Shows
Culturally JewishLive from the Toronto Holocaust Museum: Talking zombies on Halloween EveLast month, The CJN Podcast Network debuted its first original fiction podcast, Justice: A Holocaust Zombie Story. The seven-part audio drama is a work of subversive Holocaust education designed for the digital age, with many of its gruesome facts grounded in truth. Any shock value from merging zombies with Holocaust education was a deliberate attempt at turning heads, particularly among younger, non-Jewish audiences.
That's according to the show's creator, Michael Fraiman—who also produces _Culturally Jewish—_and sits in the guest chair for the first time. He and Ilana Zackon were invited by the Toronto Holocaust Museum to r...2024-10-3136 min
Justice: A Holocaust Zombie StoryJustice: A Holocaust Zombie Story - TrailerWhen Kat discovers her Jewish heritage in her 20s, she quickly packs her bags to meet her estranged family in Berlin—only to be thrust into the middle of a burgeoning global crisis when zombified Holocaust victims begin rising from the mass graves of former concentration camps. While the German government panics and antisemitic conspiracy theorists run amok with online hate, Kat realizes nobody is listening to the victims themselves, one of whom is not only peaceful—but mysteriously drawn to her.
Justice: A Holocaust Zombie Story is an original seven-part fiction audio drama, produced by The CJN...2024-08-1601 min
Not in HeavenThe CJN Daily: Canada’s kosher meat packers won in federal court. How will this affect the Jewish community?Avi and Phoebe are taking a little summer vacation and will return soon. In the meantime, we're presenting an episode of The CJN Daily that Avi was on earlier this summer about kosher slaughter in Canada.
Last week, the Federal Court of Canada sided with Jewish communities in Montreal and Toronto in their dispute with the federal government over new biological guidelines covering how cows are slaughtered. On July 24, the judge granted kosher meat producers a temporary injunction, effectively pausing the enforcement of new guidelines that are aimed at ensuring animals don’t feel undue pain when th...2024-08-0825 minCulturally Jewish'I could not stop crying': Holocaust survivor Maxwell Smart on his life story being made into a movieAt the onset of the Holocaust, after Maxwell Smart's family began being targeted and killed in Nazi-occupied Europe, he became separated from his mother, who made one final request of her young son: "Please run away." He did as he was told. He ended up spending one and a half years living in the cold, desolate woods of Eastern Europe, meeting and making friends with other young Jews until liberation.
As one of Canada's best-known living Holocaust survivors, Smart—who moved to Montreal after the war—has told his story many times before to schools, museums and jour...2024-07-0923 minCulturally JewishDanila Botha's new book of short fiction wants to break the mold of Jewish OrthodoxyDanila Botha wants you to know something about her writing: it's not autobiographical. She pulls ideas and themes from real life, from the media and history, from current affairs and what she sees in the world. She is not personally a glitter-strewn closeted lesbian Orthodox woman, nor is she a drug addict who once met Anne Frank in a dream. But these are the kinds of concepts—distinctly Jewish stories with shades of halachic heterodoxy—that are packed into Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness, her new collection of short stories, released April 2024.
Botha joins The CJN's arts podc...2024-06-2523 minCulturally JewishMeet the singer who performs Yiddish opera from Holocaust survivors—and also WagnerWhen Jaclyn Grossman was an 18-year-old opera student, her teacher heard her soprano voice and informed her she'd sing the music of Richard Wagner. Grossman didn't know much about the German composer, but quickly fell in love with his music. She was not particularly phased by the fact that Wagner was infamously antisemitic, included offensive Jewish stereotypes in his works, and is even de facto banned in Israel.
Years later, she began researching operas written by Holocaust victims and survivors. She co-founded the Likht Ensemble to perform their works and toured the continent singing these nearly forgotten...2024-05-2730 minCulturally JewishHow a class of Dawson College theatre students are incidentally workshopping a controversial script about Zionism and campus politicsDuring the pandemic, David Sklar—an actor, playwright and co-host of The CJN's arts podcast Culturally Jewish—wrote a theatre script called Vial. The plot focuses on a college professor who feels conflicted when one of her far-left-wing Jewish students writes an extreme essay about Israel; the professor, who starts off adamantly pro–free speech, begins to reconsider her stance when the essay sparks wider outrage and fierce debates on campus and beyond.
In 2023, a colleague of Sklar's—a drama teacher at Dawson College, a CEGEP in Westmount, Montreal—reached out to see if Sklar had any unpublishe...2024-05-1526 minCulturally JewishRemembering filmmaker Charles Officer, who 'cut through the ideology' with incisive storytellingOn December 1, 2023, Charles Officer passed away at age 48. The award-winning filmmaker was revered in the national arts community, having directed documentaries such as Invisible Essence, about the cultural impact of The Little Prince, and The Skin We're In, a film adaptation of author Desmond Cole's popular essay on racism in Canada. His movies were purposeful and personal, tackling topical issues with incisive commentary and deep research.
The 2024 Hot Docs film festival in Toronto will be commemorating Officer's life with a tribute screening of his 2010 film Might Jerome on May 4, including a Q&A panel with some of...2024-05-0236 minCulturally JewishShe saved 12 Jewish lives during the Holocaust—and Quebecois filmmakers are now telling her storyIrena Gut Opdyke was a Polish nurse who, during the Second World War, was forced to become a housekeeper for a high-ranking German officer. At some point, she was offered the chance to save a dozen Jewish lives. She agreed, hiding them in a space nobody would think to look—in the German officer's basement.
Later honoured as a Righteous Among the Nations, Irena's story is not very well known. But a group of Quebecois filmmakers is about to change that. Irena's Vow, being released in theatres across Canada on April 19, is a historical drama that marks a...2024-04-1824 minCulturally JewishMAiD takes centre stage in a new comedy about the difficulty of preparing to dieWhen a member of the Jewish community in London, Ont., recently decided to go through with medical assistance in dying (MAiD), it sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community. Some were angry and confused, others were sympathetic and supportive—and others felt mixed emotions, including the father of Jordi Mand, a playwright and screenwriter. Mand discussed the topic extensively with her father (and then her brother, and others), and soon came to realize how controversial the idea of medically assisted death was within Judaism.
The emotional scenario set the stage for her latest play, In Seven Days. It te...2024-03-2733 minCulturally JewishJust for Laughs co-founder Andy Nulman on the comedy festival's Jewish roots—and recent collapseOn March 5, the biggest comedy festival in the world, Just for Laughs, announced it was cancelling this year's events in its hometown of Montreal and filing for bankruptcy protection. The news shocked international comics and local Montrealers—but Andy Nulman, who co-founded the festival in 1985 and spearheaded its expansion through the 1990s, wasn't entirely surprised. Though he took a step back from the company in 1999 and left entirely in 2015, he'd been hearing of JFL's financial troubles in the media, just as most in-person events had taken a hit since the pandemic.
