Marc Asnin is a documentary photographer who lives in New York City.  Over the years, Marc has photographed all kinds of subjects, from the most marginizaled people on death row to his own Uncle Charlie. In 1992, Marc was commissioned by the New York Times to photograph the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Crown Heights community as part of a feature essay, The Oracle of Crown Heights. Just a few weeks before the stroke, Marc’s pictures are from the last and most iconic pictures of that year. In this podcast, we discuss Marc’s first impressions of the Rebbe and the Lubavitch milieu, his reflections on that photograph and what he thinks has made it such a lasting testimony.

Rabbi Meni Even Israel was born and raised in Jerusalem and lives there to this day.In this episode, we hear what it was like to be raised by his parents, Rabbi Adin and Chaya Even Israel (Steinsaltz), and how their iconoclastic personalities fit and didn't fit into the general Chabad identity.We discuss a number of fascinating anecdotes from his father's interactions with the Rebbe, and the Rebbe's insistence that their relationship stay grounded in the world of the here and now. To find out more about the new Steinsaltz Rambam please visit:https://www.steinsaltz-center.org.Use the code ST10 at checkout for 10% off If you would like to sponsor an episode or advertise on the podcast please reach out to [email protected] This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani.Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by.Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community.For more info please visit: ⁠https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldisagarden Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] with BentziWebsite | ⁠https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Mr. David Shabat lives today in Boynton Beach, Florida, but as a young boy from Washington, DC he was sent to study in the Lubavitch school of Bedford and Dean in Crown Heights, where he would go on to spend close to ten years in and about the Lubavitch community and the court of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.One of the listeners to the podcast is David's grandson and suggested I meet up with him.In this episode, David shares his memories for the first time from his years spent in that school, what it was like to be an American boy living in the heart the Lubavitch community, the Rebbe and chassidim that he remembers, and what has stayed with him decades later. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani.Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by.Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community.For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldi... Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] with BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate Yehoshua November is a poet who lives in Teaneck, New Jersey. His poetry grapples with ideas of Chassidus and their application in real "messy life," including some very personal reflections. Three collections of his poetry have been published, and his work has found appeal with audiences far outside of Lubavitch but also within Lubavitch itself. In this episode, we discuss the space that writing poetry fills in the life of a chossid, how even whilst surrounded by the great books there is a space within that deserves honest reflection and even sharing with others. Yehoshua also shares the narrow path the Chassidic poet must navigate and the important role having a mashpia has played in his work. Yehoshua's latest collection, "The Concealment of Endless Light," can be purchased on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/2IlJAcQ This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani. Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by. Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community. For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldi... Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media. Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] Connect with Bentzi Website | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate Rabbi Shmuly Metzger is a shliach in Manhattan, where he runs Chabad Sutton in the Midtown district. A couple miles away is the famous Lubavitch neighborhood of Crown Heights, where Shmuly grew up in both its mythological and concrete past. In this episode, we discuss his childhood in the presence of the Rebbe but also the tensions on the Crown Heights streets, how the street level and heavenly narratives diverged but also someone worked together. We also discuss the challenge of holding on to an ever changing past where memories are fluid, and how those memories continue to shape us even as we shape them. This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani. Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by. Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community. For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldisagarden Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] Connect with Bentzi Website | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Rabbi Dr. Eli Leib Rubin, Phd is a scholar and author who grew up in Edgeware, a suburb of London, and lives today in Pittsburgh.In this conversation, we discuss his recently published book, "Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity: An Existential History of Chabad Hassidism," a magisterial effort of research and writing tracing the idea of Tzimtzum as it developed between one generation of Lubavitch to the next.We discuss the dynamism of ideas throughout the course of Lubavitch history, the optimism that comes along with this, and what this dynamism might look like today.Dr. Rubin's book can be purchased at: https://www.sup.org/books/kabbalah-and-rupture-modernity Code RUPTURE20 for 20% off This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani.Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by.Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community.For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldi... Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] with BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum is an educator at Yeshiva Schools in Pittsburgh for several decades, where he began as a teacher and now serves as Head of School. In this conversation, we discuss how his priorities as a teacher has changed over time, how both the world around the school but also the world within the school makes new demands of teachers but also offers new opportunities.We discuss how he navigates the changing relationship between the school and the parents and his advice for parents thinking about where to send their child. We also discuss his views about incorporating mental health awareness into a school, and what ends it is meant to serve.But while we discuss much about what has changed, we also discuss the basic truths about educations that are relevant as ever today. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani.Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by.Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community.For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldi... Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] with BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Mayer Prager grew up in the Crown Heights of the 1960's, surrounded by the exodus of the non-Lubavitch Jewish community, the energy of the Lubavitch community that stayed, and of course, the Rebbe.In this episode, we discuss what it was like to grow up in that milieu, his special relationship with R' Yoel Kahan, and his perspective on the direction of the Lubavitch community as someone who sees things from both the inside and the outside. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani.Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by.Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community.For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldi... Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media.Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] with BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com

Rabbi Velvel Lipskier grew up in Crown Heights and lives in North Miami Beach where he works in plumbing and construction. In this episode, we discuss how the "voice" of Chassidus can be translated in different cultures and how it can change depending on what we pay attention to. We also discuss some of Velvel's memories from the famous Tishrei of 1992. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This week's episode is brought to you by "This World Is A Garden," a new film and live concert production by Yuvla Media based on the Rebbe's first talk, Bosi Lgani. Combining beautiful cinematography with a live performance by a string quartet, this production is a meditation on hope and holding on to a vision even as time passes by. Now you can bring this groundbreaking experience of Bosi Lgani to your community. For more info please visit: https://www.yuvlamedia.com/thisworldisagarden Homesick for Lubavitch is a project of Yuvla Media. Bentzi Avtzon is a filmmaker who specializes in telling the stories of thoughtful and heartfelt organizations. Business inquiries only: [email protected] Connect with Bentzi Website | https://www.yuvlamedia.com