Deep Meaningful Conversations – Details, episodes & analysis

Can we be honest for a minute? Of course we can, we’re having a DMC! So let’s get real about being honest about communal issues. In other words, we know our community isn’t immune to its share of societal challenges, but is it possible to be sincere in acknowledging the issues while sincerely trying to improve them? And while we’re being honest about the problems, how can we maintain emunah and positivity as we’re face-to-face with those challenges?

We discuss these questions and more with Keshet Starr, CEO Of ORA, the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. Keshet is an attorney, author, activist, speaker and nonprofit leader. She’s one of those people in the trenches doing the work but has managed to maintain her sensitivity, sincerity and emunah. Keshet is a true role model in many ways. 

In this DMC we discuss,

• How Keshet got into the work of agunah advocacy

• How we can be honest about real issues in the community while maintaining positivity and emunah

• The first steps in making changes once we’ve identified a problem

• Effective and ineffective methods of making change

• Keshet’s opinion on grassroots efforts in the community

• How Orah has been successful in implementing change & what Keshet’s learned

• Keshet’s advice for those looking to improve an area in their community

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX, and you can always email us at [email protected].

Show notes:

ORA’s Website:

https://www.getora.org/ 

Sponsors: 

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSORS:

Ohr Naava’s Tisha B'Av experience:

https://www.ohrnaava.com/tishabav/ 

Project Inspire’s “A Little Bit of Light” Tisha B'Av film:

https://www.projectinspire.com/events/tisha/ 

Yoel Gold’s “Coming Home” Tisha B'Av film:

Coupon code DMC10 for 10% off

https://hashkifa.com/ 

We’ve entered the Three Weeks, and the Jewish calendar instructs us to have mourning on our mind. Yet it can be challenging to embrace the meaning of mourning smack in the middle of summer barbeques and road trips. We knew that Sarah Rivkah Kohn, founder of Links Family, would help us find the meaning in mourning. Links Family is an organization that provides support to children and teens who have lost a parent. Through her own personal loss, and her work with Links, Sarah Rivkah has learned so much about the process and significance of mourning and how it can apply to all of us, even if we haven’t lost a loved one. 

On this DMC we discuss:

• How and why Sarah Rivkah founded Links Family

• What Sarah Rivkah has learned about mourning

• The various forms of loss  in the human experience

• How Sarah Rivkah’s experience informs her understanding of the loss of the Beis Hamikdash

• How we can make Tisha Baav more meaningful in our lives

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX, and you can always email us at [email protected].

Show notes:

Links Family website:

https://linksfamily.org/ 

To register for the adult grief summit:

Linksfamily.org/griefsummit

Sponsors: 

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSORS:

Ohr Naava’s Tisha B'Av experience:

https://www.ohrnaava.com/tishabav/ 

Project Inspire’s “A Little Bit of Light” Tisha B'Av film:

https://www.projectinspire.com/events/tisha/ 

Yoel Gold’s “Coming Home” Tisha B'Av film:

https://hashkifa.com/

Use code DMC10 for 10% at checkout

Purim is on its way, so we’ve invited who we think are two of the funniest (and maybe cleverest) ladies to grace the pages of Mishpacha Magazine, and that’s Chani Judowitz and Bracha Stein, the masterminds of The Kichels’ comics. We say that The Kichels is social commentary in its best form. They manage to point out silly things about frum life in a way that’s highly relatable, while doing it in such a loving and playful way. It’s like mussar and validation all in one hilarious package. 

(Oh, and by the way, you can’t miss our very special “guests” this episode to provide some extra laughs this Adar season.)

On this DMC we discuss:

• How the Kichels were born

• Chani and Bracha’s process of collaboration

• Their goals in starting the comic strip

• Their reaction to its popularity

• What they think the Kichels has accomplished in starting communal conversations

• Their funniest, most loved, and most controversial strips

• What’s next for the Kichels

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX, and you can always email us at [email protected].

Sponsors: 

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Whee by SR Play

Coupon Code for free accessory: DMCFREE24

https://wheesr.com/

(855) 836-4774

[email protected]

Appaman

https://www.appaman.com/

Coupon code DMC20 for 20% off applicable sitewide, excluding the Core collection

Kav Halacha

https://kavhalacha.org/

US: 732 707-6666

Find other countries’ numbers on their website.

__________

- Please consider supporting DMC with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dmcthepodcast/support

- To sponsor an episode as a refuah sheleimah or l’ilui nishmas a loved one, please email us at [email protected].

