Deep Meaningful Conversations

By Alex Fleksher and Rivki SilverReligion & Spirituality Judaism

Deep Meaningful Conversations episodes

August 07, 2023 Wiring Our Children for Happiness with Beth Perkel
Being happy is an aspiration that is thrown around so easily and often, we wonder if it’s really even a goal in life. But happiness is crucial for healthy children, and we’re going to be talking all about it with our guest, Beth Perkel. Beth is an author, freelance writer and essayist. Her recent book is called Light At the Beginning of the Tunnel: Wiring our Children for Happiness.
Beth believes that most children need to be taught the “talent” of happiness, that it doesn’t happen automatically, and that it’s the central key that enables them to lead successful, productive and meaningful lives. In her book, she synthesizes deep concepts from ancient wisdom, the most up-to-date psychological methods, scientific studies and research and weaves them into a practical, personalized system for us and our children.
In the episode we discuss:
-Beth’s journey as a writer, and how she learned to dig deep and be vulnerable
-Why she wrote a book on parenting, and how her approach is unique
-What happiness looks like in different people
-Her favorite chapters in the book
-Advice for parents with children who are “not happy”
-Examples of parenting wins from her own life
Beth’s book and speaker recommendations:
Beth’s book - Light at the Beginning of the Tunnel: Wiring our Children for Happiness (best to purchase from Feldheim or Mosaica)
Beth's Podcast - Ideas That Change Lives
Rav Wolbe’s Planting and Building
Rebbetzin Spetner as a parenting educator
Stress Less: Stop Stressing, Start Living by: Kate Hanley
The Power of Now by: Eckhart Tolls
Rebbetzin Dina Schoonmaker’s shiurim
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 42 SPONSOR:
Hatzola Air
https://hatzolair.org/
Donate now - https://hatzolair.org/donate
1 hr 13 min
July 24, 2023Spiritual Self-Care with Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman
This episode of DMC is about spiritual self-care. This means, what are we doing to take care of our neshama? What are we doing to invest in our connection to Yiddishkeit and Hashem? Because if we don’t take care of our spiritual side, we know what happens. It’s the same with when we don’t take care of our bodies, or our relationships, or our linen closets…the law of entropy entails and things start falling apart.
Our guest for this deep meaningful conversation is Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, the founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative. This topic is one near and dear to Rebbetzin Shmidman’s heart as her life’s work is creating ways for women all over North America to stay connected to their communities and their Torah learning. Rebbetzin Shmidman understands why spiritual self-care is so vital to our well-being as Jewish women.
On this episode we discuss:
How Rebbetzin Dr. Shmidman became the director of the OU Women’s Initiative

Her goals for Orthodox women in her capacity as an organizational leader

An initiative she’s particularly proud of that she was able to implement in this role

The definition of spiritual self-care and why she’s passionate about it

The main challenges frum women face in practicing spiritual self-care

Rebbetzin Dr. Shmidman’s favorite self-care practice
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].
The OU Women Initiative's website:
https://ouwomen.org/
Mourning with Meaning series:
https://outorah.org/series/6965
Torat Imecha Learning Program
https://ouwomen.org/torat-imecha/
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 41 SPONSOR:
Hashkifa’s Yoel Gold “Souled” Film for Tisha Ba’av
https://hashkifa.com/
1 hr 29 min
July 10, 2023Family Dynamics and Lashon Hara with Yocheved Davidowitz
It’s the Three Weeks, and we knew we wanted to provide something meaningful for us all to help us get in the mindset of this unique period in the Jewish calendar. As we’re leading up to Tisha B’Av, we really should be thinking more about mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro since sinas chinam, baseless hatred, is the reason given for the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash.

So we asked Yocheved Davidowitz, licensed counselor, a certified nutrition coach, writer, educator and the host of the podcast, A Deeper Conversation, to join us on this DMC and come up with the topic. Yocheved hosts Wake up Words with the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation and runs a daily Shmiras HaLashon chat for hundreds of women worldwide.

One of the areas she’s been focusing on lately is bein adam l’chaveiro when it comes to those closest to us: our family. We knew that was a topic we wanted to learn more about.
In this episode, we discuss:
Yocheved’s experience running a daily Shmiras haLashon chat for women worldwide

Why she’s lately been interested in the topic of bein adam l’chaveiro as it applies to family members

Do we have a get-out-of-jail pass when it comes to speaking lashon hara about family?

