Explore every episode of the podcast Not in Heaven
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do we memorialize events when we're still living through them? | 01 May 2025 | 00:48:10 | |
Most Jewish holidays date back thousands of years. We commemorate the time when an ancient Persian with a triangle hat tried to kill the Jews, when the Maccabees rededicated the temple in Jerusalem, when we escaped slavery in Egypt and the seas parted ways. But in the past century, Jews have added three new holidays, all of which fall in the span of a week. We're now at the tail end of the trilogy of "memory days": Yom HaShoah, Yom ha-Zikaron and Yom ha-Atzmaut. And, perhaps because they're recent additions, the way in which we mark them is susceptible to shifting, particularly after Oct. 7. Just this week, former hostages and survivors of Oct. 7 marched in the March of the Living in Poland. The USC Shoah Foundation is expanding its mission beyond the Shoah, collecting testimonies of antisemitism in the modern world. It begs the question: How do you memorialize events when you're still living through them? That's the topic for this week's episode of Not in Heaven, a podcast about the future of communal Judaism. Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat and Matthew Leibl join to discuss these traditions, memory engineering, and how the stories we tell about the past shape our present—and our future. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| Should rabbis politicize the pulpit? | 25 Apr 2025 | 00:35:16 | |
It's election season in Canada, with a record-breaking 7.3 million voters having already cast their ballots ahead of April 28. And between Passover seders and weekly Shabbat sermons, there's been no shortage of opportunities for Jewish communal leaders to weigh in on federal affairs during this high-stakes election cycle. But should they? An Israeli think tank recently used AI to analyze 4,400 sermons from 2021 to 2024. Across denominations, about half of all sermons focused on politics—with a clear jump to roughly two-thirds post-Oct. 7, including 80 percent of modern Orthodox sermons. Rabbis are divided. Some see it as their duty to guide their community and stand up for values they believe to be in the best interest of the Jewish people; others prefer to keep divisive topics out of synagogues, focusing instead on what binds us together. It's a ripe topic for our first-ever episode of Not in Heaven, The CJN's new podcast about the future of communal Judaism, taking over our previous weekly debate program, Bonjour Chai. Avi Finegold returns with a new panel of rabbinic voices: Yedida Eisenstat is a scholar, writer and associate editor at the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization in Washington, D.C.; and Matthew Leibl is a freelance rabbi in Winnipeg with a background in sports radio. "How should your Jewish values affect your vote?": Read the new On One Foot column by Avi Finegold in the Spring 2025 premiere issue of Scribe Quarterly Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| Gaza is the 52nd State | 07 Feb 2025 | 00:36:26 | |
U.S. President Trump's threats of tariffs and making Canada a 51st state has sparked a resurgent nationalism across Canada. In progressive neighbourhoods, Canadian flags have replaced Palestinian ones; in Conservative messaging, federal leader Pierre Poilievre has stopped claiming Canada is "broken" and started defending it from our southern neighbours. One tangible fallout from the schism—and eventual trade war, should it actually happen—will be an even higher cost of living than what Canadian have grown accustomed to. This is specifically true of kosher food products, many of which are imported from the United States. With this backdrop, a growing number of Canadians who once admired Trump—including Canadian Jews, but also Ontario Premier Doug Ford—are now realizing their mistake. On this week's episode of Bonjour Chai, Avi and Phoebe break down the ways in which Donald Trump is reshaping Canadian politics, from a Jewish perspective and beyond. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| [Title Redacted by Sensitivity Reader] | 23 Feb 2023 | 00:49:12 | |
Over the past week, news broke that the novels of Roald Dahl were being rewritten to match modern sensibilities and remove language that some people have deemed offensive. These changes—which came at the behest of the Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin, the books' publishing house—were ostensibly made to make the books better representative of, and more approachable for, diverse audiences. While the publishers can rewrite the book, however, they can't rewrite history: namely, that Dahl himself was a self-proclaimed antisemite. Is changing a few words an effective cover-up for the author's more problematic ideals? To get to the core of the issue, we're joined by YA author Joanne Levy. Dedicated Bonjour Chai listeners may recall Levy from her participation in our book club in November 2021. Plus, Avi and Phoebe chat about Michael Steinhardt's tarnished legacy and Phoebe's latest article on the intersection between feminism and aging. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Just Be a Mensch | 17 Feb 2023 | 00:48:18 | |
Today we're asking an existential question: How can you be a good person? New York Magazine recently published an editorial package on how to behave, declaring 194 rules on how to "tip, text, ghost, host and politely deal with strangers." Social anxieties—and figuring out how to fit in and act right—are nothing new for Jews. So Avi and Phoebe, recording in-person at the Drake Hotel, dive in and discuss why rules matter, Hey Alma’s own list of Jewish rules for living today, how this all relates to Jewish law and why this topic is having a moment. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Sitdown special: Mark (Moishe) Bane | 13 Feb 2023 | 01:02:47 | |
We're starting a new occasional series with Bonjour Chai: extended interviews that dive deep into a person or idea that matters to the Jewish community. In this debut episode, Avi sits down with Mark (Moishe) Bane, who was—when they spoke late last year—the president of the Orthodox Union, the largest umbrella organization of Orthodox congregations in North America, perhaps best recognized as the ones behind the "OU" kosher symbol. The native Montrealer, who stepped down in January after six years at the helm, opens up about the role of synagogue in adult life, the political leanings of the OU and what makes his home city's Jewish identity unique. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Hot and Chanshi | 10 Feb 2023 | 00:43:31 | |
