When Sara Davis began exploring her Jewish roots, she decided to order a bunch of items from an online Judaica store based in Israel. She bought two shofars, two necklaces with a Star of David, a tallit and an Israeli flag.
Her package finally arrived in early March, but it felt lighter than it should have. When she tore the box open, she found the shofars were missing—replaced, instead, with a note by the Canadian government informing her that her items were being held at an Environment Canada facility in Quebec. The reason? The shofars were made of rams’ horns, and government officials were looking for smuggled wildlife parts that violate Canada’s treaty to protect endangered species.
Davis now joins The CJN Daily podcast to share her experience, from her rediscovery of Judaism to her brush-up with border control, and how the story of Passover played a pivotal role in letting the shofars go.
What we talked about:
- Find the shofars at ajudaica.com
- Learn more about the shofars here
- Read about the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising at thecjn.ca
- Watch the Toronto Workmen’s Circle commemorative video for the 79th anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Credits
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. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.
