Popular Shows by Bentzi Avtzon בנצי אבצון
81 episodes
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Name
Release Date
Duration
1
Ep. 80 // "The Temptation to Spiritualize" w/ Rabbi Meni Even Israel
Ep. 80 // "The Temptation to Spiritualize" w/ Rabbi Meni Even Israel
Nov 30, 2025
1:24:20
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
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Ep. 79 // "Aiming for Higher" w/ Rabbi Michoel Gourarie
Ep. 79 // "Aiming for Higher" w/ Rabbi Michoel Gourarie
Nov 23, 2025
1:41:15
Rabbi Michoel Gourarie grew up in South Africa and today directs Binah, a center of adult learning and growth in Sydney, Australia.In this episode, we discuss his parents very different Chabad family histories and what led them to South Africa.We discuss how the study of Chassidus impacts an individual, the potential and the limits of engrossing the mind in the study of G-d, and the need to measure ourselves against impossible standards. This week's episode is sponsored by Jnet, a project of Merkos 302.Join over ten thousand volunteers sharing their Torah knowledge with fellow study partners around the world.Visit jnet.org for more info.Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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
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Ep. 78 // "We Need To Ask & Question Everything" w/ Rabbi Mendel Zirkind
Ep. 78 // "We Need To Ask & Question Everything" w/ Rabbi Mendel Zirkind
Nov 16, 2025
1:47:29
Rabbi Mendel Zirkind grew up in Crown Heights and was recently appointed to fill the position of his late grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner a"h, as Moro D'asra of the Chabad community in Melbourne, Australia. In this episode, we discuss the challenge of "filling the shoes" of such an enormous personality and on a more general level, finding our own place in a heritage with such a rich past and endless future. Along the way, we discuss the growing need for courage, not certainty, in a world and time that forces us to challenge all assumptions and make them our own. This week's episode is sponsored by Jnet, a project of Merkos 302. Join over ten thousand volunteers sharing their Torah knowledge with fellow study partners around the world. Visit jnet.org for more info. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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] Connect with Bentzi Website | https://www.yuvlamedia.com
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Ep. 77 // "The Ability To Adapt" w/ Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie
Ep. 77 // "The Ability To Adapt" w/ Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie
Nov 10, 2025
1:44:54
Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie is a shliach and author in Yorba Linda, California.In this episode, we discuss his recently published book, "Undaunted: How the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Saved Russian Jewry, Reimagined American Judaism, Ignited a Global Jewish Renaissance."We discuss his approach to learning and writing about a Rebbe's life and the lessons he learned from the Friediker Rebbe's ability to adapt to a life of many varying challenges.Book can be purchased on Amazon This week's episode is sponsored by Jnet, a project of Merkos 302.Join over ten thousand volunteers sharing their Torah knowledge with fellow study partners around the world.Visit jnet.org for more info.Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 76 // "The Mystery of Emunah" w/ Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufmann
Ep. 76 // "The Mystery of Emunah" w/ Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufmann
Nov 3, 2025
1:31:49
Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufmann grew up in Minnesota and today is a teacher and lecturer at The Mayanot Institute in Jerusalem. In this episode, we discuss the elusiveness of Emunah, how what seems so obvious to one person seems impenetrable to the next, and how we all struggle to fully define it.We discuss the importance of an embodied Emunah, one that resides in the lived experience and history of the individual, and in every aspect of his life. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This week's episode is sponsored by Jnet, a project of Merkos 302. Join over ten thousand volunteers sharing their Torah knowledge with fellow study partners around the world. Visit jnet.org for more info. 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
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Ep. 2 // "Am I a Lubavitcher?" with Eldad Drori
Ep. 2 // "Am I a Lubavitcher?" with Eldad Drori
Sep 26, 2023
1:14:09
Eldad Drori is a Lubavitcher dentist who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also an avid powerlifter who has been working on his strength and fitness for more than thirty years. We discuss how he reconciles his gym identity with his lubavitch identity, and how the identity that comes out of it is something both traceable to his family's past and yet entirely his own.
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Ep. 75 // "45 Years On Shlichus" w/ Rabbi Yosef Levin
Ep. 75 // "45 Years On Shlichus" w/ Rabbi Yosef Levin
Sep 8, 2025
1:41:53
Rabbi Yosef Levin is a shliach in the Silicon Valley from before it was known as the Silicon Valley. Before that he grew up in Belfast and Sunderland and went to yeshiva in Brunoy, Kfar Chabad and Morristown. In this episode, Rabbi Levin shares his recollections of his years in Yeshiva, the hanholo in Brunoy who didn't believe there can be spoiled milk, the first hookups with the Rebbe's farbrengens, as well as his first and hardest years on shlichus in Northern California, the "valley of very dry bones." Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 46 // “Taking the Rebbe At His Word” w/ Rabbi Dov Yona Korn
Ep. 46 // “Taking the Rebbe At His Word” w/ Rabbi Dov Yona Korn
Oct 13, 2024
1:59:01
Rabbi Dov Yona Korn grew up in Morris Plains, NJ in a “very Reform” Jewish family and is today the shliach in NYU and several other schools in the Bowery district of NYC. In this episode, we discuss his discovering Chabad in the months after the Rebbe’s passing and the difference this timing made in his own understanding of the Rebbe and Lubavitch. We also discuss how the Rebbe’s ideas are filtered through layers of communal understanding, and how this communal understanding is sometimes in tension with the literal understanding of the individual. Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 36 // "Making the Past Present" w/ Rabbi Dr. Shmary Brownstein
Ep. 36 // "Making the Past Present" w/ Rabbi Dr. Shmary Brownstein
Jul 14, 2024
2:49:04
Rabbi Dr. Shmary Brownstein is a shliach in Davis, California where he also wrote his doctoral dissertation on the famous series of maamorim, Bosi Lgani. In this episode, we discuss Shmary's growing up in Crown Heights in the early 90s and his decision to leave for Brunoy. We discuss how the conception of past changed over those years and how some of the ideas of Bosi Lgani might inform how we ought to approach staying connected to the past without becoming lost in it.