One of the hottest new Israeli shows is Chanshi, about a young Orthodox woman who travels solo to Israel, ditching her fiancé, with the sole mission of having sex with as many IDF soldiers as she can. The provocative story of self-discovery and sexual awakening screened at Sundance in January 2023 to rave reviews, and the woman who created it—the writer and star, Aleeza Chanowitz—joins the show to talk about the origins of the program and how Orthodox Jews in Israel are reacting. Plus, Phoebe dishes on Leonardo DiCaprio's new teenage maybe-girlfriend—who happens to be Israeli—and Avi pays tribute to Chava Rosenfarb, who would have turned 100 this week. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| You can’t spell "messianism" without "mess" | 03 Feb 2023 | 00:45:40 | |
If you've ever wondered why it seems like there are more Chabad houses than Starbucks in Canadian cities, there's a reason: With their enormous menorahs and frequent sidewalk stalls, the Chabad movement easily represents the most prominent Jews in the public square. On campus, on the street, in smaller communities and online, their ubiquity is undeniable. How did they get there? Why is this small Hasidic sect succeeding while other denominations are losing ground—especially when so many Jews who take part aren't even Orthodox? We talk to sociologist Samuel Heilman about the roots of this phenomenon and what it means for the future of Canadian Jewry. Plus, Phoebe and Avi discuss tidiness, piles of books and the Jewish angles of Marie Kondo's recent confession. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Israel Is So Basic | 26 Jan 2023 | 00:51:20 | |
Over 110,000 protestors packed Tel Aviv’s city centre, in one of the country’s largest anti-government protests in the past decade. They were rallying against the newly elected, right-wing government’s proposals to overhaul the Israeli judicial system. The reforms, introduced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, could shift a significant amount of power from the courts to the legislature and preclude any law passed by the Knesset from being challenged in Israel’s High Court. These changes are designed, according to Levin, to rein in an activist court that for too long has subverted the democratic will of the Israeli electorate. Some say shifting more power to elected representatives clearly enhances Israel’s democratic character. Others argue that these changes would spell the end of the inalienable rights underpinning Zionism and the idea of Israel as a modern, liberal democracy. Our guest today sees several parallels to our own constitutional process and has written about proposed solutions. Bryan Schwartz is a lawyer and law professor at the University of Manitoba Law School. He has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Canada and has taught Canadian and Israeli law to students at the Hebrew University in Israel. Later in the show, Avi and Phoebe discuss an interview with Taffy Brodesser-Akner, the creator of the 2022 hit TV show Fleischman Is in Trouble, and based on her 2019 novel of the same name. To the surprise of some readers, Brodesser-Akner said that she doesn’t actually see the work as particularly Jewish, despite the clear Jewishness of the setting and main characters. This leads our hosts to dig into what makes a TV show Jewish at all? Is any show with Jewish characters a Jewish show—or is there more to it? What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Bargain Basement Antisemitism | 19 Jan 2023 | 00:57:21 | |
It seems like discussions of antisemitism have devoured a larger share of the Jewish community’s mental bandwidth in recent years. It dominates the headlines in every Jewish publication, and the social media from Jewish organizations. It’s what we talk about at the dinner table, in synagogues, on the internet, when we lie down and when we rise up. On this episode of The CJN’s weekly current affairs podcast Bonjour Chai, we’re asking: Why has it become such a major preoccupation of our communal conversation? And which conversations about Jewish life are being crowded out? In their search for answers, Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy do a deep dive into the archives of The Canadian Jewish News. They also discuss thrifting while Jewish: how to juggle the joys of bargain hunting for vintage clothes—while avoiding a Jewish stereotype. What we talked about:
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| J’Accuse…! | 12 Jan 2023 | 00:56:49 | |
In the final days of 2022, Michael Marrus, an author, historian, and foremost scholar of Holocaust studies in Canada, died at age 81. He authored eight books on Jewish history, edited a set of 15 volumes entitled Historic Articles on the Destruction of European Jews, and was a member of the Order of Canada. But the final years of his career were coloured by a comment he made to a Junior Fellow at Massey College within the University of Toronto. The remark was quickly decried as racist—and the ensuing outrage and fallout pushed Marrus to resign from the college six days later. On the first 2023 episode of Bonjour Chai, the weekly current affairs podcast from The CJN, we officially welcome Phoebe Maltz Bovy to the co-host chair. She and Avi Finegold dive into the topic of how best to think about figures with complex and sometimes chequered legacies. They also discuss Phoebe’s recent piece on the late Irving Layton, a giant of 20th century Canadian poetry, and the allegations of bad behaviour towards the women in his life. What we talked about:
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. This podcast is powered by Pinecast. | |||
| Hanukkah, Chrismukkah, Swastika | 08 Dec 2022 | 00:40:25 | |
Once upon a time, the swastika had no correlation to hate. It is, in fact, a millennia-old symbol of well-being and hope. It has been used—and continues to be used—by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and many other Eastern religions as a sacred symbol in homes and temples. After its image to Western eyes became tarnished in the 20th century, its origins have fallen wayside—but a recent push to keep its original meaning intact aims to change that. To discuss the shift, Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, a Buddhist priest and the author of The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler’s Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate, joins Bonjour Chai to discuss the critical differences between the original swastika and what's been dubbed "Hitler's cross". And on the topic of symbolism, we look at Hanukkah merch: mugs with phrases like "Joy Vey", greeting cards joking "Fa La La La Latke", dreidel-shaped waffle irons and more. Where did this stuff come from? Who buys it? Rabbi Yael Buechler and writer David Zvi Kalman join to dissect whether the trend is a symptom of late-stage capitalism or a stab at religious equity. Plus, we give a nachas shout-out to graffiti artist @aperism and bid farewell—and good luck—to longtime hosts David and Ilana, who are embarking on a new podcast adventure in the new year. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The Ballroom in the Kiddush Room | 02 Dec 2022 | 00:40:30 | |
