Growing up in the Chabad Lubavitch community, Bassie Shemtov always knew she’d devote her life to service. So when she married and moved to Michigan, she and her husband set about dedicating their life and family to building friendships with people in isolation.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Bassie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about the origins of the Friendship Circle, her husband’s role as “the Friendship Rabbi,” and the next phase of the Friendship Circle’s growth, acquiring the Dakota Bread Bakery in West Bloomfield, Michigan, as a way to build a vocational training program for adults with special needs.