And yet, as he recounts on Cu...2024-03-1131 minCulturally JewishFrom Nassau Street to United Bakers, a new family folk album waxes nostalgic about old Jewish TorontoEric and Erin Warner's grandfather lived to the admirable age of 103. And in that time, the Jewish immigrant to Canada saw Toronto change in innumerable ways, from the migration of Jews out of the Ward and Kensington Market to mass communication shifting from the radio to the internet. It's a life's story that Eric, who's worked in music promotion and production since he was a teenager, wanted to tap into—in part to help his own young children understand where their family came from.
He roped in his sister, Erin, to sing on the album, and his lo...2024-03-0631 minCulturally JewishAs Kanye West drops a new album, a new play in Winnipeg shines a harsh light on his antisemitic pastSeth Zosky is a massive fan of Kanye West. He owns the shoes, has heard all his songs, and—as a drummer—dove deep into Kanye's innovative use of the retro 808 drum machine. So when Kanye started coming out as an unhinged antisemite in 2023, making ridiculous comments on podcasts and social media about Hitler, spouting conspirary theories and tweeting about going "death con 3 on Jewish people", Zosky was heartbroken.
He decided to transform his emotions into a new production. Working with his close friend, the rapper CJ Capital (who is not Jewish, but also a major Kanye fan...2024-02-1538 minCulturally JewishA new comic book spotlights Toronto's Ward—with a supernatural twistAri Gross has never written a comic book before. But when he decided to try making one, he found his background came in handy. A machine learning engineer by day with a background in data science, Gross completed his PhD on the history and philosophy of science and technology—a perfect fit for writing a comic that brings 20th-century Toronto and Kabbalistic ideas onto the printed page. Add in the math required to map out a comic book by word count per panel, then panels per page, and you have a passion project that's coming to fruition after years of...2024-01-3141 minCulturally JewishDoes Jewish representation actually matter in film and TV? A Jewish casting director weighs inOn Jan. 9, a group of Jewish Hollywood entertainers—among them David Schwimmer, Amy Schumer, Debra Messing, Jason Alexander and Michael Rapaport—published an open letter, signed by hundreds of Jewish media industry professionals, that slams the Motion Picture Academy for ignoring Jews in its "Representation and Inclusion Standards", unveiled in 2020. The standards call for representation from underrepresented groups throughout the cast and crew of film and TV productions, clearly defining "underrepresented groups" in a list of identities that include Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic, Hawaiian, LGBTQ+, women and people with cognitive or physical disabilities—but, notably, not Jews.
The open l...2024-01-1726 minCulturally Jewish'A very dangerous precedent': Everything wrong with the Belfry Theatre cancelling 'The Runner'On January 2, the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, B.C., announced it is cancelling a forthcoming production of The Runner, a one-man play—created by a non-Jewish theatre artist—that tells the story of an Orthodox Jewish volunteer who decides to help a young Palestinian woman instead of an Israeli soldier.
The decision to cancel the production came after weeks of protests from anti-Zionists, including graffiti sprayed on the theatre's walls and a disrupted public meeting that was set up to facilitate a community dialogue about the play.
While The Runner is still set to run as p...2024-01-0427 minCulturally JewishIsraeli-Canadian drag queen Gila Münster reflects on a year mired in right-wing protests and left-wing antisemitismIf you've heard of Gila Münster, who bills herself as "Toronto's cross stitching, cross-dressing Jewish American Princess," it's probably because of her drag queen storytelling events. After the height of the pandemic, she began partnering with public libraries across Southern Ontario, hosting story hours for children to supplement nighttime performances.
Then came the protests.
In the summer of 2023, for the first time in her life, protesters began showing up outside libraries where she was scheduled to perform. Around the same time, Münster found herself at the centre of a city-wide debate, as she be...2023-12-1142 minCulturally JewishIn her new book, Ruth Rakoff tackles ultra-Orthodox Judaism, generational trauma and the death of her brotherRuth Rakoff had only written one book before, a memoir based on her cancer diagnosis. That was in 2010. Two years later, her brother David Rakoff—an acclaimed writer and storyteller—died of Hodgkin's lymphoma.
That traumatic period, in part, inspired her to spend nearly a full decade writing her second book, Untethered, a novel published in Sept. 2023 by Cormorant Books. In Untethered, two siblings branch off into different Jewish worlds, one marrying into an ultra-Orthodox community while the other tries to fend off depression on a kibbutz, eventually reuniting to confront their shared generational trauma during a time...2023-11-3032 min
North Star with Ellin BessnerEllin Bessner explains why you should consider donating to The CJN Daily on #GivingTuesdayNearly 500 episodes. Nearly 10,000 hours of programming. It's "what Jewish Canada sounds like." For more than two and a half years, Ellin Bessner and The CJN Daily podcast have been bringing the voices and sounds of Canadian Jewish newsmakers to listeners from coast to coast—and around the world.
And since Oct. 7, it's never been more important to provide you with authoritative, trustworthy, accurate and balanced reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including updates on the hostage situation, the massacre of 1,200 Israeli residents and a new wave of antisemitism within Canada and beyond. It's coverage you won't find anywhere el...2023-11-2813 minCulturally JewishA new Canadian opera spotlights the legacy of Chiune Sugihara, the 'Japanese Schindler'The story of Chiune Sugihara has become relatively well known among the Jewish community. The Japanese diplomat, known as "Japan's Schindler", wrote transit visas for thousands of European Jews, helping them flee Nazi persecution and the concentration camps. Among the many families saved by Sugihara visas was the Bluman family, which wound up in Vancouver, B.C.—but the story didn't end there. Even two generations later, the family's trauma still lingered, just as Sugihara's own children and grandchildren suffered from the aftermath of the Second World War.
Those cross-generational stories, and their empathetic parallels, form the sp...2023-11-1429 minCulturally Jewish'A more beautiful side of Israel': This Canadian-led photography collective is raising money for kibbutzim attacked by HamasWhen Niv Shimshon woke up to the horror of what happened in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, he immediately contacted his friends and family back in his home country. The Israeli-born photographer—who moved to Canada 10 years ago, now living in Hamilton with his wife and two young children—could only donate a bit of money to his family's kibbutz and offer words of support.
Feeling helpless, he decided to take action. He began contacting Jewish and Israeli photographers across Israel and North America, inviting them to contribute to a fundraising project, wherein they would sell prints of their work...2023-11-0234 minCulturally Jewish'It feels pretty hopeless': Jewish artists open up about working in a dominantly anti-Zionist industryIt's no secret that the arts industry—theatre, film, music, visual arts, dance; pick your favourite—is mostly filled with left-leaning individuals. Unfortunately for Jewish artists, that means the arts community is also largely anti-Zionist (or pro-Palestinian), and given how big a role networking and affiliations play in booking gigs and landing shows, publicly voicing opposing political views can risk their friendships and careers.
