North Star with Ellin Bessner

Funeral services were held Jan. 17 in Montreal for 96-year-old Joseph “Jerry” Gross, one of the last surviving Canadian veterans of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. He served with the 52nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade, along with many other young volunteers. Gross regularly organized reunions of North American machalniks—the Hebrew short form for the nearly 5,000 “volunteers from abroad” who helped defend the rag-tag Israeli troops against a vastly superior Arab invasion force. Such contributions to the survival of a Jewish homeland could serve as an inspiration to the students of today, says the Canadian producer of a documentary film about the machalniks which is currently in production. Jeff M. Hoffman hopes his film, Unlikely Heroes, will get their story on big screens everywhere. He joins The CJN Daily to talk about it. Read a full obituary of Joseph “Jerry” Gross in The CJN Learn more about the “Unlikely Heroes” film in this 2016 story Machal veterans Dr. Bill Novick and Irving Mallow in this story from our archives 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Before it became the glamorous playground of rich celebrities—and before Lincoln Road Mall’s humble shops were replaced by designer boutiques—Miami Beach was a popular and affordable winter destination for low-income Jewish snowbirds, who flocked from Canada and the northern U.S. to escape the winter months to fill up the low-budget Art Deco hotels. It’s a world that’s long since disappeared. Toronto-based photographer Naomi Harris is now paying tribute to that time—and to a group of feisty seniors whose lives she documented while she lived among them in a hotel from 1999 to 2002. Haddon Hall is her new book, named for the South Beach lodgings where she snapped portraits of the Holocaust survivors, pensioners and widows. She joins The CJN Daily to explain why too many people overlook senior citizens because of ageism, and why her photos capture their joy. What we talked about: Learn more about Naomi Harris' new book Haddon Hall Read more about the lost world of Miami Beach in this article in The CJN Visit the artist's website NaomiHarris.com 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. Subscribing to this podcast is easy: please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Nike may have issued the deciding word in the long standing debate about which city makes the best bagels in the world: the footwear company’s latest sneaker is out, and it’s an ode to the honey-dipped, dense, chewy bagel made in wood-burning ovens. The beige, low-rise sneaker was released on Jan. 13 in Montreal—before the rest of the world could buy one. As far as we know, this is the first time anyone has immortalized the city’s most Jewish culinary invention in a shoe, right down to the sesame seeds. The CJN’s resident sneakerhead Avi Finegold, from our sister show Bonjour Chai, braved the winter weather to see what all the excitement was about. He joins The CJN Daily to give a blessing to the next addition to his own shoe collection. What we talked about: Read how Reebok goofed on designing a shoe in honour of Israel's birthday in The CJN Read more about the Nike Montreal Bagel dunks shoe launch Melissa Lantsman also collects sneakers: Read what she wears on Parliament Hill 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Sidney Nemes hasn’t been able to take more than a long weekend off work in decades of running his family’s kosher meat business in Montreal. But this week, the owner of J&R Kosher Meat and Deli in Cavendish Mall, is relaxing in Florida for at least a month with his wife Susie, who worked alongside him. The Nemeses are recovering from their decision to close the meat factory and retail store, which his late father Robert—a Holocaust survivor—founded in 1952. The news was a shock to the community. But after a goodbye Hanukkah party for customers, the premises in the heavily Jewish area of Cote Saint-Luc had to be vacated three days later, on Dec. 23. Nemes, 67, says he couldn’t keep the business afloat any longer for three reasons: unfavourable terms to renew his lease, a drop in business after the COVID lockdown, and a lack of support on pricing from Montreal’s rabbinical kosher agency. J&R may be gone, but Nemes isn’t going to abandon his customers. He joins The CJN Daily to discuss his plans for a comeback in the spring. What we talked about: Follow J&R Kosher to find out when and where Sidney will reopen Hear why Montreal’s kosher meat is so expensive on Avi Finegold's heated interview with the head of MK: Montreal Kosher 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 learn how to subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

A much-anticipated concert in London, England by singer Bracha Jaffe on Sunday, Jan. 15, has raised the ire of some of that city’s rabbis—even though it’s being billed for an audience exclusively made up of women and girls. Ticket-holders have been advised not to attend by some hardei girls’ schools and the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations umbrella group. The concert will go ahead, but it’s also drawing attention towhat Montreal scholar Jessica Roda has termed “Cyberfrumenism.” Her new research reveals the growing popularity of a generation of young haredi women performers—including some from Canada—using social media to showcase their voices and attract thousands of fans. Roda joins The CJN Daily to describe how this new wave of religiously devout celebrities are pushing against the taboo in the ultra-Orthodox world known as kol isha, where modest women aren’t supposed to sing in spaces where men might hear them. What we talked about: Learn more about Jessica Roda and her research on Orthodox women and technology Read two Canadian rabbis’ takes on kol isha from 2018 inThe CJN Zehavit Rosenbloom’s comedy on YouTube 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