The idea of inhabiting and playing with an identity you usually don't exhibit isn't new to Judaism, with many aspects of Jewish identity being more fluid than labels can contain. Jews can easily put on masks to pass in mainstream society, becoming less Jewish if we choose. But there are always spaces to maintain our identity, from synagogues to schools—places where we allow all aspects of our identity breathe. It's not that different from how a queer person code-switches from the wider world to a drag brunch or gay bar—all of which are worlds very familiar to Sam Brown, a non-binary drag queen and performer, who's also a member of the queer and Jewish communities in Calgary. As details of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs continue to emerge, in which an attacker killed five people at a popular LGBT bar, we're airing an interview David Sklar conducted with Brown during Pride Week in the summer. After that, David and Ilana break down the biggest news stories that have been on their minds, including how misinformation spreads on social media, the role of Birthright trips and the future of Jewish philanthropy. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Why Did the Nazi Cross the Road? | 31 Jan 2025 | 00:46:26 | |
Last week, billionaire internet troll Elon Musk made headlines (including several at this publication) for making what appeared to be a Nazi salute at the inauguration of Donald Trump. When, in the following days, he was accused of being a Nazi by many people and organizations, he responded with a series of Nazi puns in a tweet, a la, "Some people will Goebbels anything down!" The post was noteworthy because it was unclear where Musk stood on the topic of Nazism, surprising as that is to say. Once, in the not-so-distant past, people could reasonably assume that anyone making jokes about Nazis were making fun of Nazis—not Nazis themselves. But with the rise of online troll culture and a widespread disregard for historic events-turned-memes, it's no longer obvious that the person making the Nazi salute is anti-Nazi. On this week's Bonjour Chai, hosts Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy are joined by The CJN's director of podcasts, Michael Fraiman, who once wrote a column on Jewish comedy for The CJN, and has many thoughts about the evolution of online, right-wing, male-dominated troll humour. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| The Two Solitudes | 25 Nov 2022 | 01:03:21 | |
Last month, a report from the pro-Palestinian group Independent Jewish Voices came out, titled "Unveiling the Chilly Climate – The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada." Those cited in the report claim that the institutional adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, otherwise known as the IHRA definition, has had a chilling effect on any open discussion of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. At the same time, there is a mirrored feeling among some Jewish students that if they talk about ties to Israel, or refuse to condemn—let alone support—Israel’s actions, they’ll be labelled racist and colonialist. On today's episode of Bonjour Chai, The CJN's weekly current affairs podcast, we’re asking: How can these two dynamics exist at once? What evidence or data do we have that might shed light on how well founded both those fears are? And does evidence really matter to the emotional reality of the students involved? To help us unpack all this is Kenneth S. Stern, a lawyer, writer and current director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate—who was also the lead drafter of the IHRA definition. After that, David and Ilana talk to Michele Freed of Resetting the Table about how to have less toxic conversations about Israel. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Family Feud | 18 Nov 2022 | 00:50:23 | |
In the aftermath of Israel's elections, the return of Benjamin Netanyahu means a far-right coalition likely placing controversial political figures Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir in positions of power. A surge of international Jewish organizations and leaders, including many in Canada, expressed grave concern with the results. On the other side, many Israelis—and Diaspora Jews—see this outcry as mere pearl-clutching by Jews who don’t even live in Israel. But that argument undercuts the messaging drilled into us as Canadian Jews since the inception of modern Zionism—namely, that Israel is a home for all the world’s Jews, central to our past and future, in need of our full financial and political support. The idea was always that every Jew has a stake there. To discuss these themes, and dissect the question of what the relationship between Israelis and Diaspora Jews ought to be, we're joined by Donniel Hartman, who lived in Montreal before moving to Israel and eventually becoming president of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| I'll Read What She's Reading | 11 Nov 2022 | ||
With winter holidays approaching, there's only one thing everyone wants keeping them warm by candlelight on a dark winter's night: a Jewish romance novel. You may laugh, but the subgenre is huge, spanning from rabbis to regency. What's the deal? Are Jews reading this—or is it for curious gentiles? Tamar Fox, an author and editor, joins to explain the plots, the meaning and what the books actually do well. After that, Instagram comedian and hazzan Orel Gozlan stops by to outline the impact of French Jewish comic Gad Elmaleh, who recently announced his conversion to Catholicism. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Noah to Shoah | 04 Nov 2022 | 00:49:02 | |
In 2019, 70 Holocaust survivors joined the March of the Living trip to Poland. In 2022, that number plummeted to eight. Separately, but relevantly, Israel recently announced it would stop sending students on school trips to concentration camps in Poland, in the wake of Poland’s memory laws prohibiting educators from talking about Polish involvement in the Holocaust. The conclusion is clear: we’re coming into an era where contact with the Shoah’s primary sources—the actual people and actual places—is quickly diminishing. What will that mean for the future of Shoah education, Jewish communal identity and Jewish collective memory? What challenges does it pose? What opportunities might it open up? To ring in Holocaust Education Week and dissect these two topical issues, we're joined by two guests. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the chief curator of the core exhibition at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and a professor emerita at New York University, comes on the show to discuss the future of heritage tourism. After that, author Nathan Englander reads an excerpt from his short story, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank", and discuss its relevance today. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Vote Ye or Nay | 27 Oct 2022 | 01:00:41 | |
