Our History

Anyone who is exploring their Jewish faith and looking for a place that is authentic, unpretentious and accommodating, yet strong in its belief system and deep in its convictions, should experience Congregation Habonim.

In The Beginning

Most of our early members were refugees from Central Europe. Their stories were varied: some were Holocaust survivors; some were part of the Kindertransport. All arrived in Canada after WWII and began to frequent the New World Club, an organization that was dedicated to helping these newcomers settle into Canadian life.

In 1953, they organized High Holiday services, and in 1954, they began to hold regular religious services with a distinctive style. This style preserved the ritual of Liberal Judaism, which was a mainstream religious force in Germany and Central Europe, positioned between Reform and Conservative.

In 1955, the Congregation was officially chartered. We began holding services in rented premises at 44 St. George Street, Toronto and then moved to the Borochov Centre on Lippincott Street.  In 1958, the present building was rented, and then purchased in 1968. The building was demolished in  the spring of 2018 and the new building plans to be completed in the fall of 2019.

Written in 1994

"Habonim members, by and large, share a philosophy that Judaism can provide a measure of meaning to the lives of its adherents and should be a force for progressive change.  As a liberal synagogue, Habonim embraces the view that Judaism is an agent for the advance of social justice for all members of the human race, irrespective of gender, religion, race or colour and that Judaism reaches fulfillment through service to all humanity.”