Human & Holy

What revived the public conversation about Mikvah? How can we educate our children about it, so the concept is natural to them as they age? And how can we, in our own lives, navigate the practical struggles that come up when observing the details of this process, and support each other in honoring this sacred mitzvah? || Chassi Rivkin is the Director of Operations at mikvah.org, an organization de...

What does full integration look like, for a woman who made the decision to choose Judaism later in life? Today, Rivka Gilles shares her journey to religious integration, what it has looked like for her to bring her full self to the table as a religious person, and how she navigates staying inspired through the grind of everyday life. || To find out more about The BT Center and to listen to Rivka’s...

What impact has the Rebbe had on the lives of women who never met him? What teachings or life lessons guide them in their daily lives? Today, in honor of the 29th yahrtzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, hear from a group of women about the continuous impact the Rebbe's guidance has on their lives. || To sponsor an episode of the podcast, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To join our online community, vi...

In honor of Gimmel Tammuz, which is the yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Mrs. Esther Sternberg shares her reflections from the hours she spent by the Rebbe’s side, managing the lines of women who came to receive dollars from the Rebbe and spearheading the Shabbos Candle Campaign. What are some of the unique moments that she experienced? What impact has the Rebbe had on her life? And what, to her...

Can we teach our phones to be voices of G-dliness and clarity in our lives? Can we use our individual voices to help flood this world with more connection and truth? Today, Shira Jacobson shares her journey navigating technology as a medium to give and receive G-d’s wisdom, and discusses the practical boundaries and tools that have allowed her to show up online all these years. || Shira has raised...

How can we see the world clearly, beyond our personal projections and belief systems? Today, Rochel Flikshtein shares her journey to Judaism, and the shift she experienced when she outgrew her checklist and began to dive into the inner work that Chassidus made available to her. What tools have transformed the way she approaches her relationships? How has she learned to see life as a mirror that po...

Where do we resist the Torah in our physical lives? What expands us, and allows us to receive this divine gift each year? How do we seek to escape our lives, instead of leaning into the real work of the Torah’s integration? This conversation is based on a talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe given on the second day of Shavuos, 5722. || To sponsor an episode of the podcast, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor....

What happens when we lose cherished parts of our identities? Can we learn to hold our personas in this world more loosely, and allow for a softness in our personal evolution? How can we identify more strongly with our Yechidah, so that we can give to the world without becoming overly attached to what our expressions say about who we are? || To sponsor an episode, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To...

Sherri Mandell is an Israeli-American author, mother and activist. In May 2001, her thirteen-year-old son, Koby, was murdered by terrorists near their home in Tekoa. How has the most painful experience of her life opened her up to what lies beyond this world? How can we find blessing and beauty in the cracks of our broken hearts? || To become a patron of the podcast, visit patreon.com/humanandholy...

What does it mean to pay attention to the miracles our lives are built on? How can we avoid that sneaky cynicism that attempts to derail us from seeing G-d’s hand? Based on a talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe about a Jew's life being built on miracles, Sarah Korn talks about opening our eyes to seeing the miraculousness of our lives. || To support Human & Holy, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor or email...

What is the deeper meaning of color, from the perspective of Torah and Kabbalah? What do the colors of the Kohen’s clothing teach us about the significance of the colors of our own? How did Avraham Ibn Ezra depict the concept of color palettes long before it exploded in the mainstream? This is our deep dive into color – not just through color palettes and seasons, but through the various ways colo...

Today, Malki Rodal shares her story of kasis l'maor -- of life's crushing challenges and the tiny ways we turn them into sources of light. TW: Malki speaks about pregnancy loss in this episode. || To support Human & Holy, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To join our online community, visit humanandholy.com/community.

How did the Jews' slavery in Egypt penetrate their self perception to the extent that they could not even access the language of freedom? How can articulating our innermost feelings help us become unstuck in our lives? Why does our language play such a huge role in our personal liberation? And how do we access the words when we feel swallowed up by the circumstances of our lives? || To support Hum...

