Bonjour Chai

About Bonjour Chai

A weekly podcast about Judaism in the 2020s—because the Torah was left for us to figure out on the ground. Sublime and irreverent conversations about the present and future of communal, religious and spiritual life, led by Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat and Matthew Leibl.

Publisher

The CJN Podcasts

Category

religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Feb 2021

Latest episode

29 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

248 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Will another Netanyahu government push Diaspora Jews past their breaking point?

   On Oct. 27, Israeli voters cast their ballots in the highest-turnout election in decades and gave their judgment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government. On the ballot was how Netanyahu has handled some of the most tumultuous years in the country’s history, from attempts to overhaul the Israeli judicial system to the largest mass-casualty event in the country’s history on Oct. 7, 2023, as well as the ensuing hostage crisis and wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. While much is still unknown about the messy electoral results, one thing is clear: a plurality of Israeli voters gave a stamp of approval to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Likud party’s vision for the future. But what that means for Israel’s advocates in the Diaspora, and indeed Jews around the world, remains an open question. Earlier this month, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)—an Israeli national security think tank affiliated with Tel Aviv University—published No Longer on the Sidelines: How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Impacts Diaspora Jews. Drawn from conversations with 20 senior leaders from 15 major Jewish communal organizations in the United States, Canada, Britain, France and South America, the report argues that Israeli policies are taking a mounting toll on Jewish life abroad: dividing communities, accelerating antisemitism and increasingly isolating Israel and its advocates on the world stage. It seems that while Israelis can accept Netanyahu’s status quo, Jews in the Diaspora are living in a different reality. Just days before the election, Ronald Lauder, the chief of the World Jewish Congress and longtime confidant of Netanyahu, broke years of silence to urge Israelis not to re-elect the prime minister, saying that the country risks losing U.S. and Diaspora support. “If Bibi is elected, Israel stands to lose badly,” he said. This week on Not in Heaven, our rabbinic podcasters discuss whether different Israeli leadership would affect Jewish life around the world, or whether the convulsions in Jewish Diaspora life would remain largely the same regardless. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/) Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt) (https://pnc.st/s/not-in-heaven)

2. 

   16 Oct 2026

   J’Oy Vey: What the push towards ‘Jewish Joy’ misses

   “Jewish joy” is having a moment. It shows up in grant guidelines, new organizational mission statements and frothy headlines like “This Hanukkah Episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Is Full of Jewish Joy (https://www.kveller.com/this-hanukkah-episode-of-nprs-tiny-desk-is-full-of-jewish-joy/),” “How to Connect to Your Jewish Joy (https://www.heyalma.com/how-to-connect-to-your-jewish-joy/),” “What Brings Cookbook Author Leah Koenig Jewish Joy (https://www.kveller.com/what-brings-cookbook-author-leah-koenig-jewish-joy/)” and “Simchat Torah: A road map for Jewish joy (https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/simchat-torah-a-road-map-for-jewish-joy/).” In spring 2027, Jewish Joy LLC—an umbrella organization that includes The Jewish Joy Book Club, The Jewish Joy Box, Jewish Joy Publishing and Jewish Joy Media—is hosting Jewish Joy Con: three funtastic days of Jewish pop culture, merch vendors and book lectures at a sprawling convention centre in Fort Lauderdale. (Jewish Joy Con was previously scheduled for March 2026, but organizers had to joyfully postpone (https://www.instagram.com/p/DTlFq6zkaFM/).) In a post-Oct. 7 world, rediscovering Jewish joy became an important corrective to the idea that Jewish life should be defined primarily by crisis—and that victimization and grief could provide a sustainable foundation for Jewish identity. But now, some critics wonder whether binging on all that traditional, syrupy Jewish joy might result in an equally traditional Jewish tummy ache. Today on Not in Heaven, our rabbinic podcasters ask what the movement for Jewish joy gets right—and what it misses. What is Judaism’s relationship to joy? Is joy a means or an end in itself? Can joy coexist with substance?  Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/) Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt) (https://pnc.st/s/not-in-heaven)

3. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Can synagogues raise money without ruining Yom Kippur?

   You know the scene. Darkness falls. A hush settles over the gathered crowd. The rabbi intones: “The hour is nigh! Yom Kippur is upon us! Atone, turn your hearts toward righteousness, for today our fates are sealed. Who will live and who will die, who by fire, who by water, who by wild beasts?” A pregnant pause. Your future hangs in the balance. Is there any way to tip the scales? “Now, I’d like to tell you all about our capital campaign. There are pledge cards in the seat pockets in front of you…” The High Holidays, when synagogues are at their fullest, offer a natural opportunity for annual fundraising appeals. It’s also the time of year when many Jews engage in cheshbon hanefesh, literally “soul-accounting,” meditating on what they’ve invested over the past year—in time, energy and resources—and how they want that to change in the year to come. On this week’s episode of Not in Heaven, our rabbinic podcasters talk philanthropy. Is tzedakah purely monetary? What makes an effective High Holiday appeal (https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/transform-your-synagogues-high-holy-day-appeal-then-finally-focus-on-the-important-stuff/)? And while it might be more efficient to fundraise one $20,000 donation than 20 $1,000 donations, what does that mean for cultivating a culture of widespread giving? (https://sapirjournal.org/money/2025/broadening-the-base-of-jewish-giving/) As it says in Pirke Avot: “Without flour, there is no Torah. Without Torah, there is no flour.” So, how do we raise the dough? Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/) Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

8 ratings

Contact Bonjour Chai

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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