About Us
Welcome to The Chai Centre
It is with an abundance of gratitude to G-d that we introduce you and your family to The Chai Centre Canada.
We are a place for people affected by addiction and mental health struggles, and for the families who carry it with them. What we offer is counselling, recovery programs and learning, held together by the belief that everyone who walks through the door deserves dignity and has room to grow. There is no judgment here, and nobody has to arrive with their life in order.
One method of The Chai Centre is to bring Jews of all backgrounds into a community-like atmosphere where we can all grow together.
It is about bringing Judaism to life.
It is about having a place to call your second home, a place where you feel free to spend time learning and growing.
It is where Jewish education and addiction education have come together, offering an in-depth look at Judaism, spirituality, recovery and the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how we can all benefit from that blend.
It is about community, where people can feel safe and comfortable, and not judged by anyone else’s standards.
It is about igniting a passion towards a connection with G-d.
It is about understanding what it means to be a Jew, and what G-d wants from us.
It is about sharing in the good times as well as the difficult times, where we understand that a problem shared becomes half a problem.
It is The Chai Centre Canada.
Our Staff
Rabbi Heshi Kuhnreich
Founder & Director
Rabbi Heshi Kuhnreich has been involved in Jewish outreach since 1985. Rabbi Heshi, as he is affectionately known, has the unique ability to unite Jews of all backgrounds into a single unit, making everyone feel “at home.”
Over the many years, Rabbi Heshi has been involved in numerous community activities, helping many organizations get started and ensuring their continuity.
The Chai Centre is the pinnacle of his efforts, not only on addiction, but to bring Jews together from around the globe. His classes on a wide array of subjects, including Torah, addiction studies and counselling, are always inspiring and thought provoking. Many consider Rabbi Heshi an authority on addiction. Come and see for yourself!
Rabbi Shmuli Soroka, M.S.Ed
Educator
Rabbi Shmuli Soroka has been involved in Jewish education for over twenty years, in both formal and informal settings.
In addition to his training as a Rabbi and educator, he has a background in marketing and once ran his own coffee company. His lock-down accomplishments include learning to play guitar and how to install a toilet. He currently teaches Judaic studies to Middle School students at Netivot HaTorah Day School in Toronto.
Rabbi Shmuli is passionate about teaching and learning Torah, as well as personal growth, and he is excited to be combining all three at The Chai Centre.
Mrs. Elana Soroka, M.S.Ed
Educator
Elana Soroka is an elementary school Methods and Resource teacher and coordinator. She has been involved with Jewish education, formal and informal, for over two decades, teaching students from nursery age through college and adults. She currently teaches at Netivot HaTorah Day School, and also gives mikvah tours and classes to interested Jewish women.
In her spare time, Elana enjoys reading and doing sudoku puzzles. She has recently taken up more extreme sports, including giving her sixteen-year-old driving lessons.
Elana is passionate about Judaism and loves bringing her experience and Torah knowledge to join others at The Chai Centre.
Ellie Bass
Educator
Ellie Bass is a Jewish educator, coach and healer who has been teaching meditation, movement and wellness practices for over twenty years. She weaves together Torah wisdom, Jewish spirituality and holistic healing to help people access their inner strength and resilience.
With deep experience working in Jewish community and wellness spaces, Ellie creates safe, accessible and transformative environments for healing, growth and connection.
Deborah Jacobs, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
As a trauma-informed therapist, Deborah believes that all our lived experiences leave an imprint on the mind and body, which in turn can have a long-lasting impact on brain functioning and perception, and affect our reactions and interpersonal relationships. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, couples therapy, anger and chronic pain management.
She uses a variety of treatment models including sensorimotor, somatic and mindfulness informed interventions, EMDR and CBT, and the Gottman method, helping her clients understand and compassionately connect with both their physical and emotional experiences. Warmth, empathy and compassion are her signature traits and are foundational to her practice.
We are not able to change our lived experiences, but we can change the impact of our past and how it impinges on our present. Deborah firmly believes that healing is possible for anyone willing to actively work towards it, because everything we need is already inside of us.
Dr. Chayim Newman
Educator
Dr. Chayim Newman holds his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Yeshiva University. He has worked in numerous respected clinical settings including New York Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, The Albert Ellis Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He has studied mindfulness and meditation disciplines with several of this generation’s preeminent teachers, and regularly delivers lectures and seminars on stress management, meditation, and mind-body health.
His clinical practice focuses on the use of a variety of therapeutic modalities — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, CBT, mindfulness, and traditional psychotherapy — in the treatment of anxiety and stress, mood and depression, relationships, and coping with chronic or stress-related medical illness.
Having been involved in the entertainment industry for over two decades as a touring performer, event producer and artist liaison, Dr. Newman has a first-hand understanding of the challenges facing creatives, performers and high-profile individuals. He is co-founder of Borer Newman, providing customized mental health solutions for the entertainment industry, and of the Tour Health Research Initiative, the leading organization conducting research on health and mental health in the touring music industry.
Carol Molko
Administrator
Carol has a University of Toronto bachelor’s degree in Math, Computer Science and Psychology, and worked in the computer industry for fifteen years before leaving it to raise her family of four children.
Pursuing new interests and passions, for the past eighteen years she has worked concurrently as a freelance editor, a tap and jazz instructor and choreographer, and a licensed realtor alongside her husband.
She loves to learn as much as she loves to teach, help and serve others. She reignited her desire to learn more about Judaism after travelling to Israel twice with a dynamic Jewish women’s group in 2013 and 2014, and has never looked back. She is proud and honoured to be welcomed both as a contributing member and a student of The Chai Centre.
In loving memory
Jessica Klein OB”M
Facilitator
Jessica Klein was a television writer and producer who specialized in programs for tweens and teens, including the iconic hit Beverly Hills 90210.
She spoke across the United States and Canada about her Jewish journey and her experiences with trauma and recovery.
Jessica relocated to Toronto for a couple of years before returning home to Los Angeles, where she lived happily near her children and grandchildren. She passed away in 2022, and is deeply missed.