Today, I am speaking with Batya Sherizen, who is the author of the newly released book, “Dying to Be Me,” which speaks about her personal journey through a harrowing life-threatening condition she was diagnosed with when she was pregnant with her sixth child.

During the pregnancy, she had to be on bed rest for months, live in the hospital for a month at a certain point and ultimately, give birth via C-section in an incredibly scary and truly dangerous surgery that she almost didn’t survive. This book speaks about that experience and so much more. She explains it as an “eye-opening memoir about self-acceptance, love and embracing the present.”

I don’t have favorite episodes because I truly love all of the guests and conversations I have yet this one left a particularly strong impact on me because of its depth and the vulnerability Batya shared when telling more about her story and all she went through.

In the episode, we speak about

-The type of person Batya was before this experience and how she has evolved since

-How she lived with the idea thinking death could be coming and how it changed her day-to-day world

-What “living up to her potential” now means to her and how that view differs from the past

-What it was like going through this experience while also being a mother to five other children — we go really in depth here into the reaction her kids had, what it was like when she couldn’t physically be present for them, the self-love and acceptance she went through as a mom, woman and so much more

-Her relationship with Hashem and how that has completely evolved and grown

-Her relationship with her husband throughout this experience and how afterward, they both went about working through all that happened

…and so much more!

To get Batya's Book, click here.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. This episode is one that is long awaited for me to release. It is my birth story from my third son that happened over the summer.

As I share in the podcast, with Chai on Life we often speak about self-growth, spirituality, connection to Hashem, self-love and compassion and more all along those lines, so it feels like a missed opportunity not to share how I have grown through the experience of giving birth for a third time with all its struggles, fears and emotions. This episode is giving a real glimpse into where my brain was at both then and now and how my relationship with Hashem has grown and changed throughout the last six months.

They say that when you give birth, you're not just giving birth to a baby but to a mother. I believe that happens anew each time. So here, my story.

If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at alex@chaionlifemag.com or send me a DM @chaionlifemag. See you next week!

Today, I’m speaking with Ayelet Polonsky, a Kabbalistic Manifestation Expert. She is the Creator of The Manifestation Method and a skilled, passionate and trauma-informed facilitator in the world of manifestation and healing. She’s had quite a journey to get to this point in her life — after college she was led to the Amazon jungles of Peru, then India for six years and then finally to Israel where she spent eight years studying and teaching Jewish mysticism, known as Kabbalah. Ayelet now lives on the East Coast with her husband and two children.

With the development of The Manifestation Method, Ayelet synthesizes Kabbalistic wisdom and modern psychology to help individuals heal their past traumas, and transform their dreams into reality. She is a trained expert in hypnosis, trauma healing, somatic experiencing and meditation. Ayelet's approach is a harmonious blend of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, EFT, and Somatic Experiencing, all combined with her signature hypno-visualization techniques.

Manifestation is something I’ve been interested in for awhile and have been wanting to explore through a Jewish lens. I’ve learned a little bit about it in secular spaces and in this conversation with Ayelet, we really get to the root of what Jewish manifestation actually looks like. We speak about:

-Ayelet’s journey to getting to where she is today doing this work

-How Jewish manifestation differs from the secular interpretation and some myths about it she’s correcting

-Why manifestation is a lifestyle — not just a singular practice and what that looks like

-Her methodology and the specific goals she helps clients achieve

-The power of our words and the way our conscious and subconscious brain works to create a new reality

-What true faith and bitachon really feels like

-How our trauma (whether it’s with a big t or small t) informs the inner work we do today and what that trauma can be used for

-Creating the vessel for the things we want in our lives to actually happen

-The power of rituals

-Seeing miracles in our everyday lives and how to manifest more of them

-The unbelievable power we can all take from the Chanukah lights and bring into our everyday lives

-How she manifested her husband

…and SO MUCH MORE.

Ayelet just takes my questions and brings them to a whole new level with her responses. She both elevates them and takes them deeper in a way that will change how you see the world, your relationship with Hashem and how you deal with the struggles in your life.