So often the situation in Israel can feel dispiriting. We want to make a difference and contribute, but we don’t know how. Meira Kolatch, otherwise known as “The Official Meira”, shares with us how out of her desire to keep her friends and family informed about events in Israel, she accidently created a following of over 35k people on social media who come to her for 

real-time, verified information from Israel about Israel. She shares with us her empowering message of how we can each stand strong for Israel in our daily lives, no social media presence required.

On this DMC we discuss:

• Meira’s aliyah journey as a young child and the impact it has on her today

• How she’s become an authority on Israel since she started sharing information after October 7th

• How she views and interacts with the “Ceasefire Now” group so vocal on social media

• How she sees her role as a vocal advocate for Israel

• Her message for us in how we can make a difference in fighting this PR war

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX, and you can always email us at [email protected].

Our episode with Meira's mother, - The Moderately Anxious Everybody with Ilana Cowland

Sponsors: 

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Whee by SR Play

Coupon Code for free accessory: DMCFREE24

https://wheesr.com/

(855) 836-4774

[email protected]

Kav Halacha

https://kavhalacha.org/

US: 732 707-6666

Find other countries’ numbers on their website.

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We all want to lead happy lives, but what about living beautiful lives? Gila Ross shares with us her favorite relatable lessons from Pirkei Avos that help us bring meaning, joy and love into our lives – all the things we need now more than ever.

In this DMC we discuss:

• How Gila became the person she is today

• Why she wrote her book Living Beautifully and what she hopes it accomplishes

• What the title means to her and for us

• Gila’s favorite tools for life from her book

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp group ⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX⁠ and you can email us at [email protected].

To sponsor an episode as a refuah sheleimah or l’ilui nishmas a loved one, please email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

Gila’s book:

https://amzn.to/47HsRyN

Or 15% off with dmc15 at gilaross.com/book or mosaica

Gila’s Power Up Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/power-up/id1498527403

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Whee by SR Play

Coupon Code for free accessory: DMCFREE24

https://wheesr.com/

(855) 836-4774

[email protected]

Yad Batya L’Kallah Libi Bamizrachi Auction

https://auction.yadbatya.org/

 929-486-0905

Kav Halacha

https://kavhalacha.org/

US: 732 707-6666

Find other countries’ numbers on their website.

Tziri Preis is one of those people who is living her dream. Classroom teacher turned podcaster and “General” of the Tehillim Army nightly Zoom and livestream, she reaches thousands of children (and their parents) each night. The Tehillim Army was Tziri’s response to October 7th, and little did she know what a need it would fill and the impact it would make. Tziri’s story has so much to teach us about doing our part to fill a need as well as making dreams come true.

On this DMC we discuss:

• Tziri’s journey from the classroom to her InKredible Kids podcast and her “InKredible” Tehillim Army initiative

• The feedback she receives and the impact of the Tehillim Army 

• How Tziri’s lifelong dream came true, and the takeaway for our listeners

• How we can also see Hashem guiding our work

• How we can all make a difference in our own way

We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our WhatsApp chat ⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX, and you can email us at [email protected].

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Whee by SR Play

Coupon Code for free accessory: DMCFREE24

https://wheesr.com/

(855) 836-4774

[email protected]

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Please consider supporting DMC with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dmcthepodcast/support

- To sponsor an episode as a refuah sheleimah or l’ilui nishmas a loved one, please email us at [email protected].

These days, it seems Geula is very much on our mind. Geula, as our guest Faigy Blumstein explains, is very much a mindset as well hat needs developing. Geula, redemption, will happen with Hashem’s help in the future, but it isn’t something that we passively wait for. Every day we yearn for the Geula, and there are things we can do right now to put into place as an expression of that yearning – and as a means to an end to bring the Geula closer! Faigy, with her signature Thank You Hashem attitude, gives us the low down on how to make this a reality in our daily lives.

On this DMC we discuss:

• How Faigy and her husband started the TYH movement

• Faigy’s passion for teaching and the topics she’s loving to give over these days

• What is a “Geula mindset” and how we can develop it

• Why developing a Geula mindset is so critical these days during the challenges facing Am Yisrael

Thank you for the recent flurry of emails! We love hearing from our listeners. You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, join our (admin only) WhatsApp group here https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX and you can always email us at [email protected].

