Deep Meaningful Conversations

It's been almost five years of DMC, and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share so many inspiring, entertaining, moving and thought-provoking conversations with you. It's time for us to close the mics on the podcast, but our past episodes are always available to listen if you need a little dose of DMC. Thank you all for listening, for sharing, for writing to us and for supporting u...

Episode 79: Frum Minimalism with Ellie Azerad In response to today’s oversaturated consumerist society, the pendulum has swung and Minimalism is a thing. A minimalist lifestyle involves intentionally living with fewer possessions, focusing on what truly matters and rejecting unnecessary clutter and consumerism to achieve simplicity and intentionality. While trending in the secular world, can Minim...

Is it true that behind every great man is a great woman? Naama Malinowitz, busy mother of 9 in Jerusalem, would agree, but has a tweak to make: “Behind every great man is a great woman…rolling her eyes.” In this episode, we talk with Naama Malinowitz about what it’s like to be married to a man who devotes his life to Klal Yisrael. Naama’s husband is Rabbi Nechemia Malinowitz, the executive directo...

We all go through dark moments, trying times and painful episodes in our lives. Our guest, international lecturer Raquel Kirszenbaum, shares her personal story from darkness to light and provides profound insights into how to stop hurting and start healing. Her honesty, wisdom and vulnerability in this DMC will enter your heart. If you’re seeking perspective and meaning on how to heal from pain, o...

Negotiating is a tool we use in all our relationships to get what we want or meet somewhere in the middle. Often we think of negotiation as purely a business tool, but it’s so much more. And drop the notion that negotiation is an aggressive tactic. And the stereotype that women aren’t good at it. Because negotiation is a way for us to get what we want in all our relationships. In this DMC, Chava S...

How do we find not just our life’s purpose, but our soul’s purpose? Is our purpose fulfilled by our achievements and accomplishments in the world, or is there something deeper to it? Our dear friend Ruchi Koval, parent coach and motivational speaker, joins us for this DMC to unpack this idea, which is also the title of her third book, Soul Purpose, a daily dose of wisdom from Pirkei Avos. We know...

How do we break the mold? How do we change our bad habits, attitudes and self-perceptions that aren’t serving us and redefine how we show up in the world? Is self-transformation even possible? Raizy asked these questions when she embarked on a personal journey of self-discovery. She recorded it and her takeaways in her new book, The Anatomy of a Yenta: Break the Yenta Mold, Embrace Dignity, and Cr...

Happy Chanukah to all our DMC listeners! Chanukah is all about miracles, and the Jewish people have witnessed miracles of biblical proportions this year. These open miracles have reminded us that Hashem is in control and will never break his promise to the Jewish people or Israel. And while these miracles have often strengthened our belief and emunah, other historic, spiritual miracles are happeni...

What is femininity? While so close to our hearts as Torah observant women, the concept of femininity may also be clouded in our minds by secular influences – think, in particular, the entertainment industry. How can we reconnect to the essence of what femininity means? Enter well-known kallah teacher and intimacy coach Faigy Pollock who helps us unpack the Torah’s perspective on femininity, DMC-st...

So often in relationships, we’re looking outwards – at the other person with his or her flaws & what needs to be fixed. But what if the key to fulfilling and meaningful relationships lay inwards – with the self? What if we truly understood ourselves? Chany Rosengarten believes this type of empowerment gives women peace, joy and confidence – in themselves and their marriages. In this episode, w...

Food should be all about nourishment and joy and satisfaction, right? But why is it often about guilt and shame and restriction? Our relationship with food often is more complicated than we think, and we’ve invited Rachel Goodman, RDN to explore the topic with us on DMC and help us stop the food guilt. Because we really want food to make us feel good and healthy, not guilty and stressed. In this e...

One of the modern-day challenges of parenting is knowing which parenting method to apply when! Parents today typically have various tools, tips and tricks at their disposal. But sometimes it all gets overwhelming and confusing. What if there was a chart you could stick on your fridge that would give you all the guidance you need? Well, there actually is: One Chart Parenting. Mrs. Mindi Hauer has d...