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Ep. 31 // "The Image I Remember" w/ Marc Asinine
Ep. 31 // "The Image I Remember" w/ Marc Asinine
May 26, 2024
1:33:39
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.
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Ep. 27 // "The Paradox of Empowerment" w/ Rabbi Simon Jacobson
Ep. 27 // "The Paradox of Empowerment" w/ Rabbi Simon Jacobson
Apr 14, 2024
1:53:40
Rabbi Simon Jacobson is known today as a bestselling author and founder of the Meaningful Life Center. But for many years he was one of the transcribers and editors of the Rebbe’s Farbrengen. In this conversation we discuss some of the paradoxes he observed over the years, both regarding the Rebbe’s use of technology in sharing the Farbrengen around the world but also in how the Rebbe empowered his chassidim to think for themselves.
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Ep. 24 // "Lubavitch Sense of Worthiness" w/ R' Chaim Itche Drizin
Ep. 24 // "Lubavitch Sense of Worthiness" w/ R' Chaim Itche Drizin
Mar 25, 2024
1:37:34
R' Chaim Itche Drizin was one of the first shluchim to set out in the late 60s, directing Chabad of Northern California from his Chabad House in Berkeley. Today he works as a therapist who in the course of his work speaks with many young men and women in the Lubavitch community. In our conversation, we speak about his growing up as the youngest son of the famed chossid, R' Avrohom Maayor, the gap between him and his father's generation, a how this "gap of translation" persists to this very day.
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Ep. 8 // "Empower the Individual" with Rabbi Moshe New
Ep. 8 // "Empower the Individual" with Rabbi Moshe New
Nov 10, 2023
1:49:28
Rabbi Moshe New is the senior rabbi of the Montreal Torah Center and a shliach for over forty years. In this episode, we talk about his upbringing in Australia and the changing Lubavitch landscape he observed as he travelled to the United States and finally to Montreal. We also discuss how the landscape continues to change and how it might point in a more positive direction, namely with a more specific focus on empowering the individual.
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Ep. 1 // "Is Lubavitch Identity in Question?" with Rabbi Yossi Nemes
Ep. 1 // "Is Lubavitch Identity in Question?" with Rabbi Yossi Nemes
Sep 15, 2023
1:21:36
Rabbi Yossi Nemes is a Shliach for more than thirty years in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. In our conversation, we discuss what it was like for him to learn in 770 back in the 80s, and what kinds of discussions about Lubavitch identity were taking place already back then.
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Ep. 6 // Emergency Podcast "Wartime Changes Everything Including Lubavitch" with Rabbi Shmully Hecht
Ep. 6 // Emergency Podcast "Wartime Changes Everything Including Lubavitch" with Rabbi Shmully Hecht
Nov 8, 2023
1:42:21
Rabbi Shmully Hecht is the founder and senior Chabad rabbi at Yale, and co-founder of Shabtai, the global Jewish leadership community. We discuss how everything changed this Simchas Torah and where we might go from here. Not only the world around us but also Lubavitch itself.
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Ep. 56 // "How Teaching Has Changed" w/ Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum
Ep. 56 // "How Teaching Has Changed" w/ Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum
Mar 30, 2025
1:30:22
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
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Ep. 64 // "Learning To Think" w/ Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Ep. 64 // "Learning To Think" w/ Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Jun 22, 2025
1:32:48
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman lives in Sandy Springs, Georgia where he is an author and editor of chabad.orgIn this conversation, we discuss what it means to learn and process the ideas of Chassidus. Tzvi reflects on his own extensive writings in light of developments in AI, and how AI forces us to find out what human thinking - the kind machines can't do - really looks like.We discuss what it means for a chossid to think Chassidus for himself, as well as the limits of this idea, and the risks one must take to do so. Rabbi Freeman's new Tanya project can be found here: https://www.chabad.org/generic cdo/aid/6574568/jewish/The-Chabadorg-Tanya-Project.htm 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] with BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com
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Ep. 63 // "Every Chossid is Different" w/ Rabbi Choni Friedman
Ep. 63 // "Every Chossid is Different" w/ Rabbi Choni Friedman
May 25, 2025
2:01:37
Rabbi Choni Friedman grew up in Kansas City and lives today in Pittsburgh where he is the Rov of Bnai Emunoh Chabad, a growing shul and community in the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He is also the dean of a new Bais Medrash Zal, which opened this year with 30 bochurim and growing In this episode, we discuss what it means to be a chossid today, if that meaning has changed over the years and if that meaning changes between each individual. 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
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Ep. 62 // "Roots of Identity" w/ Rabbi Shlomo Elkan
Ep. 62 // "Roots of Identity" w/ Rabbi Shlomo Elkan
May 18, 2025
1:42:44
Rabbi Shlomo Elkan grew up in Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta, in a reform and then conservative Jewish home, and is today the shliach at Oberlin College, a liberal arts school an hour outside of Cleveland.In this episode, we discuss his winding journey to becoming a Lubavitcher and then opening a Chabad House on campus with his wife who comes from a Dati Leumi family in Israel, and how he balances the multitudes of identities they collected from their upbringings as well as the the upbringings of their children. 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
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Ep. 61 // "Finding the Treasure" w/ Rabbi Velvel Lipskier
