Show Notes
Today, I’m speaking with Esther Wein, Torah educator extraordinaire.
For more than 35 years, Esther has guided students of all backgrounds in Torah learning. Along the way, she became increasingly aware that even well-educated learners were often working with over-simplified explanations or incorrect ideas about the core ideas of Judaism and the unfolding story of Am Yisrael. Critical tools for navigating today's complex world were therefore missing. Because of this, she created an entirely new program called Torah Unlocked, and its upcoming flagship course, Reishis, where students will take a fresh look at the story the Torah is telling. Esther’s approach allows the many Torah ideas we have all learned to fall into place within their true context, and many longstanding questions begin to resolve on their own. The result is renewed pride, enthusiasm, clarity and devotion to the role one can play right now in Am Yisrael's story.
While Reishis is not out yet, it is launching in the next couple of months, so if you visit estherwein.com, you can sign up for updates and get notified once it’s officially out.
In this episode, we speak a lot more about: -The course Esther created -Some of the core conflicts of the Torah and how they relate to what we’re going through both as a people and individually today. -The religious world — both as a way to focus more on its positive attributes and recognize what we can all work on to create growth and improvement. -What we can take from the Pesach story as she reframes the it in a way that will change how you view the entire Jewish people and our place in this world. -The omer period — what is really going on at this time that we are in and how practically, we can maximize its potential. -The one thing that brings more bracha to Am Yisrael than anything else. ...and SO much more.
If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at [email protected] or send me a DM @chaionlifemag. Thanks again, see you next week!
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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.