Show Notes
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal, and today I am speaking with Rebbetzin Lisa Babich all about Purim. Lisa is a Queens-raised New Yorker, full-time Rebbetzin, and licensed speech and language pathologist. She has been involved in Jewish education and outreach since the age of 19, teaching at TBY, EMETT Russian outreach, the Jewish Enrichment Center in the West Village, and now Fifth Avenue Synagogue alongside her husband, Rabbi Eli Babich who is the Rabbi there.
She was also very vocal during the NYC mayoral election this past year when unfortunately, Mamdani was elected. Lisa was instrumental in trying to unite the Jewish people in prayer to attempt to stop his win yet even when he did, she did not let the news get her down. She is a strong advocate for the Jewish people and has really become a source of chizzuk, or strength for me, when it comes to the day-to-day issues we’re facing these days.
Plus, the whole experience with Mamdani has eerie parallels to the Purim story. He really feels like a modern day Haman and I knew I wanted to speak with Lisa around this time to give us insight into how we can use this experience to connect even more to Purim and Hashem, as the ultimate goal.
And she really delivered. She shares sooo much wisdom in this podcast episode and I’m so glad we talked it all through. In our conversation, we speak about: -How to see Hashem in this hidden world -What the lessons in the Torah can teach us about the times we’re living in now -How she’s already seeing Hashem’s Hand through Mamdani’s election and why she’s not scared -Why unity is one of the most important things we need to be focused on and how to work at it in your own life when you feel helpless -Her thoughts on if we should all be moving to Israel right now -How she personally connects more deeply to Hashem and how to work to make it more of a relationship vs just a give and take -What it means to be a strong Jewish woman
...and so much more!
Connect with Lisa on Instagram at @lisababich9 or via email at [email protected].
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Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I'm Alex Segal and today, I'm speaking with Keshet Starr, CEO of Shalom Task Force.
This episode originally aired on 9/16/24 but is just as relevant today. Enjoy this replay as we get ready for Yom Kippur. -- Today, I am speaking with Yaffa Moskowitz, the Director of Education at Midreshet Rachel V’Chaya, a seminary in Jerusalem. Here’s a little more about Yaffa: She is a native member the Far Rockaway community and was active in that community and the Five Towns for many years. Yaffa, her husband Danny, and seven children made aliya in the summer of 2013 and now live in Mitzpe Yericho. Yaffa served as teacher and Director of Ateres Seminary for women on the Queens College Campus for 13 years and she was also involved in the Neshei Shor Yoshuv community where she gave chaburas for married women. I met Yaffa when I was a student exactly seven years ago at Midreshet Rachel and have continued to learn from her and with her since. She has such a wealth of knowledge and this conversation really turned into the perfect thing to listen to right in the middle of Elul preparing for the chagim. During this time at Midreshet Rachel, the students learn from the sefer, Tomer Devorah, which teaches us about Hashem’s 13 Attributes of Mercy. As we learn about Hashem and understand who He is more, so to speak, we learn how we can emulate Him more in our own lives, and we used that text as the jumping off point for our conversation. As we spoke, we explored: -What a “sin” actually is in Judaism (it may not be what you think) and how we can always get back on track -How to separate ourselves from the sin and retain our confidence and closeness to G-d through the process -How we can get to the core of what emunah really is on the most basic level and use these foundational concepts to connect to Hashem more deeply -The restraint Hashem has with us every day and how we can apply that concept to our own lives and actions -How to work on letting go of control -Why we should speak to ourselves with more compassion from a Torah perspective -When fear is appropriate in Judaism and what kind of fear that actually is talking about -How we can continue to grow and elevate ourselves year after year …and SO MUCH MORE!
Today, I’m speaking with Hadassah Eventsur. Hadassah is an occupational therapist, educator, transformational coach, Mishpacha Magazine contributor, speaker, and the founder and CEO of MindfullyYou, an educational and support platform dedicated to helping neurodivergent individuals better understand their brains and build lives that work with—not against—them. In her program, she helps women who feel overwhelmed by daily chores and responsibilities, those who are struggling time management and organization and others who simply want more peace, structure and confidence in their daily lives.
Today, I’m speaking with Torah educator, Goldie Sion. Goldie was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in Hollywood, Florida. She has worked with organizations in the past that include Olami Manhattan, Aish Aspire, Jam Israel and now works for Olami Souled. She is passionate about teaching Torah, giving shiurim, and inspiring others through creativity and connection with her Instagram: @goldiesjournal.