Ep. 61 // "Finding the Treasure" w/ Rabbi Velvel Lipskier
May 11, 2025
2:18:53
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
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Ep. 60 // "The Ability to Change" w/ Rabbi Chaim Shaul Bruk
Ep. 60 // "The Ability to Change" w/ Rabbi Chaim Shaul Bruk
May 4, 2025
2:07:57
Rabbi Chaim Shaul Bruk is the shliach in Bozeman, Montana where he and his wife Chavie are now marking 18 years.In this episode, he recalls his growing up in Crown Heights, both the wonderful childhood memories and the tense years of the early nineties.He also shares how a devastating infertility diagnosis in their first years of shlichus changed how he looked at the world, at G-d and at other chassidim he doesn't agree with. 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
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Ep. 59 // "Talking to My Nefesh Habehamis" w/ Mayer Prager
Ep. 59 // "Talking to My Nefesh Habehamis" w/ Mayer Prager
Apr 27, 2025
1:34:33
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
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Ep. 58 // "Learning in Lubavitch" w/ Mr. David Shabat
Ep. 58 // "Learning in Lubavitch" w/ Mr. David Shabat
Apr 21, 2025
1:35:12
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
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Ep. 57 // "Chassidim That Work" w/ Rabbi Rafi Tennenhaus
Ep. 57 // "Chassidim That Work" w/ Rabbi Rafi Tennenhaus
Apr 6, 2025
1:36:44
Rabbi Rafi Tennenhaus is a shliach in Hallandale Beach, Florida for more than four decades, where today he directs the activities of many Chabad Houses and an exploding local Lubavitch community.In this episode, we discuss his upbringing in Montreal and before that in a small Canadian town of Bathurst, New Brunswick, where his father, R' Dovid Tennenhaus, had moved years earlier to make a living.We hear about his father's story of individual religiosity in a far off town, his special relationship with both the Rebbe and the Friediker Rebbe, and his involvement in the beginnings of the Lubavitch community in Montreal.We also discuss Rafi's own journey as a bochur into his own and different relationship towards the Rebbe, and his reflections of how that continues to shape his approach to shlichus 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
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Ep. 65 // "I Can Tell the Rebbe Anything" w/ R' Mendel Posner
Ep. 65 // "I Can Tell the Rebbe Anything" w/ R' Mendel Posner
Jun 29, 2025
2:07:39
Reb Mendel Posner grew up in Nashville, Tenessee as the oldest son of the famous chossid and shliach Rabbi Zalman Posner. His coming back to Lubavitch as a young boy for schooling was rocky and Mendel quickly found himself as a boy with more questions than answers. This led to a journey of decades in and out of observance. Through it all Mendel held on to a deep connection of love with his parents - as well as his Rebbe. 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
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Ep. 55 // "A New Intellectual Stage" w/ Rabbi Dr. Eli Leib Rubin
Ep. 55 // "A New Intellectual Stage" w/ Rabbi Dr. Eli Leib Rubin
Mar 23, 2025
2:15:06
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
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Ep. 54 // "Where Even Is Home?" w/ Rabbi Shmully Metzger
Ep. 54 // "Where Even Is Home?" w/ Rabbi Shmully Metzger
Jan 19, 2025
1:53:07
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
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Ep. 53 // "Writing the Messy Divine" w/ Poet Yehoshua November
Ep. 53 // "Writing the Messy Divine" w/ Poet Yehoshua November
Jan 12, 2025
1:48:03
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
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Ep. 52 // "Cosmic or Homesick" w/ Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin
Ep. 52 // "Cosmic or Homesick" w/ Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin
Dec 29, 2024
1:44:09
Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin PhD lives in Teaneck where he is an author, columnist and host of the 18Forty podcast. In this episode, we discuss the condition of homesickness across different parts of the religious Jewish community in the United States, the inherent problems but also the possible blessings to be found in it. We also discuss how different one’s view of some of Lubavitch’s most interesting questions seem depending on where one looks at them from. 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 BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com
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Ep. 51 // "The Spiritual Revival of Chabad" w/ Rabbi Elisha Pearl
Ep. 51 // "The Spiritual Revival of Chabad" w/ Rabbi Elisha Pearl
Dec 22, 2024
2:05:50
Rabbi Elisha Pearl grew up in Flatbush and has spent the last few years studying in the Judean hills, which is where he wrote his groundbreaking book, "Make Peace," which explores the Rebbe's strategic vision for lasting peace in Israel. We were going to discuss the book, but ended up talking about how he found himself it writing it in the first place, how as a young Lubavitch boy his parents moved away from Crown Heights to Flatbush and enrolled him in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin, setting him on a trajectory of being a Lubavitcher individual studying outside the Lubavitch system, including Yeshiva University and various Dati Leumi yeshivos in Israel. We discussed the vantage point afforded to someone who sees things from both the inside and the outside, the challenges that come with it, and what he sees now in what he describes as the "religious revival" taking place in Chabad. 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 BentziWebsite | https://www.yuvlamedia.com
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Ep. 50 // The Blessing of Helping Others w/ Rabbi Mordechai Avtzon
Ep. 50 // The Blessing of Helping Others w/ Rabbi Mordechai Avtzon
Dec 8, 2024
2:21:31
