The Kiever continues to play an important role in the Toronto Jewish Community. Although most of the members of the community slowly moved away from the Kensington area during the 1950s, the Kiever has maintained its position as a social and religious source of Jewish identity within the old Jewish neighbourhood.

The shul still offers services every Sabbath that are led by Cantor Pinchas Gutter and Rabbi Gedaliah Zweig. Both individuals have important leadership roles in the community outside of their work at the Kiever. Cantor Gutter, a Holocaust survivor, has led services at the Kiever for about thirteen years. He has also contributed significantly to the Baycrest Home for the Aged and was declared the Men’s Service Group of Baycrest’s Man of the Year in 2002. He advocates for the rights of the elderly and is a volunteer chaplain for Jewish Family and Child Services, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, as well as for other organizations. Rabbi Zweig serves the Kiever part-time. He is also known for his musical band, The Kiddush Club Band. The band has recorded three albums of Jewish songs for children. Rabbi Zweig runs bar mitzvah classes as well.

The Kiever remains an important social venue for Toronto Jews. Recently, Rabbi Zweig and the Kiever hosted a singles shabbaton for young Jews. The Kiever still conducts bar-mitzvahs and weddings, as well as special holiday services. It has been a venue for cantorial concerts and was recently the site for the launch of the Jewish Toronto Tomorrow campaign.

Above all, today the main role of the Kiever is an educational one. Public and separate schools continue to visit the Kiever as part of history and comparative religion classes. Jews and non-Jews alike are interested in the Kiever’s historical role as part of early Jewish Toronto. The current President of the shul, David Pincus, is constantly approached for information about the shul’s history. Toronto tour books often highlight the Kiever as a ‘must-see’ site.

Members remain involved in the Kiever even though most are unable to attend services every week due to the fact that they live too far from the shul. Many of the descendents of the original members have assumed Executive positions. Women also continue to support the shul. In fact, members are discussing reviving the Ladies’ Auxiliary in an official capacity.

It is clear that members have a personal attachment to the Kiever because it has been a part of their family history. The individual histories associated with the Kiever are visible throughout the building – memorial plaques decorate the sanctuary, an ark in the basement commemorates Fischel Cooper, leader of the youth minyan, and names like Litvak and Rotenberg are carved into the stone exterior. The fact that the Kiever holds these special tributes and histories explains why the Synagogue maintains its membership and receives so much support from the community more than 90 years after the creation of the congregation.

SYNAGOGUES