Neshamos.org Podcast: Stories of Hope and Healing

This episode contains discussions of bullying, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and loss. ⚠️Listener discretion is advised. In this powerful episode of the Neshamos Podcast, Azriel Boymelgreen shares his raw and unfiltered journey through antisemitic bullying, isolation, substance abuse, and the lasting scars of loss. What begins as a story of deep pain and alienation transforms into one of res...

In this poignant episode of the Neshamos Podcast, Chana Leah Bleznick shares her transformative journey from a turbulent childhood to becoming a beacon of hope and advocacy for women in Crown Heights. Having emerged from the shadows of multi-generational addiction and rage, Chana Leah found healing and direction through 12-step recovery. She reflects candidly on her college years, early struggles...

In this powerful episode of the Neshamos podcast, Hindy Rechaval shares her personal experience of navigating postpartum psychosis. Raised in a Chaseedish home and later joins the Chabad community in Crown Heights, Hindy opens up about the cultural pressures that shaped her sense of self-worth, and how everything unraveled after the birth of her first child. What began as sleepless nights and raci...

In this honest and emotional episode, Shlomo Wolf shares his journey through anxiety, addiction, and self-discovery. Raised across different countries, always the “new kid,” Shlomo learned early on to survive by reading people and fitting in—often at the cost of his own needs. When weed entered his life, it felt like relief—a break from constant alertness and self-judgment. But beneath the addicti...

Bruyah’s journey through trauma has completely changed the way she sees life, resilience, and healing. After her devastating accident, when she was told she was partially paralyzed, she faced an incredibly long road to recovery—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In this episode, Bruyah opens up about the raw emotions she felt, from the fear and uncertainty to the moments of inner strength t...

In this uplifting episode of the Neshamos podcast, Yosef Halevy, an accomplished entrepreneur and sports coach, shares his profound journey from a challenging upbringing marked by bullying and instability to building resilience and helping others. Yosef's story highlights how he found solace and strength in basketball, transforming his adversities into life lessons and meaningful projects. The con...

In this deeply moving podcast episode, Miriam Raquel Feldman shares her family's emotional journey navigating her son's struggle with Pandas, a debilitating autoimmune disorder. With vulnerability and honesty, Miriam Raquel shares the heart-wrenching challenges they faced, from anxiety and depression to intrusive thoughts and paranoia. Within the darkness of their ordeal, Miriam Raquel and...

Mendy's story starts as a chaotic storm, replete with neglect, shock, sexual abuse & addiction. Hear how life's challenges took him to the depths of addiction and despair, on the brink of losing everything and what ultimately led Mendy to learn to seek the help he needed. Mendy is sober now for over two years and lives a happy life in Israel together with his wife and four children. Th...

Meet Estee, a Montreal native who's now a young wife and mother of four in Brooklyn, NY. In this episode, Estee opens up about her journey living with her husband's debilitating anxiety. From being the “can-do” problem solver since childhood, she soon realized that she couldn’t “make it better” for everyone else around her anymore. The depths of her husbands emotional distress compelled he...

Join us in this powerful episode of the Neshamos Podcast as we dive into Mendy Schusterman's remarkable journey. Raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, Mendy, at just 22 years old, has already experienced the depths of hopelessness and suffering that comes with alcohol addiction. With raw honesty, he shares the turning point that ignited his desire for change and led him on a path to recovery. As a...

Leah shares her experience of feeling lost, sad, and disassociated in her younger years, and struggling to just accept and be herself.  She learned how to be okay with her feelings and open up to hope, connection, and life's blessings. She openly shares a part of herself on her Instagram page called Mastering Me, where she shares openly about her mental health, spirituality, struggles, and triumph...

Today, let’s voyage into the world of emotions. Meet Sarah Bennaroch - born in Los Angeles, she currently lives in Crown Heights, and is the founder and owner behind Gymies Gym. In this episode, Sarah divulges her history of combating an intense inner critic and facing disempowering narratives within herself; and these voices would invite feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt into her consciousnes...

