Best Jewish Small Communities Network Podcasts (2024)

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S3E5 - Why is Azerbaijan suddenly so focused on promoting its Jewish community? 18:47

1+ y ago18:47

18:47

In recent months, the small nation of Azerbaijan has been making a big push to show off their Jews. The leader of the local Jewish community, Rabbi Zamir Isayev, has gone around the world promoting Azerbaijani-Jewish life, making his pitch to Canadians during a visit in November 2022. Here at The CJN, we've received numerous pitches and press oppor…

1
S3E4 - Why Ralph left Toronto for Hamilton—and never looked back 29:41

1+ y ago29:41

29:41

Ralph Benmergui has been hosting Yehupetzville, The CJN's podcast about small-town Jewish life in Canada and around the world, since its debut on Mar. 17, 2021. Since then, we've virtually visited Jews from Glace Bay to North Bay, Jamaica to Jasper, Little Rock to Lethbridge and beyond. To mark the second anniversary of his successful show, we deci…

1
S3E3 - Oy, what a beautiful morning: Inside Tulsa's push for new Jewish life 35:12

1+ y ago35:12

35:12

Oklahoma is know for lots of things—country music, Native American history, tornadoes, Black Wall Street—none of which are particularly Jewish. But if you look into Tulsa, a thriving city of 400,000 people, you'll find a vibrant surge of new developments, incredible infrastructure and an active community of 2,600 Jews. Thanks to its numerous synago…

1
S3E2 - Education and adaptation: How Kingston's Jewish community keeps thriving 23:07

1+ y ago23:07

23:07

Kingston's Jewish community is unique in Canada, doubling in size—from approximately 1,500 year-round to 3,000—with the influx of students studying at Queen's University each year. The result is a stable patchwork. The main synagogue transitioned from Orthodox to conservative; the Reform synagogue has no building; Chabad and Hillel dominate the cam…

1
S3E1 - How Heidi Coleman tapped into Kamloops' Jewish community—and quickly became their leader 24:41

1+ y ago24:41

24:41

When Heidi Coleman moved to Kamloops from Montreal in 2012, she had to deliberately seek out its Jewish members—asking around, searching for information that was not widely available. Once she found them, however, they welcomed her warmly... and then quickly asked her to become their president. A charismatic natural leader who is the CEO of the Roy…

1
S2E15 - Shalom, y'all: What life is like for the Jews of Little Rock, Arkansas 30:06

1+ y ago30:06

30:06

Canadian-born Rabbi Mark Biller has moved around a lot. But his latest adventure has taken him on his biggest leap so far: in the fall of 2021, he headed south to become the rabbi of Agudath Achim, one of a few synagogues in Arkansas, a state home to just 2,500 Jews. The community is so tight-knit that part of his job interview process was sitting …

1
S2E14 - This Israeli expat is making Jewish life happen in Prince Edward County 26:20

1+ y ago26:20

26:20

When Hadas Brajtman moved from Tel Aviv to Picton, Ont., she knew it would be challenging. But she didn't realize quite how difficult it would be. With no family or organized Jewish community to fall back on, she decided to try and make something happen herself, putting a call out to locals to join her family in their backyard for a sunny Shavuot c…

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S2E13 - 'You feel more of an obligation to assert your identity': How the Jews of Tasmania are slowly growing their community 24:38

1+ y ago24:38

24:38

Baltimore is more than 16,000 km away from Hobart, the biggest city on the Australian island of Tasmania. It's quite a distance—and one happily travelled by Jeff Schneider, the current president of the Hobart Hebrew Congregation, Australia's oldest synagogue. But if you'd told a young Schneider he'd one day be president of a synagogue in Tasmania, …

1
S2E12 - Windsor's Jews have a strong pitch to grow their numbers. So why aren't more people moving there?

1+ y ago

—

Mark Abraham comes from a long line of Jewish community leaders in Windsor, Ont. His grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, arrived in 1953, simultaneous to a great population boom migrating to the area for jobs in the auto industry; Mark's father became deeply involved in the local Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, acting as president and sitting on its …

1
S2E11 - Niagara Falls is losing its only synagogue—but the building's legacy lives on 24:10

2y ago24:10

24:10

Built in 1937, Niagara Falls' only synagogue—Congregation B'nai Jacob, later renamed B’nai Tikvah—has stood dormant in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregants agreed to sell the building to a nearby developer, who plans to tear it down to build hotels in the near future. But the spirit of the community is not entirely lost. Desp…

