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The Wechslers also donated two items that serve to ornament the Torah scroll, the holiest and most important scripture in Judaism. This Torah shield, an ornamental plaque that hangs around the scroll, was made in North America in the twentieth century. It is decorated with the emblem of the Ten Commandments flanked by lions. The central motif is framed by a design of curtains, which refers to the curtain that covers the Torah Ark and conceals the sacred scroll while it is not in use.

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Torah Crown (Silver) 20th century
Date not available
London, England

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This Torah crown, made in England in the early twentieth century, was donated by the Wechslers in memory of Stuart Gertsman, their grandson. The tradition of placing a crown of precious metal on the Torah began in Iraq as early as the tenth century. In Eastern Europe, where Samuel Wechsler is from, crowns are used only on special festivals. Therefore, the crown would have been a very special and exceptional gift to the museum.

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Chanukah Lamp (Silver) Late 19th century
Date not available
Germany

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This highly original Chanukah Lamp was crafted in Germany in the late nineteenth century. The lion is a symbol of strength and bravery in Jewish history. On the backplate of the lamp, two lions stand on either side of the Ten Commandments. They represent the guards of the sacred Ark that held the tablets during Biblical times. This symbol is appropriate to the holiday of Chanukah since the lions guard the Ark just as the warrior Judah and the Maccabees defended the Temple from the Syrian king in the Chanukah story. The theme of lions continues throughout the design of the lamp. Each of the eight vials that hold the oil for the lighting of the lamp takes the shape of a lion. Lions also appear as the feet of the lamp, and on the detachable oil jugs.

Undoubtedly, Samuel Wechsler had a good eye for Judaica and outstanding taste. His grandson describes his grandfather's ability to pick out these unique ceremonial art objects: "I think that as a Jew, he saw these different pieces as having both historical value and, because he was in the advertising business, I think he had a very good artistic eye, and so I think he saw in the objects more than just things that had historical value, but also that were attractive, they were aesthetically appealing. I believe he valued them for both of those reasons: one, as heritage objects, and secondly, from an aesthetic point of view. Many of the pieces were just absolutely exquisite."

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Irvin and Lee Gertsman Late 1940s or early 1950s
Date not available

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Samuel passed on his passion for Temple Emanu-El, for the Aron Museum and for Judaica to his daughter and son-in-law, Lee and Irvin Gertsman. Irvin Gertsman was born and raised in Montreal. He graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1936. It was around that time that he began seeing Lee Wechsler. The couple was married three years later, in 1939, and Irvin went to work for Lee's father.

Their son Michael describes the role that Temple played in his parents' lives: "So my father worked with my grandfather, and as my grandfather was active in the Temple, so my mother and father began to become very very active in the Temple. My mother was involved with the Sisterhood here, she may have been president at one time. My father was very active with Brotherhood here, in the early 1960s I believe he became the president of the Temple. But the one thing I remember about them and about myself was that I grew up here... Temple was very much a part of their lives, a very large part of their lives in those days, it was a centre. A centre, as it were, in their lives. And so I was raised here, as I said a moment ago, but it was something very significant both in the lives of my parents and in the lives of my grandparents."

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Michael Gertsman's Bar Mitzvah
1958
Temple Emanu-El, Montreal, Quebec

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Michael grew up going to Temple Emanu-El. He remembers Temple as a very significant part of his childhood and as a centre of his family life. Every Friday night, his father would come home and there would be a nice dinner, with a white tablecloth. His mother would light the Shabbat candles, and they would have Shabbat dinner. His father would then go off to synagogue. Michael and his brother were too young to go to the Friday night service, but they attended the Shabbat school on Saturday mornings.

When Michael reached the age of thirteen, he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Temple. A Bar Mitzvah marks a young person's passage into adulthood. Michael's parents, grandparents and brother were all present to join in the celebration.

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Irvin Gertsman
1960
Montreal, Quebec

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When Samuel Wechsler passed away, Irvin Gertsman took over the post of Chairman of the Aron Museum. In a sense, a mantle had been passed from one generation to the next as Irvin continued on the work that was begun by his father-in-law, and by Josef Aron. Irvin served as Chairman of the museum's committee for twenty years, from 1974 until 1994.

Michael Gertsman reflects on his father's involvement with the Aron Museum: "Well I think in many ways my father probably picked up the mantle that my grandfather laid down. Later on in his life, I guess, and after [my grandfather] passed away, the work my grandfather had done with Mr. Aron... By that time, Mr. Aron predeceased my granddad. So in a sense, my grandfather continued with this, and I think to some extent my father was touched by my grandfather's passion for this, and I think also because there was sort of a mantle here that passed from one generation to the next, and because our family had been involved with the Temple for so many years, I sensed that my father wanted to pick up something that my grandfather laid down and continue the work here, and continue to build the museum."

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Illuminated Ketubah (Parchment)
1862
Ancona, Italy

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Lee and Irvin Gertsman also contributed to the collection at the Aron Museum with gifts commemorating the special occasions of their own family. In honour of their fiftieth wedding anniversary, they donated this unique and colourful Ketubah to the museum. A Ketubah is a marriage contract that protects the rights of the bride.

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Irvin Gertsman, Samuel Wechsler and Lee Gertsman at the Aron Museum. Late 1960s
Date not available
Temple Emanu-El, Montreal, Quebec