On the night of May 28, Saskatoon’s Congregation Agudas Israel will host a graduation ceremony for its Hebrew school students—online, of course, because of COVID-19. The three graduates and the rest of the students will take part in evening prayers to welcome Shabbat and celebrate a milestone in the local Jewish community.

If it wasn’t for COVID, they could all have been congregating in Agudas Israel’s newly renovated synagogue building. The multimillion-dollar legacy project just finished—but no one’s been able to use it yet, because of lockdowns.

Matthew Taras, a Calgary native who moved to Saskatoon, is one of the few people who have seen the space firsthand. It inspired him to write a column in the synagogue bulletin about how the new building brings him hope for the community's future, as well as the future of his own wife and son. He joins the show to discuss the state of Saskatoon's Jews.

What we talked about:

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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.