Bonjour Chai is going weekly! Every other week, we'll be featuring shorter, more intimate episodes with fascinating Canadian Jews. Today, Ilana sits down with Aviva Armour-Ostroff, a director, actor and writer whose work has spanned decades in the Canadian theatre and film scene. Her latest movie, Lune, is receiving its Canadian premiere at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, where it became the first Canadian film to win the festival's prestigious Micki Moore Award for best narrative feature by a female director. Watch the trailer or buy tickets at TJFF.com.

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

May 11 marked two big events for watchers of Jewish demographics in North America: in Canada it was Census Day, whereby Jews could identify themselves as Jewish in the long-form census; and in the United States, the Pew Research Center released a sprawling survey into American Jewry. What lessons can be gleaned from new demographic insights? What are the key takeaways from the Pew study? Why is Canada failing to perform similar behavioural studies here? To help analyze the data, we're joined by Robert Brym, a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto. Plus, we discuss Canada's role in the current conflict between Israel and Gaza.

Relevant links:

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

In 1975, Jason Sherman received a certificate for his bar mitzvah. Instead of a regular savings bond, the certificate explained that a tree had been planted in Israel, in his name, by the Jewish National Fund. Now a playwright and documentary filmmaker, Sherman wanted to find that tree in what is today known as Canada Park, a 700-hectare Israeli national park—but one with a controversial history of appropriated Palestinian land. Sherman joins to talk about his new film, My Tree, which debuts at the Hot Docs festival this week.

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a production of The Jewish Learning Lab and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

Concordia University's student union recently surprised the Canadian Jewish community by issuing an apology for indifference to anti-Semitism on campus. Nicole Nashen and Harrison Kirshner, the two Jewish students who pushed for that apology, join us to explain how they did it. Plus: Dr. Barry Pakes talks about COVID vaccination and viral outbreaks in the Jewish community, and how we can combat vaccine misinformation.

What We Talked About

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Bubbe Golda is a creation of Adina Katz. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a production of The Jewish Learning Lab and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

We're in the thick of Passover, which means Mimouna is right around the corner. What's Mimouna, you (likely Ashkenazim) might ask? It's the end-of-Passover celebration, celebrated by Sephardic Jews around the world. Avi, Ilana and Melissa chat with Instagram comedian Orel Gozlan to learn more about it. Find Orel on Instagram @orelgozlan.

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. "What Bubby Golda Says" is by Adina Katz. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a production of The Jewish Learning Lab and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

Next week, Jews around the world will face their second year of Passover in self-isolation. Should the halachic rules change in the wake of these exceptional circumstances?

Relevant links:

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. "What Bubby Golda Says" is by Adina Katz. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a production of The Jewish Learning Lab and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

On the debut episode of Bonjour Chai, we bring on Rabbi Steven Wernick of Beth Tzedec to discuss his conservative temple's recent bombshell move: marrying same-sex couples. Plus, we discuss the controversy around a street in Ajax, Ontario, that is for some reason named after a Nazi.

This episode is sponsored by Atelier Lou (atelierlou.com) and Securassure (securassure.ca).

What We Talked About

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Bubbe Golda is a creation of Adina Katz. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a production of The Jewish Learning Lab and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

Canadian Jews, listen up: this podcast's for you. Join hosts Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon as they break down the goings-on across our community. Geographically and politically diverse, this show will dive into current affairs, spiritual advice, and the latest news with in-depth analysis and special guests. (Trailer music: Glass Eye/Snow Globe by Great Circles.)