“When it would happen, I would just see red.” Meet Dovid Zane Braslawsce. Born in “trucker-stop “ Beaver, Pennsylvania, Dovid was that child with unending energy. He was an explosive kid, expressive, untamed, and at times violent. In fact, at the ripe age of seven, he was sent to anger management classes that attempted to teach him how to regulate himself. “I would go blind” is how Dovid depicts t...

Meet Yitzy Rabinowitz. Yitzy was raised in Borough Park, and currently resides in Crown Heights, NY. In this episode, hear Yitzy’s heartfelt recount of his journey of healing from sex addiction and codependency. He demonstrates immense courage and bravery in speaking about the various factors that played into life story, and brought him to where he stands today.

Hear Breina's story of her struggle with addiction and her eating disorder from a first-person view. This episode will leave you with a deeper sense of compassion and understanding, and a very sobering view of recovery and the real-life challenges it presents.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Leah Groner shares with us her journey at discovering clarity. With the support of her family and her general practitioner, Leah received her diagnosis of ADHD in her twenties. She eloquently illustrates for us her journey in navigating the various challenges that would come up with her, along with the gifts of support and clarity that she found along the w...

Meet Rachel Cohen. Rachel is Long Island homegrown, and continues to live there now with her family. She works as a Special Ed Teacher, and uses her talents to inspire and advocate for others on their road to recovery. She shares with us her history of childhood sexual abuse and medical trauma, which set forth her journey in learning to cope with her pain. After experiencing anorexia, an opioid ad...

Rivka Tauber is a writer, Torah educator, and public speaker who grew up in Crown Heights and recently made aliyah to Jerusalem. In this episode, Rivka shares her journey from the challenges of depression and the struggle of finding reasons to live to the wholeness she discovered in her connection with others, her relationship with G-d, in therapy, and so much more along the way. Thank G-d, today,...

Yankel Maislin is a sofer (Torah scribe), author, public speaker and mentor who lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn with his wife and five children. To the casual observer, he looks like your typical Chabad rabbi, spending his day in prayer, holy work, and raising a family. While that may be true now, there was a time when Yankel’s identity couldn’t be more of a contradiction to what it is today. Yan...

Meet Tzipora Zelmanowitz, a recovering Love Addict. Tzipora, a practicing attorney who lives in Queens, New York, has been in recovery from her love addiction for 5.5 years. Her journey into the world of recovery began after years of unsuccessful dating, when she eventually began to wonder… why weren’t things working? Why was she dating the kind of men she didn’t actually want to marry? Were thing...

Nechamy Rabin, a high-powered, upbeat mom of three who has her Masters Degree and works in Special Education, is not the kind of person you’d imagine would cry over a parking spot. Growing up in Pittsburgh in a large family, Nechamy always knew she wanted to have a large family of her own someday.  “It couldn’t be that hard,” Nechamy recalls thinking. “Everyone looks great pushing their Bugab...

Shiri Kornblit joins the Neshamos Podcast to share her story of surviving traumatic early childhood loss of a parent, the coping mechanisms she developed as a result, and her process of learning and recovery as she began healing from helplessness and many patterns of unhealthy behaviors including addiction to drugs and alcohol. As an adult, Shiri joined Alcoholics Anonymous and eventually became a...

Shloimy Fuchs was born and bred in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and currently serves as a mashpia in Yeshivas Bais Menachem of Wilkes Barre (now located in the Poconos). In this episode of the Neshamos podcast, Shloimy talks about his struggles with anxiety, addiction, and low self esteem. In his younger years, he was a “problem student” who was expelled from yeshiva and spent time on the streets shopl...

Today, Sarah Rivkah is comfortable with who she is and uses her own experience with childhood loss to help others who are going through similar situations. Her annual shabbaton for children who have lost a parent gathers some 225 children from all over the world and gives them an opportunity to make friends, heal, and grow together. You can find Sarah Rivkah on Instagram at instagram.com/links_shl...

Elka (Malamud) Cubacub is a yoga teacher and Psychology student born and bred in Chicago, where she currently resides with her husband and daughter. For years, Elka struggled with Bulimia/Binge Eating Disorder that first began when she attended seminary in Israel. As she struggled with restrictive eating habits and bingeing compulsions, she began to understand that at the root of her unhealthy beh...