For the third year in a row, Bonjour Chai is proud to present the Great Canadian Seder, a coming-together of notable and insightful Canadian Jews from across different demographics and denominations.

Why is this year different from all other years? Because seders across Canada will likely be marred, like any good family gathering, by some kind of political argument over Israel. How should you navigate these murky waters and keep the peace while leaning back in your chair over a few cups of wine? And as haggadah-writers co-opt the Passover story for myriad unrequested adaptations, does this change whether the stories we tell should be universalized for broader audiences?

To hear answers, stories, musings, anecdotes and teachings, we're joined by prominent seder guests from around the country:

• Emil Sher, author and playwright
• Dahlia Kurtz, radio host
• Zachary Paikin, foreign policy researcher
• Gila Munster, drag performer
• Marsha Lederman, author and Globe and Mail columnist
• Michael Weisdorf, CEO, The CJN
• Jonathan L. Milevsky, author and educator; and Raphi Zaionz, founder of mygoals Inc.
• Naomi Harris, photographer
• Lissa Skitolsky, editor-in-chief, Cannabis Jew Magazine
• Jamie Golombek, tax expert
• The children and teachers at Gray Academy of Jewish Education

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. The show is produced by Michael Fraiman and edited by Zachary Kauffman. 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. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast’s Substack.

This week, the editor of Guernica resigned in protest of her own staff and publisher. The respected literary journal had recently published of an essay by an Israeli writer and translator, Joanna Chen, called "From the Edges of a Broken World". In the piece, Chen conveys Israelis, like their Palestinian neighbours, as human and worthy of compassion. The resulting backlash from left-leaning writers was swift, and Guernica ended up retracting the piece and apologizing for running it, after more than a dozen volunteer staff members quit in protest.

Except Jina Moore, the editor-in-chief, did not want to apologize. She stood by the piece. So she stepped down, and it sparked deeper conversations about safe spaces for Jewish authors and artists—such as the one on this week's episode of Bonjour Chai.

Writer Erika Dreifus joins to discuss her own work in searching out publications still friendly to Jewish and Israeli Jewish writers and the broader ramifications of an ever-more-restrictive literary environment.

What we talked about

• Browse Erika Dreifus's list of literary publications and organizations that made public statements about Gaza, "Writers, Beware"
• Read her blog post, "Where to Read (and Publish) Writing on Jewish Themes"

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive 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. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast's Substack.

Do your young kids have a smartphone? Most do. And parents have been witnessing the repercussions firsthand for years. This week, the subject came to the forefront when Jonathan Haidt, a Jewish writer, penned a piece in The Atlantic warning of the "terrible costs" of raising children with phones. A new mental health crisis, higher suicide rates, ever-more screen time: much of the ailments of modern youth can be attributed to smartphone use. Jewish kids are no exception, as this week's guest, Rabbi Eric Grossman, knows well; he is the head of the Akiva School in Montreal and agrees with much of Haidt's thesis.

Before that, we're joined by Ronit Novak, art director for The CJN, to discuss the ethics of a gruesome photograph of the corpse of Shani Louk, who was murdered on Oct. 7, winning a prestigious photography award. As you'll hear, even Shani's family and friends are split on whether the now-infamous image is a good thing or not.

What we talked about

• Read Jonathan Haidt's piece in The Atlantic, "End the Phone-Based Childhood Now"
• See the award-winning photos of the Israel-Hamas war, including one of Shani Louk

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive 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. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast's Substack.