The Jewish Divorce Project Podcast

Leeron and Noam continue the conversation with Samantha Boss, who is, in fact, a boss! But before we get into the ugly truth about divorce with Samantha, Leeron updates us on a big divorce transition that took some time to get to: reclaiming her maiden name. For many, taking back one's maiden name is a major part of the divorce process that is necessary in moving on and coming to know oneself again. And coming to know ourselves again is part of our spiritual journey involved in the High Holidays. 

Welcome back to our 7th? 8th? season? Leeron and Noam catch up after a long summer break. Think we keep it light for our first episode of a new season? Think again! We have some honest talk about the hidden costs- to the wallet and the soul- of single parenting in a tough economy. But there's hope! Hope is found in breaking. In giving oneself a break in meeting expectations, and the looming self-criticism that comes with parenting. 

Noam and Leeron catch up about mother's day moments this year.Like about how tough and good it felt for Leeron to share mother's day with her kid's step-mom. How was mother's day for you? We are also joined by Ginger Gentile. Note: last name pronounced GEN-TEAL, to talk about parental alienation and how to heal from it.

Ginger Gentile, the "Erased Child Whisperer", was a child caught in the middle of a bitter divorce, and now helps parents facing similar battles find peace and even reunite their families via coaching designed for the worst cases of Parental Alienation and Estrangement. She is a documentary film-maker, activist, who is on a mission to reverse parental alienation – a silent epidemic .

Her documentary, ‘Erasing Family’ shows children suffering from alienation reuniting with their parents. Ginger’s extensive work in healing families has been featured on shows like Red Table Talk and Real Housewives of Orange County. She’s also been featured on NBC and CBS, The Atlantic, spoken at SXSW, and on many podcasts. She has reunited numerous families and leads the only coaching program that features ex-alienated kids as coaches, using simple techniques to cure a complex problem. 

Ginger can be reached at:

https://ReversingParentalAlienation.com

https://ErasingFamily.org (to watch the film for free)

@ErasingFamily on IG, FB and YT

Free training on the secrets to reverse parental alienation: https://ReversingParentalAlienation.com/secrets

In episode 82 we speak with and learn a lot from Rabbi Ari Saks. Rabbi Saks talks to us about the cultural myths that couples face in their interfaith relationships. Particularly that interfaith relationships will inevitably lead to divorce and separation.  We ask the question if interfaith relationships mean it’s MORE likely or LESS likely for a couple to divorce? Rabbi Saks challenges that idea by teaching that differences can actually lead to a deeper relationship rather than division. 

Currently, Rabbi Saks is focusing his efforts on reaching out to interfaith families, primarily through his recently launched podcast “Interfaithing: Why families can embrace two faiths under one roof.” The podcast can be found on all podcast platforms. Rabbi Saks is also developing unique, online Adult Education curricula including “Torah Teachings for Jewish Grandparents of Interfaith Families” and “How Israel Should be Taught on College Campuses.” Finally, Rabbi Saks serves Torat Yisrael, a Conservative congregation in Rhode Island, on a part-time basis and serves pastoral needs for unaffiliated families in the Philadelphia area.

In Episode 81 Noam and Leeron discuss Passover and how you celebrate a holiday even if you don't have your kids. We also talk with Andrea Hipps a certified divorce coach and how to make your former partner irrelevant by moving beyond forgiveness to even forgetfulness. We  talk about why it is important, and share a few steps that help listeners make their way to the promised land.

Andrea Hipps, LBSW is a Certified Divorce Coach and author who helps parents all along the divorce continuum resolve their divorce debris and create healthier two-address families. She's the author of the internationally bestselling book The Best Worst Time of Your Life: Four Practices to Get You Through the Pain of Divorce, which outlines the four practices you need to create wholeness and healing for you and your kids before, during, and after divorce. As a regular contributor to our nation’s divorce recovery conversation, she's been featured on NBC, ABC, FOX and the CW discussing how we can do divorce better for the sake of ourselves and our families.

This week Noam and Leeron tackle a interesting topic: Open marriages. We sit down with "Cindy" who talks to us about her open marriage to "Jim" (We love 90210!). We protect Cindy's identity not because there is anything to be ashamed of with an open marriage. But because we're all entitled to some privacy in life, and there are those who also judgmental of open relationships. Nonetheless, we have a fascinating conversation about: dating, cucking, unicorns, ethical-non-monogamy, and polyamory. Most importantly we discuss how an open marriage can have amazing benefits for you and your spouse- including an improved sex life! Have a story about how your marriage was saved by an open relationship? Share it with us at [email protected]

Note: At the beginning of the episode we mislabel it "episode 80." We're almost there, but really, this is episode 79. 

And in ep 79 Noam and Leeron sit down with Sharon Pope. Sharon is a certified Master Life Coach and Relationship Expert helping women and men get the tools they need to improve, heal, or release their struggling marriages. She is a seven-time international best-selling author on love and relationships, including Stay or Go: How to Find the Confidence & Clarity You Need to Either Fix the Struggles in Your Marriage or Move Forward without Regret, which has sold more than 300,000 copies, and host of the podcast, “The Loving Truth.”  Her work has appeared in numerous media outlets and online publications, including the “Modern Love” column of The New York Times.

No guest this week. But Instead we talk about gradually letting go of old possessions that remind us of our marriage and past lives; and good reasons to stay or leave your marriage. In the process of the conversation Leeron mentions her strategy for helping one of her clients move on when his marriage has failed: Jumbo's Clown Room.

This week, Noam and Leeron sit down with Erin Levin, founder and CEO of Hello Divorce, and talk about the process of getting divorced and having a team behind you. 

Erin Levine is not your typical attorney. With over a decade of experience in litigating complex family matters, she saw the need for a kinder, easier and more affordable pathway out of marriage. To achieve this, Erin set out to revolutionize the broken divorce system and founded Hello Divorce, a venture capital backed, tech-enabled platform, that blends compassionate support with cutting edge technology, making it easier for spouses to navigate legal logistics and financial hurdles with less stress and mess. 

Erin’s innovative approach to the divorce process has earned her media mentions and recognition from the legal industry and beyond, with recent features in Vice, Forbes, Above the Law, Bloomberg and TechCrunch. Ultimately, Erin is on a mission to help separating couples empower a better life ahead and has helped thousands of Americans successfully reorganize their lives and families through a framework that levels the playing field between spouses so they can sort things out fairly, avoid missteps and reimagine their next (best) chapter.

Topics we cover with Erin:

This week, Leeron braved her first experience hosting on her own and covered for Noam as he was under the weather. After talking about her nerves, she welcomed our guest Lauren Zaslansky Conner. Lauren was a past Board President at Burbank Temple Emanu El where Leeron worked as the Preschool Director. She shares her experience as a community leader when a congregant or employee goes through a divorce as well as how the kids are involved. Lauren opened up about her experience as a child of divorce and her observation of how her mother’s social life changed as a single mom. These observations have provided a level of compassion Lauren has when helping her friends or community members going through divorce. There are some great nuggets of information here for synagogue leaders on how to support their community.