Our Story

Leah and Rachel are two sisters from the Book of Genesis who were both married to the patriarch Jacob.

Our Guest

Blair Glaser is a writer, leadership consultant, and licensed therapist who has led many workshops for women, including "Women Writing to Change the World," at the renowned Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. These days, she works primarily with women executives on developing effective strategies and teams. As a writer she has been a correspondent and columnist for Playbill Online and a wellness columnist for Feminist.com. In addition to writing for a variety of online publications including Shondaland, Greatist, Best Self, and The Muse to name a few, her article "A Man Blatantly Stole My Ideas. My Reaction Surprised Me." was syndicated from Huffington Post. She's read stories live at events such as Read 650, Generation Women, and won a prize for doing so at The Woodstock Bookfest. 

You can learn more about Blair’s work at www.blairglaser.com.  Find her at @blairglaser on Twitter, @Blair.Glaser on IG, and on Facebook

Our Conversation

Blair frames her tale of Leah and Rachel within the context of where she first engaged with this story: at a major Jewish conference in New York City where she was speaking about stereotypes about Jewish women in the media. An orthodox rabbi who preceded her on the stage told this Book of Genesis story and offered an interpretation: in relationships, we fall in love with Rachel (the ideal), but we end up married to Leah (the real human being).  

We also explore:

• Women in the Bible as “shadows” of women 
• How to navigate relationships when they stop being sexy and how to forgive ourselves and our partners for being human 
• Jane Austen and the “marriage industrial complex” over the ages
• What might be lost as we reject partnership because so many are rejecting monogamy
• What it takes to read between the lines of history to find the foremothers
• The focus on how we’ve come a long way, and that’s clear as Blair works with women leaders and watching them orient themselves toward a future of gender equity  
• The secret of creative tension and how the true quest is to fight together, not in opposition  

Our Music

Music on the show is by the wonderful Beth Sweeney and Billy Hardy, a Celtic Fiddle and multi-instrumental Duo based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The traditional Irish reel we play at the start of the show is called The College Groves. Find out about their music and shows at: billyandbeth.com

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