DJC Blog

I want to thank my supportive, inspiring sermon hevrutah/thought partner and dear friend, Shira Stutman, for working out these ideas together. You can hear her Rosh Hashana sermon on Chutzpod. It’s been 3 years since we’ve gathered together like this as a community in person – how precious and moving. Seeing each others’ eyes, even […]

I grew up at a large Conservative shul where I only ever saw men leading prayer and ritual. This was a time at our shul when girls could be called to the Torah on the day of their bat mitzvah, which was a pretty recent concession to the rabble-rousing feminists in the community, but rather […]

Already you might be thinking, “Ask people for money? No way. Not me.” Yet fundraisers make unique and impactful contributions to the social good, and their work can change the world in real and meaningful ways. For some, fundraising is a career skill that can lead to well-paid career opportunities in a wide variety of […]

Your support is needed! Food Bank Donations at our High Holyday Services Every year at the time of the high holidays, the DJC launches a food drive to support the Bethany Church Food Bank in our Riverdale ‘neck of the woods’. Before services, we come to Eastminster bearing food offerings and place them in the bins set […]

Listen for moment. Can you hear the shofar? Be still and take a slow breath – inhaling deeply, exhaling and emptying out. Can you hear it? You are being called. We have just begun the Hebrew month of Elul. It’s the month leading up to Rosh Hashana and the intensive […]

We are offering hybrid services this year, people can join on zoom or from the sanctuary. The Eastminster building is wheelchair-accessible, including washrooms. There is a ramp up to the side entrance off Jackman Avenue, power buttons to open the door, and an elevator. There are 3 wheelchair-accessible, single-stall all-gender washrooms, one on each of […]

My sister is regularly my teacher. With a commitment to engaging in substantive steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, she has started a new practice when she leads workshops on Unconscious Bias (which she does regularly). Rather than sharing a Land Acknowledgement, she begins with a Pledge. The Pledge is an evolving statement of specific commitments to learning, […]

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 health, vitality, organizational effectiveness, governance, and financial stability of the DJC. Board members are appointed for 2-year terms and can serve […]

This Saturday night and Sunday, Jews around the world will stand at the foot of Mount Sinai together, listening. It is the holyday of Shavuot. Exactly seven weeks from the second night of Pesach, we celebrate the collective and communal experience of revelation and the giving of the Torah. This is a unique feature of […]

“Are we there yet?” I remember my own impatience as a child, traveling in the back seat of the car (or the back back seat of the 1976 Dodge Aspen Wagon) on family road trips, feeling such anticipation and excitement about the destination and so much frustration about the time it took to get there. […]

Updated July 20th, 2023 Guidelines We are committed to being an inclusive community. We ask that you do everything to ensure that the most vulnerable among us can safely and reliably attend services. The DJC COVID-19 policy has been developed to reflect the current requirements of Toronto Public Health, our partners in the Danforth Multi-faith […]

By: Heather Cohen and Eve-Lynn Stein In honour of World Refugee Day on April 4, acknowledging the war in Ukraine, and in recognition of Passover and its themes of wandering in search of safety, we have planned a special refugee-themed Kabbalat Shabbat for this Friday, April 8. Services will feature Naomi Alboim and you can […]

By: Artist in Residence, Leah Gold I am so honoured to work with the DJC community as the very first artist in residence. Over the next three months, I will be facilitating a series of workshops for community members of all ages, culminating in collaborative artworks to be displayed in the shared space of the […]

This year, when we sit at our Seder tables sharing the story and significance of our journey from oppression in Mitzrayim (ancient Egypt) to liberation, reflecting on our individual and collective movement from constriction (maytzar) to expansiveness, it is a potent moment to weave into our discussion, ritual and actions the plight of refugees around […]

Each month the Social Justice Committee recommends concrete things you can do to “heal the world” by taking a personal action to help make our world a more just place. As we welcome Passover this month, we urge our DJC family to think about how they can help Ukrainian refugees in their desperate time of need. […]

Jessica has just come home from Jewish Studies. The family sits down to dinner and listens to the news. It’s all bad, so Dad turns it off. Jessica asks, “What’s going on in Ukraine?” Dad grabs a sheet of paper from her school bag to draw a map. Mom starts to explain about the war, […]

Bearing witness is a moral act. While you and I don’t have the power to hault Putin’s military aggression against Ukraine, and while I feel quite powerless as the horrific events in Ukraine unfold, we have the ability and moral responsibility to bear witness to this assault – -to bear witness Putin’s use of […]

Jewish, Older LGBTQIA+ My name is Sheri Ahava Cohen and I recently came out as Queer. The coming out process is exhilarating, alive, unleashing, challenging and at times, difficult to navigate. I want to connect with older Jewish LGBTQ+ who have come out or are in the process of coming out now. I am looking […]

Pencil in hand, my eyes trace the contours of two oranges. I try not to draw what I know, but rather what is right in front of me — the outline, contours, shadows, bumps and dimples. Lighting a spark in the cold dark months, artist Leah Gold’s prompts are for anyone and everyone — an […]

Baruch ata Adonai matir assurim – Blessed are You Adonai who frees the captives. I only heard about Saturday’s hostage standoff at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas when I turned my phone back on after Shabbat. Initially, I felt shocked and deeply worried until the hostages made it safely out of the building. It […]