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Black, Jewish and Proud: How Rabbi Yossi Kulek Promotes Inclusion 

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“I told my mother, ‘I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed to be Black. I look in the mirror and I ask G-d, “Why me? Why do I have to look this way? Why do I have to be Black?’” - Rabbi Yossi Kulek

“I instilled in my children that if there's anyone that's ever had an issue with them, it's because they have a problem. You're not the problem.” - Rebbetzin Dalia Kulek

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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Putting “Hospitality” in “Hospital”: Rabbis Dovid, Shloime & Rebbetzin Chana Greene

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“Everybody is looking for their miracle to take place when they come to Rochester.  People come there to experience healing. And I'm going to help those around me heal.” - Rabbi Shloime Greene

“It's intertwined. That's the beauty. The local and visiting community is one. It's one community. It's not, "Oh, okay. This is the part of our Shlichus that's hospital-centered. And then when I go to my preschool and make a curriculum that's community centered." It's really all intertwined." - Rebbetzin Chana Greene

"I was in a dark place. It was very dark, and it got darker in time. But every time I saw him, he made me feel a lot better." - Oz Eliezer

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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The Myrtle Beach Makeover: Rabbi Doron & Leah Aizenman

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"You should go to a place that has no other Shluchim." And the first place that came to mind was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So I wrote to the Rebbe that I have that contact in Myrtle Beach, and may I pursue it? And the Rebbe said, "V'sanyano b'zeh." Which means, "Go ahead and look into that direction." - Rabbi Doron Aizenman

“I got a job in the financial district in Manhattan, but I was not satisfied. I still wanted very much to be part of the Rebbe's work." - Rebbetzin Leah Aizenman

"Rabbi Doron and Morah Leah, they came here when they were very young. And to see what they build … everything is changing and growing... It's, like, who's gonna think that this is gonna be, like, this good." - Ana Mosche

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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Creating Jewish Ambassadors in the KKK’s Backyard: Rabbi Levi & Chaish Mentz

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"I asked, ‘Hey, what's Jewish life like up here?’ And she laughed. She's like, ‘There's nothing. I am the only Jew that lives here.’" - Rabbi Levi Mentz

“You need to understand, this is Forsyth County eight years ago. It was like putting a Jewish colony on Mars. ‘We're going to have a synagogue in Forsyth County?’” - Jeremy Lefkovits

"Our house was a two-and-a-half mile walk to shul. So that was one of the biggest marketing gigs, was my husband walking to shul every week, doing 5 miles of walking on a Shabbos. A lot of people were like, "Oh, we saw you walking!” And that was how they learned that there was something going on over here." - Rebbetzin Chaish Mentz

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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The Black Fedora in the Cowboy State: Rabbi Zalman & Raizy Mendelsohn

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"I knew that Jackson Hole, being a tiny little town, would be somewhat overwhelming for Raizy to consider moving here full time...And she said, 'This place is beautiful, but can we perhaps consider other opportunities?'" - Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn

"I felt suffocated and I said, “When I look to my right, there’s a mountain, and I look to my left, there’s a mountain. And I look in front, there’s a mountain. I look behind, there’s a mountain." - Rebbetzin Raizy Mendelsohn

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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A Sub-Saharan Brit Milah: Rabbi Moshe & Yocheved Raskin

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"What’s the chance … that two people will come in the time of quarantine to Uganda, and one of them is a mohel? It's a major hasgacha pratit. I have a lady, she has a baby. And we need to make a bris." - Rabbi Moshe Raskin

"And we're schmoozing, and I'm telling him, "I'm a shochet. If you need anything, I'm happy to do some slaughtering for you while I'm here. And I brought with me my Shechita knife." And I mentioned in passing that I'm a mohel." - Dr. Ari Greenspan 

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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Fighting Fires and Pedaling Wine Bicycles: the Portland Jewish Oasis - Rabbi Chayim & Simi Mishulovin

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"It was a Friday night. We were just going to sleep, and all of a sudden I hear banging on the front door of my house. So we go to open the door, and we're told that the Chabad house is on fire." - Rabbi Chayim Mishulovin

"It's hard for me to say this, but my whole life, I've either kept my Jewishness close to the chest, or I've outright hid it. And after having visited the burnt shul, I really felt like this is time for me to step into my Jewishness and to let it out in big, beautiful ways." - Mr. David Howitt

"Sometimes it takes a broken spirit. A shattered heart could be the best vessel. But, wherever we are, Hashem is with us, helping us. The Oasis story, we could see the blessings in it." - Rebbetzin Simi Mishulovin

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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Holy High: How Milwaukee Became Home to a Revolutionary Jewish Prep School - Rabbi Yossi & Ilana Bassman

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"There was one instance where a bunch of kids over there brought this bag of chips, they gave it to me. And I was like, "You know, what could be wrong with chips?" And ate it. And then, afterwards, they were just mocking me. "Oh, that was pork rinds. The Jew ate pork rinds." - Gedaliah Liberman, Bader Hillel High '19

"If we're stepping up and taking ownership of the future of the Yiddishkeit, of the Jewish people, that begins and ends in authentic Jewish education. - Rabbi Yossi Bassman

"I do remember, vividly, looking at my husband and telling him, "No, I seriously, I cannot plan a program. I wouldn't even be able to make a lesson plan. I can't even do that." And he looked me straight in the eye and he said, "Yes, you could." - Rebbetzin Ilana Bassman

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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Rabbi Refoel & Chani Silver: Sparkling Beaches, Tiki Torch Menorahs & Jewish Outreach in Curaçao

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In June of 2017, Rabbi Refoel and Chani Silver boarded a plane for Curaçao on a fact-finding mission. 
"We had a meeting one evening at the Shul, and we called upon local members to come. And they had set up a lot, a lot, a lot of chairs, apparently expecting 40 to 50 people. A lot less people showed up. And there was a fellow that got up there,  and he says, "Well, look around the room. There are so many empty chairs. Why would you come here?" I said, "You know, that's a great question. But my answer is if I would come here tonight and this room was full, then you don't need me here!” ” - Rabbi Refoel Silver

"Beautiful beaches. There's an old town here with colored houses. There's the old synagogue, Shaarei Tzedek, which is a beautiful synagogue. Historical island, with a lot of culture. It's very international." - Rebbetzin Chani Silver 

"as I was walking down the stairs he looked up to me, he said, “Michael Metsch?" I said to him, "Rabbi Silver?" And he said to me, "Yes." And we went for a coffee. My wife also came. And the three of us sat for about an hour and a half, talking about all the issues in Curaçao." - Michael Metsch

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

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From Beaches And Basketball To Torah And Mitzvahs: The Story of Perth’s “Meshugenahs”

Featuring: Rabbi Dovid Birk, Michoel Ogince, Gilad Lurie, Yitz Feigenbaum & Aaron Lazer Goodman

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 "I couldn’t understand. I was like, "One second; I saw a wetsuit in your bathroom." He says, "Yeah, I was out surfing this morning, Tel Aviv." I couldn't believe it. So I challenged him. I was like, "One second, how is it possible?" - Rabbi Dovid Birk

"We skateboarded, we surfed, we went to the beach. We body surfed in the beach if we didn't have a surfboard." - Aaron Lazer Goodman

Produced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.com - A Project of Machne Israel

Available on all major podcast platforms - and online at Lubavitch.com/podcast

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