Live from the Chizuk Retreat in Cleveland, we sat down with two former DMC guests, Barrie Feld (Episode 36, “Why We all Need Chizuk”) and Slovie Jungreis-Wolff ( 44, “Finding Focus on Rosh Hashana”) for a wonderful reunion and to get some insight into how to prepare for Rosh Hashana, for real.  On this DMC we discuss: The challenge of balancing the physical and spiritual preparations What women ar...

There's lots to prepare this Rosh Hashana with a 3-day yom tov. So whether you’re on your 6th run to the supermarket or staying up late in the kitchen cooking, we have a DMC for you. Because there’s nothing like walking into Rosh Hashana feeling like you did something to prepare for the day spiritually. We’re so grateful to have Mrs. Michal Horowitz share her favorite Rosh Hashana insights on...

Life is complicated, and with life experiences come complex emotions. But embracing conflicting emotions with strategies such as paradoxical thinking can make all the difference. This is the topic that therapist, dating coach and columnist Sara Eisemann wanted to DMC with us on this episode because she knew the life-changing impact of “both/and” thinking, which looks something like this: “I’m both...

We all know that strengthening our bitachon will improve our lives, but how do we actually do it in real life? Enter Esther Kurtz. Esther went on her own search to boost her spiritual connection and found it in the daily study of Chovos Halevavos. Now she shares the gems she discovered through learning Shaar Habitachon on her podcast, Emunah for Non-Rebbetzins. And she’s also sharing it with us on...

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 po...

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...

Jewish women have many superpowers – talents, abilities, and mindsets. We speak with Lori Palatnik, the founding director of Momentum, to learn more about these superpowers that we can each tap into. Lori has seen her fair share of incredible Jewish women under her leadership. And it takes one to know one. Lori models strength of conviction and passion for Yiddishkeit and the Jewish people. This i...

We often throw around the word “perfectionism”, but what does it actually mean? What’s the difference between perfectionism and being meticulous and conscientious at work or at home? What is perfectionism, and how does a person become perfectionistic? We ask all these questions and more to our guest, Dr. Danielle Dragon, a psychotherapist in Chicago who has her finger on the pulse of the challenge...

Here’s your spiritual prep for Shavuos, DMC style. We get deep and meaningful with Shannon Nuszen, a former evangelical missionary who discovered the truth in Judaism when…wait, we won’t spoil it for you! Shannon now works with her organization Beyneynu to confront missionary influence. She recently started speaking publicly about her Jewish journey, and we’re honored to share it with you on DMC,...

Marriage is one of the most popular topic requests we get at DMC. So we’re thrilled to bring you seasoned educator and dating coach Debbie Greenblatt to share her insight, wisdom and experience with us.  Debbie is the founder of the women’s division of Gateways, a marriage columnist in Mishpacha Magazine, and the Director of Education- Mentorship program for Core. She’s also come out with a new bo...

Pesach is over and that means one thing (besides laundry and dentist appointments) – challah! Whether we’re making fresh new batches or enjoying the bakery’s, challah takes on added appreciation the weeks after Pesach. On this DMC, Anat Ishai, A.K.A. The Challah Mom, shares with us even more ways to appreciate challah, in addition to eating it. Her insights about challah and life left us inspired...

Pesach is coming, and DMC is here for you with this replay of last season's pre-Pesach episode! Whether you’re defrosting your freezer or packing all the suitcases, we’re back to share conversations about the upcoming yom tov and help us get focused on the meaning of what we do. In this episode, we DMC with Esti Hamilton, a very relatable rebbetzin, to give us some chizuk and inspo for Pesach....

Many months ago we saw that Miriam Pascal Cohen was putting out a brand new Pesach cookbook, and we knew we had to snag her for DMC because she’d be everywhere promoting her book! But we also knew that with a cookbook called Real Life Pesach Cooking Miriam would be a perfect guest for our podcast. At DMC, we’re all in when it comes to anything “real life”! You might know Miriam as the Overtime Coo...