We are smack in the middle of teshuvah season, when Jews usually focus on repentance in the lead-up to Yom Kippur. But the Hebrew root of the word comes from the idea of returning—implying that teshuvah, in fact, happens after you realize you’ve strayed from the path you should be on and return to where you were, or where you always wanted to go.

In this way, teshuvah can be a lifelong journey. The hosts of Bonjour Chai, The CJN’s weekly current affairs podcast, wanted to speak with a few Canadian Jews who are embarking on those journeys personally to learn how they’re handling it and what the process looks like. We’re joined by speaker and author Melanie Notkin; Ruth Chitiz, assistant director of Hillel at York University; and Catriel Silver, who works in real estate.

After that, we’re continuing our Sermon Slam with speeches from Rabbi Steven Wernick, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold and Rabbi Philip Scheim.

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. 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. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.