North Star with Ellin Bessner

At age 17, Doris Grinspun moved to Israel, where she enrolled in nursing school in Jerusalem. When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, even though she was still a student, Grinspun was thrown into action anyway, caring for wounded Israeli soldiers in the burn unit. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor who fled to Chile during the war—where she was born and raised—Grinspun was no stranger to generational trauma. Now, she's working on the frontlines of a different war: against COVID-19 and anti-vax misinformation, and alongside thousands of nurses whose industry has reached a breaking point. As head of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, a lobby group representing Ontario's 45,000 nurses, Grinspun advises Premier Doug Ford frequently and has handled, by her count, more than 8,000 media requests about the pandemic. She joins today to share a glimpse into the dire situation facing Ontario's health care system, including an exodus of nurses fleeing to the United States for higher wages and what she fears is a too-fast economic reopening. What we talked about: Visit the RNAO website at rnao.ca Read Grinspun's blog at doris-blog.rnao.ca See the obituary notice for Rabbi Mordechai Glick at dignitymemorial.com Learn more about Time For My Story at timeformystory.com Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Steven Levitt isn't the first Jew to compete in CBC TV's reality competition, The Great Canadian Baking Show. But he is the only one this season. And so far, he's proven to be a pretty smart cookie, surviving the show's first three weeks. That he won a couple competitions along the way is just the icing on the cake. Not that he's been able to to brag about it—until now. He and his rivals were whisked off to a secret location this past summer for eight weeks of filming, where judges separated the wheat from the chaff and voted off the least-deserving muffin makers. But now that the show is airing, the tattooed, motorcycle-riding Jewish dad is free to break bread with The CJN Daily. How did he transform his pie-in-the-sky dream of pro baking into sweet reality? He gives us the straight answers—no sugarcoating. What we talked about: Watch the show at cbc.ca/life/greatcanadianbakingshow Learn Steven's recipe for chai pound cake at cbc.ca Donate to Sam Tenebaum's marathon fundraiser at fundraisers.hakuapp.com/sam-tenenbaum Get your free consultation from www.timeformystory.com  Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Today marks The CJN Daily's 100th episode: a significant milestone for any podcast, but especially one exclusively covering Canadian Jewish issues on a daily basis. We’ve reported on Canada's Wacky Mac shortage, the 2021 war between Israel and Hamas, the anniversary of the MS St. Louis, Canada's first summit on antisemitism and dozens more topics that matter to Canadian Jews. The CJN Daily really is what Jewish Canada sounds like. On this special anniversary episode, we've invited other hosts from The CJN Podcast Network for a podcast party bonanza. Join the voices behind Bonjour Chai, Yehupetzville, Menschwarmers and Rivkush—together for the first time—to discuss what it's like being storytellers with Canada's biggest Jewish podcast community. What we talked about: Listen to all The CJN's podcasts at thecjn.ca/podcasts Learn more about Time For My Story at timeformystory.com Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

If horror films ever have religious themes, they’re almost always Christian ones: good and evil, exorcisms, crosses and vampires, satanic cults. But as Halloween approaches, a Jewish horror-aficionado power couple is arguing that should change. Canadian horror writer Ariel Fisher and her husband, Jonathan Barkan, believe Jews have been reluctant to mine their real-life horrific experiences for artistic expression in the horror genre. In reality, Jews have suffered centuries of trauma that could well fuel its own subgenre. Fisher, who was born in Thornhill and now lives with her American-born husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan, join today to explore why Jewish horror stories have been so rare—and how they think it could change. What we talked about: Learn about Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, an upcoming film by Jonathan Barkan, at mentalhealthhorrordoc.com Follow Ariel Fisher, managing editor of the horror magazine Fangoria, on Twitter @Afis8 Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

