The Jewish Divorce Project Podcast

Episode 41 deals with uncomfortable scenarios as Noam and Sheva dive into a conversation about meeting your ex's new love interest, when is the right time for the kids to meet this new person as well, and should romantic relationships also be like a best friendship as well. We've got some thoughts for Dr. Laura as well. Remember her!?

Wow 40 episodes! So many great conversations, and so many more to come :) This week, Noam and Sheva discuss if there are legitimate reasons to get divorced, the pressures that lead to marriage in the first place, and Thanksgiving in divorceland. 

Noam sits down with Shevy, one of Sheva's dearest friends, and the hilarity ensues as they discuss the difficulties and frustrations in dating. Do you use the apps, or are you hoping to meet people organically when standing in line for a show? What if you used a match-maker to be more surgical in your approach to finding a mate? Do you even know what you want and what your searching for? 

In episode 38 we are joined by Tammy Berman a licensed mental health counselor in Florida who specializes in collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce is meant to be a healthier process of separation that avoids the threat and use of litigation to dissolve the marriage. Tammy teaches us about the practical applications of collaborative divorces and where to find this resources before you potent...

Friends, you're gonna love this one! This week, Sheva and Noam are joined by Aliza Einhorn- an astrologer, tarot reader, and medium. Yes, she talks to the dead.  And we go deep from the beginning talking about the power of mysticism to create change, astrological personality traits, free will, and our hosts get their tarot cards read by Aliza. Did we mention that Aliza was a witch at one point in...

We're back from summer break! Sheva and Noam catch up and share about relationships failures and successes, and create a Rosh Hashanah message about relationships big and small. As you look in the mirror this new year, how seriously do you take your relationships? How seriously do you take the relationships in which people share something sacred with you? And how seriously do you take your respons...

Hi everyone! We’re back with a special summer episode. Noam’s parents, Gail and Steve, celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary a few weeks back. So the Team saw an opportunity to inquire with the sages about the secrets to longevity in relationships and marriage. Gail and Steve talk about the cultural content in which they got married; the moments in marriage when they considered divorce, and wh...

After a brief vacation, Noam and Sheva are back at it discuss and debating the success and failures of divorce life. We brainstorm about some potential future topics, but get back to the main drama that is Noam’s love-life, or lack thereof. Have you ever experienced emotional fallout after putting yourself out there for love? Do Simon and Garfunkel have it right? A rock feels no pain, and an islan...

Another funny and interesting one folks! This week we are joined by Sheva’s brother, Menachem Kaiser whose is not only an author, but mensch who happens to also be single. Menachem gives us a look at what happened in the Beit Din, the rabbinical court that his sister needed to engage with in order to get divorced in the Jewish tradition. The Beit Din is what provides very Traditional Jews guidance...

Think you know what you want in your intimate relationships after divorce? Think again. Now that you have a chance to more informed and intentional decisions about who you spend your time with, what are the factors or "boxes" that are most important for you to check off? What matters for you right now in your relationships may be very different for what matters to you in the future. 

A highly anticipated episode in which Sheva and Noam guess and explore each other’s love-languages. In addition we also identify a challenge presented in the recently announced divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates: Having everything in the world doesn’t mean you’re going to have space to grow together. What does create that space? We at the JDP think it’s the love languages that we speak to one anoth...

Sometimes the episode just falls into your lap. With divorce comes a great deal of transition. We’ve talked about the grief involved in divorce, but there is also the growth. As we transition through the process, we also transition into new people. Many of us mark that transition in different ways. How did you mark this transition in your life? In what way did you start to see yourself anew? Share...

In this week’s episode Noam and Sheva go deep into what it means to separate from people and things. Do you have a philosophy of, or a practice of separating from things that honors the experience you had with that person/thing? Havdallah gives us a chance to separate shabbat from the regular week. Yet the ritual itself, involving the light of the candle, the feel of the wax, the taste of the wine...

