DJC Blog

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 […]

I have known of the Chesed Caring Committee for a number of years, but have never fully appreciated what they do and how well they do it until recently. My partner had surgery in mid-October and we knew that his recuperation would be a slow one, so I reached out to the Committee for a […]

The DJC’s Artist Selection Committee is excited to welcome Leah Gold as our Visiting Artist this year, in honour of our 25th anniversary. An experienced community artist, Leah will lead printmaking workshops that investigate our place in the natural world. Leah Gold is a visual artist and community arts facilitator. Her drawings and ceramics use […]

It is a worthwhile question, as we begin Yom Kippur, as we enter this 25-hour period engaged in the central activity of kaparah – atonement – to ask, does it actually makes a difference? Does it change us? I don’t want to talk myself out of a job, so you can probably guess that I […]

I want to share a cartoon on the screen that you may have seen. I’ll describe it as well. There is a person sitting at a table in front of a lemon squeezer. To their right, are mountains of lemons and a cannon firing lemons right at their head. To their left are jars and […]

So, imagine it – you’re sitting in your bathrobe, drinking your morning coffee and looking out your garden window. A cluster of people you’ve never seen before are sauntering in and out of your garden. As they fill bowls with figs and apples from your trees, they smile and wave at you. You feel the […]

Five years ago, I was invited to attend a fibre art residency at the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils, Latvia. This was the birthplace of Rothko, although in his time it was known as Dvinsk. We artists were expected to create a piece for their collection and I thought about those huge tallitot that […]

On the first morning of Rosh Hashanah at 6:30 AM, 28 DJC members attended the sunrise service at the Brickworks. This was a record for attendance at this service, which often has barely had a minyan. Clearly, we have been starved for personal interactions. It was a beautiful morning in an idyllic setting. Emil Sher […]

We will be gathering on Zoom for High Holyday services again this year. Of course, I would rather be physically together – singing together, crowding side by side under outstretched tallitot on the bimah for the group aliyot, and hugging in the aisles. But spiritual practice is perpetually a practice of meeting reality with an […]

Your support is needed! 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 out in the front lobby so […]

Public antisemitism has increased in Toronto and around the world since the recent violence in Israel and Gaza. This development is disturbing and runs contrary to the intersectional work of building solidarity and ending oppression. We want to share with you this statement on antisemitism from the Toronto Board of Rabbis. This is an important time […]

A Muslim family was targeted and attacked in London, Ontario while they were walking on Sunday evening. Four people were killed. A child was seriously injured. No one should be afraid to walk through the streets of this country. No one should live in fear of being attacked because of their religion, identity, or beliefs. With hearts broken, with prayer, we stand, as […]

We join all of Canada in mourning the devastating discovery of the remains of 215 children buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Jewish tradition teaches that every life that is lost is an entire world lost. Our prayers and broken hearts reach to recognize each life and each lost […]

Tonight’s celebration of Shavuot gathers us at the foot of Mount Sinai to open our ears and our hearts to hear Torah speaking to us and to this moment. This moment is one of multiplying heartbreak and horror as we witness rockets fall on Israeli cities and as we witness Israeli strikes on Gaza. This […]

The Danforth Multifaith Commons was born in 2020, when three faith communities – East End United Regional Ministry, the Danforth Jewish Circle, and Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation – joined in a long-term partnership. This partnership formalized many years of multifaith collaboration among our congregations and other faith communities, including an annual solidarity walk on the Danforth. […]

These two weeks in the month of Nissan prior to Pesach are a time of preparation. Here are some ways you can prepare for a liberating Pesach for yourself and others: *Clean out your chametz – foods made from the 5 grains: wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats. You can donate food, give it to neighbours […]

We have all been there; having a job that you never seem to get around to doing. For a while, one of mine has been washing the DJC’s tallitot, and with time to spare now, I decided to start. I realized they would need to be done by hand as the tzitzit (fringes) would get […]

Some of us have asked, “How big a donation should I give to the DJC over and above my Membership fees?” There are so many variables that a simple straightforward answer is not possible. We hear a Jewish voice saying, “On the von hand and then on di udher hand…” “I do not believe one can settle how […]

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, and present a list of nominees to fill the vacant positions for a two-year term at the […]