The Importance of Membership

As we approach a new Jewish year, I am filled with gratitude for this vibrant and dedicated community. Your commitment to and participation in our congregation has been the cornerstone of our shared journey, fostering a place of worship, learning, celebration, and communal support.

This past year, we have experienced remarkable moments of joy, spiritual growth, and community building, as well as community trauma and an increase in antisemitism here in Toronto and around the world.

As we renew our memberships, I encourage you to reflect on the blessings and connections that our community brings into your lives. Your continued support is not just a renewal of your membership but a reaffirmation of our shared values and vision. Together, we will continue to create a welcoming and inclusive space where everyone can grow, learn, and thrive.

Thank you for being an integral part of our Circle here on the Danforth. With your support and involvement, we will continue to build and strengthen our beloved and special community in 5785.

— Rabbi Ilyse Glickman (she/her)

Letter to Members

Dear friend of the DJC,

Please take the time to read this letter and respond by completing your membership renewal as soon as possible at djctoronto.com/membership.

This year, we stayed true to our most sacred principle as a community: radical inclusivity and a willingness to wrestle with different experiences and perspectives. The DJC is different because it holds space for difference: for different identities, for different families, for different opinions. For multiple, complicated truths. That’s been especially needed in the world since October 7. Now, more than ever, we must turn to one another as we navigate these turbulent times as one community that cares deeply for one another.

As we prepare to celebrate a New Year – 5785, we look forward to gathering together for High Holy Day services in our beautiful sanctuary at the Danforth Multifaith Commons – to find healing and joy in communal aliyot, to lift ourselves up through music, and to reflect on the world and our place in it together.

The High Holy Day period will once again feature the blowing of the Shofar, Tashlich (the Rosh Hashanah ritual of casting away regrets and wrongs into a body of water) at an outdoor location, Yom Kippur afternoon learning sessions, and a Kabbalat Shabbat service in the Sukkah.

The Importance of Membership

Your membership pays for so much more than High Holy Day services. It is critical to sustaining and building our robust, vibrant DJC community dedicated to diversity and inclusion, social justice, and inspiring Jewish living and learning.

Your membership ensures that:

• DJC continues to grow and undertake creative approaches to Jewish life, from the embrace of pastoral care to the energy of social justice education and activism, from soul-restoring Shabbat services to the communal joy of being led by our Bet Mitzvah students, as we find ways for our community to celebrate, mourn, learn, pray, create and build together.

• We continue to create moving and meaningful services, family programs, and lifecycle rituals, including brit milah/brit bat (covenant ceremonies for babies), funerals, weddings, and shiva services. This year, we joyously celebrated 31 young people as they became Bet Mitzvah.

• We continue to be a progressive Jewish voice on important social and environmental justice issues and increase our impact through collaboration with our partners in the Danforth Multifaith Commons. We are doing important work in the areas of racial justice, Indigenous reconciliation, sustainability, refugee sponsorship, and support for those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity.

• We continue to support our community as we hold space to discuss and share our feelings regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, including community and multifaith vigils, listening circles, virtual and in-person talks, discussions, education sessions, and community forums.

To continue to move forward, we need your support.

How Membership Fees are Determined

Membership fees are determined by dividing the operating budget of the Circle, less school and other revenues, by the number of dues-paying members. For the coming year, that calculation comes to an actual cost of $1,119 per person or $2,238 per couple/family.

This year, we are imploring all those who can afford it to reach further with their dues.

DJC has a proud history of providing a pay-what-you-can model and offers a sliding scale from which to choose, allowing those who can afford more to help those who cannot. Importantly, in these times of increasing costs, we ask all members to do the very best they can… and if you are unable to pay at the higher end of the scale, please help us meet rising costs by considering adding at least $200 per person more than you paid last year.

DJC membership is 100% tax deductible. Tax receipts will be issued early in February of each year via email.

Please renew your DJC membership today at djctoronto.com/membership and be part of helping build DJC’s future! If you know someone who might join, please encourage them to take a membership too.

If you have questions about the High Holy Days or the DJC community, please email the Danforth Jewish Circle office atinfo@djctoronto.com.

DJC is committed to strengthening and redefining what our community and Jewish life look like. We need your participation and your voice. We’re grateful to all our members for your continued support. Without you, we have no Circle.

Sincerely,

Saara Greene, Sarah Neville, Marlene Greenberg