To get in touch with Ayelet, visit ayeletpolonsky.com. Follow her on Instagram at @ayeletpolonsky.

Hi everyone, welcome back to The Chai on Life Podcast! I’m so happy to be back after a postpartum hiatus. Baruch Hashem I am so grateful for the little miracle baby that I now have in my life and so grateful to have had the quality time with him and now so grateful to be able to focus back on the podcast a bit more. Gd willing, I will be doing a full episode on the birth story and some reflections from that, so if that’s interesting to you stay tuned. But now, I’ve been busy working on some interviews with really incredible people and I am so excited to share them.

Today’s episode is with Shoshana Judelman. I got connected to Shoshana through Midreshet Rachel — she is a teacher there now and has always been passionate about teaching Torah and Jewish History. She holds a Bachelor’s in History and a Master’s in Jewish History. She made aliyah with her husband and six children to Efrat in 2013. In addition to teaching at MRC, Shoshana teaches Chassidus for the Shirat David Community in Efrat as well as for BeOr Panecha in Elazar. She is a guide in Poland with JRoots and co-leads inspirational trips to Ukraine and around Eretz Yisroel. Shoshana has also been a guide at Yad Vashem since 2014.

In this episode, she is sharing so much about her connection to the world of Chassidus, what we can learn from it and how we can connect to Chanukah more deeply through its teachings. She speaks about:
-How she got into Chassidus and became a baal teshuva

-What the difference is between Chassidus and other perspectives on Torah

-How we can interpret the world through the lens of our human soul and Gdly soul which was a really interesting and helpful teaching

-What it really means that just a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness (with a really great mashal included in that)

-How to cope when it feels like the darkness is getting darker, whether in your own personal world or in the world at large

-How you can personally connect through the lighting of the Chanukah candles and practically a great tip if you have a busy household and it’s hard to focus when your family is lighting together

-Her own personal struggle at the moment and how she’s dealing with it and becoming closer with Hashem in the process. This was so beautiful I was really getting emotional

…and so so much more!

To daven for Shoshana, her full name is Shoshana Yonah bat Aidel

Learn more from Shoshana here.

Hi everyone! Please G-d we will be back soon with new episodes! In the meantime, enjoy this Cheshvan replay rich with information on the month we are in and what we can do to bring Moshiach. G-d knows we need the chizuk! Enjoy!

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Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. Today, we are talking all about Moshiach. It’s Cheshvan and on the surface, Cheshvan seems like a chill, catch-up kind of month. The chagim are over, we’re back to routine and Cheshvan gives us the time to do so. But is that all Cheshvan is for? Like pretty much all things in Judaism, how things appear on the surface are well, just the surface and there is a whole world of depth underneath.

As I was researching more about Cheshvan I learned that it is soooo Moshiach centered. If you learn from the Sefer Yetzirah or the Book of Formation, which you can read about on ⁠inner.org⁠, you will learn that the letter of the month, sense of the month, tribe and so much more are all connected to Moshiach.

To be honest, Moshiach is something I’ve struggled with over the years becoming religious and being religious. It’s something that I am taught to want, yet also something I don’t actually know that much about.

So for awhile now, I’ve been determined to learn more and really understand more and I knew Faigy Blumstein was the perfect person to do so with.

⁠Faigy Blumstein⁠ does not call herself a lecturer, but someone who loves to share. A passionate educator and school psychologist, she is dedicated to living a Hashem-centered life. As part of the Thank You Hashem women’s division, Faigy draws on chasidic teachings and the light of the Baal Shem Tov, to inspire others. Her heartfelt approach helps women deepen their connection to Hashem, integrating spirituality into everyday life in a meaningful and modern way.

And let me tell you this conversation gets deep. We talk about how she got into Chassidus in the first place, how it can connect you in ways you never could have imagined, what Moshiach even means, how we can all work to bring Moshiach, why Cheshvan is the time reserved for Moshiach, how Israel connects to all of this and so so much more.