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S2E10 - One woman's mission to revitalize the Jewish community of Quebec City 29:50

2y ago29:50

29:50

Over the past generation, the Jewish community of Quebec City has been decimated—first by the Quebec Referendum, slowly by an outward migration of young people, and finally by COVID-19, which coincided with a loss of funds to keep any paid staff. The outlook for the couple dozen active remaining Jews looked grim. Debbie Rootman wouldn't accept that…

1
S2E9 - Small-town Judaism is in danger. Here's how it can be saved 30:13

2y ago30:13

30:13

Across North America, Jews are increasingly migrating to large urban centres, abandoning smaller towns for more opportunities and a more convenient Jewish life. One rabbi is on a mission to change that. As a student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Rachel Isaacs was assigned to a one-year stint in Waterville, Maine, with one small synagogu…

1
S2E8 - How a handful of Jewish doctors formed an unlikely community in Sioux Lookout, Ont. 30:52

2y ago30:52

30:52

If you've heard of Sioux Lookout, a largely First Nations town of fewer than 6,000 people in Northern Ontario, you probably wouldn't expect it to be home to any number of Jews. The rural community, nestled between clear blue lakes and verdant forests, is an attractive summer getaway—but living there full-time can be difficult. It's that much harder…

1
S2E7 - Meet the Jamaican Jewish leader who once took Louis Farrakhan to synagogue 27:40

2y ago27:40

27:40

Despite Jews living on the island of Jamaica for more than 200 years, the Caribbean island isn't a logical hotspot for Jewish life. Yet Jewish life has thrived over the years. One man at the centre has been Ainsley Henriques, a longtime leader of Jamaica's Jewish community—he's worn many hats, including as the Honorary Consul of Israel in Jamaica, …

1
Torah & Science... friends or enemies? Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum 1:00:55

2y ago1:00:55

1:00:55

While the Torah is clear that every plant and animal species was individually designed “according to its kind”, Darwin’s theory of evolution states the multitude of species we see today all evolved from just a few original forms. Which is right? And if humans evolved too then how could we have been created “in God’s image?” ABOUT Rabbi Dr Raphael Z…

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S2E6 - Born in Barbados, Simon Kreindler spent years chronicling the island's Jewish history 27:50

2y ago27:50

27:50

Simon Kreindler was born in Barbados, where he lived until he graduated high school. After that, it was off to Canada—he left behind the Caribbean island's few dozen Jewish families and studied medicine at McGill University. But decades later, in 2013, he felt an urge to revisit memories of his old home and his family's settlement there. He began r…

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S2E5 - 'I was not ready to move on': After schoolyard antisemitism struck Stratford, Carrie Wreford took action 26:37

2y ago26:37

26:37

In big cities, Jews have large organizations that can advocate on their behalf. In small towns, it's the locals themselves that need to step up. That's what happened when antisemitic incidents were recently revealed to have happened at a school in Stratford, Ont.—just one of a rash of similar incidents in Ontario schools this year. After Carrie Wre…

1
S2E4 - It's a lonesome life for a Jew in Western Newfoundland—and that's just how Sheina Lerman likes it 29:00

2y ago29:00

29:00

Sheina Lerman has moved around a lot in life, but never has she wanted to live in a big city. After moving to Newfoundland some years ago, during the pandemic, she decided to settle in Deer Lake, a town of 5,000 people—perhaps none of them Jews. She found a nice house across from a sandy beach. Life, for the most part, is quiet. Except when it isn'…

1
S2E3 - Remembering the last Jews of Maitland, Ont. 26:36

2y ago26:36

26:36

Elena Kingsbury grew up in Maitland, Ont., a small town of about 1,200 people—including just two Jewish families. She would hop across the St. Lawrence River into Ogdensburg, NY, where her family were members of the international Anshe Zophen synagogue, which supported congregants from nearby towns on both sides of the border. In 2000, Kingsbury wo…

1
S2E2 - The rise, fall and rebirth of FrumCity, the Orthodox migration to Innisfil that never happened 25:32

2+ y ago25:32

25:32

Years ago, a small group of Orthodox Jews from Toronto decided to start a new community north of the city. They chose Innisfil, a town south of Barrie; plans began to build news houses, import kosher food and leverage a nearby 80-year-old synagogue, Tent City, that's been enjoyed during summers by beach-seeking vacationing Jews for generations. The…

