the opposite, and he was able to write supporters that his Jewish ministry was expanding: “to our amazement it has increased and some services, like the mid-week prayer meeting, have trebled in number.”
An increasing number of Jewish families would come to the Scott for groceries and financial help to pay overdue bills and rent. (Many would sit through the mid-week prayer service before approaching him about their needs.) Those who benefited were not placed under any obligation other than to accept that his assistance was a sign of his own genuine faith. Morris and Annie felt this was simply a reflection of the truth of the gospel.
Morris began experiencing a new level of respect from the Jewish community. In 1931 he noted with genuine surprise that “a prominent Jewish Zionist” had provided a generous bequest of 50 dollars “for the furtherance of our work.” In time, he saw a quiet growing acceptance of the role as a charity for Jewish people in need. “The missionary,” he wrote, “is looked upon as a welfare worker and carrier of the glad tidings of Christ.”8
This story was told by one of Toronto’s distinguished Messianic Jewish leaders, the late Rev. Dr. Edward D. Brotsky, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home during the Depression. Brotsky was a boy, about ten or eleven years old, when his parents ran out of food. Desperate, and with no idea where else to turn, they sent their son to get help from the Scott Institute. Young Brotsky approached the building but was too afraid to enter. He stood on the sidewalk until Morris, in his clerical collar, came outside and approached him. Hearing of the family’s plight, he assured the boy that there was no need to come inside. Putting some money into his hand, Morris sent him home.
The role of friend and counsellor “in times of trouble” opened doors that would normally have been shut to a Jewish follower of Jesus. His relations with “leaders and rabbis” became more favourable, and this was reflected in donations he received, both in funds and in kind. A local Jewish newspaper even allowed him to place his advertisements in its pages. After all, Jewry holds charity (tzedaka) in high regard, and even today, there are many in Toronto’s Jewish community who maintain a fond appreciation for the work of the Mission.
***
A few large scrapbooks in the Mission archives give us a closer look at day-to-day life for the Zeidmans during the Great Depression. The pages are covered with yellowing newsprint stories from The Toronto Telegram. Selections were usually grouped together by month and year; exact dates were not always recorded, and some aren’t readable. While we know that the paper assigned Miss Rose Macdonald to cover the work of “the Scott,” none of the stories included her byline. Nor are these regular news stories. The names of recipients are withheld to preserve their dignity and described with just enough details for readers to imagine themselves or a loved one needing similar help. Only portions of the stories are cited. Every column ended with a list of recent donors: individuals, often with donations of $1 to $5, and businesses that provided food or gifts in-kind.
November 1935
Needy Mother Gets Carriage from “Anon.”
Clock Also Sent to Home to Regulate Feeding Time Necessary for New Baby
Appeal was made in The Telegram the other day on behalf of one of the Scott Institute’s protégées, a young mother who had just brought her baby home from the hospital—a delicate baby. The infant’s feeding timetable needs to be followed meticulously—but there was no clock in the home, nor was there money to buy one. Response to the appeal was prompt. An anonymous giver sent a brand new clock, and a much needed baby carriage was supplied by someone else. The mother, the Scott Institute folk and The Telegram join in saying “thank you” to those who helped so spontaneously.
January 21, 1936
Meals Served Daily at Scott Exceed 600
Task Is Heavy, But Gratitude Gives Encouragement to Institute Workers
They are serving over 600 meals a day at the Scott Institute, a big piece of work in terms of meat and vegetables to be prepared and cooked and served—and paid for. But the gratitude and independent spirit of many of the men who sit at the Scott tables is to Rev. Morris Zeidman and his helpers a heartening encouragement to go on with the work.
There were two young men, for instance, who came from out of town on their way to take jobs. They had no money to tide them over here. At the Scott Mr. Zeidman saw that they had food to eat and a place to stay. The young men were most insistent that they pay their way by serving the Institute on Elizabeth Street at their own trades. There was, however, at the moment no need for such services…The offer, nevertheless, was appreciated.
January 23, 1936
Crutches, Long Stored, At Last Find Their Job
Scott Institute Able to Answer Call—Sleigh Helps Family Get Fuel—Many Pleas For Aid
“You never know when it will come in useful.” Everybody has said it sometime or other. The Scott Institute has proved the truth of the observation.
Since last spring they have had a pair of good crutches about the place. But nobody seemed to need them. What to do with them has often been the suggestion.
They have been given to a woman, bereaved last month of her husband, who had been an invalid, confined to bed for two years. Scarce had her husband died than further misfortune befell her. She broke her foot and has since had it in a plaster cast. She and her sister prayed for crutches. They didn’t get the crutches just then, but they did get the idea of putting in a request at the Scott Institute. The pair on hand proved just the thing.
A young lad came with a note from his mother. There were four children at home, all down with chicken pox. Could they have a sleigh so that the older boy could draw wood or coke? They needed fuel. And could they have bedding or warm clothes?
There really was a sleigh for them. Bedding too.
December 26, 1936
Bounteous Holiday Feast Given by Scott Institute
Children and Parents and 150 Men Have Bang-Up Dinner
“The children had the loveliest time yesterday,” Rev. Morris Zeidman, superintendent of the Scott Institute, said today. “There were about 20 of them, and the families sat down to a real turkey dinner, with all the fixings, including plum pudding. And Santa Claus had presents for everybody, besides candies and fruit.” The dining room with its fine tree was gay, too, with Chinese lanterns.
About 150 men had their dinner in the big dining room, with chicken, plum pudding, candy and fruit and so forth.
Numbers of contributions came in for the Scott right up to Christmas Eve.
March 1937
Evicted Four Come to Scott Just in Time
Deserted Mother and Three Children Make Pitiful Picture—Feet Blistered by Trudging
If the city pavements could speak they could tell sad tales. Sometimes these tales do find a sympathetic and helpful audience, and this is one of them. It comes from Rev. Morris Zeidman, superintendent of the Scott Institute.
“We had a family consisting of a deserted mother and her three children