With major elections coming up in the United States and Israel, we faraway Canadian Jews—many of whom just voted in our own municipal elections across Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba—wanted to better understand what's on the ballot in the two countries with the highest Jewish populations on the planet. As Israel approaches its fifth election in three years, how has the landscape changed (or not) with Benjamin Netanyahu out of office? Looking stateside, how has the influence of Christian nationalism affected the Repulican party and the American political landscape? Gil Troy, a professor of American history and scholar of Zionism, who also used to write a political column for The CJN, joins to explain how each election feels like elections past—and how they're also hugely different. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| All the Genders of Genesis | 20 Oct 2022 | 00:48:03 | |
The Stanley Cup may have already been awarded this year, but an even greater cup has yet to be bestowed to a true national champion: the winner of the Great Canadian Sermon Slam. After receiving many entries and spending hours deliberating, we've selected our winner: Rabbanit Rachael Turkienicz. Rabbanit Turkienicz joins us today to discuss some of the foremost issues on her mind and on the minds of many Jewish Canadians, including the state of Jewish education and how women have had to fight for their place in religious scholarship. After that, she engages in a new learning session for this week's Torah portion, Bereshit, and sticks around for our weekly nachas. What we talked about Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Tabarnak! Kanye Better Not Come to My Sukkah | 13 Oct 2022 | ||
As the hosts of Bonjour Chai sat in their temporary dwellings to celebrate Sukkot, they got to thinking about housing—specifically, affordable housing in the Jewish community, where just paying rent can be a challenge. Across Canada, as of September 2022, the average cost of rent shot up 15.4 per cent from the previous year, averaging $2,043 per month. The most expensive areas, of course, are in and around Vancouver and Toronto, which happen to be home to a majority of Canada's Jews. How should the Jewish community address this issue? What are our responsibilities? How can we help when many who are experiencing a housing crisis are often invisible? We discuss these issues with Mara Shnay, a founding member of the Jewish Family Services' Client Advisory Committee. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| MK Pop | 07 Oct 2022 | 01:25:59 | |
In the last couple months, the Miami Boys Choir—a pop group comprising Orthodox Jewish kids that's been around since the 1970s—began inexplicably trending on TikTok. Since mid-August, every video uploaded has been heard more than 100,000 times; often that number is over a million, or close to it. But the reasoning behind the sudden fame is harder to discern. Are teenagers actually getting into Orthodox pop? Or is this just an ironic fad destined to fade by Hanukkah? The hosts at Bonjour Chai wanted to dig deeper. They learned the choir actually has roots in Canada, when director Yerachmiel Begun was studying in a yeshiva in Toronto and produced three albums with what was then called the Toronto Boys Choir. He subsequently moved to Miami, formed a choir there and began releasing albums under that title—even after eventually settling in New York. The group has since become a powerhouse in Jewish music, releasing a string of hits over the years and launching the careers of many Jewish singers. The hosts dissect the trend among themselves, then invite on Mordechai Levovitz, a singer in the choir who wound up on Broadway and is now the clinical director for JQY, an organization that supports and empowers Jewish queer youth. After that, by popular demand, you'll hear more contributions to our Sermon Slam, this time from Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Rabbi Josh Schwartz, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides and Rabbi Shalom Schachter. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Return to Teshuvahland | 29 Sep 2022 | 01:11:40 | |
We are smack in the middle of teshuvah season, when Jews usually focus on repentance in the lead-up to Yom Kippur. But the Hebrew root of the word comes from the idea of returning—implying that teshuvah, in fact, happens after you realize you've strayed from the path you should be on and return to where you were, or where you always wanted to go. In this way, teshuvah can be a lifelong journey. We wanted to speak with a few Canadian Jews who are embarking on those journeys personally to learn how they're handling it and what the process looks like. We're joined by speaker and author Melanie Notkin; Ruth Chitiz, assistant director of Hillel at York University; and Casriel Silver, who works in real estate. After that, we're continuing our Sermon Slam with speeches from Rabbi Steven Wernick, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold and Rabbi Philip Scheim. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| If the Teshuvah Fits | 22 Sep 2022 | 01:09:15 | |
As we stand on the cusp of the year 5783, we're getting ready to reflect on our own lives and actions—and the hosts of our weekly current affairs podcast Bonjour Chai thought, hey, why not do the same thing on air? Were our topics just and proper? Did our opinions prove themselves right? Will Bonjour Chai be inscribed in the Book of Life? From Indigenous issues to post-pandemic synagogue numbers, the Ukrainians the world couldn't stop talking about to the Uyghurs the world forgot about, on this self-reflective episode we recap the best and worst of Canadian Jewry in the year 5782, as heard through the ears of Bonjour Chai listeners. Plus, we're kicking off our first annual Sermon Slam. Listeners have been nominating their rabbis, who've been sending us their best sermons of the past year; you'll hear them all, and the winner will be decided between the hosts and audience votes—so email bonjour@thecjn.ca to cast yours. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Raise Your Hand if You Like Trump | 24 Jan 2025 | 00:50:49 | |
