Totally Unexpected!

Naomi Salfati's Story: Torah & Astrology - Reclaiming Nature's Manual

Naomi starts off by telling Chavie how she became an artist, why she was drawn to Hebrew letters, and how studying Jewish mysticism eventually led her into astrology. She

Dena Schusterman's Story: Facing the Stories I Carry

Dena Schusterman tells Chavie about growing up on shlichus, first in Berkeley and then Albuquerque, where her childhood was filled with skiing, wide-open landscapes, and

Julia Makowsky's Story: When Religion Becomes Anxiety + EP 50 BONUS

Julia Makowsky grew up in Los Angeles with baal teshuvah parents who became increasingly passionate about Torah as she was growing up, while Julia often felt that she was

Sonia Daccarett's Story: A Jewish Mother, a Palestinian Father, & Her Search for Identity

Sonia begins by telling Chavie about the memoir-writing class that unexpectedly became her book. Then, they trace her childhood, starting with her Jewish grandparents who

Sorella Abrahams' Story: From Love In London To Terror In Bondi

Sorella shares what it was like to grow up in London as the eleventh of twelve children in a big, Chabad family, and how her school and community experiences were shaped

Yisroel Bernath's Story: The Forgiveness Experiment

Yisroel tells Chavie about his childhood in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where he was raised by parents who were still in the process of becoming more obse

Paola Feher's Story: From Yoga to Ayurveda - A Guide to Breath, Body, & Self

Chavie and Paola open by reminiscing about how they first connected when Paola walked into Chabad of Bozeman for a Passover seder 18 years ago and instantly felt at home.

Aimee Baron's Story: I Was Supposed To Have a Baby

Aimee opens up to Chavie about her childhood in Lakewood, where her Holocaust survivor grandparents had a chicken farm. She shares how she became religious and didn’t go

Dassi Zar's Story: In Between Selves - The Act of Rebirthing

Chavie sits down with Dassi, who starts out by sharing how she was born in Iran in the middle of the Iran-Iraq war, where her mother delivered her by emergency C-section

Elin Cohen's Story: Meet Chavie's Book Buddy

Chavie sits down with her long-distance book buddy Elin for a special episode where they review their book buddy picks but first, Elin shares what it was like growing up

SPECIAL EPISODE: A Day In the Life of Chavie Bruk

In this episode, Chavie sits down with her producer, Elie Benhiyoun, to break down what a day in the life of Chavie Bruk looks like. She walks through a recent Friday, fr

Rivkah Slonim's Story: Chassidic Feminism - Could It Be?

Chavie sits down with Rivkah Slonim — author, lecturer, and self-described Chassidic feminist — and walks through her childhood growing up in Crown Heights in close proxi

Chaim Bruk's Story, Part 2: Our Infertility & Adoption Story

Chavie sits down with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the podcast’s first returning guest, just ahead of their 20th anniversary. For the first time, they walk through thei

Anna Sherman's Story: Life After Brain Surgery

Chavie and Anna begin with Anna’s roots in Toronto and what drew her toward becoming more religious in high school, navigating the tension between the world she grew up i

Mushky Yiftach Hashem's Story: Becoming the Duct Tape Queen

Chavie starts off by diving into Mushky’s early relationship with creativity. She talks about her mother noticing her artistic tendencies and her love of crafts being nur

Yocheved Shapiro's Story: A Parent’s Guide to School Advocacy

Yocheved shares her background growing up in a loud, opinionated family as the quieter sibling sandwiched between strong personalities, and how her parents’ journey as ba

Yocheved Sidof's Story: Straddling the Edges of Faith & Healing

Chavie and Yocheved start by bonding over their shared experiences navigating parenting struggles and challenges. Yocheved unveils her family’s roots in Iran, including t

Abi Radcliffe's Story: Are Vulnerability & Authenticity the Same Thing?

Chavie and Abi start off discussing how important it is to be selective with friendships as adults in order to preserve emotional bandwidth for deeper relationships. Abi

Chevee Szokovski's Story: Where Do I Fit In?

This week, Chavie welcomes her lifelong bestie, Chevee Szokovski, to the pod. They start by rewinding the clock to their high school days in Chicago. Chevee shares that s

BrookeLynne Dukes' Story: Parenting Without Shame

Chavie and BrookeLynne dive into all things parenting in this episode. BrookeLynne shares how a Chicago girl like her ended up with a name like Brookelynne. She talks abo