It's a tightrope upon which many Jewish artists have to balance every day. But in times like these, with Hamas and Israel engaged in a bitter war that's resulted in thousands of innocent live...2023-10-1931 minCulturally Jewish'Controversial' Canadian artist Matthew Jocelyn just took over the Koffler Centre. What does that mean for its Jewish future?In Matthew Jocelyn's ideal world, audiences would look at upcoming programming from the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto and ask, "Really? The Koffler is doing that?"
Ruffling feathers isn't new for the artistic leader, who spent 28 years in France, where he worked in some of the nation's top opera houses and was awarded as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. After returning to Canada, he took the helm at Canadian Stage, Canada's largest not-for-profit theatre company, which drew mixed reactions and a minor outcry from supporters expecting a more traditional direction for...2023-10-0328 minCulturally JewishHow Sarah Segal-Lazar went from Jewish Montreal to writing folk songs in rustic P.E.I.Sarah Segal-Lazar's momma never actually wanted her to be a doctor—nor did becoming an artist really shock her. But the Canadian musician and actor nonetheless drew inspiration from that common trope, where the offspring shunts the professional expectations of their parents, to write the hilarious theme song to The CJN's arts and culture podcast, Culturally Jewish.
Not that the jingle is Segal-Lazar's biggest achievement this calendar year. She just released her latest album, Valleys, a folksy, emotional record that bounds between foot-thumping country bar tunes and delicate odes to broken relationships. The Montreal-born musician and actor wr...2023-09-2036 minCulturally JewishForgotten Canadian sports icon Bobbie Rosenfeld gets an onstage revival in Barrie, Ont.Most Canadians have never heard of Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld, a woman who left early 20th century Russia and wound up in Barrie, Ont., where she cultivated her love of sports into Olympic glory—including a gold medal.
In some ways, hers is a standard turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrant story, portraying a woman who succeeded by sheer force of will in a new country against her traditional parents' wishes. On the other hand, it's an unconventional tale, given her pioneering feminist attitude and how few people today even know Bobbie's story—including in her hometown of Barrie.
But...2023-09-0630 minCulturally JewishWhy do Jews love jam bands?There's a certain type of Jew, usually Ashkenazi, sometimes Israeli, with a mop of curly hair, an acousitc guitar and an affinity for marijuana, who will inevitably love bands like The Grateful Dead and Phish. Those groups are collectively known as "jam bands", which play lengthy, musically complex songs, often in concert, always with a hefty reliance on improvisation.
Once synonymous with psychedelic drugs, the jam band scene has gone mainstream in recent decades—and for a myriad reasons we'll dissect on today's episode of Culturally Jewish, Jews are buying front-row tickets.
This summer, the As...2023-08-0749 minCulturally JewishBobbi Goddard wasn't born Jewish, living in Mexico, or a country singer—and is now all threeWhen Bobbi Goddard travelled to Mexico in February 2020, she planned on staying just a couple months. But when the pandemic began, locking down borders and economies, she was happy to stay longer, practice Spanish and catch an opportunity to kickstart her dream career as a country music singer.
It wasn't the first time she'd chased a dream—and accomplished it. Born in Kindersley, Sask., she grew up in the Northwest Territories, Medicine Hat and Calgary before converting to Judaism (and moving to Israel for a stint, teaching herself Hebrew) and ultimately winding up in Mexico. She's currently on...2023-07-1338 minNorth Star with Ellin BessnerMira Koschitzky, Gladys Rose and 3 Holocaust survivors: The CJN Daily’s ‘Honourable Menschen’ returnsOver the past year, The CJN Daily has run a regular tribute to prominent members of Canada’s Jewish community who have passed away. We’ve highlighted more than 50 honourable menschen and women from coast to coast. In this latest episode, we profile two Canadian women who led their communities: Mira Koschitzky of Toronto and Gladys Rose of Saskatoon. Plus, three beloved Holocaust educators have died, including Vancouver’s Alex Buckman, Calgary’s Sidney Cyngiser and Cantor Moshe Kraus of Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the oldest of our honourable menschen, the late Lorne Winer, a Second World War veteran, died in Toronto at...2023-07-1126 minCulturally JewishIn his debut comedy album, Jacob Balshin tackles mohels, masculinity and magic mushroomsJacob Balshin didn't take a conventional route to stand-up comedy. The Thornhill native majored in philosophy before working a string of random jobs—at Pizza Pizza, a pet store, Costco, Bulk Barn—all while honing his craft. Now he's releasing his debut comedy album, 30 And Breathing Funny, which he recorded in downtown Toronto on his 30th birthday, filled with stories of dates, drugs and dentists, all delivered in his giggly deadpan style.
After that, David Sklar sits down with director Kevin McKendrick in Victoria, B.C., about their new show, The Guardsman, by Ferenc Molnár, and the s...2023-06-2734 minNorth Star with Ellin BessnerCan Toronto’s next mayor fix transit and housing—and make the city safer for Jews? The CJN Daily’s expert panel ponders it allTorontonians will elect a new mayor, the city’s 66th, on Monday, June 26, in a byelection made necessary by the surprise resignation of John Tory in February. With 102 names on the ballot—including a pet dog—the choice for voters can be confusing, but The CJN Daily‘s political panel is here to break down the issues and evaluate the frontrunners.
In the days leading up to the vote, it’s Olivia Chow’s election to lose. The former NDP MP and city councillor has previously run unsuccessfully for mayor before, but she holds a significant lead over the man...2023-06-2141 minCulturally Jewish'Less Than Kosher' is a surprisingly heartfelt story of spiritual discoveryOne day, after Shaina Silver-Baird graduated from theatre school, the rabbi from her bat mitzvah called her up to ask her if she'd be a cantor for an upcoming wedding. Silver-Baird was not religious; she didn't go to synagogue, speak Hebrew or understand exactly what she was getting into. But she agreed. Years later, from that experience, a web series was born: Less Than Kosher, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Jewish Film Festival and is now streaming on Highball TV.
The digital series follows Viv, a flailing pop star who, like Silver-Baird, winds up singing cantorially. Underscoring...2023-06-1250 minCulturally JewishJeff Rothpan on puppets, stereotypes and what it takes to make it as a comic in the StatesWhen Jeff Rothpan moved to the United States decades ago to pursue comedy as a career, he couldn't imagine he'd one day be working with some of his idols, including Steve Martin and John Cleese. But that's where life took him, and since then, he's written for internationally recognized ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, Canadian model Pamela Anderson and the TV show Roast Battle Canada, for which he was nominated for Best Writing at the Canadian Screen Awards.
