Dear friend of the DJC,
As we prepare to celebrate a New Year – 5784, we look forward to gathering together for High Holy Day services in our beautiful sanctuary at the Danforth Multifaith Commons – singing together, hearing the voices of our community choir, assembling on the bimah for group aliyot – as well as being accessible and available for participation online.
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.
We are excited and overjoyed to welcome our newly appointed clergy, Rabbi Ilyse Glickman, Director of Music David Gershon and Kohenet Annie Matan. We hope that you will not only join us for very special High Holy Day services with them, but that you will actively engage in the DJC’s next stage of creative growth throughout the year.
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 B’nei Mitzvah students, as we find ways for our community to celebrate, mourn, learn, pray, create and build together.
- The DJC is committed to turning no one away, regardless of ability to pay. DJC remains accessible and welcoming to those who cannot afford the full cost of membership. The Jewish Studies and B’nei Mitzvah programs subsidize 5 to 10 students each year. As more people have faced financial hardship over these last years, this need has grown.
- 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 22 young people as they became B’nei 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.
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 $1,114 per person or $2,228 per couple/family.
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.
To become a member, or renew your DJC membership, visit djctoronto.com/membershipafter July 1st 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 wish to only purchase High Holy Day tickets this year, you can, of course, do so at djctoronto.com/ritual/holydays.
If you have any questions about the High Holy Days or the DJC community, please email info@djctoronto.com.
DJC is committed to strengthening and redefining what our community, and Jewish life, looks 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,
Kathy Glazier, Saara Greene, Sarah Neville
DJC Board Co-chairs