DJC Blog

We are distressed by the hundreds of drones and missiles that were launched from the Iranian Regime directed at Israel. We pray for the safety of everyone living in Israel, and for the recovery of all the injured, including a 7-year-old Beduin Israeli who sustained significant injuries and is in life-threatening condition. As Israelis wait to hear the next round of air raid sirens and contemplate the threat of a regional war with Iran, those living in the West Bank are also e

Director of the Shalom Hartman Institute Yehuda Kurtzer takes us on a musical journey in a recent episode of the podcast Identity/Crisis. To set the scene for exploring the musical offerings from Israel since October 7, he outlines the history of the politics of Israeli music in three phases (I hope you will permit me quoting him at length here as I think this history is fascinating)

Last night, over 600 people gathered in the Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library here in Toronto for an event co-sponsored by The New Israel Fund, Friends of Standing Together Canada, and Heart to Heart. I was in attendance and was delighted to see no fewer than two dozen DJC community members. The program was a moderated conversation by Dr. Miri Sucharov (professor of Political Science at Carleton University) with Rula Daood and Itamar Avneri. Daood (an Arab Israeli)

Today’s offering is not about the war in Israel and Gaza directly but about the fall-out of it, namely the rise in antisemitism globally. Consider this recent Time Magazine article titled “The New Antisemitism” written by Noah Felman, which explores “How an ancient hatred has reinvented itself in the modern world.” The United Kingdom has […]

By the time Erev Purim hits, we ought to be flying high and ready to rock and roll… Right? But, for many reasons this year it almost feels incongruous to increase our joy. How can I celebrate at a time like this?

Imagine the following scenario: A rabbi is officiating at a funeral for a 75 year old person. Only she and the funeral home director will be present. The mourners – a spouse and adult children – are not going to be there. “It’s too much for us,” they say. The rabbi doesn’t know the family […]

Two days ago, a protest in downtown Toronto started at the Israeli Consulate and then travelled south along major city streets. Organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, it was an urgent “Hands Off Rafah! Emergency Action” gathering. At some point along the way, some of the participants scaled the scaffolding and portico in front of Mount Sinai Hospital.

This past Sunday the Grammy Awards aired, celebrating music and musicians and recognizing exemplary achievements in the music industry. Besides the Tony Awards (which I religiously watch in its entirety), the Grammys are the only other award show I tune into for just the live performances. Highlights from Sunday night included Joni Mitchell performing “Both Sides, Now” and Billy Joel performing his first music release in 17 years. But beyond the performances, there was one mo

Rabbi Ellenson was a past President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and was one of my favourite professors at HUC-JIR. He was the person who physically laid his hands on my head in May 2004 at my rabbinical ordination ceremony. He was a brilliant scholar of many subjects, including history, tensions between tradition and modernity, trends in contemporary American Jewish life, and ethics. He wrote and edited countless publications, taught any num

Expressing pain, grief, sadness, and hope through the artistic medium of music sits close to my heart. Perhaps it does for yours as well.

Israeli Opera: Somewhere A few weeks ago, a video came out of 60 Jewish and Arab singers and musicians joined together on the Israeli Opera’s stage to record a special rendition of “Somewhere,” which was written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for West Side Story. United on one stage, these beautiful musicians convey a […]

InterAct Education Center I recently learned about the InterAct Education Center, a non-profit organization committed to bringing “the multi-narratives of conflict to the wider world, building empathy and understanding on a much larger scale.” Their vision is to “generate critical understanding and deep empathy among war torn parties in conflict, and in the general public, […]

1. The podcast called “For Heaven’s Sake,” produced by the Shalom Hartman Institute. In pre-October 7 days, the podcast was co-hosted by Elana Stein Hain, Donniel Hartman, and Yossi Klein Halevi and its purpose was to “revive the Jewish art of constructive discussion on topics related to political and social trends in Israel, Israel-Diaspora relations, […]

A journalist’s reflections A video showing Chris Cuomo’s 8+ minute reflections on seeing the 47-minute footage of the horrors that occurred on October 7 in Israel. This material has been shown to journalists so that they can bear witness to the atrocities. Cuomo notes connections he makes to both September 11th and the Shoah and […]

Identity/Crisis Today, I am sharing a podcast called “Identity/Crisis” which is hosted by Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Insitute of North America. While the podcast has been producing episodes since 2020, I would recommend the recent offerings since October 7. Topics explored over the past two months include: “In a frenzied media cycle, […]

From Rabbi Ilyse Glickman: We are starting a new blog series to introduce the DJC community to podcasts, books, websites, and other media offerings that may expand our understandings of the current war in particular and Israel/Palestine more broadly. I hope you listen/watch/read these recommendations with curiosity, openness, and empathy.Please let me know what you […]

In her Shabbat sermon, Rabbi Ilyse Glickman outlined biblical tales of sibling rivalry, paralleling them with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She emphasized shared Abrahamic heritage and advocated for hope and unity by highlighting groups like Standing Together and Sulha Peace Project that foster coexistence. Her message revolved around the need for peace and understanding, drawing on the symbolism of Isaac’s wells – particularly the Well of Spaciousness, which signifies en

Dear DJC Community Member, Security has always been a topic which we have treated with great importance and attention. Recent events in Israel and here in Canada have underscored the need to revisit our security measures. The safety of our community and our staff is our primary concern. We pride ourselves on being a diverse […]

Reflections on our recent Multifaith Vigil A learned rabbi once asked her students how they could tell when the night had ended and day had begun. “Could it be,” said one student, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell if it is a sheep or a dog?” “No,” answered the rabbi. […]

My heart aches as I try to process what has happened over the past 2 weeks. Like you, I find myself glued to the news in an effort to stay up to date and in the know. My cousin, who lives just outside Tel Aviv, regularly updates me on WhatsApp as to the situation on the ground. He and his spouse, and their two children, are constantly running to their bomb shelter. Their eldest child is the same age as my Joel. On October 7, Hamas conducted the largest massacre of Jews since