Probably our funniest and shittiest show yet! And when we say, “shitty” we mean in the way it feels to deal with our emotions sometimes. This week, Sheva and Noam are joined by a new friend, Rachel Kaplan- a Bay Area based psychotherapist with a private practice and really cool podcast. In this episode we discuss: The journey towards healing; What it’s like to adults to have feelings and move thro...

In this post-Passover episode, just as our ancestors ventured into the unknown after Egypt, Noam and Sheva go for a walk through the wilderness of divorce. As you enter a new chapter of your life, potentially one that is undefined in many ways, how do you prepare? How do you make the most of it? What are you boundaries that help you stay on track? What does your wilderness look like? Is it new rel...

Shalom Friends! Sheva is on a vacation this week and will return next week. Noam speaks with Dr. Jennifer Love about liberation theology, responding to crisis, and how Passover can be a tool for spiritual guidance and growth for those going through divorce.    One piece we forgot to mention in conversation was that the notion of liberation is perpetuated in our Tradition's injunction that every in...

Passover is here! In this episode we talk about making meaning out of the divorce experience. How do you reflect on and clean out your baggage from failed relationships and past mistakes? How do you transform those crumbs into something useful and healthy for yourself? Jewish terms that come Erev Tavshilin- An eruv tavshilin (Hebrew: עירוב תבשילין, "mixing of [cooked] dishes") refers to a Jewish r...

This week the JDP team is joined by a good friend, Avi Steinhardt and his puppet friend, Louie- a blue monster. In this monster of an episode Louie helps our hosts and audience members consider divorce from a kid's perspective. Avi speaks to us as a child of divorce, now having perspective as an adult in his own marriage and family. And Louie tries to reach the inner-child in all of us, so that we...

They just keep getting better! It's appropriate that this episode is our 23rd. Like Michael Jordan in his prime, this episode is deep, real and raw. It's only about 21 minutes long, but we go far in a short period of time.  How do you enter into any new relationship when there might be some divorce trauma-based fear about how those relationships might turn out? How much do you share with people be...

The Grief Episode. Noam and Sheva discuss the grief and mourning process in divorce. The six stages of grief in Jewish divorce are: denial, anger, braganing, depression, acceptance, and celebration. 

Hag Sameach! (Happy Holidays!) For episode 21 Noam and Sheva sit down to talk about Purim and setting boundaries. When it comes to setting boundaries in your divorce, are you like King Achashverosh- oblivious to what's going on, or like Esther- conscientious? Or do you find yourself swinging between absolutes like Haman and Mordechai?

Probably the rawest episode we've done yet. Sheva and Noam talk about loneliness, isolation, and some of the impacts on self-worth. How long do you hold onto to friendships that seem dead? Do you reach out and ask for some love, or do you hope others will see you and reach out? Either way, your worth is not determined by how many people invest in you. Your worth is determined by how much you care...

This week we’re going to be joined by Benjamin Heldfand, co-author (Nikki DeBartolo) of Our Happy Divorce. From weeknight dinners and homework sessions with their son to Christmas card photos and vacations, Nikki DeBartolo and Benjamin Heldfond have created a tight-knit, enviable family. They work and play well together, from the smallest daily tasks to the biggest life events-and it only took a d...

Chai-Everybody! Episode 18 is out and ready for consumption. This week Noam and Sheva discuss the possible impacts of divorce on children young and old. If you feel comfortable, share a ritual, or process, you have for custody exchanges. How do you show you kids that your time together meant something and that you’re just dropping them off somewhere randomly? One thing Noam uses is a calendar so h...

In time for Inauguration and MLK Day Noam and Sheva sit down to discuss the themes reflected in both those American celebrations: Overcoming differences,  reconciliation, accountability, and forgiveness.  “How Divine Is Forgiveness”  Marge Piercy How divine is forgiveness? It’s a nice concept but what’s under the sculptured draperies? We forgive when we don’t really care because what was done to u...