A PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS / SPRING 2026 | 5786 אָביב
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Contents SPRING 2026 Feature 5786 א ִָביב
42 Period Drama Decades after she first began writing, Judy Blume is as relevant as ever by PHOEBE MALTZ BOVY
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Contents SPRING 2026 | 5786 א ִָביב
19 Jewish Geography 25 The Kibbitz: Yosel Tifenbrun by AVI FINEGOLD 30 Studies Show: Dating and Marriage Bulletins from academia 36 On One Foot: Gun Ownership by AVI FINEGOLD IN THE BEGINNING Letter from the CEO ............. 13 Letter from the Editor .......... 17
pg 55
STORE-BOUGHT KISHKA AND HOMEMADE GRAVY STRIKES THE PERFECT BALANCE
CULTURE KLATSCH
55 Eating Our Feelings: Kishka with Gravy by COREY MINTZ 60 Jewdar Forthcoming books, films, and other new releases of note. 68 Comic The very Jewish act of surrogacy by MIRIAM LIBICKI
ON THE COVER: For this celebration of Judy Blume, we wanted to channel the era she began writing in without get- ting too heavy-handed — her work, after all, is as relevant today as it was in the 1970s. CORRECTION: Our profile of Melissa Lantsman (Winter 2025) described her as “sharply critical of how the federal Liberals handled the outbreak with preventative measures such as the closure of elementary schools.” While it is true that Lantsmans remain critical of both the federal Liberals and elementary school closures, it was provincial governments that were responsible for the latter.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHANELLE NIBBELINK
8 SPRING 2026
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Letter from the CEO
CELEBRATING THE VERY JEWISH NATURE,
AND PRACTICE, OF RESILIENCE
R ESILIENCE IS Canadian Jewish News has embodied resilience. Through changing media landscapes, shifting community needs, and moments of profound challenge, The CJN has continued to evolve and grow. Our resilience is not accidental; it is intentional, rooted in purpose, and sustained by community. That same spirit guides us today. As we look ahead, The CJN contin- ues to invest in its future: welcom- ing our first-ever editorial director, re-engaging on social media to meet audiences where they are, and recom- mitting to our national footprint with plans to have a new Western Cana- da correspondent in place later this year. These steps are not simply about growth; they are about ensuring that Canadian Jewish stories are told, pre- served, and amplified with honesty and integrity for generations to come. The past two and a half years have demanded extraordinary resilience from Canadian Jews. Since October 7, and amid a disturbing rise in anti- often described as the ability to adapt, to endure, and to emerge stronger from adversity. For more than six decades, The semitism across the country, our com- munity has been forced to confront hatred in deeply personal ways. Me- zuzot have been torn from doorposts.
Synagogues and day schools have been defaced with antisemitic graffiti, and subjected to security threats. Anti- semitic protests have become a regular presence in cities across Canada. Yet resilience is woven into Jewish history and identity. At Passover, we recite Vehi She’amda: the reminder that, in every generation, forces arise to destroy us, and yet we endure. The Exodus story teaches us that suffer- ing can be transformed into strength; that freedom is hard-won and requires unity, faith, and perseverance. From slavery to liberation, from darkness to renewal, Passover reminds us that resilience is not passive — it is active, communal, and hopeful. Today, it is time to collectively hold our heads high. To celebrate the resilience that Jews have shown for millennia, and continue to show now, in the face of hatred and fear. Like spring itself, resilience is about renew- al. It is about remembering who we are, where we have come from, and why we continue forward together. At The CJN, we remain steadfast in telling those stories—your stories —with courage, clarity, and unwavering resolve.
Chag Pesach Sameach!
MICHAEL WEISDORF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
5786 א ִָביב 13
With the generous support of our donors, The CJN can continue to provide quality, independent, and objective Jewish journalism, at no cost to our community. Thank you for supporting The CJN!
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Contributors
SCRIBE QUARTERLY is a magazine about Jewish life, culture, and ideas—a reader’s guide to the contemporary Jewish world.
PHOEBE Maltz Bovy is the opinion editor for The Canadian Jewish News and a contributing editor of Scribe Quarterly. She is a columnist at T he Globe and Mail as well as the author, most recently, of The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men.