Donald Trump has wasted no time in his first days as president of the United States in signing executive orders to enforce mass deportations, gender laws and American expansionism. And within this new Republican omnicause, support for Israel has become a mainstay. In the inauguration, Rabbi Ari Berman delivered a presidential blessing that took a swipe at college campuses and advocated for releasing the remaining Israeli hostages. In Trump's first week, he reversed sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank and is getting credit for the ceasefire deal that was struck before he took office. But then he also pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters—including blatant antisemites—and there's the whole Elon Musk maybe-Nazi-salute thing. To break down the first week of Trump's second presidency, we're joined by Gil Troy, an American presidential historian, former CJN columnist and author of the new book, To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream. After Trump talk, they turn to the future of political movements in Israel and the shifting identity of the left in a post-ceasefire world. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| Yoh Malkeh | 15 Sep 2022 | ||
New York's Jews weren't surprised when The New York Times published an exposé on significant issues plaguing Hasidic schools in the state. The local Jewish community had been reporting this story for over a year, even circulating summaries to some of the schools in question, hoping for comment once they knew the mainstream story was imminent. Even outside media circles, any current or ex-Hasid knows these issues, and will usually be eagerly to discuss their school system, either out of pride or frustration. Canadian Jews also know about these issues, because for eight years, reporters have been covering a case wherein the Quebec government was being sued for providing inadequate secular studies in Hasidic schools, despite funding and oversight by the education ministry. To discuss these realities in the Canadian context, we're joined by Shane Dussault Ovadia, a teacher and principal’s assistant at Yeshiva Toras Moshe de Montréal, and Shifra and Yohanen Lowen, the plaintiffs in the case against the Quebec government. Plus, cookbook author Jake Cohen joins to discuss High Holiday eating, and we give a special nachas to Marvel's first Israeli superhero. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| No Campaign, No Gain | 08 Sep 2022 | 00:51:00 | |
It's campaign fundraising season across the country, as Jewish organizations hold banner events with big-name speakers to bring in machers and dollars for major projects. Toronto's Federation is hosting Stephen Harper and George Bush, while Vancouverites are joined by Mayim Bialik and Fran Drescher—the latter focusing on Vancouver's forthcoming JWest, a new community centre and residential complex in Vancouver that will be one of the most expensive Jewish building projects Canada has ever seen. But with so many in-person events postponed during the pandemic, we wanted to ask whether the enormous price tag for putting on these extravagant galas is truly worth it. To break down why these events matter and scrutinize their value, we're joined by two guests: Ezra Shanken, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, and Elizabeth Gomery, a founding partner at Philanthropica, a consulting agency. Plus, Avi will recap his weekend at The CJN's booth at the Ashkenaz Festival, and David recaps a treasure trove of Jewish board games found at a Goodwill in Calgary. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Shul is Such a Drag | 01 Sep 2022 | ||
Last week, we convened a panel to discuss the role and effectiveness of day schools in 2022. The response to that episode was huge and mostly positive—so we wanted to do a follow-up. Avi sits down with Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, to discuss what qualifies as success and how much social differentiation we really want. Plus, David reports on Pride Shabbat in B'nai Tikvah in Calgary, including a drag performance and the intersection between drag and Judaism. Also: we're kicking off our first-ever Canada-wide Sermon Slam! We want to feature rabbis doing what they do best—the High Holiday sermon. Over the next several episodes, we'll be devoting space to rabbis their best four-minute excerpt of a past sermon, culminating in a final round in October. Email us at bonjour@thecjn.ca if you are a rabbi who wants to participate, or you want to nominate your rabbi. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The People of the Pocketbook | 25 Aug 2022 | 01:02:59 | |
The first day of school is coming up, and when the topic came up in a recent CJN editorial meeting, we realized many CJN staffers had strong opinions about the state of Jewish education. Did the kids enjoy it? Did they get a better education than they would have in public school? Was it worth the money? And if you attended day school yourself: did you regret it? Fundamentally, we're asking what defines success in Jewish education, and whether Canadian Jews should be satisfied with the state of things. To dissect the matter, we're joined by Yoni Goldstein, The CJN's editor-in-chief; Lila Sarick, news editor; and Michael Fraiman, executive producer of podcasts. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Hole-y Sheet | 19 Aug 2022 | ||
Until 2017, if you were queer and Jewish and looking for someone the same, you had to settle for one of the few Jewish dating apps—or a queer one—and hoped to match with someone that was both. Joanna Halpern Zisman wanted to change that. So the Toronto-based software engineer created Yente over the Rainbow, the world's first dating site for LGBTQAI+ Jews. To celebrate the love still lingering in the air after Tu B'Av, Halpern Zisman and her partner, Laine, join to discuss their site, its goals and how it blends modern algorithms with traditional matchmaking. After that, we'll hear from Frieda Vizel, a tour guide in New York who, earlier this year, translated and transcribed a recording of a sex talk given to a Hasidic groom just before his wedding. The transcription sheds a fascinating light on a subculture whose notions of sex and relationships differ greatly from mainstream Judaism. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Shvitzing in August | 11 Aug 2022 | 00:35:17 | |
With David on honeymoon and Ilana off camping, we're taking a break from our usual programming. Instead, with ever-more natural disasters and heat waves striking across the world this summer, we wanted to re-air an interview we did last year with acclaimed climate activist Tzeporah Berman about the intersection of Judaism and climate activism. Also, you'll hear Ilana's extended interview with the boys from Yidlife Crisis, who she wrote about in her column earlier this month. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Shattering Glass and Breaking Stereotypes | 05 Aug 2022 | ||