In the spring of 1944, Eva Olsson's family—along with the rest of her town’s Jewish population—was deported to Auschwitz. Her parents were killed, along with her brothers and all but one sister. A year later, after being moved to Bergen-Belsen, Olsson wound up liberated as the war ended, and subsequently moved to Sweden, where she met and married a Swedish man. The family ended up moving to Canada after that, where Olsson stayed silent about her wartime experience for 50 years—until a grandchild asked her to speak at their school. That was 25 years ago. Today, Olsson estimates she's shared her life story with nearly two million students, as she's become one of Canada's most recognizable and vocal survivors. She’s written a memoir, been the subject of a short documentary and has received an honorary doctorate. And this week, Olsson had to fit a special event into her busy speaking calendar. On Oct. 28, 2021—her 97th birthday—she's being honoured in an online event arranged by her neighbours in Bracebridge, Ont., together with Yad Vashem’s in Jerusalem. Olsson joins today to share her story and offer advice on how to combat rising hate, Holocaust denial and antisemitism. What we talked about: Watch a short documentary about Eva Olsson, "Stronger Than Fire", on YouTube Read "Karina Gould’s new role comes with her new status as the only Jewish minister in Canada’s new federal cabinet" at thecjn.ca Read "Yad Vashem marks the birthday of prolific Holocaust speaker Eva Olsson, who lives in Muskoka at age 97" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Tova Moradi is in her late 70s. After the Taliban came to power and threatened to stone her, one of the last remaining Jews in Afghanistan, she knew she had to leave the country. Weeks ago, a joint Canadian-Israeli rescue mission snuck Moradi and some of her extended family out of the country. But even though it happened weeks ago, details are only now being released, since Moradi and her family have landed safely in a Middle Eastern country on Oct. 25. That means four of Moradi's children, who live in Canada, can sleep a little easier. But the story doesn't end there. The rescue mission got them out, but the next step remains a mystery: Where will they end up? Moradi and other family members are hoping it will be Canada, but that's not a sure bet. On today's episode, we're joined by Joseph Friedberg, the man at the centre of the rescue operation, as well as Moradi's daughter Korsheid. What we talked about: Read "Another plane load of women from Afghanistan now safe after second Canadian-Israeli rescue" at thecjn.ca To learn more about the Box Jump Challenge for Stevie Schwartzberg, visit familialdysautonomia.org Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Back in the 1990s, after directing Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg kickstarted a global effort to film the testimony of as many Holocuast survivors as possible. Teams of interviewers were sent out to film survivors in the U.S., Israel, Canada and beyond. Today, more than 50,000 videos sit in the archives of Spielberg's Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California. It has become the world's largest collection of Holocaust and genocide survivor testimonies, all freely accessible to schools and researchers. In 2018, years after the project wrapped up, the foundation's organizers renewed their efforts to speak with people who didn't participate the first time—not just survivors of the European concentration camps, but also Russians, North Africans, hidden children, children from displaced-person camps, war veterans and others. It's called the Last Chance Testimony Collection. It's taken time to track down people to speak with, and organizers now have a waitlist of hundreds of people. The Canadian branch just launched yesterday, with officials from the California-based institution joining members of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and Liberation75 for an online event. We're joined today by Marilyn Sinclair, herself the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, who's running the Last Chance Collection in Canada. What we talked about: Learn about the Last Chance Collection in Canada at liberation75.org/testimony Watch Pinchas Gutter's testiomony for the USC Shoah Foundation on YouTube Browse the USC Shoah Foundation's existing Canadian testimonials online at iwitness.usc.edu/register Register for "The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness at Trinity Bellwoods Park" at eventbrite.ca Read "Holocaust survivors’ testimonies get digitally preserved" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

The Atlantic Jewish Council is unique in North America, as the only federation that deals with Jews who live in different cities—even across provincial borders. The organization represents an estimated 4,000 Jews who live in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. And this month, its executive director, Naomi Rosenfeld, is leaving her post after five years in the job. She and her husband are expecting their first child in November, and the couple has decided to leave Halifax and move back to their native Toronto, so they can be close to their extended families. Rosenfeld joins today to explain her reasoning, how she feels about the move, her legacy, and the future of Atlantic Canada's Jewish community. What we talked about: Read the letter announcing Rosenfeld's departure View the job posting at theajc.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

When hostilities broke out in May between Israel and Hamas, 13 Israelis were killed and more than 300 others were wounded. Staff from OneFamily, an Israeli charity with strong Canadian roots, which offers support to terror victims in Israel, swung into action, visiting hospitals and figuring out what resources were needed. It’s been this way for 20 years, over which time their annual hike across Israel—happening this week, spearheaded by the charity's Canadian branch—has become a signature event. This year, hikers are hoping to raise $300,000 as they trek the hills of the Ein Gedi nature reserve with some victims of terrorism and their families. It’s a smaller group than usual, with just 29 Canadians and a couple of Americans, due to the pandemic. However, as usual, the hike still brings the charity's volunteers face-to-face with the Israeli families supported by their efforts and donations. They tackle the terrain together—even if some of the hikers are in wheelchairs. OneFamily supporters Bruce Cowley and Robyn Mirsky join today, along with the organization's executive director, Toby Rosner. What we talked about: Read more about Lt. Daniel Mandel at daniel-mandel.co.il Learn about the OneFamily Fund at onefamilyfund.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

On Oct. 17, at the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards, Montrealer Sigal Samuel won an award for her new children’s book, Osnat and Her Dove: The True Story of the World's First Female Rabbi. It tells the real-life story Osnat Barzani, a Kurdish-Jewish scholar who lived about 400 years ago in Mosul—and had an unconventional upbringing. Barzani's father ran a yeshiva, but didn’t have sons to share his knowledge with. Instead of forcing his daughter to do chores and get married young, he taught her Torah, the Talmud, midrash, Kabbalah and Hebrew, leading Barzani to eventually become the head of her father’s yeshiva. Sigal Samuel could empathize with Barzani's story: her Orthodox father also taught her Jewish studies, although despite her training, she didn't become a rabbi. The author and journalist's first novel The Mystics of Mile End also won a Canadian Jewish Literary Award in 2016. Samuel joins today with Rabbi Lila Kagedan, the first-ever Canadian born Orthodox female rabbi, to discuss Barzani's life and its implications for women rabbis centuries later. What we talked about: Buy Osnat and Her Dove at levinequerido.com/osnat-and-her-dove Read: "Canadian Yeshivat Maharat graduate hired by Orthodox synagogue" (thecjn.ca, 2016) Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.