Hey Everyone! Check out our awesome new promotional video for Sukkahville 2012:

Attention Sukkahville Registrants!

As the August 1st submission date approaches, we are looking forward to receiving all the amazing submissions for Sukkahville 2012.


This year we have made special arrangements with ARC Canada, a Toronto based print shop, to print your submissions. ARC Canada is able to print your design on a 24” x 36” (ARCH D) poster mounted on foam core for $30 CDN with an additional $10 for shipping costs. At your regular print shop, you would be paying approximately $120 for this service.


Please send an email to info@sukkahville.com if you are interested in using this service. We will then send your contact information to the printing company and they will set you up with an online account where you can submit your files and pay by credit card. Please make sure to upload a Word or PDF document which contains your name, contact information and the name of your design. The print company will put this document in an envelope and fasten it to the back of your board.


Do not wait until the last minute to submit your design. The printer needs at least 48 hours to complete the work and there are over one hundred submissions that may need to be printed in the week leading up to the deadline. Get your work in to the printer as soon as possible to ensure that it is delivered to Kehilla Residential Programme by August 1st, 2012. You can still use another print service if you prefer, but this is a great deal which is hard to turn down!


Best of Luck! 
The Sukkahville Team

Sukkahville 2012 - Update

We currently have 146 people and teams registered for the Sukkahville 2012 Design Competition! The registrants are located all over the world – check out the map below to see exactly where they're from.

We're really excited for these unique and creative submissions to start rolling in! After the submission deadline of August 1, 2012, five designs will be selected for construction at Mel Lastman Square.

Please stay tuned for further updates!

-The Sukkahville Team

View Sukkahville Registrants in a full screen map

Sukkahville 2011 - A Great Success!

Tuesday October 11^th, 2011 marked the first night of Kehilla Residential Programme’s inaugural Sukkahville!  The Sukkahville event was inspired by New York City’s innovative Sukkah City design competition held at Union Square back in 2010. The theme of the Toronto-based competition was to re-imagine the traditional idea of a sukkah with a contemporary sustainable design approach. Artists, architects and designers of all faiths were invited to submit their designs. Submissions were received from all over the world including, New York, Hong Kong, Mexico, Halifax and Toronto. Five sukkahs were then selected to be built for the community to experience.

The reception brought out a fantastic crowd of all backgrounds to view and experience the top five entries and vote for their favourite sukkah. Most importantly this event helped celebrate Sukkot while bringing awareness to the need for more affordable housing in Toronto.

A huge thank you to all those who participated in the event, and came out to show their support! Kehilla is already busy planning for Sukkahville 2012!

For those who missed it, or who were unable to see the sukkahs in daylight, here are some photos of the built structures.

If you’re interested in participating in next year’s events or have any suggestions or comments, please contact us at kehilla@rogers.com.

Jonathan Enchin Community Fund

   While August is still the height of summer holidays, we know that the High Holidays will  soon be here. But for some Jewish seniors, holiday time is not about celebration and family, but one of privation. Thanks to the generosity of Harry Enchin, and with matching funds from the Weinberg Foundation, (a U.S.-based charitable foundation),  36 Toronto seniors have been able to celebrate the holidays as others do.

   Harry Enchin conceived and established the Jonathan Enchin Community Fund in 2008, in memory of his brother Jonathan. It was established as a three-year pilot project to ease the effects of poverty among Toronto’s Jewish seniors and help them to live more “Jewishly.” Seniors with an annual income below $20,000, paying market rent are eligible for assistance of $1,240 each per year. These recipients are among the Toronto Jewish community’s most impoverished and vulnerable population. Stipends are paid per household, in quarterly installments, timed so that participants receive cheques at least one week prior to major Jewish holidays. Funds are used at the discretion of the recipients. Some use the funds for High Holiday tickets; others for food or non-subsidized medications or health supplies. Others have been able to reduce isolation through membership in the Bernard Betel Centre and participating in its programs. 

   The program is administered by the Kehilla Residential Programme, an affiliated agency of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Recipients are referred to Kehilla from Jewish Family & Child, Circle of Care, Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living and Jewish Immigrant Aid Services.

Although the stipend is small compared to the need, the recipients’ comments attest to the impact it has had on the quality of their lives.  An elderly woman called the money “a miracle,” and added that she was “thankful that Jewish people are helping me.”  Repeatedly, Kehilla was told that “every penny counts.”  Another family sends a thank you note at every Jewish holiday. The statistical evidence of the program’s achievements can never be as meaningful as these unsolicited words of thanks.

   The three-year pilot project has ended.  The challenge facing seniors this Rosh Hashana is for the Fund to achieve sustainability so that current recipients are assured of help over the long term, and the benefit can be extended to more people in need.

   That is where you come in- Please make a difference in the Jewish lives of our community’s most vulnerable seniors by supporting this program.  All donations are fully tax deductible and go directly to those in need.  For additional information or to make a contribution, please contact Kehilla at 416-932-1212 or make a secure donation on-line by clicking the "Donate Now button" at CanadaHelps

   Please specify the second Fund/Designation i.e. "2. Jonathan Enchin Community Fund" in the "Fund/Designation" field of Kehilla's CanadaHelps "Donation Details" page. Your help is much appreciated. 

Announcing our new project, Mezuzahs Build Jewish Homes!

Eleven percent of the Jewish population in Toronto currently lives in poverty. Mezuzahs Build Jewish Homes is a fundraising initiative to help create more affordable housing for the Jewish community in Toronto. Our mezuzahs are handcrafted and designed by local Toronto artist Gillian Batcher of Pash Designs (http://www.pash.ca/). One hundred percent of the proceeds of mezuzahs will go towards the Kehilla Residential Programme and current affordable housing initiatives. Stay tuned for more information on how to order these beautiful and uniquely designed pieces!

An address from our new board chair, Paul Braun!

 It is with great eagerness and anticipation that I begin my term. I look forward to working with Nancy, Lisa and the capable staff of Kehilla and, of course, with our Board. I would also like to congratulate Moiz on the fine job he did as President.

The needs of our community have not diminished over time. The challenge to provide affordable housing is something that the staff and Board of Kehilla take very seriously and work very hard to achieve. This year we are working on a number of planning initiatives to increase affordable housing. On the rental front we are working on developing a rent bank to increase the number of units with private landlords in our community rent program(JCARP). In addition, studies are being undertaken on two sites that we hope will result in affordable home ownership initiatives.

One of our objectives this year is to raise the profile of Kehilla within our own community. To accomplish this, as Nancy mentioned above, Kehilla is embarking on two projects, Mezuzahs and Sukkahs. We believe that raising our profile will help Kehilla achieve its goals by "opening" more doors and focusing the community to work towards housing those families that can least afford it.