Not That Kind Of Rabbi with Ralph Benmergui

Many lifetimes ago I was a stand-up comic. There were a lot of great comics that started with me back then. Way funnier too. One was Lawrence Morgenstern. He loved the craft and put his heart and soul into it Lawrence passed away a little while ago . This time on NTKR I speak with his longtime partner Rosalynne Gelade as we swap stories about one very funny gentle giant.

Two of the top three Jewish holidays are about to happen. Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah and the day of atonement, Yom Kippur. They are referred to as the days of awe. Or, if you're fasting on Kippur for 25 hours with no food, water, cars, cell phones or even sex, then for some it's the days of awww.

Avrum and I will talk High Holidays and what they mean to us on this edition of Not That Kind of Rabbi. Dontae to keep us going at pateron.com/NTKR

This time on Not That Kind of Rabbi we begin a new chapter by welcoming friend ad wise person, Avrum Rosensweig to the podcast. We'll talk about God, the journey to and away from that G word and why Avrum threw out his yellow suede shoes.

This time on Not That Kind of Rabbi it's the Passover edition. I'm joined by one of Toronto's Rabbinic brightest lights. Rabbi Aaron Levy from Makom Creative Downtown Judaism. We talk freedom, slavery and what the heck the Passover meal (Seder) is really all about. We start by showing Charlton Heston (Moses) the door.

Brian Fraser is many things. A Minister, organizational development wizard, runner and tying it all together, a jazz lover. We talk about the whole darn mess in a jazzy kinda way on this episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi.

When I first saw Jeremy Hotz do stand-up, he looked nervous, very nervous. Turns out in the end he has extreme anxiety disorder, oh and he's very funny. After 30 years it's so great to reconnect.

Lara Rae is a comedian. A very good one. Lara Rae is Trans and a comedian. Lara Rae is deeply spiritual, Trans and a comedian. She is also someone I have had the pleasure of knowing for a very long time. Thing is, it's been years since we've had a chance to come together. Well, the time has come. Listen and enjoy.

Jaffa Road is a street name in Israel. It also happens to be the name of a wonderful group of musicians who bring elements of middle eastern, south asian and yes, even jazz together to make a wonderful soulful stew. They have a new album, Until When. I speak with Aaron Lightstone, the band leader, and we play some of this soulful music.

My dad used to love pointing at the TV when I was a kid when someone would appear and declare, "He'/She's Jewish. Most of the time he was right. But now a new book, Under The Radar, tells us about 30 Canadian artists who were.

Sometimes we become something, not because we get a degree, but because we simply, through our actions and intentions, become something. In this case after years of service and study, after mining his heart for the gold inside Avrum Rosensweig has done just that. Not a Rabbi but in every way that I can see, just that, a Rabbi. We could have talked all day.