55. Is Ego Getting in the Way of Your Relationship with Hashem? Let's Talk it Out with Dr. Feigie Russ, PsyD
Chai on LifeShow Notes
Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, I have Dr. Feigie Russ on the show. Dr. Feigie is a licensed psychologist specializing in anxiety and OCD. With over 20 years of clinical experience, she blends her psychological expertise with a deep love for Hashem, to help individuals navigate their inner struggles. This week, she is releasing a brand new book called Letting Go: Overcoming Anxiety Through Emunah and Bitachon.
When I learned about this book I was intrigued, but when I got to look through an early copy, I was blown away. At the beginning, I was skeptical — how would this book be different than others out there on emunah, bitachon and anxiety? Dr. Feigie Russ totally turns the whole concept on its head by bringing ego into the mix. It’s a unique perspective that I hadn’t heard before, one that really clicked for me and is also super comprehensive — the book is more than 400 pages so she really tries to address every aspect around the topic. In this episode, I speak to Dr. Feigie about: -What prompted her to write this book -Her own relationship with love for Hashem and building her emunah and bitachon -How she dealt with a really painful experience and came out the other side stronger -A refreshing perspective on navigating anxiety and really overcoming it from a place of understanding -How to handle uncertainty -How ego gets in the way when it comes to personal growth AND the appropriate place for ego in living a healthy, balanced life that serves Hashem in the way you want to -How the most difficult relationships in our lives can both teach us the most about self-love and actually get us to that place -How to know when giving is coming from a real place or a people-pleasing place and further, how to overcome a people-pleasing nature -The conversation to have with yourself about knowing how you’re genuinely feeling about giving and doing more …and so much more! To get in touch with Dr. Feigie, you can email her at [email protected].
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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!
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