EDITOR IN CHIEF Hamutal Dotan
ART DIRECTOR Carol Moskot CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Phoebe Maltz Bovy
Avi Finegold COPY EDITOR
Leah Borts-Kuperman PRODUCTION MANAGER Etery Podolsky THE CJN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Michael Weisdorf GENERAL MANAGER Kathy Meitz ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Grace Zweig
PHOEBE MALTZ BOVY “PERIOD DRAMA,” P.42
MARISA Curatolo is a Paris-trained cook and author
who teaches cooking classes in her home studio. She also hosts a popular lifestyle retreat in Florence, Italy, where she shares her passion for food, art, and history. CHANELLE Nibbe- link is a freelance illustrator. Her work is concept-driven and playful, with a focus on shape, colour, and storytelling. Her edi- torial clients include The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Penguin Random House.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bryan Borzykowski Chair Sam Reitman
Treasurer and Secretary Ira Gluskin, Jay Rosenthal Jacob Smolack, Elizabeth Wolfe FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES INFO@SCRIBEQUARTERLY.CA TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTERS@SCRIBEQUARTERLY.CA SCRIBE QUARTERLY IS PUBLISHED by The Canadian Jewish News, a Registered Journalism Organization as defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE VIA THECJN.CA/DONATE
MARISA CURATOLO “EATING OUR FEELINGS,” P.55
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF:
CHANELLE NIBBELINK COVER & “PERIOD DRAMA,” P.42
PRINTED IN WINNIPEG BY THE PROLIFIC GROUP.
Letter from the Editor
Of Birthdays and Bridge-Building
I
uncomfortable or scared with kind- ness and empathy and humour. I am referring, of course, to Judy Blume, whose writing has done enormous, essential work in opening up new realms of discussion — among girls, within families, and across gener- ations. Blume is an iconic figure whose work has been discussed for decades; what new could there possibly be to say about her? As contributing editor Phoebe Maltz Bovy discovered when she read an early copy of the only authorized biography of Blume, just hitting bookstores now: plenty. Settle in with a plate of the kishka and gravy Corey Mintz celebrates in his comfort-food column, and read all about it. HAMUTAL DOTAN EDITOR IN CHIEF SCRIBE QUARTERLY
T HAS, somehow, already been a year: with this issue, Scribe Quarterly is marking its first birthday.
And because birthdays deserve a bit of celebra- tion, here’s ours: since we launched this magazine, we’ve been so thrilled to see readership and circulation increasing with every issue. Thank you for making time and space for this new-old venture, for the feedback you’ve sent, and for the stories you’ve suggested. From our earliest days of planning the magazine, our foundational goal has been to build connections and create channels for communication between various Jews who might not otherwise be in touch—whether for reasons of geography, age, religious practice, political persuasion, or any- thing else. With this issue, we’re un- veiling a new kind of bridge: one to academia. Canadian Jewish Studies / Études juives canadiennes is an inter- disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal devoted to original scholarship that illuminates any and all aspects of the Canadian Jewish experience. Starting in this issue of Scribe Quarterly, we will periodically feature short, accessibly-written snapshots of some of the work they are publishing — a way for all readers to get a peek into the latest research. Another means of fostering com- munication: telling stories about things that sometimes make people
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17 WINTER 2025/2026
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Jewish Geography BULLETINS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT SHIFTS ITS APPROACH TO INTERMARRIAGE by ASAF ELIA-SHALEV RELIGION
THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT is formally apologizing for decades of dis- couraging intermarriage and is committing itself to a new approach centred on engage- ment. The shift marks a significant change in tone for a denomination that long treat- ed intermarriage as a threat to Jewish conti- nuity. Leaders of the movement announced the shift in a report released in December 2025 by a working group representing the
5786 א ִָביב 19
Jewish Geography
practice” adopted by the Rabbinical Assembly, which also barred clergy from speak- ing during such ceremo- nies. The ban has long been framed by the movement as a matter of Jewish law, or halakha, which traditionally understands marriage as a cov- enant between two Jews. While the Conservative movement has historically embraced the idea that halakha evolves over time, leaders have argued that