Rabbi Mordechai Avtzon is my father and the first shliach in the Far East, which is where he and my mother founded Chabad of Hong Kong and China forty years ago. In this conversation, we discuss his upbringing in Detroit as a child of one of the only Lubavitch families in the city, and the different outlooks his immigrant parents had on their place in their new country. We also discuss how growing up surrounded by different kinds of religious Jews and spending several years learning in Telshe Chicago influenced his own Lubavitch identity and the way he understood the mission of his shlichus. 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 49 // “Shlichus Love Story” w/ Rabbi Nissen Goldman
Ep. 49 // “Shlichus Love Story” w/ Rabbi Nissen Goldman
Dec 1, 2024
1:47:58
Fifteen year ago, Nissen Goldman was a teenage son of a rabbi in Johannesburg, South Africa finding his own way. After leaving high school, Nissen ended up spending time in Cape Town where his sister and brother in law where on shlichus and ended up in a relationship with the daughter of their shul’s president. Fast forward fifteen years, and Nissen is on his shlichus at University of Cape Town with his then girlfriend and now wife, and has come to the kinnus for the first time as a shliach, together with their eldest son. In this episode, we discuss Nissen’s improbable journey away from shlichus and back, how one can end up in the same and yet completely different place, and the value and risks of writing your own story. 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 48 // "From Auschwitz to Lubavitch" w/ Rabbi Nissan Mangel
Ep. 48 // "From Auschwitz to Lubavitch" w/ Rabbi Nissan Mangel
Nov 24, 2024
1:36:48
Rabbi Nissan Mangel was ten years old when he came face to face with Dr. Joseph Mengele at the gates of Auschwitz and was miraculously spared the fate of too many others. In this episode, Rabbi Mangel shares his journey from his small childhood town in Slovakia to Auschwitz and then England and Canada where he eventually met a number of fellow Lubavitch survivors of the war who invited him into Lubavitch. As he became a chossid of the Rebbe, Rabbi Mangel would go on to work for the Rebbe in a number of capacities, starting by learning chassidus with students in the famous Beis Medrash Govohah in Lakewood and going on to teach thousands of people around the world. 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.thisworldisagarden.com Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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
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Ep. 66 // "Chabad Is All Of Ours" w/ R' Joey Rosenfeld
Ep. 66 // "Chabad Is All Of Ours" w/ R' Joey Rosenfeld
Jul 6, 2025
1:33:53
R' Joey Rosenfeld grew up in the Five Towns and today lives in Eretz Yisroel where he works as a therapist and author of numerous essays (and posts) on Kabbalah and Chassidus.In this episode we discuss his discovery of Chassidus as an angsty teenager and the journey of learning it precipitated. We discuss what it means and if it is possible to study the chassidus of Chabad without being a Chabad chossid.Finally, we discuss some of his critiques of the way that Chassidus is studied today and how a renewed way of study can be found within the tradition itself. 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
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Ep. 67 // "He Stood Up For Me" w/ Rabbi Aharon Cousin
Ep. 67 // "He Stood Up For Me" w/ Rabbi Aharon Cousin
Jul 13, 2025
2:19:00
Rabbi Aharon Cousin grew up in Leeds, England during World War II and eventually made his way to the yeshiva in Manchester where he encountered a group of young and lively Lubavitcher boys.Some years later he followed them to study in 770 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, where he spent five years immersed in a world that inspired him to spend the rest of his life in education, as founding headmaster of the Lubavitch Boys School in London.In this episode, Rabbi Cousin shares his amazing journey, the power of education and building the self esteem of each and every student, and the moment the Rebbe stood up for him in yechidus. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 68 // "Looking For What I'm Looking For" w/ Tzvi Kilov
Ep. 68 // "Looking For What I'm Looking For" w/ Tzvi Kilov
Jul 20, 2025
1:54:04
Tzvi Kilov immigrated as a young boy from South Africa to Atlanta where he lives today. In this episode, we discuss his encounter with the Rebbe's sichos in the Chabad House where he lived, and how something about them set him off on a journey that took him through years of Lubavitch yeshivos and continues to this very day. We discuss the subjective nature of his journey and how this shapes his encounter with chassidus and Torah and faith itself. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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] Connect with Bentzi Website | https://www.yuvlamedia.com
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Ep. 69 // "Lubavitcher Chinuch" w/ Rabbi Chaim Zusia "Zeidy" Fishman
Ep. 69 // "Lubavitcher Chinuch" w/ Rabbi Chaim Zusia "Zeidy" Fishman
Jul 27, 2025
1:56:11
Rabbi Chaim Zusia Fishman grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and lived in Worcester, Massachusetts where he was a teacher for more than six decades.In this episode, he recalls his years as a student in school in Providence and then yeshivos in New York and ultimately his encounter with Lubavitch and the Rebbe.We discuss the examples of dedication to education he saw along his journey and the special inspiration he found in Lubavitch. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 70 // "Horizontal Connections" w/ Rabbi Yossi Lipsker
Ep. 70 // "Horizontal Connections" w/ Rabbi Yossi Lipsker
Aug 3, 2025
1:48:39
Rabbi Yossi Lipsker grew up on shlichus in Northeast Philadelphia and lives today on shlichus in Swampscott, a suburb of Boston.In this episode, Yossi shares his childhood memories of growing up on shlichus and coming on occasion to 770 and the distance between those two worlds.We discuss the tensions between a parent's dreams for their child and the child's own dreams, between the boundaries of the community and the identity of the individual, and how tzimtzum lo kipshuto plays a role in everything. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 71 // "50 Years on Shlichus" w/ Mrs. Esther Goldstein
