abraham De Sola, ed. and rev., The Form of Prayers According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, 6 vols (Philadelphia 1878), I, dedication page. 52 Quoted in Canadian Jewish Times, 28 February 1902. 53 MSP, 6 May 1914, 8 February and 2 May 1915; History of the Corporation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Montreal (Montreal 1918), passim; Solomon Frank, Two Centuries in the Life of a Synagogue (n.p., n.d.), p. 16; Hart (see n. 26), p. 511.</page></plain_text>