Rothpan joins to chat about his lengthy career, including how he made the leap stateside and how Israelis—and Muslims—have reac...2023-05-2937 minCulturally JewishDo Jews have an architectural style? Manuel Herz says yes—with a catchAmong the first major massacres of the Holocaust infamously took place in Babyn Yar, Ukraine, where Nazis murdered more than 33,000 Jews in 1941. Today, the harrowing site—when not under fire by invading Russian forces—is a rising tourist attraction, not just for its historical significance, but also a mesmerizing new synagogue and memorial that was completed 80 years later, in April 2021. Designed by international architect Manuel Herz, the synagogue literally unfolds like a pop-up book, celebrating life, optimisim, creativity and the Jewish literary spirit.
The story of the synagogue, from its historical origins to its construction and completion, is n...2023-05-1527 minCulturally JewishThe Segal Centre is putting on an epic 3-hour Jewish family drama—and we visited the setWhen Lisa Rubin, artistic and executive director of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal, caught Prayer for the French Republic in New York City last year, she walked out of the theatre certain of one thing: she had to put this show on.
She knew it wouldn’t get a long run on Broadway, overshadowed by Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt next door, and few other theatre companies would pick up a three-hour-long family drama with a large cast, heavy Jewish content and a mandate to discuss the many faces of antisemitism. But for her and the...2023-05-0130 minCulturally JewishThis bold new puppet show is tackling the complex history of antisemitic traditionsIn March 2023, Alison Darcy and Joseph Shragge, the co-artistic directors of Scapegoat Carnivale, a theatre company in Montreal, debuted their latest work, Vertip. The show is about a puppeteer who uses stereotypical puppets, based on old Eastern European traditions, including a money-grubbing Jewish loan shark named Zyhd. One day, Zyhd comes to life—and starts demanding money.
It's a different approach to tackling antisemitism, and not one that all audiences have been comfortable with. As Darcy and Shragge explain in the debut episode of Culturally Jewish, people aren't sure whether they should laugh along with the jokes or...2023-04-1635 min
Yehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWhy is Azerbaijan suddenly so focused on promoting its Jewish community?In recent months, the small nation of Azerbaijan has been making a big push to show off their Jews. The leader of the local Jewish community, Rabbi Zamir Isayev, has gone around the world promoting Azerbaijani-Jewish life, making his pitch to Canadians during a visit in November 2022. Here at The CJN, we've received numerous pitches and press opportunities to go on free trips to visit the country's "Mountain Jews". (We haven't taken them up on any.)
There may be grander geopolitical logic behind all this. Sandwiched in the mountainous Caucasus region between Russia and Iran, the dominantly...2023-04-0418 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWhy Ralph left Toronto for Hamilton—and never looked backRalph Benmergui has been hosting Yehupetzville, The CJN's podcast about small-town Jewish life in Canada and around the world, since its debut on Mar. 17, 2021. Since then, we've virtually visited Jews from Glace Bay to North Bay, Jamaica to Jasper, Little Rock to Lethbridge and beyond.
To mark the second anniversary of his successful show, we decided not to look outward, but to turn home—and home, for Ralph, is Hamilton, Ont.
Hamilton is not a small city, nor is its community of 5,000 Jews unimpressive. But its makeup is changing. The long-overlooked industrial city is now ex...2023-03-2129 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiOy, what a beautiful morning: Inside Tulsa's push for new Jewish lifeOklahoma is know for lots of things—country music, Native American history, tornadoes, Black Wall Street—none of which are particularly Jewish. But if you look into Tulsa, a thriving city of 400,000 people, you'll find a vibrant surge of new developments, incredible infrastructure and an active community of 2,600 Jews. Thanks to its numerous synagogues and organizations like Tulsa Tomorrow, the city is a surprising hotbed of Jewish life.
Rabbi Lillian Kowalski joins to discuss the years she spent in Tulsa during the pandemic, what life is like for a nomadic rabbi, and how she's finding her transition nort...2023-03-0935 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiEducation and adaptation: How Kingston's Jewish community keeps thrivingKingston's Jewish community is unique in Canada, doubling in size—from approximately 1,500 year-round to 3,000—with the influx of students studying at Queen's University each year. The result is a stable patchwork. The main synagogue transitioned from Orthodox to conservative; the Reform synagogue has no building; Chabad and Hillel dominate the campus space. Meanwhile, Jewish South Africans and Israelis have moved there in droves, finding jobs around the university, an affordable cost of living and burgeoning immigrant communities.
With so much transience, what's the roadmap for growth? How do you create a stable sense of identity when half the...2023-02-2123 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiHow Heidi Coleman tapped into Kamloops' Jewish community—and quickly became their leaderWhen Heidi Coleman moved to Kamloops from Montreal in 2012, she had to deliberately seek out its Jewish members—asking around, searching for information that was not widely available. Once she found them, however, they welcomed her warmly... and then quickly asked her to become their president.
A charismatic natural leader who is the CEO of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation, Coleman has remained the community's president ever since, mostly because, as she says, nobody else wants to do the job. On this episode of Yehupetzville, Coleman joins to describe the beauty of their faraway Jewish enclave, the st...2023-02-0124 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiShalom, y'all: What life is like for the Jews of Little Rock, ArkansasCanadian-born Rabbi Mark Biller has moved around a lot. But his latest adventure has taken him on his biggest leap so far: in the fall of 2021, he headed south to become the rabbi of Agudath Achim, one of a few synagogues in Arkansas, a state home to just 2,500 Jews. The community is so tight-knit that part of his job interview process was sitting down with rabbis from the local Chabad and Reform congregations for an hour to make sure they'd get along. (They did.)
In this episode of Yehupetzville, The CJN's podcast about Jews in small communities...2022-12-0730 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThis Israeli expat is making Jewish life happen in Prince Edward CountyWhen Hadas Brajtman moved from Tel Aviv to Picton, Ont., she knew it would be challenging. But she didn't realize quite how difficult it would be. With no family or organized Jewish community to fall back on, she decided to try and make something happen herself, putting a call out to locals to join her family in their backyard for a sunny Shavuot celebration.
She expected a few people would show up—and then 50 did, mostly local Jews.
That kicked off Brajtman's new identity as a focal point of Jewish life in Prince Edward County, wh...2022-11-2326 minYehupetzville with Ralph Benmergui'You feel more of an obligation to assert your identity': How the Jews of Tasmania are slowly growing their communityBaltimore is more than 16,000 km away from Hobart, the biggest city on the Australian island of Tasmania. It's quite a distance—and one happily travelled by Jeff Schneider, the current president of the Hobart Hebrew Congregation, Australia's oldest synagogue.
But if you'd told a young Schneider he'd one day be president of a synagogue in Tasmania, he wouldn't have believed you. While the former penal colony island is now a pleasant home to more than half a million people, just 376 of them are Jewish, down from the community's peak of 454 in the 1850s. As Schneider learned when he...2022-11-0724 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWindsor's Jews have a strong pitch to grow their numbers. So why aren't more people moving there?Mark Abraham comes from a long line of Jewish community leaders in Windsor, Ont. His grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, arrived in 1953, simultaneous to a great population boom migrating to the area for jobs in the auto industry; Mark's father became deeply involved in the local Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, acting as president and sitting on its board of directors; and his mother was president of her B'nai Brith Youth Organization chapter, among taking other roles over the years.
