Celebrating Pride with Courage, Creativity, and Commitment

Pride Month at the Danforth Jewish Circle is a time of joyful celebration, collective creativity, and courageous solidarity. It is a time when we uplift the voices, stories, and resilience of LGBTQ+ people in our community and beyond—and it is also a time when we affirm, out loud and together, that we stand on the side of dignity, safety, and justice for all.

This month, we invite you to join us for two meaningful expressions of Pride:

Pride Shabbat — Friday, June 13A spirited, musical, welcoming Kabbalat Shabbat service celebrating the beauty and strength of LGBTQ+ lives. Together, we’ll sing, learn, and pray in honour of Pride and our commitment as a Jewish community to a world where everyone is embraced as created B’tzelem Elohim—in the Divine image.

Our Communal Pride Art ProjectThroughout June, DJC members  of all ages are co-creating – with our fellow faith communities at our Danforth Multifaith Commons – an interactive art installation reflecting what Pride, justice, and allyship mean to us. Add your voice—your hopes, questions, affirmations, and colours—to this evolving collective vision, on display in our spaces all month long.

Why We Show Up: A Jewish Call to Pride

As Jews, we know what it means to be targeted for who we are. Our history teaches us not only empathy, but obligation. The Torah tells us again and again to stand with the vulnerable, to pursue justice, and to love our neighbours as ourselves, for we were strangers and slaves. This calling is not passive—it demands action, courage, and commitment.

Here in Canada, and especially in the U.S., we are witnessing a deeply troubling rise in anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, rhetoric, and violence. In Alberta, school boards are removing books that affirm queer and trans identities. In the U.S., laws are stripping trans youth and their families of basic rights and protections. Even here in Toronto, where Pride is usually a vibrant, city-wide celebration, major sponsors have pulled their funding. Trans people across our city and around the world are feeling less and less safe.

This is not a distant issue. This is our community. Our children. Our teens. Our elders. Our friends. Our fellow congregants. Us.

Becoming Effective Allies

Being an ally is not just about waving a rainbow flag or posting a hashtag during June. It’s about doing the slow, steady, relational work of listening deeply. Of believing people’s lived experiences, of making room, of taking risks. It is about speaking up, learning, and unlearning. And it’s about making space at our tables, our bima, and in our hearts.

At the DJC, we’re striving to be not just inclusive, but radically welcoming—actively shaping a Jewish community where LGBTQ+ individuals and families are not only safe, but celebrated. This Pride Month, may we rededicate ourselves to that work with love, humility, and joy.

With hope and pride,

Rabbi Ilyse Glickman

Please let me know what you think about today’s offering: rabbiglickman@djctoronto.com. I look forward to the conversation.