Later this week, David and Jenny Spigelman will attend a traditional Passover seder at his parents’ Winnipeg home, along with the couple’s three young sons. Then, on Saturday, the Spigelmans will drive out to spend Easter with Jenny’s grandmother at her farm, and the boys—who are being raised Jewish—get to hunt for Easter eggs. It’s a compromise that’s taking place in many interfaith homes around the world right now. This April, both Passover and Easter (and Ramadan) fall within days of each other on the calendar. And with intermarriage rates among Canadian Jews rising in the past generation to at least 25 percent—and closer to 50 percent in Winnipeg—experts say successfully navigating the holidays this week calls for patience, conversations and celebrating the other’s traditions. David and Jenny Spigelman, who is from Manitoba’s Peguis First Nation, join The CJN Daily, along with Rabbi Aaron Levy of the Makom synagogue in Toronto where they do interfaith Sabbaths and Mimounas, with tips and advice.

What we talked about

Learn more about Makom’s interfaith Shabbat programs and the coming Mamouna/Iftar event April 16 on the synagogue’s website
Why Winnipeg has 50% or more of its young Jews marrying non-Jews, in The CJN
Listen to Bonjour Chai’s second annual Great Canadian Seder episode on The CJN

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

He’s Jewish. She’s agnostic and part-Indigenous. Here are their tips for a successful interfaith seder