North Star with Ellin Bessner

As Jewish people around the world sit down for Passover seders this week, they may be using treasured ritual objects such as seder plates and wine goblets. But taking a more careful look at the tableware might reveal these items were made not by Jews, but rather in factories in industrial cities in China or India. These plants churn out orders of kippot, mezzuzot, Stars of David necklaces—and definitely the finger puppets kids use to count the 10 plagues. This outsourcing of Judaica to Southeast Asia or the Far East has become a common phenomenon, even while some independent gift store owners in Canada and around the world, try to support original Jewish artists as best as they can, while also selling the mass produced products. Does it matter where your Judaica comes from? Does it make your grandfather’s tallit or a cherished kiddush cup any less meaningful if it isn’t made by Jews? On today’s The CJN Daily, we hear from the owner of Israel’s The Judaica Centre in Thornhill, Jodi Segal, along with Judaica artist and scholar David Tzvi Kalman with the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. What we talked about Find Judaica products from Canada, Israel, China and India at Israel’s The Judaica Centre Browse David Zvi Kalman’s Haggadah products on his website Print-O-Craft Press.com Meet the Canadian inventors of the “Kosher Lamp” and other Judaica products in, 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. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

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. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Three hundred Canadian Jewish leaders have put their names to a full-page letter that appeared in several prominent newspapers to express their concerns about what’s happening in Israel and about the threats to democracy there. The first ad ran in the Saturday edition of the National Post. A slightly different version—using more conciliatory language and supporting the “aspiration to find a renewed and applicable balance between the rulings of the majority of the Knesset and the rulings of the courts”—ran Sunday in two popular centre-left and left-wing Israeli newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth and Haaretz. The organizers admit they didn’t plan for the ads to run as late as they did; they had hoped it would be published before Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week that he would be temporarily pausing the push to reform the judiciary until after Passover, so as to avoid “civil war”. The announcement came as hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets and participated in a nationwide general strike to protest the reforms. Still, the message from 300 signatories is the latest and the largest single public expression of concern from Canada’s Jewish diaspora since Israel’s right-wing government took power three months ago. Toronto philanthropist Gary Goldberg and his extended family were among the small group of friends who started the campaign and paid for the ads. Goldberg joins The CJN Daily to explain why they did it. What we talked about Read Phoebe Maltz Bovy writing in_ The CJN _about the history of Jewish open letters Lila Sarick on what four Canadian rabbis tell their congregations about Israel, _in The CJN_ How Halifax got its emergency matzah shipment this weekend, after scarcity, in_ 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. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast or donating to The CJN. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

With just days to go until Passover begins on April 5, the Atlantic Jewish Council sent out an emergency email to all its members advising of a shortage of matzah at the main grocery stores in Halifax. “Please note that there is no longer any matzah in any store in Halifax,” the note read, and advised the Jewish community that Rabbi Yakov Kerzner, of the city’s Orthodox Beth Israel Synagogue, is trying to source matzah from Montreal. It may arrive in time for the first night of Passover, although Kerzner hopes it will come sooner. The growing Jewish community in Halifax has faced challenges for years when trying to source Kosher food for Jewish festivals: orders from Sobeys or the Atlantic Superstore don’t come in on time, or they come with less product than they were supposed to. But this year, the local Jewish community says it is the worst it has been, requiring extraordinary efforts to help families observe Passover with the required foods, particularly the obligation of eating matzah. Rabbi Kerzner joins The CJN Daily along with the executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council, to describe what they plan to do next. What we talked about Find out more about Rabbi Yakov Kerzner and Beth Israel Synagogue in Halifax_ _on The CJN.ca How post tropical storm Fiona meant Hurricane High Holidays for the Jews of the Maritimes in the fall of 2022, on_ The CJN Daily_ Watch the Kashruth Council of Canada’s new videos on what is Kosher for Passover on their YouTube Channel 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 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