While past generations inform Mark of his responsibilities to the community, he's more focused on the future: specifically, getting more...2022-10-2500 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiNiagara Falls is losing its only synagogue—but the building's legacy lives onBuilt in 1937, Niagara Falls' only synagogue—Congregation B'nai Jacob, later renamed B’nai Tikvah—has stood dormant in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregants agreed to sell the building to a nearby developer, who plans to tear it down to build hotels in the near future.
But the spirit of the community is not entirely lost. Despite the shul's numbered days, its stained glass windows, installed during a renovation in the 1970s, will be relocated to a nearby cemetery as part of its Holocaust memorial. It may not attract many of the 13 million tourists who visit...2022-09-2924 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiOne woman's mission to revitalize the Jewish community of Quebec CityOver the past generation, the Jewish community of Quebec City has been decimated—first by the Quebec Referendum, slowly by an outward migration of young people, and finally by COVID-19, which coincided with a loss of funds to keep any paid staff. The outlook for the couple dozen active remaining Jews looked grim.
Debbie Rootman wouldn't accept that. She moved there in September 2019, and swiftly took it upon herself to revitalize the newsletter, organize events and galvanize community members as best she could. After facing extreme challenges in the last two years, Rootman felt so inspired by a...2022-09-0629 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiSmall-town Judaism is in danger. Here's how it can be savedAcross North America, Jews are increasingly migrating to large urban centres, abandoning smaller towns for more opportunities and a more convenient Jewish life. One rabbi is on a mission to change that.
As a student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Rachel Isaacs was assigned to a one-year stint in Waterville, Maine, with one small synagogue and a handful of Hillel students at a local liberal arts college. She quickly realized that the disparate, dwindling community had a chance at surviving through innovative thinking and consolidation: bring together the students and older families to make a minyan...2022-08-2530 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiHow a handful of Jewish doctors formed an unlikely community in Sioux Lookout, Ont.If you've heard of Sioux Lookout, a largely First Nations town of fewer than 6,000 people in Northern Ontario, you probably wouldn't expect it to be home to any number of Jews. The rural community, nestled between clear blue lakes and verdant forests, is an attractive summer getaway—but living there full-time can be difficult.
It's that much harder to practice medicine there, with little support or infrastructure, travelling north to fly-in First Nations communities with sometimes no resident physician of their own. But these are the challenges that attract a certain kind of doctor—and, as it happ...2022-08-0930 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiMeet the Jamaican Jewish leader who once took Louis Farrakhan to synagogueDespite Jews living on the island of Jamaica for more than 200 years, the Caribbean island isn't a logical hotspot for Jewish life. Yet Jewish life has thrived over the years. One man at the centre has been Ainsley Henriques, a longtime leader of Jamaica's Jewish community—he's worn many hats, including as the Honorary Consul of Israel in Jamaica, and met with many important figure, including Louis Farrakhan, whom he once took to a Shabbat service at the synagogue in Kingston.
To share that story and others, Henriques joins to discuss Jewry in Jamaica, the future outlook an...2022-07-0727 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiBorn in Barbados, Simon Kreindler spent years chronicling the island's Jewish historySimon Kreindler was born in Barbados, where he lived until he graduated high school. After that, it was off to Canada—he left behind the Caribbean island's few dozen Jewish families and studied medicine at McGill University. But decades later, in 2013, he felt an urge to revisit memories of his old home and his family's settlement there.
He began researching his parents' journey from Europe to Barbados, and reached out to acquaintances who shared their own family histories. Kreindler stitched these tales together into a self-published book, Peddlers All: Stories of the First Ashkenazi Jewish Settlers in Ba...2022-06-1427 minYehupetzville with Ralph Benmergui'I was not ready to move on': After schoolyard antisemitism struck Stratford, Carrie Wreford took actionIn big cities, Jews have large organizations that can advocate on their behalf. In small towns, it's the locals themselves that need to step up. That's what happened when antisemitic incidents were recently revealed to have happened at a school in Stratford, Ont.—just one of a rash of similar incidents in Ontario schools this year.
After Carrie Wreford heard about Hitler salutes and inflammatory videos at her son's school, she wasn't satisfied by the school's reaction, which focused on this specific incident—but didn't get at the root of the problem. So she initiated class tours of a...2022-05-3026 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiIt's a lonesome life for a Jew in Western Newfoundland—and that's just how Sheina Lerman likes itSheina Lerman has moved around a lot in life, but never has she wanted to live in a big city. After moving to Newfoundland some years ago, during the pandemic, she decided to settle in Deer Lake, a town of 5,000 people—perhaps none of them Jews. She found a nice house across from a sandy beach. Life, for the most part, is quiet.
Except when it isn't. Like in 2021, when she decided to stand for the provincial New Democratic Party in the Liberal stronghold that was home to former premier Dwight Ball, who handed it over to hi...2022-05-1729 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiRemembering the last Jews of Maitland, Ont.Elena Kingsbury grew up in Maitland, Ont., a small town of about 1,200 people—including just two Jewish families. She would hop across the St. Lawrence River into Ogdensburg, NY, where her family were members of the international Anshe Zophen synagogue, which supported congregants from nearby towns on both sides of the border.
In 2000, Kingsbury would be the last bat mitzvah in the now-closed synagogue. The 9/11 attacks made border crossings too difficult, and a declining population led to the regional exodus of many young locals—including herself. Now an education specialist at the Friends Of Simon Wiesenthal Center For...2022-05-0526 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe rise, fall and rebirth of FrumCity, the Orthodox migration to Innisfil that never happenedYears ago, a small group of Orthodox Jews from Toronto decided to start a new community north of the city. They chose Innisfil, a town south of Barrie; plans began to build news houses, import kosher food and leverage a nearby 80-year-old synagogue, Tent City, that's been enjoyed during summers by beach-seeking vacationing Jews for generations. They called the project "FrumCity".
It never happened. The original plan required at least 90 families to buy in—but too few were willing to take the plunge, and housing prices have only risen since then, prohibiting even more off from entering th...2022-04-0625 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiMeet the Canadian who hung up the first mezuzah in Girona's Jewish Quarter since 1492When Leah Stoch Spokoiny moved to Girona, halfway between Barcelona and the French border, in the heart of Catalan, she finally felt at home. The smells, food and social norms connected with her immediately, even though she wound up there almost by chance.