denomination’s three main arms: the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), the Rabbinical Assembly, and the Cantors Assembly. “For decades, our move- ment’s approach to families where one partner is Jewish and the other is not was rooted in disapproval and shaped by fears about Jewish continuity,” the leaders wrote in a statement accompanying the report. “But today — as we connect with countless families who want to learn, participate, and be- long — we are committed to wel- coming people as they are.” The report also accepts responsibil- ity for the consequences of its previous approach: “Our move- ment’s historical stance has re- sulted in hurt, alienation, and disconnection from our com- munity. We deeply apologize.” The report does not itself change binding policy, and the working group has stopped short of recommending an immediate end to the ban on Conservative clergy offici- ating at interfaith weddings. Instead, it asks the movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) to clarify ambiguous terms such as “officiation” and “wedding,” and to consider whether rabbis might offer blessings or other forms of participation before or after a wedding ceremony. The group is also asking the CJLS to recommend new educational, pastoral, and ritual approaches aimed at intermarried families. The Conservative move- ment’s formal ban on offici- ating at interfaith weddings dates to a 1973 “standard of
officiating at interfaith weddings raises complex legal and ritual questions that go beyond con- cerns about continuity. The report contends, how- ever, that this effectively froze conversation for decades, even as intermarriage became wide- spread, and that halakha itself contains “expansive, creative” resources for welcoming inter- faith families. “What we stated in 1973 obviously did not deter intermarriage,” says Shirley Da- vidoff, a member of the working group and vice president of the USCJ’s board. “So moving for- ward, how do we really embrace these individuals?” The report is the culmi- nation of a nearly two-year process that included respons- es to a questionnaire from 1,200 people, listening sessions, focus groups, and commissioned papers from scholars and rabbis. It builds on a 2024 clergy-led review that maintained the offi- ciation ban but called for greater engagement with interfaith fam- ilies, expanding that work into a movement-wide process that included lay leaders and focused on repairing trust and widen- ing pathways into Jewish life. The 17-member working group included clergy and lay leaders from North America and Israel. The movement’s shift in positioning is being announced amid a broader rethinking of intermarriage. Reform and Reconstructionist move- ments have long permitted officiation at intermarriages, and individual Conservative congre- gations have increasingly test- ed the boundaries of doing so — including a high-profile case
“As we connect with countless families who want to learn, participate, and belong, we are committed to welcoming people as they are.”
20 SPRING 2026
Jewish Geography
last year in Minnesota, where a Conservative synagogue announced that it would allow clerical participation in inter- faith weddings, though not of- ficiation. In a separate case, a rabbi left the movement rather than face possible expulsion fol- lowing a complaint over his of- ficiation at interfaith weddings. Keren McGinity, who served as director of intermarriage engagement and inclusion at the USCJ until her position was eliminated earlier this year, be- lieves fears of mass defection from the Conservative move- ment in response to this kind of measure, especially in countries whose Jewish communities tend to be more traditional, have long been overstated. “I have heard the concern about the fracturing of the movement for years,” McGinity says. “It’s not that no one would leave, but generally speaking, when people make that threat, it’s often hyperbolic.” Avoiding change, she adds, also car- ries risks, pointing to a 2020 Pew study showing that few- er than half of Jews raised Conservative still identify with the movement. “That,” she says, “is hugely concerning.” Despite inevitable disagree- ments over policy and the pace of change, members of the working group say they hope the report will be seen as a sign of institutional seriousness and as a unifying moment. “I hope people will feel proud that we’re having this conversation,” Da- vidoff says. “That we’re willing to pull back layers, listen careful- ly, and include people that want to build a Jewish home.” JTA
HISTORY YAD VASHEM HAS IDENTIFIED FIVE MILLION HOLOCAUST VICTIMS by GRACE GILSON
