Aish Toronto has created the Thornhill Community Shul and appointed a full-time rabbi to lead it.
“There are a number of significant and exciting changes at Aish Toronto,” said Managing Director Dan Rand.
Rabbi Rand said that since opening the Aish HaTorah Dan Family Community Centre in Thornhill, “we have had a full service minyan that provided services to its members, but of most importance, it strove to reach out to the members of the Thornhill community through innovative educational and social programs, encouraging them to increase their Jewish identity and Jewish practice.”
After months of discussions with community leaders, they decided to expand its services to the community and to appoint Rabbi Avram Rothman as the full-time rabbi of the congregation.
The mission of the newly founded Thornhill Community Shul is to involve the membership in reaching out to the community and sharing the wisdom and joy of Judaism. Under the leadership of Rabbi Rothman, the shul hopes to entice a community of people with the desire to grow spiritually, deepen their understanding of Jewish practice, values and ethics and collectively to create a warm, friendly and accepting environment, where Jews from all backgrounds will feel at home.
Rabbi Rothman believes that the Thornhill Community places particular emphasis on becoming a welcoming, friendly and non-judgmental kehillah. This will ensure that the shul is an attractive place, especially to the unaffiliated. Rabbi Rothman acknowledges that many people are apprehensive about venturing into an Orthodox synagogue, while others carry misconceptions about Orthodox Jews.
“It is our goal to accept, educate and inspire,” he said. “In doing so, we will create a warm, close knit community that is accepting, friendly and involved in introducing Jews to their heritage.”
Along with his wife Ruth, Rabbi Rothman has already begun organizing, calling members and preparing classes and lectures.
His wife has already started organizing the woman of the shul and is planning many women’s programs that hope to inspire, educate and connect women. Ruth strongly believes that the Jewish woman is the backbone of the Jewish home, and that the more opportunities women have to connect, learn and be inspired, the stronger each home and even the whole community will be.
Before coming to the Thornhill Community Shul as the rabbi, Rabbi Rothman was a lecturer for Arachim (an Israeli-based outreach program) and was affiliated with Eitz Chaim Schools as an administrator. He also has taught for Aish and served on a part-time basis as the rabbi for the Thornhill Aish program. He has lectured throughout the US and parts of Canada on behalf of Arachim and other organizations and has published a number of articles.
The Thornhill Community Shul is a branch of Aish Toronto.
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