Ep. 71 // "50 Years on Shlichus" w/ Mrs. Esther Goldstein
Aug 10, 2025
1:31:05
Mrs. Esther Goldstein was born in Williamsburg to parents who had both survived the Holocaust.Though her family were not Lubavitchers, a year after her marriage to Rabbi Aharon Goldstein she arrived to University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.But unlike her husband and the other shluchim in those days, her first day on the job was also the first time she encountered shlichus.In this episode, she shares her unique journey from the shteibel to the Chabad House and the decades since. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 72 // "A Tomim In Montreal" w/ Rabbi Joseph Polak
Ep. 72 // "A Tomim In Montreal" w/ Rabbi Joseph Polak
Aug 17, 2025
1:43:28
Rabbi Joseph Polak is the Av Beis Din of Boston and served for over four decades years as a university chaplain at Boston University.But before all of that he spent over a decade studying in the Lubavitch yeshiva and Beis Medrash in Montreal where he encountered famous personalities like Reb Volf Greenglass and many others.In this episode we discuss how those years in Yeshiva formed his identity as a chossid that remains with him to this very day and how Chassidus inspired his work on campus and his life in general. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This episode is sponsored by "Beyond Breadwinning," a new twelve hour course by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Brownstein that helps bochurim and young men approach shidduchim and marriage with intention.Next course is in person in Crown Heights over Labor Day Weekend. Visit https://www.beyondbreadwinning.com to reserve a place and use code "ELUL85" for a 33% discount. 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/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
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Ep. 73 // "Today We're All The Same" w/ Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman
Ep. 73 // "Today We're All The Same" w/ Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman
Aug 24, 2025
1:38:06
Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman grew up in Brighton Beach and is the shliach today in Des Plaines, Illinois.In this episode we discuss his introduction to Lubavitch as a young teenager and his very gradual immersion into this new way of life.We discuss his work today as a shliach who focuses on helping Jewish prisoners in the Illinois prison system and running camps for young Lubavitch children: the differences between these two groups and the similarities. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate This episode is sponsored by "Beyond Breadwinning," a new twelve hour course by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Brownstein that helps bochurim and young men approach shidduchim and marriage with intention.Next course is in person in Crown Heights over Labor Day Weekend. Visit https://www.beyondbreadwinning.com to reserve a place and use code "ELUL85" for a 33% discount. 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/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
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Ep. 74 // "Thinking The Unthinkable" w/ Prof. Eliot Wolfson
Ep. 74 // "Thinking The Unthinkable" w/ Prof. Eliot Wolfson
Aug 31, 2025
1:36:15
Elliot R. Wolfson is a scholar of Jewish studies, comparative mysticism, and the philosophy of religion and lives today in a suburb of S. Barbara, California. He is also the author of, "Open Secret: Postmessianic Messianism and the Mystical Revision of Menahem Mendel Schneerson."In this episode, we discuss his upbringing in Brooklyn and his first encounters with Chabad and Chassidus, his decision to leave the yeshiva for academia and his constant returning to the works of Chabad Chassidus.We discuss the limits of language, the limits of those limits, and the companionship one finds at the edge of this study. Support this podcast at: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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/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
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Ep. 7 // "Do I Really Belong Here?" with Captain Mendy Avtzon
Ep. 7 // "Do I Really Belong Here?" with Captain Mendy Avtzon
Nov 9, 2023
1:14:42
Captain Mendy Avtzon is my brother and currently serves as a JAG lawyer in the United States Air Force. In this episode, we discuss his rocky journey from shlichus in Hong Kong to yeshiva continents (and universes) away. We discuss some things he wished he had found in yeshiva and also those things he hopes he will never lose. *Any views expressed are personal and do not represent the views of the DoD or USAF.
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Ep. 14 // "Happy Place Lubavitch" w/ Leibel Gniwisch
Ep. 14 // "Happy Place Lubavitch" w/ Leibel Gniwisch
Dec 17, 2023
1:38:58
Leibel Gniwisch is a lawyer and Ivy League graduate. He is also a good friend who lives in the neighborhood over. Over the past year we've had many discussions about Lubavitch identity, the questions worth asking and avenues of inquiry worth pursuing. More a conversation than an interview, this episode is one of those. We talk about Leibel's growing up in Montreal, what led him to pursue a profession in law and what lessons he has learned along the way.
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Ep. 5 // "Does Shlichus Have Anything To Do With Me?" with Sholom Jacobs
Ep. 5 // "Does Shlichus Have Anything To Do With Me?" with Sholom Jacobs
Oct 16, 2023
1:17:20
Sholom Jacobs grew up on shlichus in Glasgow, Scotland and is today a successful real estate developer in Long Island where he lives with his family. In this episode, we discuss his journey into business, how the Lubavitch perspective around business has changed over the years, and what he has carried with him from his days growing up on shlichus.