Rivka Krinsky is an oil painter based in Miami Beach. How does the Rebbe's interactions with artists impact her work and life? And how has she been led by the Rebbe throughout her life, through a miracle that she experienced as a young girl? || To support Human & Holy, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor or email us at info@humanandholy.com. To join our online community, visit humanandholy.com/communit...

What does Chassidus teach us about creativity, and what does creativity teach us about life? How can tapping into our essential creativity help us connect more deeply to the wisdom of Chassidus? Amy Guterson is the artistic director and founder of Tzohar, which is a Chassidus and art fusion seminary for young women. For more information, visit www.tzoharseminary.com. || To sponsor an episode of th...

How do we cultivate our inner receptors to the G-dly reality of the world? How do the nuances of our worldview affect the way we show up in our lives? || To sponsor an episode of the podcast, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To join our online community, visit humanandholy.com/community. *Edit: At 36:00, the story about knowing Hashem exists is told about R' Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev, not the Alte...

In chassidic culture, farbrengens serve as a space for integration. Today, three women join me for a farbrengen, where we discuss the joys and struggles of prayer in our lives. What resistance do we feel around prayer? What draws us close? Join us, as we integrate the information we’ve been learning about tefillah into our human experience. || To shop the Tefillah Collection, visit humanandholy.co...

Today, I am going to take you on a journey through some Chassidic sources on prayer. What does it really mean to be in a dialogue with Hashem when we pray? How can we use prayer as an opportunity for us to cultivate a daily spiritual clarity? And what is the deeper meaning of the small, daily prayer of Modeh Ani? || To shop our Tefillah Collection, visit humanandholy.com. To sponsor an episode of...

What is it like to talk to G-d when everything feels so uncertain? How can you keep coming back to pray, when you don’t feel like your prayers are being answered? Shana Alayev is a wife and mother of four, former speech-language pathologist and craniosacral therapist currently battling stage four breast cancer. Today, Shana speaks about keeping G-d close as she moves through the most harrowing exp...

Join me for a quick, solo episode where I share all about our upcoming Tefillah Collection for the Human & Holy Resource Center! This collection was born alongside the Tefillah Series, and each item was really intentionally created to support you in building a relationship with G-d through tefillah. The Tefillah Collection goes live on humanandholy.com on Motzei Shabbos, Feb. 25. Your purchase sup...

What are some practical ways we can prioritize prayer in our life? What impact can the tactile experience of the siddur have on our davening experience? What does the Siddur uniquely offer us in our personal relationships with Hashem? Join us for part two of a fascinating conversation with Adi Bitter. Adi is a Gemara and Halacha teacher, a Yoetzet Halacha, and a deeply learned women with a love fo...

What is a woman's halachic relationship with tefillah? What is the meaning behind some of the central prayers in the Siddur? And what does the Siddur uniquely offer us in our personal relationships with Hashem? Join us for part one of a fascinating conversation with Adi Bitter. Adi is a Gemara and Halacha teacher, a Yoetzet Halacha, and a deeply learned women with a love for prayer. This episode i...

Today's episode kicks off Human & Holy's extended series on Tefillah, where we will be doing a deep dive into the ongoing conversation we can have with Hashem. Before we even talk about the siddur, before we talk about the deeper meaning and significance of prayer, we have to talk about the hurdle that so many of us face: feeling, for whatever reason, that we are not worthy of showing up and talki...

How can the Tanya's description of the animal and G-dly souls' location in our bodies help us get off the hamster wheel of our impulses? How can we become more attuned to our soul's voice? || To sponsor an episode of the podcast, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To join our online community, visit humanandholy.com/community.

How can we set ourselves up to make choices that are born of our G-dly souls? What is the relationship between free choice and G-d’s will? Join us today as we explore the choices that make us who we are. || To sponsor an episode of the podcast, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. To join our online community, visit humanandholy.com/community