Mazel tov to David Sklar, co-host of our weekly current affairs podcast, Bonjour Chai. David just got married this week—to a non-Jewish man. To celebrate their love, the Bonjour Chai team is dedicating this entire episode to the topic of interfaith marriage. We dive into both sides of the issue: those who support the expansion of Jewish life, and those who prefer to keep the boundaries of Judaism more strict. To dive deep into the debate, we're joined by two Reform rabbis whose personal beliefs fall on opposite sides of the issue: Rabbi Lily Kowalski of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal, and Rabbi Philip Bregman, rabbi emeritus at Temple Sholom in Vancouver. They tackle the big questions, including whether an interfaith wedding can be truly Jewish, how parents in interfaith relationships can instill Judaism in their children's lives, and whether interfaith marriages might well spell the end of Judaism—or actually save us. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Definitely Not the Mafia | 28 Jul 2022 | 00:53:46 | |
Earlier this summer, we produced an episode on the modern ethics of kosher food. It was so popular, the following week we recorded a spiritual sequel, tackling the high cost of kosher meat. The result: the executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal, Rabbi Saul Emanuel, reached out wanting to share their side of the story. Rabbi Emanuel also heads up Montreal Kosher, better known as MK—sometimes jokingly referred to as "Mafia Kosher". This week, Avi had the chance to speak with Rabbi Emanuel and challenge him directly about some of his organizations' choices. Why can't halakhah evolve? Why insist on arcane rules when jobs and affordability are at stake? Why compare Montreal's meat prices to New York's, when the cost of living is so much cheaper in La Belle Province? His answers result in some heated debate with our own resident rabbi podcast host. After that, Gabe Pulver from Menschwarmers pops in to break down how Canada ranked at the Maccabiah Games, and Nathan Englander sat down with Ilana Zackon to describe the experience of adapting one of his books into a stage play for the first time. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The Hillels are Alive with the Sound of Wedding Music | 21 Jul 2022 | 01:02:47 | |
In 2016, Hillel Montreal was absorbed into Federation CJA as part of their GenMTL program. Then things went a little sideways. Hillel went from having a non-stop campus presence to seeing students quit committees in frustration. Staff members showed up less, and eventually there were fewer staff members, period. Numerous students complained that the organization became overly focused on pro-Israel activism, and if they didn't buy in, they felt there wasn't a place for them at Hillel. Now, after two years of a state of COVID-related flux, Hillel is making a big push to return to campus visibility. On July 6, they made a post on their Instagram page proclaiming, "We're back!" To understand what they're back from, and how recent changes indicate a shift in campus life for Jewish students across Canada, Avi sat down with three students to understand what's been happening and what they hope the future of Jewish campus life looks like. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Putting the 'Oy' in Cowboy | 14 Jul 2022 | ||
The Calgary Stampede, winding down this week, is about more than Stetson hats and corn dogs. The annual festival creates an opportunity for Albertans of all backgrounds to come together over bull-riding rodeos, country music shows and pancake breakfasts. And this is certainly true for Jewish Albertans, whose community can trace it roots deep into the origins of the Wild Rose Country. On this week's episode of Bonjour Chai, David Sklar takes a deep dive into his adopted home's Jewish universe. He's assembled an expert panel on the past, present and future of Southern Albertan Judaism, featuring Judy Shapiro, a retired journalist and Jewish community professional; Harry Sanders, a director at the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta; and Danielle Braitman, director of engagement programming at the Calgary Jewish Federation. Then, David visits Irena Karshenbaum of the "Little Synagogue on the Prairie", a 100-year-old shul recently relocated to Calgary's Heritage Park, and we'll hear clips from a Sunday morning kosher Stampede pancake breakfast, held by the Calgary JCC and House of Jacob Mikveh Israel. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Deal or No Deal | 16 Jan 2025 | 00:25:19 | |
The world is sitting in suspense in anticipation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which would end the 15-month war that has devastated Gaza and caused mass protests worldwide. Will it happen Sunday, as planned? Will it be delayed until Monday? Will the whole thing fall through? What are the ramifications for the key political leaders involved: Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Joe Biden...? With all these questions swirling around, we turned to an expert on the ground. Lahav Harkov is an American-born Israeli journalist, currently writing as the senior political correspondent for Jewish Insider. She speaks with Phoebe Maltz Bovy from the midst of one of the most chaotic weeks in recent memory in this special edition of Bonjour Chai. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| None is Not Enough | 07 Jul 2022 | 00:57:20 | |
It's a trend extending beyond Jewry, beyond Canada, but persists in our nation nonetheless: younger people are donating less than their parents' generation, and when they do get involved in philanthropy, they're doing it differently. Several Jewish organizations have taken up the mantle to try and engage younger donors, and this week, an episode of The CJN Daily spotlit the recent Canadian expansion of the Jewish Future Pledge, which aims to get Jews to promise a certain percentage of charitable donations in their wills to Jewish causes. To better understand the realities of giving Jewishly, we're joined by two organizers in the space: Mark Silberman is the chair of the Jewish Future Pledge in Atlanta, and Danielle Segal is the program director for Honeycomb, a resource for Jewish youth philanthropy. Plus, recurring guest David Koffman speaks about the life and impact of the late Irving Abella, who passed away this week, and our weekly nachas segment gives a shout-out the Jewish connections to the new Minions movie. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| As Canadian as Possible, Under the Circumstances | 30 Jun 2022 | 00:36:44 | |