The Torah’s perspective on venting to family members or confidants about family members
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].
Show Notes:
Yocheved’s podcast, A Deeper Conversation:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4zQrc18261uZYieLlkARiY
Wake Up Words Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Whatsapp Group:
https://cchf.global/individual/whatsapp/
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
50 min
June 26, 2023Making Prayer Real with Sara Blau
On this DMC, we’re talking about tefillah, prayer. We want to get real, we want to get practical and we want to get inspired. Our guest is Sara Blau. Sara is passionate about tefillah and making prayer relevant. Her brand is providing inspiration for the Jewish woman, so she’s a perfect guest for DMC. Sara’s a public speaker and the author of 29 books. She’s also in the middle of a book about tefillah, so we’re excited to have the opportunity to pick her brain about this important topic.
In this episode, we discuss:
Women’s unique relationship with prayer

Benefits of davening, formally or not formally

Navigating davening and the various stages of our lives

Utilizing downtime

Managing disappointment when are prayers aren’t getting the results we want

What inspired Sara to write a book on prayer
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].
Show Notes:
Sara’s website:
https://www.sarablau.com/landing-page
Sara’s articles:
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4874392/jewish/Song-of-the-Soul.htm
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5926700/jewish/Women-and-Prayer.htm
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 39 SPONSOR:
Label Land
https://labelland.com/
Coupon code for 10% sitewide: DMC
Expires July 26th
1 hr 14 min
June 12, 2023Making Shifts in our Marriage with Rivke Gardner
We get a lot of feedback from women that they’d like to hear more episodes about marriage and parenting. So this episode is devoted to the topic of marriage and we’re DMCing with a very special person, Rivke Gardner. Rivke is “a marriage mentor for mentors” – and a marriage coach for everybody. She went on her own quest to improve her marriage after she realized as a newlywed that the little tools she had to “perfect” her marriage weren’t working. Rivke knew she wanted a deeply connected, supportive, passionate and fulfilling marriage. So for the last 18 years, she’s learned everything she could about marriage success. She now has a full-time coaching business and offers a variety of programs and training courses.
On this DMC, we discuss:
How Rivke got into marriage coaching and made it into a full-time business

The programs she offers

The main issues she sees women dealing with in their marriages

Her favorite tools that she gives women

Mentoring the mentors in marriage coaching

What Rivke wishes everyone would know about marriage
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].
Show Notes:
Rivke’s website
https://rivkegardner.com/
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 38 SPONSOR:
Label Land
https://labelland.com/
Coupon code for 10%: DMC
Expires July 26th
Excludes value packs
1 hr 3 min
May 29, 2023Reclaiming Dignity with Bracha Poliakoff
It’s fair to say that every Orthodox woman has her own unique relationship with tznius. There are many factors at play that determine the nature of her relationship: education, upbringing, societal and familial influences, peer dynamics, and religious background, amongst others. Whether tznius is your favorite mitzvah or your biggest struggle, it’s valuable to bring tznius into our conversations as individuals and communities, and perhaps, change the conversation we’ve been having all along.
In this DMC, we discuss how the new book Reclaiming Dignity has been the topic of many conversations in various communities since it was released last month. We have the opportunity to sit down with Bracha Poliakoff, the editor of the anthology section of the book, and have our own deep meaningful conversation on this crucial topic.
On this episode, we discuss:
Bracha’s relationship with tznius growing up

Her dream in creating this book and how it evolved into the final product

The intention behind the unique structure of the book

The range of feelings and experiences frum women have about tznius

Improvements in tznius education, and areas still needing work

“PTSD” - post-traumatic tznius disorder
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and you can email us at [email protected].
https://mosaicapress.com/product/reclaiming-dignity/
20% off for DMC listeners!
Use coupon code DMC20
Gila Manolson’s Outside/Inside
http://gilamanolson.com/books-outside_inside.php
Penimi Tznius Curriculum
https://www.penimi.org/tznius-programs
Our DMC with Jamie Geller
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/26pmIPUwbAb
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 37 SPONSOR:
Mesikus Hatorah
MesikusHatorah.org
732.272.0771 ext 3
[email protected]
1 hr 10 min
May 15, 2023Why We All Need Chizuk with Barrie Feld
Whatever “chizuk” means to you, we all need it. Whether it’s inspiration, validation, support or cheerleading, chizuk is what keeps us going when the going gets tough, or when we’re just not feeling it. Chizuk isn’t just for those of us who may be struggling religiously. We all can use a boost of strengthening to help us get through our daily lives, to keep us connected to our Judaism, to remind us of our purpose, and to help us get through those rough spots.
Barrie Feld is the founding director of the Chizuk MIssion, and she lives and breathes chizuk. We brought her on DMC to hear why she thinks we all need chizuk, and what chizuk really means to her.
On this episode, we discuss:
Barrie’s quality of ayin tov and how that connects to chizuk

