Congregation Darchei Noam

Ark Adventures
2025-11-01 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
Ark Adventures is designed for young children (ages birth to 5) and their families to experience Shabbat in community together. The program is offered on select Saturdays throughout the year.
Ark Adventures will “set sail” on November 1/ 2025, at 10:00 A.M.
Join us on the ark for a Shabbat adventure!

SJAC Scholar In Residence D’var: Brian Keshen
2025-11-01 10:00 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
The Social Justice Advocacy Committee (SJAC) is delighted to announce that our 2025–26 Social Justice Scholar-in-Residence is Bryan Keshen. Since 2014 Bryan has been CEO of Reena, which provides services to over 1,000 individuals with diverse disabilities throughout the GTA. Before that he spent 24 years working for the Toronto and Vancouver Jewish Federations. Bryan will give the d’var Torah at Darchei Noam on Saturday, November 1, Shabbat Lech L’cha: “Hineni”—The Call and the Response of Being Present for the Other.
Details to follow.

Shabbat Services
2025-11-01 10:00, 2025-10-25 10:00, 2025-10-18 10:00, 2025-10-11 10:00 UTC | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
Experience the heartwarming blend of traditional egalitarian Shabbat morning services, engaging children’s programming, Torah study, enlightening talks, alternative creative services, spirited Israeli dancing, and the camaraderie of communal Kiddush. Whatever you seek on Shabbat, Darchei Noam has something to offer!
Our Shabbat morning services, filled with joyous singing accompanied by instruments, moments of contemplative reflection, and insightful divrei Torah (teachings), create a backdrop for life cycle celebrations within our welcoming community.
Enhance your communal Shabbat experience by joining our Kiddush lunch. Whether you participate in our morning Torah study, celebrate a simcha with a community family, join in our monthly Israeli dancing sessions, or host your own gathering, Shabbat at Darchei Noam is a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!
We follow the Reconstructionist prayer book Kol Haneshamah Shabbat v’Chagim. Services take place on Saturday mornings at 10 am, with child care available. All our services are also streamed via Zoom!.
If you’d like a community member to accompany you during a Darchei Noam service, simply let us know – we’d be delighted to arrange it!
Come and immerse yourself in the richness and diversity of our community’s Shabbat observances.
Aliyah and Special Occasions
For an Aliyah during sanctuary services or to acknowledge a special occasion during virtual services, please contact Rabbi Ryan Leszner at least two days in advance. The Parnass will happily share news of your occasion with the congregation at the start of the Torah service.

Shabbat Torah Study
2025-11-01 09:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-25 09:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-18 09:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-11 09:00 - 22:00 (Asia/Karachi) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
Torah Study
Saturdays | 9:00 a.m. – In the Library and on Zoom
Come explore this week’s Parsha with us before services. We are usually lay-led, often lively and always rewarding.
If you would like to participate via Zoom, please contact the office to be added to the list and receive a link

FRESH AIR CLUB: An invitation by the DN Chesed Committee
2025-10-31 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-10-24 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-10-17 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-10-10 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Toronto) | Earl Bales Park, 4169 Bathurst St, North York, ON M3H 3P7, 4169 Bathurst St, North York, Ontario, M3H 3P7, Canada
FRESH AIR CLUB: An invitation by the DN Chesed Committee
We LOVE walking!
(Would you like to join us?)
Every Friday, from 9.30-10.30 am
Earl Bales Park
The Community Centre is where we’ll meet (9.15am)
Bring along water and maybe a treat.
Be ready to waddle or skip or just walk,
‘cause being in the fresh air is walkin’ the talk.
Please email Bernie Riley
sevenkbernie@gmail.com

Board Meeting
2025-10-29 19:00 - 21:30 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada

Religious Zionism: The Blurred Boundary Between Religion & Politics *3 Part Lecture*
2025-10-26 19:00, 2025-10-19 19:00 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
📅 Sundays, October 19th, October 26th, November 2nd ⏰ 7:00 pm 📍Social Hall
In this 3-part course, Rabbi Englander will discuss the development of Religious Zionism from all sides of the political spectrum: through the lens of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the influence of Jewish mystical teachings on the settler movement and an historical overview showing how the events since 1916 influenced the various Zionist ideologies & ultimately led to October 7th.
Rabbi Englander is the founding Rabbi of Solel Congregation in Mississauga and served there for 40 years until his retirement. He is now Adjunct Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Toronto.

Please click here to reserve your spot

Israeli Dancing
2025-10-25 13:00 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
Israeli Dancing
📅 Saturday, October 25 | 🕙 1:00 PM |📍Social Hall
Please join us toward the end of kiddush in the Social Hall for an hour of Israeli dancing.
All are welcome to join us in this fun, community-building activity. Join us to enjoy Israeli music and movement.

