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

Mazyr Mazyr or Mozyr (, ; , ; ; ) is a city in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mazyr District. It is situated on the Pripyat (river), Pripyat River about east of Pinsk and northwest of Chernobyl in Ukraine. As of 2025, ...

in what is now

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(settling first in

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

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

), he graduated in electrical engineering from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's most prominent book store, Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe (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 romanized ''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 at about the turn of the 20th c ...

, and Farband. Hyman was an elected delegate to the first

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC; ; ; ) 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 Hum ...

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'' was purchased by the ''Canad ...

, 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 Canadian Jewish Congress members University of Toronto alumni