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Ep. 4 // Emergency Podcast "How Can We Think of Responding?" with IDF Veteran Leibel Mangel
Ep. 4 // Emergency Podcast "How Can We Think of Responding?" with IDF Veteran Leibel Mangel
Oct 9, 2023
56:03
Leibel Mangel is an IDF veteran who grew up on shlichus in Blue Ash, Ohio. In this conversation, we discuss his perspective on the recent events in Israel as an IDF veteran and how one might respond in these uncertain times.
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Ep. 3 // "Chinuch vs Shlichus" with Rabbi Shmuel Wagner
Ep. 3 // "Chinuch vs Shlichus" with Rabbi Shmuel Wagner
Oct 2, 2023
1:33:07
Rabbi Shmuel Wagner is a teacher at Lubavitcher Yeshiva Ocean Parkway. We discuss the changing attitudes towards teaching and becoming a teacher. We also discuss how one of his own teachers had a profound impact on how he dealt with his six year journey through infertility.
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Ep. 13 // "The Other Side of Nostalgia" w/ Dr. Tali Loewenthal
Ep. 13 // "The Other Side of Nostalgia" w/ Dr. Tali Loewenthal
Dec 10, 2023
1:26:12
Dr. Tali Loewenthal is a renowned fellow at UCL where he lectures on Jewish Spirituality. But he is also a chossid, whose continued life in academia and philosophy is strictly at the behest of the Rebbe. We sat down to discuss his own reflections on the costs and benefits of engaging in the world of philosophy, if it can be reconciled with the life of chassidus and Emunah, and what he suggests for those who find themselves attracted to the knowledge the "outside world" offers. Going deeper, we discuss the isolation that leads many to look elsewhere in the first place, and his very attainable suggestions that may help people feel less isolated and less nostalgic.
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Ep. 23 // "Should We Still Be Yearning?" w/ Rabbi Moshe Gourarie
Ep. 23 // "Should We Still Be Yearning?" w/ Rabbi Moshe Gourarie
Mar 17, 2024
1:57:02
Rabbi Moshe Gourarie grew up in Detroit and is shlichus today in Toms River, New Jersey. He is also the co-founder of Project Likkutei Sichos. Growing up, his plan was always to complete mesivta in Detroit and then "get to Heaven" in Crown Heights next to the Rebbe. These plans came to an abrupt halt at one evening in mesivta where the boys were told that the "Rebbe had fallen." In this conversation, we discuss how a teenage Bochur processed the "rug being pulled from beneath him" and how his feelings about holding on to the past and moving into the present have evolved since.
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Ep. 10 // "America Is Nisht Andersh" with Rebbetzin Bassie Garelik
Ep. 10 // "America Is Nisht Andersh" with Rebbetzin Bassie Garelik
Nov 20, 2023
1:29:56
Rebbetzin Bassie Garelik is one of the earliest shluchim, having been sent to Italy over 60 years ago. She was also born in the United States, growing up in Pittsburgh, which is why I wanted to have her on the podcast to discuss what it was like to grow up in America before Lubavitch - and indeed Yiddishkeit - was established here the way it is today. We discussed what it was like to grow up in her parent's home, and what has and hasn't changed in the generations since.
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Ep. 30 // "My Struggle With Chitas" w/ Fitz Rabin
Ep. 30 // "My Struggle With Chitas" w/ Fitz Rabin
May 19, 2024
2:35:46
Before becoming a full time life coach, Fitz Rabin was a master sofer for over a decade. Over the years, Fitz struggled to identify with some of the practices seen as basic to being a Lubavitcher, namely the study of Chitas. Today, he celebrates 1000 days of learning chitas before shkiya. We discuss the feelings of alienation from mass practice, the search for individual connection and the general tension between being true to yourself within a broader community.
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Ep. 29 // “On Lubavitch Community” w/ Mrs. Vivi Deren
Ep. 29 // “On Lubavitch Community” w/ Mrs. Vivi Deren
May 12, 2024
2:40:47
Mrs. Vivi Deren grew up in Nashville, Tenessee as one of the first children of shluchim in the Unites States. Today she lives in Connecticut where she has been on shlichus with her husband for nearly fifty years. In this episode, she speaks about her parents growing up as chassidim in the United States of the 1920s and 1930s, and about her grandparents who raised them. We speak about how the community of Lubavitch in the United States has changed since, and how the Lubavitch ethic of individualism fits with the growth of community.
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Ep. 28 // "The Price We Pay For Shlichus" w/ Rabbi Yossi Morozov
Ep. 28 // "The Price We Pay For Shlichus" w/ Rabbi Yossi Morozov
May 5, 2024
1:15:02
Rabbi Yossi Morozov grew up in Brooklyn and was on shlichus with his family for twelve years in Ulyanovsk, a city one thousand kilometers east of Moscow. After being forced to leave Russia, Yossi moved with his family to the Pomona area in New York and became a life insurance agent. In this conversation we discuss his choices to go on shlichus and then into business and the challenges these choices posed to his own Lubavitch identity.
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Ep. 11 // "The Cost of Shlichus?" with Rabbi Levi Greenberg
Ep. 11 // "The Cost of Shlichus?" with Rabbi Levi Greenberg
Nov 26, 2023
1:24:16
Rabbi Levi Greenberg is a shliach in El Paso, TX which is also where he grew up as a shliach himself. Continuing the discussion raised in previous episodes, we discuss the challenges of leaving home for schooling at a young age, the cost of raising children in faraway cities, and the metrics of a successful shlichus. Along the way, the conversation veers into familiar territory of the "chassidishe maase," how it has or hasn't changed over time, and what it means to realize some of our heroes, the early shluchim, were also human.