covering large amounts of mate- rial quickly, the algorithms were taught to look out for variations of victims’ names, leading to the new identification of hundreds of thousands of victims. Yad Vashem estimates an addition- al 250,000 names could still be recovered using the technology. “Reaching five million names is both a milestone and a reminder of our unfinished obligation,” said Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem. “Behind each name is a life that mattered — a child who never grew up, a parent who never came home, a voice that was silenced forever. It is our moral duty to ensure that every victim is remembered so that no one will be left behind in the darkness of anonymity.” JTA
YAD VASHEM, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, says it has reached a major milestone in its efforts to uncover the identities of all of the Jews murdered in the Holo- caust, crossing the five-million name threshold. That leaves one million names still unknown from the total of six million Jews who were killed. Two years ago, Yad Vash- em inaugurated a 26.5-foot- long “Book of Names,” which included the names of 4,800,000 victims of the Shoah, at the United Nations headquar- ters in New York. Since then, researchers have deployed AI to analyze hundreds of mil- lions of archival documents — a corpus that is too extensive to research manually, according to Yad Vashem. In addition to
The Hall of Names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
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Jewish Geography
COMMUNITY CHABAD BUILDING ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST JEWISH CENTRES by ASAF ELIA-SHALEV
venues, youth and senior pro- grams, mental-health and so- cial services, museums, and support for Jewish students on college campuses, along with facilities for large commu- nal and international gather- ings. “It will be an epicentre of Jewish life,” says Rabbi Chaim Nochum Cunin, one of the leaders of West Coast Chabad. “It will transform the landscape of Jewish life in Los Angeles and throughout the world.” Abady, who is well-known for making high-profile real estate deals in the city, said his gift reflects a long-standing relationship with Chabad that dates back to his family’s arriv- al in Los Angeles in the 1970s. The announcement comes at a moment when many Jewish institutions are under financial strain; in Los Angeles, it follows the recent sale of the American Jewish University’s historic Bel Air campus. JTA
A LOS ANGELES real estate investor known for selling homes to ce- lebrities has donated a $100-million (US) office tower to Chabad, the global Orthodox Jewish outreach movement, to create what is slated to become one of the world’s largest Jewish centres. Alon Abady and his wife, Monique, transferred the 16-storey, 300,000-square-foot complex to Chabad of California, which plans to transform it into the Chabad Campus for Jewish Life. The property sits in the Pico- Robertson neighbourhood, the heart of Jewish Los Angeles, down the street from the Museum of Tolerance and near the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Fox Studios and, since 2023, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, a Conservative seminary. Chabad officials say the building was appraised last fall at $103 million, making it one of the largest single gifts ever to a Jewish organization. The new campus is expected to serve as a regional hub for Jewish religious life, social services, and education, as well as a global centre for the Lubavitch movement’s worldwide net- work of emissaries. The campus will include a synagogue, life-cycle
The 16-storey building at 9911 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles that Chabad plans to convert into the Chabad Campus for Jewish Life.
22 SPRING 2026
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The Canadian Jewish News
Chag Sameach
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The Kibbitz Savile Row–trained Yosel Tiefenbrun on self-expression, the shmatte business, and laying tefillin in the tailor shop by AVI FINEGOLD The Kibbitz
“A LOT OF WHAT TAILORS DO IS SPEND TIME WITH PEOPLE AND GET TO KNOW THEM.”
5786 א ִָביב 25
The Kibbitz
T UCKED AWAY ON A SIDE STREET IN Lower Manhattan, Yosel Tiefenbrun cuts cloth and sews it into fully bespoke garments. Trained as a tai- lor and a rabbi, for years he has been drawing attention to the art of dress- ing well, and to the fact that Jews are still thriving in what was histor- ically a Jewish trade: the shmatte business. The word, which means rags in Yiddish, was a humorously derogatory way to refer to those who worked in the apparel in- dustry, from finishers on the shop floor to executives making sales deals. I spoke to Tiefenbrun about this history and how it intersects with his own story, as well as how to relate to cloth- ing as a Jew. One look at what he makes (and, of course, wears) and you’ll be disabused of the notion that rags are all they are.