We also learn about the connection between Cheshvan, Moshiach and Rochel Imeinu. Tonight, Monday night, the 11th of Cheshvan begins Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit and our conversation brought such a new light to Rochel that I wasn’t aware of before. It is hashgacha pratis that the podcast is coming out right before so hopefully we can all use our connection to Rochel Imeinu to feel more strength and a new kind of vitality with our Yiddushkeit.

Learn more:

Cheshvan on ⁠Inner.org⁠

⁠Thank You Hashem⁠

Listen to Faigy's Cheshvan Playlist:

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠Apple

[This episode originally aired on July 29, 2024]

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, we are speaking with Dr. Hilla Aboody, an amazing teacher, mother, wife and mentor currently living in Eretz Yisrael who I invited to come on to speak about this heavy time on the Jewish calendar.

Hilla has such a beautiful way of explaining things — it’s so deep and profound yet easy to comprehend at the same time.

A little background on her:

She is a wife and mother of five, living in Eretz Yisrael after making Aliyah 7 years ago from Brooklyn, NY. She is a teacher and Em Bayit (house mother) at Midreshet Eshel, a Sephardic seminary for post High school students from around the world. Her educational background includes studying at Michlalah and receiving her bachelor’s degree from Bar-Ilan University and a Master’s and PhD in Jewish History from New York University. She has published her study on Eliyahu the Prophet in Talmudic literature and midrashim in her book, “Through the Prism of Wisdom”. As an educator and kallah teacher, Hilla dedicates her time in guiding students to creating a relationship with Hashem and tips and tools to thrive in their marriages and in life.

In our conversation, we speak about:

-What the Jewish perspective is on sadness and pain

-How we can connect to Hashem during this time and in this unique way, especially if it feels daunting for you right now

-Why this particular time period brings about more heaviness and actually the reason why we take more precautions

-The rich energy that lies in the months of Tammuz and Av — what the letters associated with each month mean, why the sense of each month is important and what we can individually and collectively take from all of that

-Why crying is actually a sign of bravery

-Practical things you can do now to get through this time with more faith, in a more connected way to yourself, Hashem and those around you

-How to deal with difficult emotions with your kids

…and SO MUCH MORE

This podcast with Hilla is basically an hour long shiur. I got chills like 17 times as I was listening to her and it’s definitely one of the most important ones I’ve done so far in terms of our spirituality.

If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at alex@chaionlifemag.com or send me a DM @chaionlifemag. Thanks again, see you next week!

Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, I have Dr. Feigie Russ on the show.

Dr. Feigie is a licensed psychologist specializing in anxiety and OCD. With over 20 years of clinical experience, she blends her psychological expertise with a deep love for Hashem, to help individuals navigate their inner struggles. This week, she is releasing a brand new book called Letting Go: Overcoming Anxiety Through Emunah and Bitachon.

When I learned about this book I was intrigued, but when I got to look through an early copy, I was blown away. At the beginning, I was skeptical — how would this book be different than others out there on emunah, bitachon and anxiety? Dr. Feigie Russ totally turns the whole concept on its head by bringing ego into the mix. It’s a unique perspective that I hadn’t heard before, one that really clicked for me and is also super comprehensive — the book is more than 400 pages so she really tries to address every aspect around the topic.

In this episode, I speak to Dr. Feigie about:

-What prompted her to write this book

-Her own relationship with love for Hashem and building her emunah and bitachon

-How she dealt with a really painful experience and came out the other side stronger

-A refreshing perspective on navigating anxiety and really overcoming it from a place of understanding

-How to handle uncertainty

-How ego gets in the way when it comes to personal growth AND the appropriate place for ego in living a healthy, balanced life that serves Hashem in the way you want to

-How the most difficult relationships in our lives can both teach us the most about self-love and actually get us to that place

-How to know when giving is coming from a real place or a people-pleasing place and further, how to overcome a people-pleasing nature

-The conversation to have with yourself about knowing how you’re genuinely feeling about giving and doing more

…and so much more!

To get in touch with Dr. Feigie, you can email her at drfeigieruss@aol.com.