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S1E24 - Meet the Canadian who hung up the first mezuzah in Girona's Jewish Quarter since 1492 26:18

2+ y ago26:18

26:18

When Leah Stoch Spokoiny moved to Girona, halfway between Barcelona and the French border, in the heart of Catalan, she finally felt at home. The smells, food and social norms connected with her immediately, even though she wound up there almost by chance. The irony in her feeling at home is that she sticks out—not just as a Canadian, but as one of…

1
S1E23 - After fleeing Toronto, this artist found inspiration in the Canadian woods—and Israel 27:06

2+ y ago27:06

27:06

Alan Glicksman grew up moving around the Toronto area. But even after graduating from high school, he kept moving around—he took up stints as a dishwasher, garbage collector and postal worker over a period of years that saw him bounce from affordable studio apartments in Toronto to an Israeli kibbutz to the small rural town of Flesherton, Ont. Know…

1
S1E22 - Goldie Morgentaler: Keeping Yiddishkeit alive in Lethbridge 31:52

2+ y ago31:52

31:52

Goldie Morgentaler is a literature professor and Yiddish expert who's been active in local synagogues, engaged her university's administration on antisemitic incidents and translated into English the work of her mother, the Yiddish-language poet Chava Rosenfarb. You might assume she lives in a hub of Jewish culture—but you'd be wrong. In 1997, Morg…

1
S1E21 - Welcome to Waterloo: A lot of Jewish life for not a lot of Jews 25:53

2+ y ago25:53

25:53

Despite there only being around 1,500 Jews in Kitchener–Waterloo, there are two synagogues—and Jacob Sivak has belonged to both. Sivak has spent 50 years living a Jewish life in Waterloo, raising children, researching its Jewish history and writing for various Jewish publications. With a campus Hillel and active Chabad house, Judaism in KW has neve…

1
S1E20 - Can North Bay's decimated Jewish community make a post-pandemic comeback?

2+ y ago

—

When Belle Kizell moved to North Bay in 1973, she says, the Jewish community comprised at least 40 engaged families. Women belonged to Hadassah and kids went to Hebrew school. By 2015, they couldn't even form a minyan for the high holidays. The story of what happened is a familiar one for listeners of this podcast: shrinking industries led to a pop…

1
Jack Aisenberg (3 minute episode) 3:31

2+ y ago3:31

3:31

Jack Aisenberg was a young lad when he was separated from his family, who he would never see again. Though he eventually was caught, he survived the Nazi concentration camps and death marches. In this 3.30 minute podcast Holocaust survivor Jack tells of the fateful day he parted from his family.

1
S1E19 - Memories of growing up Jewish in postwar Manitoba 30:32

2+ y ago30:32

30:32

Prairie Sonata is a debut novel by Sandy Shefrin Rabin. Based on her own experiences growing up Jewish in Manitoba after the Second World War, the book follows a teenage girl's relationship with a recent immigrant from Prague, who teaches her Yiddish and violin. She joins to discuss her book and personal experiences, including what parts of the boo…

1
S1E18 - Kabbalat Shabbat on the beach: This is Jewish life on Bowen Island 24:52

2+ y ago24:52

24:52

A spiritual search was part of the reason Aryana Rayne moved to Bowen Island years ago. Judaism wasn't exactly part of that quest, but once she discovered a small Jewish community on the island of 3,600 people—mostly ad hoc gatherings, meeting in people's homes and celebrating potluck holidays, with an emphasis on the mystical side of Judaism—somet…

1
S1E17 - Meet the 'Bagel Lady of Niagara', serving up the only true Jewish bagels south of Hamilton

2+ y ago

—

From Niagara Falls to Grimsby, Port Colbourne to Port Dalhousie, you'd be hard pressed to find authentic Jewish baked goods outside of one young bakery: The Bagel Oven. What began in the basement of a St. Catharines synagogue, and later moved to a remote building off a bumpy rural road in Beamsville, is now a fully fledged Jewish deli in Thorold So…