To celebrate Canada Day, we have a special audio feast of Canadiana lined up. First up, we chat with a recent immigrant from Israel to Montreal, Shauli, who moved here with his partner and their toddler in November to find work and a better life as a gay couple; then we're joined by Yoni Goldstein, editor and publisher of The CJN, to discuss the state of Canadian Jewry and how one of the biggest Canadian Jewish stories—the death of Julia Koschitzky—reveals a lot about who we are as a community. Lastly, we've got a jumbo-sized nachas segment of our favourite books, songs and movies from the last few years in Canadian Jewish life. Happy Canada Day! Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The Kosher Empire Strikes Back | 24 Jun 2022 | 00:55:02 | |
Last week's episode about the state and ethics of kosher food drummed up a lot of responses from our listeners—so many, in fact, we decided to run a spiritual sequel of sorts this week. Montreal's Vaad Ha'ir, the organization responsible for MK kosher supervision, launched a new initiative justifying the high cost of kosher meat in the city. But Avi wasn't impressed by what he saw as propaganda, as he noticed inconsistencies and assumptions in their argument's details. To better understand the whole story, he decided to bring in Steven Lapidus, a professor at Concordia University and expert in Montreal's kosher scene. Plus, in response to a reader's question about Jewish hot spots to visit in Montreal, we're launching a summer travel series. This week, all three hosts share their insider tips as to the best places to eat and explore in the city. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| You Are What You Eat | 16 Jun 2022 | 01:02:01 | |
Kosher has been in the news a lot lately. A restaurant in Hamilton came under strutiny because the rabbi that certified its kosher status wasn't Orthodox; in Toronto, the popular Slice N Bites restaurant was asked to stop seating customers on Saturday nights because too many teens were using it as a hangout spot; and in the U.S., a restaurant had its certification pulled after its owner, Shalom Yehudiel, was charged with sexually abusing a minor. With these stories fresh in our minds, we're dedicating the whole episode to kosher conundrums: the politics, ethics and decision-making that goes into keeping, certifying and even justifying the current state of kosher. Our three hosts come from very different stances on these issues, and invite Richard Rabkin, the managing director of the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR), to help navigate the waters. Plus, chef and entrepreneur Zane Caplansky pops in to explain his own frustrating kosher odyssey, while our weekly Word of Wisdom comes from Rabbah Aliza Libman Baronofsky and Rabbah Amy Newman, who both graduated from Yeshivat Maharat this week. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Born This Way | 09 Jun 2022 | 00:59:52 | |
Over recent years, the Jewish community has grown from merely being aware of queer Jews to standing where we are today: leaders and activists in almost every denomination are working to actively include queer Jews in Jewish law and practice. Queer and nonbinary Jews no longer settle for pointing out their existence and right to be included; they're crafting narratives that explain how deeply and intricarely their queerness and Judaism are intertwined. To dissect these issues and share their personal stories, we're joined by two inaugural members of the Queer Jewish Incubator, a new project run by the Miles Nadal JCC in downtown Toronto. Sadie Epstein-Fine is working on a play about one of Tevye's daughters being queer, and Toby King is gathering and archiving information about queer-Jewish wedding ceremonies to examine the various ways in which those couples celebrate their love. After that, you'll hear an excerpt from The CJN's podcast Rivkush, in which host Rivka Campbell interviews Michael Twitty, the award-winning cookbook author, chef and voice for social justice, who describes life at the intersection of being Black, Jewish and gay. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Sally Priesand's Semicentennial | 02 Jun 2022 | 00:53:49 | |
It was almost 50 years ago today, on June 3, 1972, that Sally Priesand broke ground as the first-ever female rabbi ordained in North America. But still, even half a century later, rabbis who happen to be women face different expectations, treatment and discrimination than their male counterparts. To talk about what's changed, what hasn't and what life is like as a female rabbi, we've assembled a panel for a special hour-long discussion the subject. What's changed in the last 50 years? What hasn't? How do congregations of different denominations react? What work still needs to be done? To examine these issues, we have three experts from across the country: Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Canada's first and longest-serving female Rabbi in Canada, who was ordained in 1983; Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold, the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada; and Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides, an independent, non-denominational rabbi in Calgary. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Chai Means Live | 26 May 2022 | 01:16:05 | |
It's a little-known fact that the first Jews in Canada were actually Sephardim, founders of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Montreal in 1768. Over subsequent years, Ashkenazi Jews would follow from Europe, becoming the dominant Jewish culture; it wasn't until the mid-20th century that Middle Eastern Jews arrived to add their own contributions to the Canadian Jewish mosaic. The often quiet history of Sephardic contributions to Jewish culture—not just in Canada, but in Israel, the United States and elsewhere as well—is the focus of a new book and digital-preservation project called Sephardi Voices, spearheaded by Henry Green, a professor of Judaic and religious studies at the University of Miami and the founding director of the Jewish Museum of Florida. In partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, we invited Green to share stories and insight into the Sephardi world in Canada and beyond for the first-ever live virtual taping of Bonjour Chai. Plus, we get to know Mohammed Hashim, the executive director of the CRRF, who outlines his organization's work, paths toward a more comfortable dialogue between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine Canadians, and what his favourite kosher restaurant is. Later, David and Ilana actor-splain why Jewish representation matters in film and television, and what it was like working on Jewish theatre shows this year. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The Kulturkampf Edition | 19 May 2022 | ||
