Not That Kind of Rabbi – Details, episodes & analysis

When Rabbi Victor Gross was looking for a home to grow his congregation in Boulder, CO, he knew he didn't want a dedicated building. It wasn't just the cost, but the environmental impact of operating a space that's only used a few hours a week. Instead, he looked for a church to rent out Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. He asked church leaders two questions: Was the church open and affirming to everyone? And could the churchgoers and clergy not proselytize to Jews?

After many honest rejections, they found a partner in a Lutheran church, establishing a concrete example of what's been dubbed "deep ecumenism". It's a level beyond interfaith work that sees members of different religious communities dialoguing, working together and praying in the same space—a true form of acceptance and tolerance.

This is just one way of drastically reimagining the future of not just Judaism, but all organized religions, as many synagogues shutter and congregations dwindle across the world. Rabbi Gross joins his former student, Ralph Benmergui, on Not That Kind of Rabbi to explain more about deep ecumenism and how religion can be used as a force of unity—rather than division.

Credits

• Host: Ralph Benmergui
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Yevhen Onoychenko

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Not That Kind of Rabbi (Not sure how? Click here)

While Israel remains on the brink of war with Lebanon in the north, one of the country's most iconic sites—the famous Baha'i Gardens and shrine—sit less than an hour away. That a religion based on unity among humankind, which views all religions and tribes as branches from the same tree, should have its headquarters so close to a warzone is tragically ironic.

The irony is not lost on Mary Darling, a Canadian TV producer of Baha'i faith and longtime friend of Not That Kind of Rabbi host Ralph Benmergui. During these tense times, Ralph wanted to speak to spiritual people outside the Jewish community to learn their perspective on religion, peace and conflict. Can the world transition from creeping nationalism to a global community? Can the United Nations play a role in global governance? Or is all this just a cute idea from an offbeat peacenik group of people? Mary Darling joins to discuss the issue directly from Haifa, where she was visiting the Baha'i headquarters.

Credits

• Host: Ralph Benmergui
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Yevhen Onoychenko

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Not That Kind of Rabbi (Not sure how? Click here)

Last month, the flagship Yuk Yuk's location in downtown Toronto hosted a stand-up comedy fundraiser for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Predictably, anti-Israel protesters swarmed it. The club's founder and owner, Mark Breslin—who organized the event—tried to get in through a back entrance, only to find more protesters waiting there for him and his family. Through cries of "Baby killer" and "Genocidal maniacs", they entered, got the police riot squad called in, and the show went on as planned.

It's not the first time Breslin has encountered hatred because of his identity—which is, he says, more founded in tradition than religion.

Breslin went into depth about his upbringing and beliefs in an engrossing sit-down interview with his old friend Ralph Benmergui, at the Prosserman JCC on Feb. 13, as part of a series of live tapings of The CJN's podcast Not That Kind of Rabbi.

Credits

Not That Kind of Rabbi is hosted by Ralph Benmergui and produced by Michael Fraiman. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To support The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt, please consider a monthly donation by clicking here.

Rabbi Zelig Golden likes to describe Judaism as a religion of deep roots, interconnectivity, compassion and feminine divinity, reminding the world that Adam came from the adamah. It's this philosophy that inspired Wilderness Torah, an organization based in California that promotes "healing, belonging and resilience," in an attempt to reshape how Jews feel about their culture—and the planet.

But this is not eco-Judaism, or pantheism, or humanism. To better understand the philosophy, Rabbi Golden sits down with Ralph Benmergui for a deep conversation about earthly exile, Mother Nature and the panentheism inherent to his worldview.

Credits

Not That Kind of Rabbi is hosted by Ralph Benmergui and produced by Michael Fraiman. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To support The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt, please consider a monthly donation by clicking here.

The climate crisis is the fault of no single person or country, but rather a widespread ideology of materialism and overwhelming lack of compassion for the natural world. What's worse—the crisis is intensifying each year.

These are some of the themes espoused by Rabbi Yonatan Neril, the founder and director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development in Jerusalem, and the author of the Eco Bible series of books, which offer spiritual commentary on the Torah. In his telling, we need a spiritual transformation to reconnect with the world and stop suppressing the issue to confront it with more force.

Ahead of Tu b’Shevat, and a few weeks after the United Nations' COP 28 climate conference, Not That Kind of Rabbi host Ralph Benmergui, who's working on a book about how climate as a spiritual crisis, sat down with Rabbi Neril to better understand the deep connection between spirituality, Judaism and our natural world—and where we go from here.

Credits

Not That Kind of Rabbi is hosted by Ralph Benmergui and produced by Michael Fraiman. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To support The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt, please consider a monthly donation by clicking here.

If you're feeling anxious and afraid, you should know: you're not alone. Tensions are high everywhere across the Jewish community right now as Hamas and Israel engage in a violent war with ramifications across the world. But instead of doom-scrolling social media, finding horrible images and hate-filled comments, it's important to find time to step back—far away from social media—and assess your own mental health.

The CJN and the Prosserman JCC held a live event on Oct. 17, 2023, to bring together three specialists in the field of psychology to help the community better cope with these difficult times. Spiritual counsellor and podcast host Ralph Benmergui sat down with Lynda Fishman, author of Repairing Rainbows, a social worker who specializes in trauma; and Dr. Barbara Landau, a recipient of the Order of Canada, who is a conflict mediator and the co-chair of the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims, an organization that builds interfaith understanding and empathy.

More tools to help navigate these difficult times:

• Read Lynda Fishman’s guide to help Canadian Jews support one another, especially anyone grieving
• Listen to Deanne Matlow's 10 tips for how parents can discuss the Israel-Hamas war with their kids on The CJN Daily

Credits

Not That Kind of Rabbi is hosted by Ralph Benmergui and produced by Michael Fraiman. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To support The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt, please consider a monthly donation by clicking here.

Welcome to the newest season of Not That Kind of Rabbi! Ralph's spiritual deep-dive podcast is back, now joining The CJN Podcast Network. After more than three years and 80 guests, we'll be focusing on Jewish Canadians, exploring the inner lives of public figures.

To kick things off, we're hosting a special live taping on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at the Prosserman JCC in Toronto. Ralph will sit down with his old friend and Yuk Yuks founder Mark Breslin. Get tickets here.

Many lifetimes ago I was a stand-up comic. There were a lot of great comics that started with me back then. Way funnier too. One was Lawrence Morgenstern. He loved the craft and put his heart and soul into it Lawrence passed away a little while ago . This time on NTKR I speak with his longtime partner Rosalynne Gelade as we swap stories about one very funny gentle giant.

Two of the top three Jewish holidays are about to happen. Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah and the day of atonement, Yom Kippur. They are referred to as the days of awe. Or, if you're fasting on Kippur for 25 hours with no food, water, cars, cell phones or even sex, then for some it's the days of awww. Avrum and I will talk High Holidays and what they mean to us on this edition of Not That Kind of Rabbi. Dontae to keep us going at pateron.com/NTKR

This time on Not That Kind of Rabbi we begin a new chapter by welcoming friend ad wise person, Avrum Rosensweig to the podcast. We'll talk about God, the journey to and away from that G word and why Avrum threw out his yellow suede shoes.