The irony in her feeling at home is that she sticks out—not just as a Canadian, but as one of perhaps 50 Jewish residents in the city of 100,000 people. Despite Girona being the hometown of the Ramban, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, today it has barely any Jews living there, especially in its historic Jewish Qu...2022-03-2326 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiAfter fleeing Toronto, this artist found inspiration in the Canadian woods—and IsraelAlan Glicksman grew up moving around the Toronto area. But even after graduating from high school, he kept moving around—he took up stints as a dishwasher, garbage collector and postal worker over a period of years that saw him bounce from affordable studio apartments in Toronto to an Israeli kibbutz to the small rural town of Flesherton, Ont.
Knowing he was sick of the pollution and chaos of the big city, he finally settled in Owen Sound and dug into his passion for painting. Now with gallery exhibits across the country, including in his hometown's acclaimed To...2022-03-0827 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiGoldie Morgentaler: Keeping Yiddishkeit alive in LethbridgeGoldie Morgentaler is a literature professor and Yiddish expert who's been active in local synagogues, engaged her university's administration on antisemitic incidents and translated into English the work of her mother, the Yiddish-language poet Chava Rosenfarb. You might assume she lives in a hub of Jewish culture—but you'd be wrong.
In 1997, Morgentaler moved from Montreal to Lethbridge, Alberta, where she teaches at the university. The city has perhaps fewer than 20 Jews left, but that hasn't stopped Morgentaler from keeping the spirit of her community alive.
Listen as she describes what life is like in a...2022-02-2331 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWelcome to Waterloo: A lot of Jewish life for not a lot of JewsDespite there only being around 1,500 Jews in Kitchener–Waterloo, there are two synagogues—and Jacob Sivak has belonged to both. Sivak has spent 50 years living a Jewish life in Waterloo, raising children, researching its Jewish history and writing for various Jewish publications. With a campus Hillel and active Chabad house, Judaism in KW has never been more popular. It's a positive trend for a community whose shuls have had ups and downs with memberships and inconsistent rabbi tenures—but will it sustain the community in the future? Sivak joins to discuss.
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Yehupetzville is hosted by Ral...2022-02-1025 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiCan North Bay's decimated Jewish community make a post-pandemic comeback?When Belle Kizell moved to North Bay in 1973, she says, the Jewish community comprised at least 40 engaged families. Women belonged to Hadassah and kids went to Hebrew school. By 2015, they couldn't even form a minyan for the high holidays.
The story of what happened is a familiar one for listeners of this podcast: shrinking industries led to a population decline, young Jews moving away in search of big-city opportunities. But Kizell is optimistic. With remote work on the rise and North Bay's average house listing still under $300,000, southerners are flocking north in search of a more affordable...2022-01-2500 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiMemories of growing up Jewish in postwar ManitobaPrairie Sonata is a debut novel by Sandy Shefrin Rabin. Based on her own experiences growing up Jewish in Manitoba after the Second World War, the book follows a teenage girl's relationship with a recent immigrant from Prague, who teaches her Yiddish and violin.
She joins to discuss her book and personal experiences, including what parts of the book are based on her real life growing up in Winnipeg's vibrant mid-century Jewish community.
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Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis...2022-01-1230 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiKabbalat Shabbat on the beach: This is Jewish life on Bowen IslandA spiritual search was part of the reason Aryana Rayne moved to Bowen Island years ago. Judaism wasn't exactly part of that quest, but once she discovered a small Jewish community on the island of 3,600 people—mostly ad hoc gatherings, meeting in people's homes and celebrating potluck holidays, with an emphasis on the mystical side of Judaism—something clicked. She started going to seminars, reading up on her religion and becoming a lynchpin of the community.
Today, the Jews of Bowen Island have a driftwood Hanukkah menorah, a formal organizational name and a Torah scroll they purchased off...2021-12-0824 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiMeet the 'Bagel Lady of Niagara', serving up the only true Jewish bagels south of HamiltonFrom Niagara Falls to Grimsby, Port Colbourne to Port Dalhousie, you'd be hard pressed to find authentic Jewish baked goods outside of one young bakery: The Bagel Oven.
What began in the basement of a St. Catharines synagogue, and later moved to a remote building off a bumpy rural road in Beamsville, is now a fully fledged Jewish deli in Thorold South, serving up specialty challahs, deli-style cream cheese, smoked salmon and true Montreal-style bagels.
Its owners, Jessica and Steven Bretzlaff, join to tell their story of why they moved to Niagara, how they started...2021-12-0100 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe perfect storm: How one New Yorker found her way to Newfoundland—and never leftFifteen years ago, Elizabeth Loder moved from New York to Newfoundland for what was meant to be a short meteorology assignment. Fast-forward to 2021: Loder, now married and raising three children in St. John's, is a lynchpin of the local Jewish community—a baal tefillah—while still working as meteorologist and engineer.
What has she observed as an outsider welcomed in? How has she brought her knowledge of Judaism to such a small community? How does she handle raising her children Jewishly, when they're surrounded by non-Jews? Loder answers all these questions in this deep dive into Jewish life...2021-11-1731 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe last native Yiddish speaker of Saint John reflects on the Jewish Maritime exodusBefore Robert Brym became an esteemed sociology professor at the University of Toronto, he was the only kid in Saint John, New Brunswick, whose first language was Yiddish.
Born to a religious mother and atheist socialist father, Brym had to navigate cultural and religious different Judaism while figuring out how Jews assimilated (or didn't) in a small Maritime society. From the 1970s, Saint John's Jewish population has dwindled, as Brym—and other Jewish kids from the Atlantic region—moved to bigger cities for school and work.
Brym, today one of the country's foremost experts on Cana...2021-11-0330 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiLiving the rural life in Uxbridge, Ont.It had long been a dream for Charles Karstadt to own a piece of land in his life. And not just a suburban house, but a real plot of earth, where he could farm honey from bees and take hikes in the nearby woods with his partner, Shari Hirschberg.
They spent a long time looking for the right place, ultimately landing on a rural home in Uxbridge, Ont. With few public amenities and plenty of natural surroundings, it seemed perfect, even though it was far from their former Jewish community in Toronto. Then the pandemic hit—and su...2021-10-2028 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe only rabbi in Vaudreuil: Why Alice Frank Patry moved from New York to suburban QuebecAfter living in New York City for 10 years, Alice Frank Patry moved to Vaudreuil, a suburban town across the river from the Island of Montreal. There, married to a non-Jewish man, an hour's drive from the Jewish epicenter of Montreal, Frank Patry became ordained as a Renewal rabbi. She joins to discuss her reasons for moving, her connection to Judaism and how she celebrates her faith in a town with barely any Jews.
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Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão a...2021-10-0624 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWhy Joel Axler loves being one of two Jews living in WalkertonMany years ago, when Joel Axler first moved to Walkerton, Ont., he was sitting in a diner when a postal worker walked in and asked him a question: "Are you in the witness protection program?"
People from the big cities, she explained, don't usually move to the town of fewer than 5,000 people, which sits about halfway between Toronto and Tobermorey. Axler explained he was not being hunted by criminals—he just liked the place.
