Join us for a Shabbat morning unlike any other, as we welcome Rabbi Shefa Gold into the heart of our community's weekly gathering. Services begin at 10:00 AM. We encourage you to arrive a little early, so we can gently settle in and co-create the spiritual container together. Please register in advance, and if you’re able, consider contributing toward the cost of the event. Suggested donation: $18. Congregation Darchei Noam is Toronto's only Reconstructionist synagogue, and our Shabbat morning services are built on the same foundations that animate Shefa's work: sacred sound, embodied prayer, and the conviction that spiritual practice is meant to crack us open rather than close us down. We pray from Kol Haneshamah, the Reconstructionist siddur, with joyful singing accompanied by instruments, moments of genuine contemplative stillness, and a d'var Torah rooted in honest engagement with our tradition. Shefa's presence will weave through our morning, bringing the transformative power of Hebrew chant into a living, breathing community at worship. Whether you are a longtime chanter or brand new to this practice, whether you have davened every Shabbat of your life or this is your first time in a synagogue in years, you will find a place here. Stay after the service for our communal Kiddush lunch, where the conversation, the connection, and the singing tend to continue well past noon. The service will also be available via Zoom for those joining from a distance. Register Here By registering, I consent to my email address being shared with program organizers in order to gain access to complimentary chanting resources from Rabbi Shefa Gold, a post-event survey, as well as notice about future chanting opportunities in Toronto. This program is part of a chant-based “urban retreat” led by Rabbi Shefa Gold across the city from June 4-7. For more details on the entire retreat itinerary, visit https://www.eventcreate.com/e/shefagoldtoronto The Elka Klein Memorial Lecture Series was established in 2008 as a living memorial to Elka Klein z”l, daughter of Darchei Noam members Suzanne Silk Klein and Martin Klein. At the time of her death, Elka was an assistant professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati. The family’s intent is that the lectures support the passions of Elka, including Jewish social history, ethics, evolving halachic practice, women’s rights and education. Her vocation in the educational system centred on the history of Jewish communities in “host” countries where Jews were usually seen as temporary or outsiders. She was interested in how they integrated while retaining their Jewish identity.