As Jews around the world prepare for Passover, beginning April 5, one retired teacher is proposing a new way to welcome young people into the Seder ritual. Pearl Richman is particularly concerned that many traditional haggadot books start the reciting of the Passover story by referring to four types of curious children: wise, evil, simple and the child who doesn’t know how to ask. Richman and her family have created two new haggadot that use more modern, inclusive and accepting language, designed for modern families. They honour refugees, children murdered in the Holocaust, terror victims in Israel and Jews who identify as LGBTQ, like Richman’s own daughter, Maxie. After their original haggadah rewrite for adults in 2019, Maxie, a Jewish school teacher in Toronto, helped co-write a kids’ version of the inclusive haggadah, called Hug-it-Out. Richman’s collection of made-in-Canada Passover items are being sold at Jewish museums and retailers around North America (and are featured in The CJN’s new glossy magazine, coming out for Passover). Richman joins The CJN Daily to explain how her 94-year old mother inspired them to jump into the Judaica business. What we talked about Learn more about Pearl Richman’s Judaica collection The Haggadah Collective Read why Pearl and her daughter Maxie wrote their Haggadah for kids, in The CJN Sign up for the Murray Foltyn bone marrow swab to save his life with Ezer Mitzion. 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. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

The CJN Daily is publishing a special breaking-news podcast due to the momentous events happening on the ground in Israel. A labour strike called by the Histadrut over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s slate of reforms shut down much of Israel on Monday. That means Ben Gurion airport, stores, buses, universities and schools were all abruptly closed—along with Israeli embassies and consulates around the world, including in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Massive protests were held Sunday across Israel, and these continued Monday outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, where Netanyahu and his coalition colleagues met to decide next steps. In a statement late Monday March 27 Israel time, Netanyahu agreed to pause the judicial legislative package immediately, to avoid “civil war, but vowed to push ahead later this spring after the Knesset recesses for Passover. Protestors feel the reforms to the Supreme Court and other laws that would shelter convicted politicians – undermine Israel’s democracy. The country’s now-former defence minister Yoav Gallant even warned on the weekend that all the anger against the Netanyahu government poses a serious threat to Israel’s safety, but he was quickly fired on Sunday for making the comments. And in the middle of it are two Canadian journalists and analysts based in the Tel Aviv area who haven’t slept in the past 24 hours. Aron Heller was a correspondent for the Associated Press covering Israeli for 15 years, and now works as a freelance journalist specializing in tech, defence and security. Vivian Bercovici was Canada’s ambassador to Israel from 2014 to 2016, appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper. She is now the editor-in-chief of a startup news platform, State of Tel Aviv. Heller and Bercovici each joined early Monday before Netanyahu’s announcement with their takes on the political turmoil, security risks and what Canadian Jews in the diaspora should do right now. What we talked about Read more analysis from Vivian Bercovici on The State of Tel Aviv.com Follow Aron Heller’s articles and feature stories on his website. Read Lila Sarick’s story in The CJN about the protest Sunday in Toronto by Israeli and Canadian Jews. 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. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Jewish social services agencies across the country say their Passover food boxes are going out to more needy clients this holiday season than ever before—and they’re pointing a finger at inflation. From Ottawa to Toronto to Calgary and beyond, volunteers are seeing significant increases in demand over last year. On Sunday March 26, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada’s Toronto branch marked the 40th anniversary of its annual Passover food drive by delivering 3,000 food hampers. That’s in contrast to 2,300 last year—a 30 percent spike. In Ottawa, the kosher food bank began assembling Passover boxes also on Sunday at Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue for 131 clients—another increase over the 124 people who received boxes in 2022. And in Calgary, the increase was 35 percent this year, preparing 74 boxes to families in need vs. 55 last year. Officials there say it’s due to an influx of Ukrainian refugees, increased rents and high unemployment in the Western city. On today’s The CJN Daily, we visit the massive packing operation with Toronto's Shelly Feldman and Gail Crystal from the Toronto National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, and also speak to Linda Schwartz Prizant from the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, with a front-line report. What we talked about Read our story about the need rising by 20 per cent last year in The CJN Hear volunteers packing at the UJA Global Seder event in Toronto in 2022 on_ The CJN Daily_ Why is Kosher for Passover Coca Cola different? Read about it in 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. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