Axler spent years in show business, having co-founded the Yuk Yuk's comedy club in the 1970s. When a job opportunity presented it...2021-09-1500 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiTake a tour of Jewish Northern OntarioIn October 2020, Robert Walker scratched a lifelong itch: he embarked on a road trip across Northern Ontario, from the major hubs of North Bay and Timmins to the smaller towns of Iroquois Falls, Chapleau and Wawa. Along the way, Walker—a religious Jew—sought out as many landmarks, old synagogues, store names and museum artifacts as he could find that brought to life these small, local Jewish communities. Walker joins today to share his incredible stories from that trip.
Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Loui...2021-08-2528 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiReflections on the once-thriving Jewish community of Glace Bay, NSFew Canadian Jewish communities have experienced such tumultuous changes as Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. In 1902, the coal mining town on the eastern edge of Cape Breton became the site of the first synagogue constructed in the Atlantic provinces. Over the years, Jewish workers shifted into retail and business, growing to several hundred families by the mid-20th century.
These trends held strong for decades, until the overall population of Glace Bay began to decline in the 1970s. The island's oldest synagogue closed down in 2010, and many of its Jews ended up moving away.
On today's...2021-08-1339 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiOne British rabbi's quest to keep Regina's Judaism aliveRabbi Jeremy Parnes left his home in England around a decade ago. He only planned on visiting Regina, Saskatchewan, for a year. But, as these things go, he wound up staying—and hasn't looked back. The Renewal rabbi took the helm of he city's Beth Jacob Synagogue, one of two local Jewish institutions (alongside the Chabad in Regina—not bad for a city whose Jewish populace sits in the hundreds).
On today's episode of Yehupetzville, Rabbi Parnes joins to share his story, explain why he stayed, describe his interfaith efforts and answer the burning question in every smal...2021-07-3033 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe deli men of remote British ColumbiaBritish Columbia's smaller towns have a lot to offer: beautiful nature, oceanside getaways, a tranquil pace of life. But what they don't have is good deli. At least they didn't—until recently.
It's a mission that the comedy writer Howard "Buzzy" Busgang wanted to take on after leaving his Los Angeles home for Salt Spring Island, B.C. He opened Buzzy's, a Montreal-style deli, on what he likes to call "an island with more bears than Jews."
Little did Buzzy know that there was another deli man nearby: Zane Caplansky, owner of Toronto's famous Caplansky's ch...2021-07-1435 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiKeeping Judaism alive in SudburyGrowing up in Sudbury, Ont., Emily Caruso Parnell wasn't Jewish. Later in life, after she converted to Judaism and spent years away, she returned to her native Northern Ontario home in search of a meaningful, quiet life (and an affordable house). In doing so, she became one of a handful of active Jewish residents in the former mining capital, keeping the Jewish spirit alive through campus outreach, local participation, virtual events and personal connections.
Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão and performed b...2021-06-1633 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiStories from Kelowna's tight-knit Jewish communityThere are only a few dozen Jews maintaing a Jewish lifestyle in Kelowna, a beautiful town surrounded by forests, lakes, orchards and mountains in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. When a newcomer wants to join a synagogue—in pre-pandemic times, anyway—they'd get taken out for coffee or ice cream, a warmer reception than you'd see in any big city.
In this episode, two locals, Sandra Blitz and Abbey Westbury, chat about the reality of living Jewish on the ground in Kelowna, touching on the recent rift between Chabad and the JCC, how to find matzah and the surp...2021-06-0238 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiAviva Chernick on the warmth of London, Ont.Aviva Chernick is an award-winning queer Jewish artist living in Toronto. But she didn't grow up there: Aviva hails from the relatively small but still-strong Jewish community of London, Ontario. Despite having only around 2,000 Jewish residents, London has three synagogues, vibrant programming and a tight-knit community filled with eager volunteers. Aviva chats about all these aspects, plus the stark differences between being Jewish in London and Toronto.
Related links:
Listen to Aviva's music and learn more about her at her website, avivachernick.com.
Learn what's happening in London's Jewish community at jewishlondon.ca
Yehupetzville is...2021-05-1934 minYehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiThe exodus from Forest HillIn Toronto's Forest Hill neighbourhood, where Ralph grew up, there's a certain expectation that Jewish kids will stay in the tight-knit community. But Ralph didn't end up doing that—and neither did his three guests, each of whom moved to small communities across the country, from B.C. to Nova Scotia. In this episode, Ralph brings on three former classmates to talk about why they left the big city and what it's like being Jewish far from their hometown. Plus: Ralph gets some negative feedback on his last episode and confronts the listener face-to-face.
Yehupetzville is hosted by...2021-05-0450 min
Yehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiGavriel Strauss on How to Build a Jewish CommunityGavriel Strauss doesn't move to be near Jews: he deliberately moves to places without vibrant Jewish communities. He's made it his mission to create those spaces wherever he goes, by using music, tradition and keeping his door open to everyone. In this episode, Gavriel chats with Ralph about what it was like moving to Guelph, Ont., and later Nelson, B.C., where he currently resides.
Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhaltsan. This show is...2021-04-1929 min
Yehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiHumble Howard's humble beginnings in Moose Jaw, Sask.Before he was the humbler half of the longstanding radio duo Humble and Fred, "Humble" Howard Glassman was one of a scant few Jewish kids in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Hear Howard talk about the anti-Semitism he faced, why he left and how he feels whenever he returns home.
Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhaltsan. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network—find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca. Check out...2021-04-0733 min
Yehupetzville with Ralph BenmerguiWhat's it like being Jewish in Moncton?In our debut episode, Ralph chats with three Jewish residents of Moncton, New Brunswick, about the challenges they face and the struggle to keep the community alive.
Credits:
Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão, and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhaltsan. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network.
