A conversation about embracing the many ways of seeing the Torah while remaining rooted in our values, the difference between judgment and discernment, impacting people without preaching, and how to approach the decision to have another baby.

Dena Schusterman is a founder of Chabad Intown in Atlanta, a Jewish educator and a founding director of both the Intown Jewish Preschool and Hebrew School. Dena writes about parenting and applied Torah and Chassidic thought, her articles have appeared on Kveller, Chabad.org, Groknation, Ami magazine and the Atlanta Jewish Times. Dena is currently working on writing her first book. She and her husband Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman are native Californians and have been living in Atlanta for 20 years. They have 8 children. You can contact Dena at [email protected] and on instagram @denads.

Link to Dena's first episode with Human & Holy: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rZZHw2SdusrTq6xiz1FHC?si=4b9607a0f2d74ac5

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Timestamps:

0:00:23 Toveedo Sponsorship

0:00:45 Zelda Hair Sponsorship

0:01:15 Host’s Introduction

0:02:48 Welcome Dena Schusterman

0:06:36 Why I’m Publishing a Memoir

0:10:37 You Can’t Tell People How to Think

0:13:00 Don’t Give People Answers to Questions They Never Asked

0:16:00 People Will Misunderstand You

0:17:08 Standing in Front of the Rebbe as a Child

0:19:34 Why Do We Feel the Need to Source Everything?

0:20:39 Chiddushei Torah: Writing Down Our Thoughts on Torah

0:22:58 Humility When We Interpret the Torah

0:23:43 Trusting Our Barometers for Truth

0:24:22 Knowing When Other People’s Ideas Are Not For You

0:25:41 The Difference Between Judgment & Discernment

0:27:25 Seventy Ways of Understanding the Torah

0:28:50 Can Women Choose Not to be in Magazines?

0:33:20 Respecting Other Communities’ Religious Choices

0:35:22 Judging People Who Are More Religious Than Us

0:38:50 Trusting Other People’s Spiritual Paths

0:41:50 Having Strong Jewish Values

0:44:50 Live in a Way That Speaks for Itself

0:46:38 Being a Shlucha Without Preaching

0:49:31 Sharing Our Convictions

0:53:00 Educating Our Children Without Fear

0:54:15 Being Role Models for Our Children

0:56:00 The Rebbe Met People Where They Were At

0:57:10 How to Make the Decision to Have a Baby

0:58:25 What is the Jewish Perspective on Pru U’rvu?

1:03:44 Have One More Child Than You Ideally Want to Have

1:04:37 Approaching Hashem with Receptivity

1:06:23 When We Face Discomfort, Hashem Comforts Us

1:07:25 The Difference Between Trust and Free Falling

1:08:15 What to Do When Having Another Child Feels Like Too Much

1:09:43 What Does Having a Large Family Actually Mean?

1:10:27 Showing Up as Ourselves

1:11:25 We Are Each Called to be Leaders

1:13:45 Learning How to Live with What is