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Ep. 26 // "The Lack of Atmosphere" w/ Rabbi Ruvi New
Ep. 26 // "The Lack of Atmosphere" w/ Rabbi Ruvi New
Apr 7, 2024
1:15:41
Rabbi Ruvi New grew up in Melbourne, Australia and is a shliach today in Boca Raton, Florida. In this conversation, we discuss the changing dynamics of Lubavitch identity in the decade between his and his oldest's brother, Moshe New, cross Pacific journeys to 770. We also discuss how over those years there seemed to be a tipping point of an "arum," or atmosphere, that brought more and more of Lubavitch into a powerful core, and where that leaves us today. 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 Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/bentziavtzon
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Ep. 25 // "The Line Between Good and Bad" w/ Eli Nash
Ep. 25 // "The Line Between Good and Bad" w/ Eli Nash
Mar 31, 2024
1:24:24
Eli Nash is a businessman and philanthropist who grew up in Crown Heights and lives today in South Florida. Starting with his efforts to raise awareness about sexual abuse and then porn addiction, Eli has become very active in different causes surrounding mental health in the community. In this episode, we discuss his own journey away from (and back to?) Lubavitch, the individuals who pointed him back to his roots, and the challenging work of finding the good from the bad.
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Ep. 11 // "The Cost of Shlichus?" with Rabbi Levi Greenberg
Ep. 11 // "The Cost of Shlichus?" with Rabbi Levi Greenberg
Nov 26, 2023
1:24:16
Rabbi Levi Greenberg is a shliach in El Paso, TX which is also where he grew up as a shliach himself. Continuing the discussion raised in previous episodes, we discuss the challenges of leaving home for schooling at a young age, the cost of raising children in faraway cities, and the metrics of a successful shlichus. Along the way, the conversation veers into familiar territory of the "chassidishe maase," how it has or hasn't changed over time, and what it means to realize some of our heroes, the early shluchim, were also human.
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Ep. 32 // "Shock of Yud Shvat" w/ Rabbi Shmuly Avtzon
Ep. 32 // "Shock of Yud Shvat" w/ Rabbi Shmuly Avtzon
Jun 16, 2024
1:53:17
Rabbi Shmuly Avtzon is a Mashpia in the Yeshiva of 770 and director of Sichos In English, an organization founded by his late father and my uncle, Rabbi Yonah Avtzon a"h. In this episode, we compare and contrast our childhood experience and recollection of 27 Adar and 3 Tammuz, him growing up in the thick of the Rebbe's neighborhood of Crown Heights and me growing up across the world on shlichus in Hong Kong. We discuss the shockwaves these events had on our childhood, and whether or not they can be traced to earlier events in Lubavitch history and specifically the history of Dor Hashvii. As a sidetone, I recently worked with Shmuly on a documentary about SIE's new release of Likkutei Sichos in English. You can see more about the project here: https://www.sie.org 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
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Ep. 22 // "How Far Can Video Take Us?" w/ Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin
Ep. 22 // "How Far Can Video Take Us?" w/ Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin
Mar 10, 2024
1:57:56
FOR TECHNICAL REASONS, AUDIO FOR LAST TWENTY MINUTES IS LESS THAN OPTIMAL. APOLOGIES - B Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin is the executive director of JEM, which is responsible for creating tens of thousands of hours of video content of and about the Rebbe. All Lubavitchers have watched something made by JEM, and in many ways the "Rebbe video" has become a staple of the Lubavitch way of life. In this episode, we discuss how the idea originated, the limitations and possibilities in video, and where exactly the videos take us.
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Ep. 21 // "Moving Beyond Process" w/ Rabbi Dovber Pinson
Ep. 21 // "Moving Beyond Process" w/ Rabbi Dovber Pinson
Mar 3, 2024
1:29:38
Rabbi Dovber Pinson is a shliach, scholar and prolific author. Spinning off from a previous off-the-podcast conversation, Rabbi Pinson presented a hypothesis about the unique similarities between the Rebbe and the Baal Shem Tov, and what it might mean to us. This led to an eye-opening conversation about the radical turn of Dor Hashvii in Lubavitch thought and some of its far reaching implications.
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Ep. 20 // "But I Want A Smile" w/ Mrs. Sandy Weinbaum
Ep. 20 // "But I Want A Smile" w/ Mrs. Sandy Weinbaum
Jan 28, 2024
1:55:15
Mrs. Sandy Weinbaum lives in London, England where she, together with her husband, Dr. Bunim, directs the London Jewish Family Center. Mrs. Weinbaum's story begins sixty years ago with a shliach knocking on the door of her father's office and comes full circle today with her having raised fourteen children, many of whom are themselves shluchim. Over the years, the Weinbaums have been involved in many of Lubavitch's initiatives in London, even if they never assumed official titles or positions. In this episode, we discuss her journey from traditional London family to becoming a Lubavitch matriarch, how she managed to raise a large family and be involved in her many activities, and above all how she thinks about living up to what can sometimes feel like the Rebbe's impossible expectations.