Synaplex Shabbat
2025-10-25 10:00 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
Synaplex Shabbat
📅 Saturday, October 25 | 🕙 10:00 AM | 📍 Multiple locations at Darchei Noam
We will begin together at 10:00 AM with introductory prayers, setting the stage for a meaningful and transformative morning. Then, as we arrive at the Torah service, you get to choose from three meaningful opportunities to experience Torah—each offering a unique lens into Jewish tradition, spirituality, and learning.
Option 1: Traditional Torah Service
Engage in a full, exploratory Torah reading led by Rob Silver.
Option 2: Reflective & Meditative Musical Experience
David Lefkowich will lead an immersive exploration of the Book of Psalms, where ancient words meet modern melodies.
Option 3: Periphery with Sara Yacobi‑Harris
Join us for a special Synaplex Shabbat featuring Periphery, a short documentary exploring ethnic diversity and Jewish identity through the stories of Jews from Black/African, Korean, Iraqi, Indian, and South American backgrounds. Together we’ll reflect on representation, intersectionality, and belonging within the global Jewish community, guided by filmmaker and educator Sara Yacobi‑Harris, co‑founder of No Silence on Race
Periphery is an evocative short documentary that explores ethnic diversity in the Jewish community in Canada through dance, poetry and personal narratives. Following 10 Jews of Black/African, Korean, Iraqi, Indian and South American ancestry, the film challenges perceptions of who is a Jew, exploring ideas of representation, intersectionality, race, and sexuality. A window into the Jewish community, Periphery invites us to appreciate the richness of Jewish identity and cultural expression while also illustrating what it feels like to grapple with a sense of belonging and to seek recognition within one’s own ethnic community.
In these shabbat sessions we will explore Jewish identity, culture and ethnic diversity within the global Jewish diaspora, intersectionality and Jews and Whiteness.
Sara Yacobi-Harris is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, learning designer and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of No Silence on Race, a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing and celebrating multi-ethnic Jewish experiences through content creation, community programming and cross-cultural dialogue. She currently works at EPIC leadership and is studying Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto.
Please register here for Synaplex Shabbat.

The Wisdom Behind the Mask: Deception as a Creative Force in the Torah, Nature, and Life Around Us
2025-10-24 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
📅 Saturday, November 15 & 22⏰ 1:00 p.m.📍Sanctuary
From Jacob’s disguises to Joseph’s deceptions, the Torah is filled with stories that revolve around concealment and revelation. What can these narratives teach us about human nature—and why does deception appear not only in our sacred texts, but also throughout evolution and the fabric of society itself?
Join Rabbi Tina Grimberg for a fascinating two-part exploration of deception through the lens of Torah, evolution, and human psychology, revealing surprising insights into the complexity of life and the moral choices we face.
Drawing from an array of scriptural and scientific sources, Rabbi Grimberg will guide us in examining how truth and deception intertwine in the natural world and in human behavior.

Register Here

The Mitzvah of Visiting
2025-10-22 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
🗓️ Wednesday, October 22⏰ 2:00 – 3:00 PM📍 Darchei Noam
Tradition teaches us that visiting those who are ill relieves one-sixtieth of their suffering, but perhaps this mitzvah feels uncomfortable. At this presentation, we will discuss how you can feel comfortable.
If you would like to attend, please email Elizabeth at mincohen@bell.net to reserve your spot, indicating whether you will be attending in person or by Zoom. The Zoom link will be forwarded to you.
You are welcome to come any time after 1:30 pm. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, October 22, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Pins & Needles
2025-10-21 13:30 - 15:30 (America/Toronto) | Congregation Darchei Noam, 864 Sheppard Ave W., North York, Ontario, M3H 2T, Canada
Pins and Needles is reaching out to let you know that we are always very happy to welcome new members to our group. This month, we will meet on October 21, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Zoom. We knit, crochet, and socialize. We would love to have other crafters join us to showcase their work and share tips and stories.
We would also like to inform you that we are currently in need of yarn donations. Especially helpful are donations of blanket-weight yarn and multiple balls of the same weight or colour. If you’re doing some spring cleaning and have yarn you’re no longer using, we’d be grateful if you’d consider donating it to us.
Please contact nancy@kosiner.com if you have any questions.

Office Closed
2025-10-15, 2025-10-14, 2025-10-08 | Ontario

Simchat Torah
2025-10-14 17:30 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
🗓️ Tuesday, October 14th⏰ 5:30 pm📍 Darchei Noam
Please join us at Darchei Noam for a Simchat Torah service to mark the completion and beginning of the Torah reading cycle. All are welcome to attend and participate in this meaningful celebration.
RSVP Here

Shemini Atzeret with Yizkor
2025-10-14 10:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario

Commemorating October 7 on Shemini Atzeret
2025-10-13 19:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
🗓️ Monday, October 13th⏰ 7 pm📍 Darchei Noam
Join us for a commemorative program on Shemini Atzeret in remembrance of the tragic events of October 7, 2023.
This program marks the Hebrew date on which the tragedy occurred and offers a sacred time of communal reflection. The program will be led by Amit Rozenblum, our Executive Director, through songs and poems.
Reserve Tickets Here

Thanksgiving Office Closure
2025-10-13 | Ontario

Chatan Torah and Kallat Bereshit - Les Klein and Toby Rose
2025-10-11 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Toronto) | Ontario
Please join us for Shabbat services on October 11, 2025, in celebration as we honour two longstanding and steadfast members of the Darchei Noam community.
Les and Toby first attended High Holy Day services together at Darchei Noam in 1980, before they were married. They were young, and so was the Rabbi, Richard Hirsh. As “fervently” liberal Jews, Reconstructionist Judaism, DN and Rabbi Hirsh all appealed to them, and this began a (so-far) lifelong association.
Over the years, they attended services and programs and also brought their parents whenever they visited Toronto. Their three sons, Jonathan, Solomon and Benjamin, became Bnei Mitzvah at DN, and Rabbi Tina Grimberg officiated at Benjamin & Eden’s and Solomon & Laura’s weddings, as well as the brit milah of their first grandson, Asher.
Toby served two terms on the Board, and she was chair of the Ritual Committee. Les has, for many years, chanted Haftarah at the High Holy Days, always preceded by a brief d’var, and most notably was the architect who designed the renovations to Darchei Noam’s permanent home at 864 Sheppard Avenue West.