tailors or otherwise involved in the shmatte business? New York tailoring and fashion was and is still saturated with Jews. Neiman Marcus and some of the big clothing stores here were founded by Jews. And the story continues: here I am creating clothing in downtown Manhattan, where probably not too far from here, immigrant Jews were working on clothing decades ago. A couple of years ago, I met a Ho- locaust survivor, an old tailor, Steven Salen. He was 99 years old when I met him, and he gave me his shears be- cause he felt like passing the torch to a younger generation. He was shocked that I wanted to do what I was doing. He made suits for Richard Nixon and Eisenhower, and cut with those shears. You trained on Savile Row in Lon- don. Were you always drawn to the British style of tailoring, or was it just where you ended up? I originally wanted to design women’s clothing. I wanted to create couture women’s wear. I was thinking that the creativity and the expression of design and style is all over there. This was when I was 18, 19. I did an intern- ship at Harper’s Bazaar. I did some fashion courses. I was going to shows, and I was sketching and drawing, and it was all women’s fashion. I learned about Alexander McQueen and his journey, and how he apprenticed on Savile Row. So, thinking that I’d be able to get a proper understanding of tailoring and how things are created on the highest level, I went there. On Savile Row, I fell in love with men’s tailoring. My education and my un- derstanding of the roots of tailoring is all rooted in British construction, and the military history that it started with. Now, I’m probably making things a lot softer than I was back then: the
What are your memories of clothing growing up? In Orthodox circles, we dress up for Shabbos and for yom tov, we get a new suit for Pesach, for Rosh Hashanah, and as a kid you’re constantly outgrow- ing these pieces. So you always have to get something new. From a young age, I really started really paying atten- tion to what I was wearing, not only making it difficult for my parents to shop for me but also being very care- ful of how I wore the clothing. I would always change out of clothes when I got home, so I would keep them in pris- tine condition. That still is something with me even now. I got married 12 years ago, and I still have my Borsalino hat from then. Some- one complimented me on it the other week on Shabbos — they asked where I got that hat from. I told them it’s 12 years old and they don’t sell it anymore. I still have my wedding suit from 20 years ago. It was the first suit I ever
had made. Even though the pants are worn out and I’ve had them repaired, and I wear just the jacket very occa- sionally, I don’t think I’m ever going to give it away. Wow, yeah, that’s a special piece. It has memories. Sometimes, a garment will wear out. But, in other pieces, wear can create an interesting patina or interest- ing shape. A hat can have its own kind of character. A pair of shoes can really develop into something interesting. I was, at a very young age, already trying to go to stores that maybe my parents wouldn’t have gone to other- wise. I remember for shoes, I wanted to go to Aldo when the shoes were a little bit more out there back at that time. There was something about me that wanted to dress in my own way. It’s a challenge to create your own [look] in an environment where people gen- erally dress in certain colours. How do you see yourself fitting into the long history of Jews who were
26 SPRING 2026
The Kibbitz
sometimes, my tefillin were there because I’d have a late morning or I brought my tefillin to work or what- ever. At some point, I broke that bar- rier and I started asking some clients if they wanted to put them on. There was one particular person that I didn’t have the courage to ask until his final fitting. We had had conversations about Yiddishkeit , and he was about to go overseas to get married to a non-Jewish woman. He had his hand on the front door— the Uber was outside —with the suit in his hand, on the way to the airport of all things. And finally I asked, Would you like to put on tefillin? He said that he would love to. And there we are: we make him a bar mitzvah because he’s never put on tefillin in his life. I believe I could have my own little community at some point. I’ve built a beautiful space here in Tribeca, and I definitely plan on creating this. The idea of this space was not just to show my work and have a tailor shop, but also to bring in other craftsmen from around the world, bring in Yid- dishkeit and some spirituality, wheth- er it’s a minyan here and there, or classes, or just gathering people to inspire others. That’s still the goal. Are there any specifically Jewish de- tails that you’ve put into garments? So I’ll tell you one story. It’s not every day that I have a person that I fit who wears his tzitzis on top of his shirt. Sometimes to correct the balance of a jacket, I may cut into the jacket and, in playing with a scissor, I allow the cloth to open up in certain areas. So I’m cutting right into the back of this man’s jacket, and I made sure that I didn’t cut his shirt, obviously, but I missed the tzitzis. I cut right into the tzitzis. I had to make him a new pair of tzitzis, then I made him a couple more. I’ve made a couple of tallisses as
Tiefenbrun, here in his Tribeca atelier , has been profiled by the likes of Fortune and GQ .
