The Law-Abiding Rabble Rouser

Alan Borovoy grew up on Toronto’s Grace Street in the late 1930s and ’40s. He was, in his own opinion, an excellent Al Jolson imitator and, later, a translator of Elvis Presley’s songs—into Yiddish (well, one song—Love Me Tender). Not poverty stricken, he saw the poverty and material hardship nearby. He lived with his parents and extended family, whose members enjoyed a rich sense of humour. His parents did not demand from him conformity in political matters, social issues, religious practice or career choice. Alan decided to study law at the University of Toronto and during the summer he was a “singing” counsellor at Camp Ogama, a Jewish summer camp in Muskoka.

But Borovoy did not receive the Order of Canada for his Jolson impersonations, or a doctor of laws, honoris causa, from Queen’s and York universities for his Yiddish translation of Elvis. Neither did the...