1
S1E16 - The perfect storm: How one New Yorker found her way to Newfoundland—and never left 31:53

2+ y ago31:53

31:53

Fifteen years ago, Elizabeth Loder moved from New York to Newfoundland for what was meant to be a short meteorology assignment. Fast-forward to 2021: Loder, now married and raising three children in St. John's, is a lynchpin of the local Jewish community—a baal tefillah—while still working as meteorologist and engineer. What has she observed as an …

1
S1E15 - The last native Yiddish speaker of Saint John reflects on the Jewish Maritime exodus 30:33

2+ y ago30:33

30:33

Before Robert Brym became an esteemed sociology professor at the University of Toronto, he was the only kid in Saint John, New Brunswick, whose first language was Yiddish. Born to a religious mother and atheist socialist father, Brym had to navigate cultural and religious different Judaism while figuring out how Jews assimilated (or didn't) in a sm…

1
S1E14 - Living the rural life in Uxbridge, Ont. 28:13

3y ago28:13

28:13

It had long been a dream for Charles Karstadt to own a piece of land in his life. And not just a suburban house, but a real plot of earth, where he could farm honey from bees and take hikes in the nearby woods with his partner, Shari Hirschberg. They spent a long time looking for the right place, ultimately landing on a rural home in Uxbridge, Ont.…

1
S1E13 - The only rabbi in Vaudreuil: Why Alice Frank Patry moved from New York to suburban Quebec 24:38

3y ago24:38

24:38

After living in New York City for 10 years, Alice Frank Patry moved to Vaudreuil, a suburban town across the river from the Island of Montreal. There, married to a non-Jewish man, an hour's drive from the Jewish epicenter of Montreal, Frank Patry became ordained as a Renewal rabbi. She joins to discuss her reasons for moving, her connection to Juda…

1
S1E12 - Why Joel Axler loves being one of two Jews living in Walkerton

3y ago

—

Many years ago, when Joel Axler first moved to Walkerton, Ont., he was sitting in a diner when a postal worker walked in and asked him a question: "Are you in the witness protection program?" People from the big cities, she explained, don't usually move to the town of fewer than 5,000 people, which sits about halfway between Toronto and Tobermorey.…

1
S1E11 - Take a tour of Jewish Northern Ontario 28:16

3y ago28:16

28:16

In October 2020, Robert Walker scratched a lifelong itch: he embarked on a road trip across Northern Ontario, from the major hubs of North Bay and Timmins to the smaller towns of Iroquois Falls, Chapleau and Wawa. Along the way, Walker—a religious Jew—sought out as many landmarks, old synagogues, store names and museum artifacts as he could find th…

1
S1E10 - Reflections on the once-thriving Jewish community of Glace Bay, NS 39:01

3y ago39:01

39:01

Few Canadian Jewish communities have experienced such tumultuous changes as Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. In 1902, the coal mining town on the eastern edge of Cape Breton became the site of the first synagogue constructed in the Atlantic provinces. Over the years, Jewish workers shifted into retail and business, growing to several hundred families by the…

1
S1E9 - One British rabbi's quest to keep Regina's Judaism alive 33:00

3y ago33:00

33:00

Rabbi Jeremy Parnes left his home in England around a decade ago. He only planned on visiting Regina, Saskatchewan, for a year. But, as these things go, he wound up staying—and hasn't looked back. The Renewal rabbi took the helm of he city's Beth Jacob Synagogue, one of two local Jewish institutions (alongside the Chabad in Regina—not bad for a cit…

1
S1E8 - The deli men of remote British Columbia 35:12

3y ago35:12

35:12

British Columbia's smaller towns have a lot to offer: beautiful nature, oceanside getaways, a tranquil pace of life. But what they don't have is good deli. At least they didn't—until recently. It's a mission that the comedy writer Howard "Buzzy" Busgang wanted to take on after leaving his Los Angeles home for Salt Spring Island, B.C. He opened Buzz…

1
S1E7 - Keeping Judaism alive in Sudbury 33:50

3y ago33:50

33:50

Growing up in Sudbury, Ont., Emily Caruso Parnell wasn't Jewish. Later in life, after she converted to Judaism and spent years away, she returned to her native Northern Ontario home in search of a meaningful, quiet life (and an affordable house). In doing so, she became one of a handful of active Jewish residents in the former mining capital, keepi…