Faigy's book/shiur recommendations:

-Rabbi Moshe Weinberger Intro to Chassidus on YU Torah

-Rabbi Yossi Zakutinsky 

-Rabbi Shais Taub

-Gedale Fenster

-The Story of Our Lives by Yaakov Klein

(Rabbi Nachman’s story book for children)

Thank You Hashem website:

https://tyhnation.com/

Faigy’s Tanya classes can be found on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/faigy.blumstein/

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Project Inspire Convention

https://www.projectinspire.com/convention/

(646)-291-6191

[email protected]

Welcome to episode 51 as Season 3 of DMC comes to a close! It’s time for a little recap of our year as we reflect on our experiences as the hosts of Deep Meaningful Conversations. We released 23 episodes this year and have had over 120k downloads. We’ve had on average 4000 listeners per episode. So thank you to all our loyal DMC listeners! Here’s to continued growth and many more DMCS in 2024!

On this episode, we discuss:

• Stats and listener demographics

• Our top-rated episodes

• What we’re most looking forward to next season

• Favorite feedback from listeners

• “Celebrity” sightings

• Our favorite episodes

• Our most personally meaningful episodes

• The episodes we felt most impactful for our audience

We’d love to hear from you, especially if you’d like to join us in reflecting on any of our episodes this past season! You can find Deep Meaningful Conversations on Facebook and Instagram, and you can email us at [email protected].

Join our Whatsapp Group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjG33sXCYgFGJSdncnN4nX

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

We hope all our listeners had a wonderful Chanukah! With any holiday or yom tov, there is that week after when we’re trying to get bedtimes back to normal, work schedules back to normal, and our eating schedules back to normal. But this year, we haven’t really had the luxury of “getting back to normal.” Nonetheless, taking care of ourselves during stressful and disruptive situations is extremely important. We can’t get completely consumed and not be able to take care of our responsibilities – and ourselves. It’s so easy to put our care on the back burner. And if we aren’t eating properly, that can impact our psychological state too. It’s during stressful times that we’re more likely to not tend to our needs (sometimes we even think “how can we” with the news) – but we must.

Esti Asher, a registered dietitian based out of northern Israel, joins us for this DMC. Esti provides us with some mindset and perspective shifts to help us understand the concept of food as fuel as well as deal with any negative feelings associated with our holiday splurging. She also provides tips to help us get back to a more balanced everyday eating routine. Esti’s approach is practical, positive, and holistic. She focuses on many factors that contribute to overall health. Esti places a strong emphasis on healthy habits and behaviors that are optimal to reach your ultimate health and well-being potential. Most importantly, Esti encourages self-awareness, self-care and self-love.

On this episode of DMC, we discuss:

• The main principles that guide Esti’s work as a nutritionist

• Mindset and practical tips to help us get back on track with our eating post chag

• Dealing with negative feelings associated with splurging

• The concept of food as fuel

• The most helpful approach for those of us who are motivated to adopt a more healthy lifestyle

• Esti’s take on diet culture

Esti’s website 

https://www.estiashernutrition.com/

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

We all know the frightening reality facing Jewish students on college campuses today. The stories are horrifying and unbelievable. We want this episode to be somewhat uplifting as well, and that’s why we’ve invited Mariel Goldstein to speak with us. Mariel is the director of women’s education at MEOR Maryland, a campus-based organization dedicated to extending Jewish learning opportunities to the broadest spectrum of Jewish students at the University of Maryland, College Park. University of Maryland College Park is the fourth largest public university by Jewish population. According to Hilllel, there are 6000 Jewish students on campus, 20% of the student population. So Mariel is in the trenches, supporting Jewish students who are struggling right now – and doing her best to support herself as well since October 7th. 

On this episode we discuss:

• The impact of October 7 on the lives of the Jewish students Mariel works with 

• Rising anti-semitism on campus and how it’s impacted University of Maryland

• The safe haven MEOR provides and the increased interest in programming and Jewish pride

• The biggest takeaway for college students from this current experience

• Mariel’s thoughts about the future of Jewish college students on secular campuses 

Show notes: 

Donate to Meor’s campaign to support Jewish students on campus during these challenging times!

https://causematch.com/meor23/goldstein

Meor Maryland’s website

https://www.meormarylandonline.org/

DMC YEARLY SPONSOR:

Town Appliance

https://www.townappliance.com/

1-866-309-8119

https://www.townappliance.com/pages/contact-us

DMC EPISODE SPONSOR:

Amudim

https://unitetoheal.com/

https://amudim.org/

646-517-0222

646-517-0221

[email protected]