DJC Blog

Nominations are being accepted for new members on the DJC's Board of Directors for the 2026-2028 term: This is a pivotal time to contribute your skills and creativity to strengthening the DJC. Along with the Rabbi and the staff leadership team, Board members provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure the DJC's health, vitality, organizational effectiveness, governance, and financial stability. Board members are appointed for two-year terms and can serve a maximum of

The DJC has regularly supported Indigenous causes through donations, educational programs, and collaborative events to promote reconciliation. These include contributions to organizations like Native Earth Performing Arts and Toronto Council Fire, and events like Kairos Blanket Exercise and virtual tours, underscoring their commitment to truth, reconciliation, and solidarity with Indigenous communities.

I want to begin by saying something I should say far more often: I am proud of us. Here at the Danforth Jewish Circle, we have done real work and good work. Queer and trans members of our community are not an asterisk or an afterthought; they are teachers, Torah readers, Board members, and beloved friends. We have built something genuine here, something worth naming and worth being proud of. Over the years, the DJC has done the internal work with seriousness and love, and it

The DJC has been approached for help by Hive, a volunteer organization that helps get LGBTQ+ individuals, primarily in Afghanistan, out of danger and into safe countries. Two young Afghan gay men who came to Canada with Hive support spoke movingly about their experiences at the DJC Refugee Shabbat on May 8. For more information about Hive, see https://www.canadahive.org/about-us/. Volunteers are currently needed to provide settlement support for a 26-year-old gay man from t

There is a well-known story in the Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b) about a group of rabbis locked in a debate about whether a particular oven is pure or impure. Rabbi Eliezer insists he is right, but the other rabbis disagree. To prove himself, Rabbi Eliezer calls on miracles. Unbelievably, a tree uproots itself, a stream flows backwards, and the walls of the study hall begin to collapse. Finally, a heavenly voice declares, “Why do you argue with Rabbi Eliezer? He is correct.” One m

There are moments when the calendar feels almost too on-the-nose. As Pesach approaches – a festival of courage and resilience – our Toronto community reels from recent synagogue shootings, rising antisemitism, and anxieties about unrest in Israel, Gaza, Iran, and beyond. It’s hard not to feel the heaviness of it all at once. Many of you have shared your exhaustion: worrying about news headlines, explaining (and explaining again) antisemitism to others, and feeling the world i

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” — Pirkei Avot 1:14 Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, but it’s also a call to come together, learn, and act with purpose. We hope that the resources gathered by the DJC’s Climate Action Team will help you deepen your understanding of climate change, navigate climate anxiety, and discover meaningful ways to take action. Join with others , lis

Our community is rich with creative, talented artists, and we want to showcase you! We are inviting artists of all kinds to submit original work for feature in our community communications, including holiday materials, event promotions, digital campaigns, print pieces, thank-you notes, and other special projects throughout the year. We welcome submissions across all disciplines, including […]

A farmer stops Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael in the streets of Jerusalem. She has a challenge for them: If God struck someone with an illness, who are they to interfere by offering medicine? Isn’t healing a defiance of the divine will? The rabbis point to the sickle in the woman’s hand. “Who planted your vineyard?” “God”, she says. “And yet you prune it, fertilize it, and weed it! You involve yourself in something that isn’t yours, do you not?” The farmer understands immedia

We’re excited to welcome our new Choir Director, Juliet Palmer. Reaching beyond boundaries is central to Juliet’s work in Toronto as music director, mentor, facilitator, educator and composer. “Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to the creation of welcoming spaces for community music-making, and I’m delighted to step into the role of choir director at […]

The month of February often pushes us indoors. We hunker down, move quickly from place to place, and treat the outside world as something to endure rather than enter. The Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat quietly resists that instinct. It asks us to remember that even now, even here in Canada, life is stirring beneath […]

January gives us a little space to breathe after the intensity of the holidays. It is often a quieter month, a time when we check in with ourselves and with one another, and ask what we are carrying forward into the year ahead. It is important to say this clearly and calmly: antisemitism is real, and it deserves to be named. At the same time, it is not the whole story of Jewish life today.

This question has been with me as we turn our attention to Chanukah. The Hebrew word for awe, yirah, describes an elevated awareness that something larger and more meaningful is present. It is what we feel when the extraordinary appears in the midst of everyday life. Mussar teacher Alan Morinis writes, “Awe arises when we […]

Havurot are community-led small groups for getting to know other members and connecting around shared interests. The DJC has had some wonderful and active groups over the years and welcome new ideas! Would you like to start a Havura of your own? From book clubs, knitting circles, LGBTQTS community-building and Hebrew lessons to Yiddish conversation, […]

Together, We Begin Again. It feels fitting that, just as we emerge from the High Holy Days we shared here at the Danforth Jewish Circle, the Torah itself begins again, reminding us that creation and re-creation are at the heart of Jewish life. These weeks have taken us from Bereishit’s formless beginnings to the floodwaters […]

Once again this year, the DJC has been asked to join our partners in the Danforth Multifaith Commons in supporting the weekly Out of the Cold program, which provides people in need with shelter, food and warm clothing on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, November through March. The DJC is currently looking for volunteers: 1) Bakers to make […]

What Keeps Me Up at Night* *(it’s Anxiety) Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be sweet. Birthday of the world. Apples and honey. Joy and light. And yet — if I’m honest — I am anxious. Not the “I had too much coffee” kind. The kind that shows up at 2:00 a.m. when the house is […]

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will soon be upon us and, like so many of you, we continue to watch with despair the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We ask ourselves, what can we do that reflects our commitment to the DJC value of standing against injustice and to seek ways to repair the world (Tikkun Olam)? How can we stand with and support the global Jewish community to end the violence, loss of life, starvation, and devastation? Our tradition teaches us that our lives

Rabbi Alan Lew begins his book This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared with a powerful statement: Every soul needs to express itself. Every heart needs to crack itself open. Every one of us needs to move from anger to healing, from denial to consciousness, from boredom to renewal. These needs did not arise […]

As we enter into the month of Elul, we may find ourselves soaking up and embracing the last sweet weeks of summer. We may also find ourselves acknowledging how privileged we are to enjoy this experience while so many others continue to face the most excruciating circumstances. At this moment we want to recognize Rabbi Glickman, who, on behalf of The Danforth Jewish Circle, has just signed onto the Open Letter from Canadian Jewish Leaders: Gaza Humanitarian Crisis led by New I