A new TV series by award-winning Canadian filmmaker Igal Hecht explores whether archeology can definitively prove the Jewish connection to Israel. Just in time for Passover and Easter, the first season of Secrets of the Land debuted March 15 on YES TV, a Canadian faith-based channel. Hecht and his team were given unprecedented access to some of Israel’s most important archeological excavation sites, from the Tower of David to the tunnels below the the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and even the ancient sites of Shiloh and King Solomon’s Mines in Timna near Eilat. His cameras follow renowned archeologists from Israel and abroad as they unearth fragments of pottery and tile from thousands of years ago, and then use modern scientific techniques to explore whether the Bible stories surrounding these sites might be true–for Jews and for other faiths. As Hecht explains on today’s The CJN Daily, he feels the series will help continue the conversation about the deep ties the Jewish people have to the Land of Israel. What we talked about Watch the trailer for Igal Hecht’s Secrets of the Land, out on YES TV Wednesday nights Read more about Igal Hecht’s career in The CJN Igal Hecht filmed the 2021 war between Israel and Hamas for_ The CJN_ Register for Thursday’s live CIJA webinar on the current situation in Israel, beginning at 12 noon ET, or watch it on CIJA’s Facebook page. 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.

When the Russian invasion began a year ago on Feb. 24, 2022, newlyweds Inna Movchan and Vitalli Shkarbun were in Lviv, eagerly anticipating their wedding reception with more than 100 guests. Instead, as Russian shells started to fall, the party was cancelled, and the young couple found themselves in a long line of cars fleeing to safety. They arrived in Toronto in April of last year. Since then, they’ve both found jobs and housing, thanks to the help of several Jewish communal social service agencies, including Jewish Vocational Services, the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services and the JRCC (Jewish Russian Community Centre), among others. Movchan, 24, is now on parental leave with the couple’s first baby, a daughter, Yeva, who was born a few months ago. Shkarbun, 30, works full-time. They are both keeping a close eye on developments in the war, and also fundraising to help send supplies to the front lines and the wounded. They join The CJN Daily to tell us how they’re coping with making Canada their new home, even while they worry about those they left behind. What we talked about How Canadian Jews are opening their hearts and wallets to help Ukrainian Jews, in_ The CJN._ Why three Montreal rabbis got on a plane in March 2022 to help Ukrainian refugees, in The CJN. Read more about Inna and Vitalli’s fundraising efforts to help their families back in Ukraine. 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.

In the world of British Columbia high school athletics, it was a huge deal on March 11, when the senior boys basketball squad from King David High School—the province's only Jewish high school—came from behind during the last seven minutes of the BC School Sports 1A Boys Basketball Provincial Tournament finals, beating the defending provincial champions from Unity Christian School. After the Lions were eliminated in the early rounds of last year's provincial playoffs, coming back to capture their league trophy this time capped off a successful five-year run for their star players: point guard Jesse Millman, shooting guard Ezra Heayie and centre Joseph Gabay. But after all the celebrating on the court that night following the Lions 72–68 win, and after the welcome-home assembly last week in their school gym, the group realized that the pivotal game likely marked the last time these 17-year-olds would lace up together to play varsity basketball. And they're uncertain whether they'll even continue to play their sport competitively after graduating this summer. The teens join The CJN Daily, along with their coach, David Amran, to take us behind the scenes of the historic victory, including their secret weapon: rabbis in the stands chanting prayers of support. What we talked about Learn more about the winningest Montreal YMHA men’s basketball team of the 1930s and '40s in The CJN How a basketball game taught neo-Nazi Jim Keegstra’s students a lesson in tolerance, and to the Jewish players, too, on The CJN Daily Meet the King David High School Class of 2021 who graduated during COVID, _on The CJN Daily_ 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.