Learn about our children’s Jewish studies programme >

ur Adult Programming Committee is committed to being responsive to the intellectual and educational needs of our community. Education and enrichment are our priorities.

We've completed a highly successful speaker series, and in November 2003 launched The DJC Book Club. Our format is informal; discussions are facilitated by prominent community leaders.  Each leader structures the meeting with questions prompting lively and passionate debates with the book’s central themes guiding the discussion. We’ve had very entertaining and thoughtful discussions led by Rabbi Larry Englander, Professor Kalman Weiser and Rabbi Debra Landsberg.

2009-2010 Book Club Season

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
THE BELIEVERS, , BY ZOE HELLER
FACILITATED BY CYNTHIA GOOD

“Zoe Heller’s novel, The Believers, follows Notes on a Scandal, her novel which was Booker short-listed, and turned into an Oscar-nominated film. The Believers is a layered and utterly assured study of an American-English Jewish family driven by political passion, whose personal lives refuse to comply with prescribed ideology. Joel Litinoff, a prominent American civil rights lawyer, suffers a stroke in the courtroom; his subsequent coma precipitates the unraveling of a family whose supposed political unity has always been riddled with hypocrisies. A subtle, funny and dark family farce about faith and identity, The Believers is "Brilliant....blackly comic..." (The New York Times), "...a novel rich in humour and packed with sparkling dialogue. Above all, it's a funny and brilliant analysis of what makes families tick." (Sunday Express).

Cynthia Good is director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College, and former president of Penguin Group (Canada). At Penguin she originated the Penguin's Canadian Program, which has grown to one of the most successful in Canada, boasting a list of premier Canadian writers. She has taught in both Ryerson University's and Centennial College's publishing certificate programs, and been a featured speaker on cultural, literary and business subjects at many universities and colleges across Canada.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
THE HOLOCAUST IS OVER; WE MUST RISE FROM ITS ASHES,
BY AVRAHUM BURG
FACILITATED bY DEREK PENSLAR

“Modern Israel and the Jewish Community are strongly influenced by the memory of Hitler and the Holocaust. Avraham Burg, who comes from a traditional Zionist background, and is a leading political figure in Israel, argues that the Jewish nation's trauma has disallowed it from trusting itself, its neighbours, and the world around it. And he shows that this has caused the growing nationalism and violence that is plaguing Israeli society and reverberating through Jewish communities world-wide. Thought-provoking, compelling and original, this book is bound to spark a heated argument when it is read. "Burg takes a blunt, loving painful and desperately important look at the state of the Jewish soul today. Anyone who cares about the future of the Middle East and the fate of victimized peoples needs to read this book and think hard." (J.J. Goldberg, author of Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment, and Editorial Director of "The Forward").

Derek Penslar is Samuel Zacks Professor of Jewish History and the director of Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. His publications focus on Jewish political, economic and cultural life in modern Europe, particularly Germany, and on Zionism and the state of Israel. Among his many books are Shylock's Children: Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe (2001), and Israel in History: The Jewish state in Comparative Perspective (2006).

Thursday, March 4, 2010
GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES: THE SECRET LIFE OF A CRITIC IN DISGUISE,
BY RUTH REICHL
FACILITATED BY ANDREA MOST

Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor-in-chief of "Gourmet Magazine", knows a thing or two about food. In her third memoir, Reichl focuses on her life as a food critic for "The New York Times", dishing up a feast of fabulous meals enjoyed during her tenure. Determined to review the "true" nature of each restaurant, Reichl dined incognito, aided by wigs, make-up, costumes and various credit cards. Each chapter of the book highlights a new disguise (including her deceased mother, Miriam), a different restaurant and a fresh culinary adventure. Reichl is a wonderful memoirist - a funny, poignant and candid storyteller. "This wonderful book is funny...smart and wise" (The Washington Post).

Andrea Most, associate professor of English at the University of Toronto, is the 2004 recipient of the Polyani Prize for Literature. Among her many published writings, her recent book Making Americans: Jews and the Broadway Musical won the Kurt Weil Prize for distinguished scholarship on music theatre. Last year she facilitated a terrific discussion of Maus for the DJC Book Group.

Thursday, April 15, 2010
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ISAAC BABEL,
EDITED BY NATHALIE BABEL, TRANSLATED BY PETER CONSTANTINE
FACILITATED BY ANNA SHTERNSIS

Arguably the best book of short stories published in 2001, The Complete Works of Isaac Babel should affirm Babel's place among the top Russian short story writers. One of the great Russian writers of the 20th century, his career was tragically cut short when he was murdered by Stalin's regime. Much of his work was confiscated at his arrest, and has never resurfaced. Now for the first time, all of his surviving work has been assembled into one volume. This collection is delightful in its organization: the stories grouped by periods, feature introductions, and maps. "He is a writer who stabs the mind and the heart and the inner eye with short, savage strokes." The Complete Works of Isaac Babel is a book that you will reread all your life and then pass on to your grandchildren.

Anna Shternsis is the Al and Malka Green Assistant Professor in Yiddish studies at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Soviet and Kosher: Jewish Popular Culture in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939 (Indiana University Press, 2006).

ABOUT THE DANFORTH JEWISH CIRCLE – 2009/2010 BOOK CLUB SEASON

Now in its sixth glorious year, the DJC Book Club is a favourite among our book-loving members, bringing us together throughout the year for interesting and animated discussions about a variety of books that touch on Jewish themes. And of course, when we’re done there’s always a little “noshe”. After all, this is a Jewish book club!

Currently we have four book club evenings planned for the 2009/2010 season with an exciting, varied selection of books and stimulating guest facilitators. This year, for our 5th evening in May, we will once again, depart from the usual format where book club members will enjoy an open “leader-less” discussion. The book chosen for that date is, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It promises to be a free-flowing and exciting discussion!

The Danforth Jewish Circle Book Club is open to all adult DJC members at no charge. We do “cap” our numbers for each session so that we can continue to meet in the warmth and intimacy of fellow DJC members’ homes. To join the book club all you need do is drop us a line (by phone or e-mail: … 416-580-6303/info@djctoronto.com) to let us know you want to join us for the 2009/2010 season.

We will let you know that you are part of this year’s book club via e-mail sometime after Yom Kippur. The book club “kicks off” this year is on Wednesday, October 28th with one of our favourite facilitators, Cynthia Good, discussing Zoe Heller’s The Believers. It promises to be a lively and memorable evening.

Based on the book club calendar, meeting notices and reminders will be sent out to book club members via e-mail, requesting an Rsvp for each session. Names will be accepted on a “first come, first served basis”, according to the number of people each venue can accommodate. Members who have “Rsvp-ed” will be informed about the details of time and location for the evening via e-mail.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us via the DJC contact information above.

Happy Reading!

Your Danforth Jewish Circle Book Club Organizing Committee

Past speakers and topics have included:

• Clayton Ruby, Noted Canadian Civil Rights Attorney
• Erna Paris, Author, Historian, and Women’s Rights Advocate
• Rachel Schlesinger on the role of women in Judaism
• Alan Borovoy, Head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Union
• Naomi Klein, Internationally recognized journalist and author
• Alex Pomson. The first Professor of Jewish Education at a Canadian University. discussing “Will my kids inherit the Jewish Identity gene?”
• Frank Bialystok, Writer and Historian on “Making sense of a complex chessboard: AlQaeda, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Israel.”
• Faith to Faith: A roundtable discussion with a Jewish woman who became a minister and an Anglican woman who converted to Judaism.
• 101 Questions to Ask a Rabbi

Future events currently under consideration include a film series and other special events.

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