Where she gets her chizuk from

Why she saw a need to create the Chizuk Mission

How the Chizuk Mission makes an impact

The main challenges facing women in staying connected to their Yiddishkeit

The importance of finding what types of chizuk works for you
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and you can email us at [email protected].
Show notes:
Chizuk Mission website:
https://www.chizukmission.org/
48 Ways to Wisdom:
https://a.co/d/dNX6Vk7
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 35 SPONSOR:
La’Bayit
https://www.labayitgifts.com/
[email protected]
1 hr 11 min
May 01, 2023 How We Seek Advice with Jenna McKenna
Let’s say we’re struggling with a challenge in our life. We can weather the storm on our own, or we can reach out to someone for help. But who? Sometimes it’s a family member or friend. Other times a rebbetzin or rav is our first avenue of support. Or a mental health professional. Or all of the above. In our modern world, many seek advice via social media, whether anonymously or not. All these avenues have pros and cons, and we discuss it all this DMC.
Jenna McKenna joins us in this conversation. Jenna is the founder of Frum Girl Problems, a closed Facebook group, and has seen her fair share of the various challenges that women face and how they go about seeing guidance and support. She herself got involved in mentoring, and is currently a high school counselor at Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov in Chicago. We knew she’d have tons to say about the topic based on her experience. This episode is jam packed with lots of insight about how we go about seeking advice.
Show notes:
To advertise on DMC:
Contact Jewish Content Network
https://jewishcontentnetwork.com/
1-845-287-0404
Contact: Chayale Kaufman
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 35 SPONSOR:
Zos Hatorah
https://zoshatorah.org/
[email protected]
1-718-647-6228

Alex's article on Meaningful Minute about mentorship - https://meaningfulminute.org/who-do-you-turn-to-for-advice/
1 hr 5 min
April 18, 2023The 21st Century Eishes Chayil with Shira Hochheimer
What can we learn from the wisdom of the Eishes Chayil that can be applied to our modern lives? Our guest today is Shira Hochheimer, author of Eishes Chayil: Ancient Wisdom for Women of Today. On this episode, we explore the connotations the Eishes Chayil has for us, and the implications it has on our lives.
We discuss:
The backstory behind how Shira decided to write a book on this topic

Her favorite middah (trait) of the Eishes Chayil that she discovered while doing her research

Takeaways for us as modern-day Jewish women

How women can ensure their daily lives reflect their deeply held beliefs

Juggling multiple roles while nourishing yourself
Show notes:
Shira’s website where you can order her book:
http://chinuchenergy.com/
Use coupon code DMC for a discount!
OU shiurim:
https://outorah.org/author/133884
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
1 hr 21 min
March 27, 2023Get Ready For Pesach with Esti Hamilton
Pesach is coming, and DMC is here for you! Whether you’re defrosting your freezer or packing all the suitcases, we’re back to share conversations about the upcoming yom tov and help us get focused on the meaning of what we do. In this episode, we DMC with Esti Hamilton, the most relatable of rebbetzins, to give us some chizuk and inspo for Pesach.
We discuss:
Her personal relationship with Pesach, from childhood until today

The stereotype of the woman falling asleep at the seder, having had no time for her own personal spiritual preparations

Tips and suggestions for prioritizing ourselves in advance

Connecting with our children who may struggle to connect on Pesach

Esti’s favorite Pesach insights
We’d love to hear from you. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and you can email us at [email protected].
Show notes:
Esti Hamilton’s website:
https://rebbetzinesti.com/
Torah Anytime shiurim:
https://www.torahanytime.com/#/speaker?l=682
DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:
Town Appliance
https://www.townappliance.com/
1-866-309-8119
https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us
DMC EPISODE 33 SPONSOR:
Smarty Had a Party
https://smartyhadaparty.com/
Coupon code for 20% off:
PESACH20
(314) 431-5400
866-4SMARTY
1 hr 2 min

About Deep Meaningful Conversations

From the publisher's feed

Join Alex Fleksher and Rivki Silver as they DMC about the topics on the minds of frum women with their unique blend of expert guests and relatable conversations. It’s like having a coffee date with…