Festival season is upon us, which means Canadian Jews are marking their calendars with the myriad dates slotted for cultural celebrations across the country. But who are these events made for, and who actually shows up? Are Jewish festivals designed only for those with the means to buy tickets, or is there a greater mandate to foster community through innovation and outreach to younger audiences? We pitch the question to Helen Zukerman, artistic director of the Toronto Jewsh Film Festival, which Avi believes is too narrow in its scope (though Ilana and David disagree); after that, the heads of KlezKanada and Ashkenaz Festival, Sebastian Schulman and Eric Stein, join to discuss their efforts in crafting Jewish festivals that are fundamentally diverse, unique and engaging. Plus, we'll hear from Shlomo Steinmetz on the yahrzeit of his son Dovi, who died at the Mount Meron tragedy in Israel last year. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Plan B from Olam ha-Ba | 12 May 2022 | 00:57:13 | |
With the United States embroiled in the fight over abortion rights, many Canadians have turned to reflect on our own nation's history with the once-controversial practice. A key figure in Canada's pro-choice movement was Henry Morgentaler, a Holocaust survivor and doctor who offered safe abortions for women who didn't qualify for one within Canada's once-restrictive system. Morgentaler endured jail time and blatant antisemitism for his convictions, but won out in the end, as abortions became effectively decriminalized following a landmark 1988 Supreme Court decision. Today, advocates in Montreal are pushing to name a park after the late doctor, who has no monument commemorating his contribution to Canada. To discuss his legacy, and how antisemitism seeped into the debate, his daughter, Goldie Morgentaler, joins to share stories of her father's fight for reproductive freedom. And zooming out for a religious look at the issue, Avi sits down with Rabbi Daniel Korobkin from the Beth Avraham Yosef of Toronto Congregation to discuss how abortion is handled in halakhah. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Ilana is Significantly Younger than Israel | 05 May 2022 | 00:52:05 | |
York University has been in the Jewish news a fair bit recently, after their student union bungled an educational session on antisemitism and the school's name was labelled one of the least safe campuses for Jews in Canada. But there is always another side to these stories—one which often involves students protesting for Palestinians' rights. University administrators are often caught between these two camps, trying to mediate the on-campus iteration of a centuries-old geopolitical struggle. It's a line often walked by Rhonda Lenton, the president of York University. On today's episode, she joins for a lengthy and wide-ranging discussion on how her administration strikes that balance, what she's gleaned from her own studies into Canadian Jewry as a sociologist, and how York's Jewish identity has changed over the decades. Plus, Avi and Ilana debate how Mother's Day seeped into the Jewish holiday calendar, and we wish Ilana and the State of Israel a very happy birthday. One is 74; the other, 29—guess which is which? Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| You Had Me at Goodbye | 10 Jan 2025 | 00:56:25 | |
With Justin Trudeau's announced resignation as prime minister and Liberal leader this week, media pundits wasted no time in penning their reflections, looking back at nine years of how Trudeau changed the Canadian political landscape. One such pundit is Jonathan Kay, an editor at the online magazine Quillette, whose article, "Shame on Us for Ever Believing Him", describes the evolution of Trudeau's brand from optimistic patriot to "Canada’s Chief DEI Officer," embracing American-style culture wars and identity politics. And he'd know: Kay openly ghostwrote part of Trudeau's memoir Common Ground, spending ample time with the future prime minister in the run-up to the 2015 election. Kay now returns to Bonjour Chai to describe the Trudeau he knew and how the political landscape has shifted among the left in recent years—especially among Canadian Jewish voters. Credits
Support The CJN
| |||
| Six Million are Still With Us | 28 Apr 2022 | 00:43:50 | |
Jews are no strangers to the apocalypse. Having survived centuries of persecution and the biggest genocide in human history, generational trauma and fears of fatality come pretty naturally to us. Jay Baruchel is no exception. He's transformed those anxieties into a brand-new TV show, debuting Apr. 30 on Crave, called We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel), in which he explores the myriad ways in which humanity can end, from nuclear disasters to alien invasions. For Yom ha-Shoah, Baruchel joins the program to chat about how his Jewish heritage helped inspire the show and take a stab at the ultimate post-apocalyptic question: what happens to us after we die? Plus, David lays out the latest development in the truly never-ending Israeli/Palestinian wine saga, Avi plays highlights from the JNF's recent Tech Shuk in Montreal, and Rabbi Joshua Corber discusses modern takeaways from Yom ha-Shoah. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| Mayim and Yayin | 21 Apr 2022 | ||
After Mayim Bialik lost her father, she began a year of mourning, culminating in thoughts and feelings that she'd end up culminating into her first screenplay. The actress, best known for the The Big Bang Theory and now hosting Jeopardy!, is now making her debut as a writer and director with As They Made Us, a drama about a dying father, played by Dustin Hoffman. Ilana sat down with Bialik to talk about her real-life inspiration, transitioning from performer to director, and how she incorporated subtly accurate pieces of Jewish representation that didn't feel blunt or crass. Plus, we're re-running an interview from last Passover with Orel Gozlan, the hazzan at Congregation Or Shalom in Montreal and an Instagram comic, about the Sephardic celebration Mimouna. What we talked about
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||
| The First Annual Great Canadian Seder | 14 Apr 2022 | 01:24:21 | |
It's the first annual Bonjour Chai Passover extravaganza! In this super-special edition, we bring you stories from 20 prominent Canadians about what Passover means to them. Pull up a chair, break off some matzah and join us at the virtual seder table alongside Evan Solomon, Zach Hyman, Bob Rae, Ya'ara Saks, Melissa Lantsman, Nathan Englander, Lisa Rubin and a whole slew of rabbis, CJN podcasters and community leaders, swapping stories and reflecting on the meaning of freedom in these unique times. Our guest list, in order of appearance:
Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. | |||