DJC Blog

The DJC Multifaith Committee has been involved in a community-wide planning effort to commemorate the tragic shootings on the Danforth last year on July 21st. Two events are being planned and DJC members and friends are encouraged to attend to show your support to the families, victims and emergency support workers who were deeply affected […]

A Jewish Studies Year in Review, by our Principal Alysse It has been another fabulous year for our Jewish Studies program! We wrapped up our weekly Jewish Studies classes in early May, followed by a DJC shabbat morning service that our students helped to lead. This was an exciting year – one that included not […]

Of the three pilgrimage festivals – Sukkot, Pesach and Shavuot – Shavuot, celebrating receiving Torah at Mount Sinai and celebrating the harvest of first fruits, seems to get the short end of the celebratory stick. Pesach is perhaps the most celebrated Jewish holyday (with Chanukah a ready rival, the shorter cousin trying to keep up […]

Our DJC film fundraiser was a great success thanks to many of you. On Monday May 6, 138 members and friends of the DJC came together for a screening of the film Curtiz followed by a lively question and answer session with one of the producers, the screenwriter and the lead actress. Afterward, all who […]

The Nominating Committee consists of one Board representative and three community members who responded to a broad call for members. We were asked to reach out to the membership for recommendations to fill upcoming vacancies on the Board, consider potential candidates who self-nominated through the open call for new Board members, and present a list […]

The Danforth Jewish Circle is seeking a Treasurer to join its Board of Directors. Our vision The Danforth Jewish Circle is a joyous and inclusive, accessible and inspiring Jewish community located in the heart of Riverdale. Our members include singles and families of all ages who come from diverse Jewish backgrounds and cultural traditions, interfaith […]

I’m writing to you from Israel. I’m here with 130 Jewish leaders from around the world working on issues of anti-Semitism and Jewish liberation in the context of working to end all interconnected systems of oppression. It is powerful to be here, during Pesach, during the time that is called “zman cheruteynu/the time of our […]

Do you want to be part of our tradition of welcoming DJC members into your home who need somewhere to celebrate the festival of Passover? Are you already cooking for so many that an extra mouth or two won’t be a problem? We need your help to make sure everyone has a seat at a Seder table […]

This past Friday, many of us gathered in front of the Madinah Masjid forming a Ring of Peace in shared grief, solidarity and partnership with Muslims after the white supremacist shooting of Muslims in prayer in Christchurch, New Zealand. We were a sea of people including members of the DJC, members of our Danforth Multi-faith […]

Have you been looking for a way to get more involved with the Danforth Jewish Circle and make a lasting impact on your community? Here’s your chance! Nominations are now being accepted for new members on the DJC’s Board of Directors. Board members provide oversight, direction and input, and serve as representatives of the DJC […]

Several years ago, a couple of DJC members began talking about how to improve accessibility at the DJC. Important in its own right, improving accessibility for all of our members also meshed with the inclusivity principle that has guided the DJC since its inception. Currently, the DJC Accessibility Initiative (AI) Committee has ten members. The […]

In November, I released my first album of original compositions of Jewish prayersong. Over the past twenty years, these prayersongs have moved through me and outward into singing communities around the world – in shuls (including our own beloved DJC) and retreat centres, around Shabbat dinner tables and campfires and, as I found out from […]

Last month, we joined forces with Tanya Lee, a DJC member who runs a very special and unique book club for girls. A Room of Your Own Book Club gives girls ages 13-18 from at-risk communities the chance to explore and embrace a love of literature. The last book pick was a young adult novel called “Paper Hearts” by Meg Wiviott, […]

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” -Audre Lorde. African American feminist, womanist and poet The recent National Women’s March in DC and in cities around the US was a powerful mobilization of activism and unity – fighting for all women, fighting for […]

After several years of researching different possibilities, the DJC is announcing the solution to our diverse, inclusive community’s cemetery needs – a section at Beit Olam at Glenview Memorial Gardens for DJC members in good standing and their immediate relatives (see Standards of Practice for details). This is currently the only available option in Toronto […]

Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, of blessed memory, used to tell this story about his 5 year old daughter, Shalvi. She woke up one morning and said, “Abba (dad), you know how when you are asleep and dreaming, it seems so real, and then you wake up and realize it was just a dream? When you are […]

In December, I had a lovely experience when a father and young daughter volunteered to set up and clear at a Saturday Shabbat. Aya arrived with her father Nir and I could see right away that she wanted to help. Carefully, she poured the grape juice into the silver cup for Rabbi Miriam and Cantor […]

Thank you to Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels for inspiring this teaching. My home office is a mess – piles of papers, notes, scattered books that I’ve started to read or that I’ve pulled off the shelf for teaching, letters of request for donations and a smattering of articles I mean to get to. This time of […]

On October 16th we held a community conversation to discuss the DJC’s cemetery proposal at Beit Olam Gardens. I want to share some of the teachings about Jewish burial practices that animate our conversation. A Jewish cemetery is defined as consecrated ground demarcated on all sides for the purpose of Jewish burial. Historically, only Jews […]

The DJC Reading Circle is back for another season of riveting reads. Now in its seventeenth glorious year, the Danforth Jewish Reading Circle is a favourite among our book loving members, bringing us together throughout the year for interesting and animated discussions about a variety of books that touch on Jewish themes. And of course, […]