ferent way, realize what works for a particular body. How do you see the intersection of your community engagement, as a person who is in the world as a public Jew, and the work that you’re doing as a tailor? A lot of what tailors do is spend time with people and get to know them, whether Jewish or not. You’re having an effect on their lives, making them feel better and look better. I’m very open about who I am now, but there was a time that I wasn’t: I kept the business as a business. But
roots are still there, the construction is still there, but I’m making lighter versions of it. I enjoy wearing light- er garments today. Maybe it comes down to my lifestyle and the way I am — a father of three kids, going in and out of the car, getting down on my knees to fit a client — and the bal- ance of my life. Clients have taught me so much. I have clients who have had things made all over the world by other tailors, and then one day they bring in a jacket from someone else and it’s like, Wow, look at how that’s made. Then I get a little creative and cut things in a dif-
5786 א ִָביב 27
The Kibbitz
well that are lightweight that fold into a little bag for travelling. And then I’ve also put verses inside tailored suits. I have a commission for yarmulke now, and a few clients who want me to make them yarmulkes. I would do this for an existing client, but it takes a lot of time, and it becomes a question of how you price something like that. About ten years ago, I went down a rabbit hole and thought that I could make a business of creating really well-tailored yarmulkes. My first is- sue was that the pattern was difficult to work out properly; the seams were an issue. And then once we had some samples and I was wearing them, they were getting dirty. So I tried to go to a fancy dry cleaner to see how to clean them, and they told me they didn’t have a press to be able to keep the shape. I ended up abandoning the entire project. It might be an occa- sional piece, but yarmulkes for daily wear are not going to ever be couture. This is something that I should de- velop because I have a lot of sec- ular clients, especially wedding clients, and I think it would be a good connection to Yiddishkeit . Is there any Torah that you think about specifically as a tailor? Are there specific items of clothing that you think about? I do think about Joseph and his coat, and I’ve always wanted to make something that is a reference to that. Passim (the biblical word that des- cribes Joseph’s coat) are stripes, right? Maybe doing a chalk stripe could be nice. You could get fabric made so that every stripe is a different colour. I love the midrash that explains that when David was old and he wasn’t able to be warm, it was a result of his having disrespected clothing earli-
A couple of years ago, I met an old tailor. He was 99 years old ... and he gave me his shears because he felt like passing the torch to a younger generation. He was shocked that I wanted to do what I was doing.
er in his life. David had been hid- ing from Saul in a cave. Saul entered and David, still hidden, cut off one of the corners of Saul’s garment. It was a way of showing Saul that he had been close enough to do that, but chose not to kill him. The midrash’s lesson is that you should care for clothing and have respect for it. I’ve expressed that particular idea many times to clients. How we wear clothes is important. Walking around with stained or torn garments, the way you treat them — even just the way you put something on a hanger is impor- tant. Don’t just put them on the floor or dump them somewhere. First of all, for the life and longevity of the garment, but also just out of respect. I think that’s a tremendous lesson that we can learn from that.
28 SPRING 2026
STUDIES
SHOW THE LATEST ACADEMIC RESEARCH INTO ALL THINGS JEWISH, BROUGHT TO YOU IN COLLABORATION WITH CANADIAN JEWISH STUDIES / ÉTUDES JUIVES CANADIENNES
HOW IMPORTANT IS MARRYING WITHIN THE FAITH TO SINGLES TODAY? by LIBBY BEAR and RANDAL F. SCHNOOR
considerations remain powerful. Many singles still express a desire for an ethnically and culturally similar part- ner, someone who shares their tradi- tions, rituals, and worldview. On the other hand, they describe how diffi- cult it is to find such a partner, given the small number of available Jewish singles. And this challenge is magni- fied by the expectations people now bring into relationships: deep emo- tional intimacy, open communication, vulnerability, a clear and stable life path, physical attraction, and socio- economic expectations. Today’s ro- mantic hopefuls expect their partners to fulfill a wide range of social and emotional needs — and the higher the expectations, the harder it becomes to find the right match. Within this diverse cohort, three clear clusters are evident. First, some singles, across ages and levels of observance, strongly prefer a Jewish partner. For them, it’s non-negotiable. Second, others become more open to