Relevant links:
Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca
Read about Moncton's synagogue, Tiferes Israel, at tiferesisrael.com
2021-03-1728 min
The Canadian Jewish ShmoozeSaying GoodbyeIf you haven't heard: The CJN is shutting down, which means this podcast is going on indefinite hiatus. For now, we'll call it goodbye. Hear the paper's staffers share their fondest memories, and listen to an interview with Dr. Daniel Kalla about COVID-19, in this (for now?) final episode of the Canadian Jewish Shmooze. Feel free to keep in touch: find Michael on Twitter @mfraiman, and Alex @alexmrose. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro...2020-04-0937 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeShmoozing From Self-IsolationIn this special work-from-home edition, Michael and Alex discuss how COVID-19 has affected religious and artistic Jewish institutions. Also, they ask whether Hunters, Amazon's new and painfully Jewish show, is worth binging during your self-isolation. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Related Links Hoarding, not supply, causing kosher shortages (The CJN) Coronavirus: More challenges, more Jewish r...2020-03-1935 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeRemembering Norene GilletzWe've got a major announcement in today's episode: co-host Alex Rose, sadly, is leaving the show. Fortunately, we couldn't be happier with his replacement, Ella Burakowski, who joins in-studio to recall her favourite memories of Canada's queen of kosher cuisine, Norene Gilletz. Plus: Michael interviews musician and composer Adi Berkovits about his upcoming concert, an homage to his father's journey home from Auschwitz. Note: In this episode, Ella mistakenly calls the book co-authored by Norene and Daniella Silver "The Silver Palate". She meant "The Silver Platter". Look it up, it's a good one! The Canadian...2020-03-0442 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeDo Jews Need to Worry about Bernie Sanders?Some say the Democratic presidential frontrunner is bad for the Jews. Or at least bad for Israel. Or maybe even a self-hating Jew! Is he any of these things? And speaking of international politics: What's the story with Israel's impending third election? On this all-politics episode, our guest is Yoni Belete, a former staffer at the Israeli embassy in Ottawa, who helps breaks down the ongoing political issues foremost on Jewish minds. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and...2020-02-1939 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeBreaking Down Trump's Peace PlanDonald Trump's "Deal of the Century" is proving to be little more than a hollow marketing campaign. To better understand the situation from the Israeli perspective, Etery Podolsky, a Russian-Israeli graphic designer at The CJN, joins Michael and Alex to offer her take on the plan's value. Plus: Hear an excerpt from our new podcast, Kol Avrum, where host Avrum Rosensweig sits down with Syrian refugee Aboud Dandachi to chat about Syrians' perceptions (and misconceptions) of Israelis. -- The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman...2020-02-0535 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeIntroducing Our New Podcast HostsThe CJN Podcast Network is launching four new shows! In this episode, Avrum Rosensweig, Rebecca Eckler, Dan Aviv and Noah Liebtag personally introduce themselves and their programs, which will feature lengthy interviews, culinary investigations and celebrations of our community. Also on this episode, Ella Burakowski talks about her Holocaust advocacy work and our roundtable debates the big question: Do Jews need to worry about the board game "Secret Hitler"? The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our...2020-01-2338 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeWas Ilhan Omar Really the Biggest Anti-Semite of the Year?This year, an anti-semitism watchdog organization voted Ilhan Omar "anti-semite of the year." But... is she really? Plus, Michael and Alex flip through the pages of history to commemorate 60 years of The CJN. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Related Links From Yoni’s Desk: Unity never gets old (The CJN) Alleged Monsey stabber indicted on six...2020-01-0825 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeThe Year in ReviewIn our final episode of 2019, we invite CJN editor Yoni Goldstein, advice columnist Ella Burakowski and reporter Ron Csillag to discuss their favourite stories of the year. Scroll down to read their picks. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Yoni's Picks From Yoni’s Desk: Overturning Bill 21 will be a marathon, not a sprint How a tea...2019-12-1246 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeThe Funny Times, They are a-ChangingMark Breslin, founder of Yuk Yuk’s, chats about the evolution of comedy, the death of Jewish delis and why, despite the controversy, he booked Louis C.K. for a week of sold-out shows in Toronto. Plus: Alex breaks down a violent protest at York University, where supporters of Israel and Palestine exchanged words and fists. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us...2019-11-2743 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeHoward Shore and the Joys of Jewish Summer CampThe Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.2019-11-1335 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeForgiving a German the Crimes of his Nazi GrandfatherShould Jews hold a grudge against a man whose grandfather was Rudolf Hoess, the Nazi commander of Auschwitz? Alex interviewed the infamous Nazi's grandson for The CJN, and reports back about what he learned. Plus: Avrum Rosensweig, host of the longform interview podcast Hatradio!, joins to chat about his podcast and the results of the Canadian election. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and f...2019-10-3044 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeDebating the Jewish VoteOn this week's edition of the The Canadian Jewish Shmooze, Alex and special guest host Joe Fish speak to Zack Babins, a political consultant and former parliamentary staffer, about Jewish stories in the upcoming Canadian Federal Election. Stick around for Zack's debate with CJN copy editor Jesse Kline, and for the discussion on whether Jews need to worry about the Conservative Party's targeted flyers to Jewish people. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by...2019-10-1842 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeBorei Pri Ha-VeganAs veganism grows worldwide, all sorts of Jews and Israelis are joining the movement. Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin, the new associate rabbi at Beth Tzedec, joins in-studio to discuss her personal path to veganism and how it figures into a Jewish lifestyle. Also: a discussion of Spain's new right of return for Sephardic Jews, and parsing Conservative leader Andrew Scheer's foreign-policy stance towards Israel and Palestine. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché S...2019-10-0237 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeIn a Tiff with Shane GillisThere was plenty of Jewish cinema at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, so cinephile and CJN online editor Leora Heilbronn joins in the studio to chat about a few of the big titles, including Jojo Rabbit, The Vigil, The Painted Bird, Lyrebird and Incitement. They also discuss two recent instances of anti-Semitism: more than one politician in New Jersey using "Jew" as a verb, and Shane Gillis's four-day career as a star on Saturday Night Live.
The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music...2019-09-1836 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeThe Marvelous Mrs. NussbaumEmily Nussbaum is the TV critic at The New Yorker. She's won a Pulitzer Prize and has a new book of essays and profiles out called I Like to Watch, and will be coming to give a talk at the Toronto Reference Library on Oct. 16. She joins Michael for an in-depth chat about the current state of Jewish TV, why The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is overrated, and why so many people freakin' love Shtisel. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya...2019-09-0448 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeDo Jews Really Need to Worry about Rashida Tlaib Being in Israel?Do Jews really need to worry about the possibility of Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib being in Israel? Hosts Michael and Alex pose the question to writer Dave Hazzan, who also chats about his recent CJN essay on the difficult double life of being a patrilineal Jew. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Find Dave Hazzan on Twitter here. 2019-08-2140 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeThe Do's and Don'ts of Jewish YogaWhen our ancestors were exiled from the Holy Land, they lost an important physical – and spiritual – connection to the religion. This week’s guest is Kinneret Kim Dubowitz, an Orthodox yoga instructor who explains how bringing movement back into Judaism can help bridge a spiritual gap felt by many modern Jews. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Related...2019-08-0840 minThe Canadian Jewish ShmoozeShemini Atzeret vs. Elections CanadaThe court battle aiming to push Canada's federal election to accommodate observant Jews is heating up. CJN intern reporter Ben Barak hit the streets to hear public opinion on the case, and he joins podcasts hosts Alex and Michael in studio to chat about what he found out. The Canadian Jewish Shmooze is hosted by Michael Fraiman and Alex Rose, and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Vanya Zhuk, and our outro music is by Latché Swing. Like The CJN Podcast Network on Facebook. Related Reading "Federal Court Hears Challenge t...2019-07-2638 min