Not in Heaven

The fifth annual Great Canadian Seder

For some reason, the number "five" feels particularly weighty—and so it's with great pride that we bring you the fifth annual Great Canadian Seder. For those new to this tradition, every Passover, the team at The CJN collects stories, memories, musings, songs and reflections about the holiday from notable, fascinating and well-known Canadians. This year, you'll hear from: Jordi Mand, writer for theatre, TV and film Jared Lindzon, CJN podcaster and author of Do More in Four: Why It's Time for a Shorter Workweek Alicia Richler, editorial director, The CJN Ayelet Tsabari, award-winning author Rabbi Carnie Rose, senior rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Winnipeg Martin Rutte, international speaker and consultant Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, dean of ALEPH Ordination Program Ben Carr, Member of Parliament, Winnipeg South Centre Jess Grossman, founder of Uncover Ostomy Yafa Sakkejha, CJN podcaster and leader of Canadian Friends of Standing Together Niki Landau, conflict management specialist Miriam Borden, scholar and researcher of Yiddish Studies Lorie Wolf, musician and band leader, Queen Kong Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )

Boys, men, and Kiddush clubs: The state of Jewish masculinity

Outside of orthodox communities, there’s a trend of boys and men increasingly disengaging from Jewish institutional life. A new article in the winter 2026 Sapir Journal called “Boyz II Mensches” by Adam Teitelbaum sparks the question: does the retreat of boys and men from Jewish communal life mirror a broader societal pattern of male disengagement from civic and religious institutions? On today’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbi podcasters debate Teitelbaum’s proposal to reimagine the bar mitzvah as a multi-year process of growth through age 18 as one of the ways to reclaim meaningful male identity within Jewish life. Then, the rabbis turn to one of synagogue life’s most beloved and controversial institutions: the Kiddush club. Is it a harmless break and opportunity for male bonding and community-building — or a boozy affront to the sanctity of prayer? Related stories: Read Adam Teitelbaum's article "Boyz II Mensches" redits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )

Synagogues under fire: What solutions can actually keep the Jewish community safe?

Last week, three Toronto synagogues were hit with gunfire in overnight shootings. Shocked and exasperated, the city’s Jewish community demanded that action must be taken to keep them safe. They’re angry at public officials for not offering sufficient protection, and many have voiced their frustration with community institutions for what they perceive as an ineffective use of community security funds. But, after all the sound and fury, what practical solutions are available to Canadian Jewish communities? What type of security spending could actually reduce the likelihood of these events, and when is it just throwing good money after bad? Are efforts for more security the most effective way to address these incidents, or would other interventions — like pushing for more municipal street lighting or for stricter gun control laws — be the thing that actually makes a difference? Comments by influencers like Tucker Carlson saying that Chabad is directing the Iran War may only serve to fuel further attacks. Anyone can have their own TV show and broadcast to million of followers from their phon — does that mean that we need to take the microphone away?  As the Jewish community’s calls for action came to a crescendo last weekend, they coincided with the reading of parshat “Ki Tisa,” which tells the story of the Israelites being gripped by fear, dismay, and abandonment after Moses fails to return after weeks on Mount Sinai. The people come to Aaron and demand that he take action, do something, to save them. On this week’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbinic podcasters ask: when community leaders are faced with demands for action, how should they respond? Which solutions are real, and which are, as it were, simply a false idol? And quite apart from solutions, how can we respond and comfort very real fear within a community? Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )

The power and perils of blurring an ancient and modern day Purim

The story of Purim is well known: in ancient Persia, a wicked royal vizier plots to wipe out the Jewish people — but he didn't count on Queen Esther, a courageous Jewish woman who revealed the plot to the king. The tables were turned for the Jews as the powerful are victimized by their intended victims; those who were once low are brought high, those who were once high are brought low. When Israel and the U.S. launched a joint military campaign on Iran on Shabbat Zachor, just days before the festival of Purim, it was almost inevitable that politicians, rabbis, and Jews around the world would see themselves in the Book of Esther. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the connection explicit in his first statement announcing the strikes: “Twenty-five hundred years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the very same goal, to utterly destroy our people,” Netanyahu said. “Today as well, on Purim, the lot has fallen, and in the end this evil regime will fall too.” Each week, rabbis stand before their congregations and find connections and explanations about how the Torah portion speaks to their modern lives. They try to give structure and meaning to a world that often feels chaotic. On this week’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbi podcasters ask: what do we risk when we draw these connections too tightly? Avi Finegold and Matthew Leibl discuss what may be lost in understanding the modern day when we look through the lens of Purim and what is lost in understanding Purim when we look through the lens of the modern day. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )

Sold to the highest bidder: whose manuscript is it anyway?

A handwritten letter by a Jewish luminary of the 18th century, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, also known as the Ramchal, hit the auction block earlier this year. The event grabbed headlines both because of the nearly $400,000 US sale price, but also because, until recently, many believed that the letter was safely among the hundreds of other handwritten pages that make up the Ramchal collection at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). JTS had quietly sold off a number of valuable books and manuscripts from their collection in private sales a decade ago. Over the years, scholars have decried the transfer of these texts to private collections, as they see treasures of the Jewish past finding their way under the auctioneer's gavel. On today’s episode of Not in Heaven, Rabba Dr. Yedida Eisenstat helps make sense of the recent sales, and ther co-Rabbi podcasters discuss how libraries balance evolving financial constraints with being guardians of a common heritage. Then, with the holiday of Purim on the horizon, the rabbis look at Jewish material culture: the newest Rabbi runway, the hottest lookbook of Kosher couture, the Instagram account known as @rabbinicfitcheck. How do you dress for a bris, funeral, and a wedding all in one day? Rabbis from around the world are posting their outfits. We discuss. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )