Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. Today we are talking all about Kislev.

I am honored to be joined by Chaya Sora Jungreis-Gertzulin, who is the daughter of Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis a”h. She is a mother, grandmother, and teaches for HINENI, the organization in Manhattan that Rebbetzin Jungreis started. She has lectured for shuls, kiruv organizations and schools in the Metropolitan area and beyond. Chaya Sora also writes a weekly parsha commentary that you can get through Hineni’s email as well as columns in various Jewish newspapers including Jewish Vues, Monsey Mevaser, Jewish Voice and London Jewish Tribune. Her writings can also be found on Torah AnyTime.

This conversation is so important because Kislev, as we all know, falls out during the darkest time of the year. The days are getting really short and the cold is settling in. Israel has been fighting a war for more than a year now and it’s truly unfathomable that so many hostages are still in captivity. Antisemitism is rising around the world in tragic ways and it’s normal to feel fear.

Chaya Sora is going to help us work through all of that. Even though it’s dark in Kislev, we all also know it’s the month of miracles. It’s when Chanukah starts and the name, Kislev, itself comes from the meaning “security” or “trust.”

We are in a time when we need miracles. We need to deepen our trust in Hashem and maybe, we all need a little bit of a boost. 

In the episode, we speak about the power we all have to leave a powerful legacy behind, how little things we do can really add up and change the lives of others, what was behind her mother’s magic when it came to connecting with other Jewish souls, the strength we can get from Kislev specifically when we are feeling low or burnt out, how to cultivate happiness from within and so so much more.