1
S1E6 - Stories from Kelowna's tight-knit Jewish community 38:48

3y ago38:48

38:48

There are only a few dozen Jews maintaing a Jewish lifestyle in Kelowna, a beautiful town surrounded by forests, lakes, orchards and mountains in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. When a newcomer wants to join a synagogue—in pre-pandemic times, anyway—they'd get taken out for coffee or ice cream, a warmer reception than you'd see in any big city.…

1
S1E5 - Aviva Chernick on the warmth of London, Ont. 34:31

3y ago34:31

34:31

Aviva Chernick is an award-winning queer Jewish artist living in Toronto. But she didn't grow up there: Aviva hails from the relatively small but still-strong Jewish community of London, Ontario. Despite having only around 2,000 Jewish residents, London has three synagogues, vibrant programming and a tight-knit community filled with eager volunteer…

1
S1E4 - The exodus from Forest Hill 50:42

3y ago50:42

50:42

In Toronto's Forest Hill neighbourhood, where Ralph grew up, there's a certain expectation that Jewish kids will stay in the tight-knit community. But Ralph didn't end up doing that—and neither did his three guests, each of whom moved to small communities across the country, from B.C. to Nova Scotia. In this episode, Ralph brings on three former cl…

1
S1E3 - Gavriel Strauss on How to Build a Jewish Community 29:01

3+ y ago29:01

29:01

Gavriel Strauss doesn't move to be near Jews: he deliberately moves to places without vibrant Jewish communities. He's made it his mission to create those spaces wherever he goes, by using music, tradition and keeping his door open to everyone. In this episode, Gavriel chats with Ralph about what it was like moving to Guelph, Ont., and later Nelson…

1
S1E2 - Humble Howard's humble beginnings in Moose Jaw, Sask. 33:20

3+ y ago33:20

33:20

Before he was the humbler half of the longstanding radio duo Humble and Fred, "Humble" Howard Glassman was one of a scant few Jewish kids in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Hear Howard talk about the anti-Semitism he faced, why he left and how he feels whenever he returns home. Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer an…

1
S1E1 - What's it like being Jewish in Moncton? 28:10

3+ y ago28:10

28:10

In our debut episode, Ralph chats with three Jewish residents of Moncton, New Brunswick, about the challenges they face and the struggle to keep the community alive. Credits: Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão, and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhalts…

1
Where is Judaism Going Over the Next 100 Years? 52:14

4+ y ago52:14

52:14

Dan and Lex invite the audience to engage in the idea of a virtual synagogue, one without walls and without boundaries, as if it was on a completely new Jewish planet.Dan Libenson studied at Harvard law school where he graduated with honours and spent five years as a law professor. He’s been closely involved with Hillel in Harvard and Chicago and n…

1
1391 anti-Jewish Riots that lead to the the 1492 Expulsion 56:28

4+ y ago56:28

56:28

One hundred years before the Expulsion from Spain, the 1391 anti Jewish riots were the most widespread and today least known outbreaks of violence against Jews in medieval Europe. Jews had lived in Spain for over 1,000 years, predating the fall of the temple, a period regarded as one in which they enjoyedgreatestz freedom and success. So how did th…

1
Killing one to let another live: Jewish Ethics 44:42

4+ y ago44:42

44:42

How are life and death decisions made in Jewish Law?If faced with the decision of saving just one life how does Jewish law help with that dilemma ? Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz is a South African born physician and lecturer, and the author of Dangerous Disease and Dangerous Therapy in Jewish Medical Ethics. In this episode of JewishTALK he looks at a famous…

1
Keeping Bradford's doors open to its Jewish Heritage 27:25

4+ y ago27:25

27:25

Although he was born in Berlin, Rudi Leavor is a Yorkshireman at heart and that’s where we’re going today. Rudi is the 93-year-old custodian and president of Bradford Reform Synagogue, which has been in the news quite a bit in recent years, partly because of the Muslim leader who sits on the shul's board. I met Rudi in the synagogue to find out mor…

1
Windermere & The Boys 36:15

5y ago36:15

36:15

There is a kindly gentleman who sits not far away from me in Synagogue. He’s called Sam. He always asks about me and my wife, and I always make sure to wish him Shabbat Shalom. He rarely speaks about himself but I know, from other people, that Sam has survived three or maybe four concentration camps. And people were also keen to tell me “Hey you kn…

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