It occasionally happens that a number of years following a death that a member of the congregation will order a plaque, not knowing that another family member had already done so. If you suspect this might be the case please call the synagogue office at 416-781-3511.

Traditionally, men were called for an aliyah to the Torah providing only their proper name and the name of their father, but not their mother. In many communities, this was the same for tombstones and synagogue plaques. It is however certainly permissible to add the matriarchal name/s, and we encourage you to do so. It is also important for genealogical purposes.

Where Hebrew names are not available, Yiddish or other names will suffice. If you do not know the name/s, we will transliterate the English or other names to Hebrew for the plaque.

There is considerable variation in the manner in which Yiddish names are spelled. (Eg. Baila: can be spelled with one or two yod’s and with an aleph, hey, or ayin at the end.) In many cases the pronunciation is the same regardless of the orthography. If a monument has already been erected, you may wish to provide the spelling on it so that the lettering will be consistent in both places.

The time of death is required because the date in the Hebrew calendar changes at dusk.