WHAT DOES IT really look like to be Jewish and single in Canada today? For many, it means navigating the usual ups and downs of modern dating while contending with some addition- al complexity: the hope of building a Jewish home, preserving traditions, and finding someone who instinctive- ly understands their cultural world. In conversations with 45 single Jewish Canadians — men and women aged 21 to 51, from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver—a complex picture emerged, one filled with hope, frus- tration, and deep reflections about love, identity, and continuity. Many interviewees expressed a clear desire to marry within the faith. They spoke
about shared values, cultural famil- iarity, family history, and the feeling that being with another Jew simply “makes life easier.” And yet, these desires collide with a very Canadian reality: the Jewish pop- ulation is small, and the dating pool is even smaller. Many described the search as “looking for a needle in a haystack,” especially when combined with modern expectations for emotional depth, compatibility, and shared life goals. The challenge isn’t only finding a Jewish partner; it’s find- ing one who fits everything else peo- ple hope for in a modern relationship. This tension shows up vividly in the interviews. On one hand, collective
30 SPRING 2026
Studies Show
dating non-Jewish partners as they move into their thirties and forties, when the desire for companionship some- times outweighs communal norms. In these cases, most want a partner who is supportive of Jewish life— someone who will share their Jewish lifestyle and sensibilities. Finally, there are those who spend years with non- Jewish partners and ultimately decide to leave those relationships, realizing that they want someone who shares their Jewish background more fully. Taken together, these stories show that, while the pathways to partner- ship vary, Jewish identity in culture, values, and daily life remains deeply
meaningful. Whether Jews ultimate- ly marry within the faith or beyond it, their reflections reveal a sincere effort to balance personal happiness with a connection to Jewish life. In Canada’s vibrant yet intimate Jewish commu- nity, that balance continues to shape the future. Libby Bear holds a PhD in sociol- ogy and an MA in social psycholo- gy. She is a lecturer, facilitator, and consultant specializing in singlehood, relationships, family, and Jewish life. Randal F. Schnoor is a sociologist at York University, where he specializes in the qualitative study of contempo- rary Jewish life in North America.
well integrated into the paid work force, so they have many more op- portunities to interact and form relationships with non-Jews than they did when they were restricted to domestic roles. Consequently, the historical tendency for Jewish men to be somewhat more likely than Jewish women to intermarry is weakening. Also in keeping with these pat- terns is the importance of geography. Jews are much more likely to inter- act and form social relationships with non-Jews in smaller communities: there are relatively few Jews to engage with, and the pool of potential Jewish marriage partners is consequently small. In Atlantic Canada, Saskatch- ewan, and the northern territories, where Jewish communities are small, the Jewish intermarriage rate averag- es about 70%. In Ontario and Quebec, where the overwhelming majority of Jews live in large and medium-size Jewish communities, the comparable figure averages around 25%. In short, the more exposed Jews are to Jewish life, and the more they engage with other Jews, the more likely they are to marry someone who is Jewish. Our research suggests that, if the Jewish community can recruit more Jewish children to Jewish day schools and summer camps and attract more Jewish immigrants to Canada, the increasing rate of Jew- ish intermarriage may slow. Another force that may have the same effect is the rise in antisemitism that has been especially evident since October 2023, insofar as it has reduced Jewish interaction with non-Jews. Robert Brym is an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Toronto. Rhonda Lenton, a sociolo- gist by training, was president of York University from 2017-2025.
THE STATE OF THE UNION: JEWISH INTERMARRIAGE IN CANADA by ROBERT BRYM and RHONDA LENTON
WHAT PERCENTAGE of Canadian Jews who are married or living common- law are partnered with a non-Jew? How does the rate of Jewish inter- marriage vary across time, age cohort, gender, and community size? What factors might slow the increasing rate of Jewish intermarriage? The key factor influencing the Jewish intermarriage rate is the op- portunity to associate with non-Jews: the more such opportunities, the high- er the intermarriage rate. Since the early 1900s, the average Canadian Jew has become less religious. Prejudice and discrimination against Jews have declined, and Jews have become more
at home with Canadian culture. Social interactions and all manner of social relationships between Jews and non- Jews have become more common. Accordingly, while hardly any Cana- dian Jews intermarried in 1900, the intermarriage rate rose to 16% in 1981 and nearly 33% in 2021. As a general rule, younger Jews are most exposed to contact with non- Jews. As a result, they tend to have a relatively high intermarriage rate: in Canada in 2021, more than 36% of married Jews between the ages of 18 and 39 were intermarried, compared with 25% of Jews over the age of 39. Analogously, women have now become
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