There’s something fishy about 21-year-old Jeremy Urbach, who runs Gishmak Herring. It’s a YouTube channel dedicated to reviewing forage fish. (Gishmak means delicious in Yiddish.) It started as a joke during the pandemic. But now, two years later, the Torontonian’s funny takes on the Ashkenazi dish are reaching a new generation of fans of all flavours of Judaism and beyond. Urbach is a graduate of TanenbaumCHAT high school, who studied at a yeshiva in Israel before enrolling in a business program at Western University. His honest love comes from his South African grandparents’ recipes—eaten with the bow-tie cookies known as kichel—and also the monthly Herring and Scotch events attended by his father. He’s also taken the reviews on the road: to Crown Heights, New York, and all the way to Israel—where he says the herring is too salty. He joins The CJN Daily along with his videographer and longtime pal Avi Teich, to break down why herring is good for you, and why you should try new flavours like chipotle mayo or maple syrup. What we talked about: Watch Gishmak Herring videos on YouTube and Instagram Learn more about the history of Jewish herring in The CJN story from 2018 Listen to the Blue Moose Menorah episode 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. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Irvin Studin used to be a professional soccer player, and the policy expert, academic and think-tank head likes sporting terminology. Which means, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the nation needs to win the next game—or we risk losing Canada. That’s the premise of Studin’s new book, Canada Must Think for Itself: 10 Theses for Our Country’s Survival and Success in the 21st Century. The son of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union—who currently lives in Richmond Hill, Ont.—takes a look at COVID-19’s devastating impact on government, health care, the economy, education, national unity, media, information and social structures. His diagnosis is stark. He calls it a catastrophe. Studin offers 10 main prescriptions for how the country can survive—if Canadians are up to the challenge. He joins The CJN Daily to discuss the gloomy start of this year, and how long Canada has left to get things right. What we talked about: Learn more about Irvin Studin and The Institute for 21st Century Questions Learn more about Jews who were expelled from Arab lands in this episode from 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. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

When Canada went into COVID lockdown in March 2020, the weekly newspaper version of The Canadian Jewish News also stopped publishing, shortly afterwards. Advertising dried up, as community events were all cancelled. The CJN offices were shuttered. Staff was laid off—including editor-in-chief Yoni Goldstein. But within weeks, Goldstein realized he could not let the award-winning institution simply disappear after 60 years. The CJN would have to pivot and modernize. Plus find new and different ways of connecting with loyal readers, while reaching new audiences through social media, email newsletters and podcasts. Coming up to three years since those dark times, Goldstein joins The CJN Daily to reflect on why reviving the paper was personal, how far it’s come, and to announce some exciting developments for 2023—and where you come in. What we talked about: How to donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt—for more information email support@thecjn.ca Donate any amount via our page at CanadaHelps 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

Marie Levine started creating fused glass menorahs in Ottawa after discovering her synagogue’s gift shop stocked only the traditional pressed-metal designs that were made in China, or Pakistan and had been on the shelves for thirty years. Now her menorah designs, with bright colours and shapes, are on display at museums and gift shops around North America – including the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Levine is inspired by storied artists including Kadinsky and Monet, and even by Bible stories such as Joseph’s coat of many colours. She’s featured in The CJN’s magazine this winter, and sits down with The CJN Daily to explain why people should show off their Hanukkah menorahs not just during the festival of lights. What we talked about: Marie Levine's studio and website See The CJN Magazine feature about Marie Levine Follow the Edmonton scavenger hunt for Hanukkah 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

After an unsettling encounter with a Holocaust denier in 2021, the small, energetic Jewish community of Bowen Island, BC, decided they needed to become more visible. That meant, among other things, showcasing their culture and traditions to the rest of the island. Matthew van der Giessen had an idea. Though he isn't an artist—he's a massage therapist—he began collecting pieces of driftwood off the beach to create a six-foot-tall hanukkiah. The makeshift menorah, completed in 2021, now stands among the island's annual display of Christmas trees and has received a lot of media coverage. This week, despite needing a few touch-ups, the sculpture is back—and van der Giessen joins The CJN Daily to describe his creative process, his own journey to Judaism and how his piece speaks volumes about the unique spirit of his tight-knit island's community. What we talked about: Hear more about Jewish life on Bowen Island on Yehupetzville (Dec 2021) Read more about the driftwood menorah at Neighbourhood Small Grants 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.