Yacov Fruchter to leave Annex Shul for Beth Tzedec

Yacov Fruchter

TORONTO — Over the course of his six-year tenure as spiritual leader of the Annex Shul, Yacov Fruchter says he’s seen it evolve from a space for young professionals to one that actively empowers them to be strong Jewish leaders. 

The 32-year-old native Montrealer’s decision to leave his post, which he announced May 22, is therefore extremely bittersweet, he told The CJN.

In an email sent to Annex Shul members and other community members, Fruchter said he’ll be leaving his position at the shul – a multi-denominational minyan he’s helped foster and transform, and where he’s served as de facto rabbi – for the position of director of community building and spiritual engagement at Beth Tzedec Congregation.

He will be transitioning into that role this summer. 

“I’ve loved my work at the Annex Shul, and I love what it has meant to the Jewish community,” Fruchter said, adding that his replacement will be determined over the coming months and that he’ll be guiding the hiring process. 

The Annex Shul typically holds Friday night services and dinner twice a month, and a Shabbat morning service once a month – usually at the University of Toronto’s Wolfond Centre for Jewish Life – as well as holiday, educational and social gatherings at locations across the city.

Its membership stands at around 100 people, but more than 1,000 people come to services or events annually, with the core hailing from downtown or Forest Hill. Services lean toward traditional, but Fruchter stressed they are extremely flexible and that the “flavour” of a service depends on the person leading it.

Marking its ninth year in operation, the congregation was founded by a group of young people looking to create an inspiring, lively and inclusive space for young Jewish professionals to daven and celebrate Jewish rituals. 

Since he started there, Fruchter said, the shul has retained this mandate while expanding its core principles to become a place that gives young people opportunities to take on leadership roles – in both executive and ritual capacities – and one that guides those aging out of the young professional category toward other Jewish spaces.

“When the shul started, it wasn’t so defined as to what would happen when our regulars moved into a different stage of life… We now understand that the Annex Shul is an incubator for Jewish leadership and a conduit for other things going on in the city,” Fruchter said, noting that the bulk of the regulars are between 25 and 40. 

The shul has also striven to be a uniquely multi-denominational space, and Fruchter listed one of his biggest accomplishments as helping to put conversations about Jewish pluralism on the map in Toronto.

“I felt [when I started] that in Toronto we needed more opportunities for Jews from different backgrounds to come together,” he said. “Now I see this as becoming more and more normalized in the community.” 

He cited several innovations the Annex Shul has undertaken to this end, such as creating three different seating sections during services – one for men, one for women and one that’s mixed – and offering participants two different prayer book options – one of the modern Orthodox variety and one that’s Jewish Renewal-inspired.

He also referred to a packed panel session he recently moderated at a Shavuot tikkun that examined “what really happened at Mount Sinai” from Humanist, Reform and Orthodox perspectives, which he said demonstrated that many Jews hunger to hear diverse viewpoints.

Elana Metter, chair of the Annex Shul, said that while the congregation’s leadership is sad to see Fruchter go, they also view the change as an opportunity to “examine what our community needs and how we can best invest our resources and create maximum impact.”

She added: “It’s very legitimizing that the largest synagogue in Canada is hiring a leader cultivated at the Annex Shul.”

Fruchter said he’s excited to gain new skills alongside Beth Tzedec’s impressive team of rabbis, and although he’ll primarily be working with young people, he’s looking forward to the challenges and opportunities inherent to a multi-generational environment.