[This episode originally aired on July 29, 2024]

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, we are speaking with Dr. Hilla Aboody, an amazing teacher, mother, wife and mentor currently living in Eretz Yisrael who I invited to come on to speak about this heavy time on the Jewish calendar.

Hilla has such a beautiful way of explaining things — it’s so deep and profound yet easy to comprehend at the same time.

A little background on her:

She is a wife and mother of five, living in Eretz Yisrael after making Aliyah 7 years ago from Brooklyn, NY. She is a teacher and Em Bayit (house mother) at Midreshet Eshel, a Sephardic seminary for post High school students from around the world. Her educational background includes studying at Michlalah and receiving her bachelor’s degree from Bar-Ilan University and a Master’s and PhD in Jewish History from New York University. She has published her study on Eliyahu the Prophet in Talmudic literature and midrashim in her book, “Through the Prism of Wisdom”. As an educator and kallah teacher, Hilla dedicates her time in guiding students to creating a relationship with Hashem and tips and tools to thrive in their marriages and in life.

In our conversation, we speak about:

-What the Jewish perspective is on sadness and pain

-How we can connect to Hashem during this time and in this unique way, especially if it feels daunting for you right now

-Why this particular time period brings about more heaviness and actually the reason why we take more precautions

-The rich energy that lies in the months of Tammuz and Av — what the letters associated with each month mean, why the sense of each month is important and what we can individually and collectively take from all of that

-Why crying is actually a sign of bravery

-Practical things you can do now to get through this time with more faith, in a more connected way to yourself, Hashem and those around you

-How to deal with difficult emotions with your kids

…and SO MUCH MORE

This podcast with Hilla is basically an hour long shiur. I got chills like 17 times as I was listening to her and it’s definitely one of the most important ones I’ve done so far in terms of our spirituality.

If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at [email protected] or send me a DM @chaionlifemag. Thanks again, see you next week!