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Ep. 19 // "In Defense of Gezhe" w/ R' Mendel Duchman
Ep. 19 // "In Defense of Gezhe" w/ R' Mendel Duchman
Jan 21, 2024
1:20:26
R' Mendel Duchman lives in Los Angeles and is a businessman, business coach and motivational speaker. He is also, to my mind, one of today's most outspoken motivators and cheerleaders for shluchim and Lubavitch around the world. But while R' Mendel very much lives in "today," he is also a staunch defender of the idea of "gezhe," or the value of holding on to one's past that can be traced to the old home back in Russia. While "gezhe" has come to mean all kinds of things today, in our conversation we discuss how the past is an important part of today's story and something that needs to be better understood, even celebrated.
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Ep. 18 // “When Did We Stop Asking Questions?” w/ Rabbi Mendel Zirkind
Ep. 18 // “When Did We Stop Asking Questions?” w/ Rabbi Mendel Zirkind
Jan 14, 2024
2:34:14
Rabbi Mendel Zirkind has taught for over a decade in the Wilkes-Barre and Jets yeshivas. Not having planned to become an educator, Mendel shares the lessons he's learned from his time spent in these so-called "outlier" yeshivas and how the discussions and questions taking place there have so much to teach everyone. We discuss the seeming changes in Lubavitch regarding the asking of introspective questions, what may have led to these changes and where they leave us today.
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Ep. 17 // "To the Promised Land" w/ Zevi Slavin
Ep. 17 // "To the Promised Land" w/ Zevi Slavin
Jan 7, 2024
1:41:58
Zevi Slavin is a student of philosophy and mysticism and host of a YouTube channel on this topic, Seekers of Unity. He is also the son of shluchim in Sydney, Australia and a proud chossid. On this episode, we discuss if and how Zevi manages the tension between his intellectual pursuits and his Lubavitch identity. We also discuss his thoughts on the collision of Lubavitch with modernity and where it leaves each of us.
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Ep. 16 // “Growing Up a Chossid” with Mrs. Fradel Sudak
Ep. 16 // “Growing Up a Chossid” with Mrs. Fradel Sudak
Dec 31, 2023
2:14:59
Rebbetzin Fradel Sudak was sent on Shlichus to London sixty years ago with her late husband, Rabbi Nachman Sudak, a”h. She is also my great aunt, and I’ve wanted for years to hear more from her about my great-grandparents, Rabbi Benzion and Esther Golda Shemtov, who also lived in London after they escaped the Soviet Union. Over the course of several hours, I heard all kinds of stories and insights about my great-grandparents, where they came from, what drove them, scared them, inspired them, and held them together. I learned more about where I come from, of course, but also what their dreams had been, and in that sense learned about where we are all going.
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Ep. 15 // “Chabad Munt Pnimius” with Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh
Ep. 15 // “Chabad Munt Pnimius” with Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh
Dec 24, 2023
2:00:14
Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh is a shliach and affiliated lecturer at University of Cambridge. His recent book, “The Philosophy of Rabbi Sholom Ber Schneersohn: Language, Gender and Mysticism,” endeavors to bring the famous maamorim of 5659 (RaNaT) into dialogue with postmodern thinking. We sat down to discuss what led him to focus on these maamorim, his relationship with Reb Volf Greenglass and other personalities in Montreal, and his lessons about Chassidus and the Chossid persona he carries to this very day.
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Ep. 33 // "He Believed in Me" w/ Rabbi Pinny Andrusier
Ep. 33 // "He Believed in Me" w/ Rabbi Pinny Andrusier
Jun 23, 2024
1:14:24
Rabbi Pinny Andrusier lives in Cooper City, Florida where he is a shliach for more than thirty years. Growing up, Pinny found his place less in the structure of yeshiva and more in the adventure of shlichus, which is where he hoped to find his place after marriage. But when the time came, he struggled to find a place in shlichus and almost gave up on his dream, until a note from the Rebbe a few days before 27 Adar changed everything. In this episode, we discuss the challenge of fitting in, both back then and today, and how believing in the other is often the biggest gift we have to offer.
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Ep. 34 // "Fantasy of Going Back" w/ Rabbi Moshe Greenwald
Ep. 34 // "Fantasy of Going Back" w/ Rabbi Moshe Greenwald
Jul 1, 2024
2:57:46
Rabbi Moshe Greenwald grew up on shlichus in Long Beach, CA and is on shlichus today in Downtown Los Angeles. In this episode, we discuss his childhood memories of coming to 770 for Pesach, his coming of age during the turbulence of 1992 and the questions he's had to wrestle with since. The conversations leads us to questions about the possibility of a Chossid's living with uncertainty.
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Ep. 35 // "Do You Notice the Narrative?" w/ Rabbi Peretz Chein (Bonus conversation w/ Chanie Chein)
Ep. 35 // "Do You Notice the Narrative?" w/ Rabbi Peretz Chein (Bonus conversation w/ Chanie Chein)
Jul 7, 2024
2:33:03
Rabbi Peretz and Chanie Chein both grew up in Crown Heights and are the shluchim today at Brandeis University near Boston, Massachusetts. They have also recently founded M54, a program founded on the relational connection between learners as they embark on shared yet individual explorations, resulting in profound outcomes. In this conversation, Peretz and I discuss his growing up in Crown Heights in the late 80s and early 90s and his pivotal decision to leave Crown Heights to study in a yeshiva in Israel, only returning after the Rebbe's stroke two years later. We discuss the power narrative holds over us and the need to ground oneself in narrative, but also the need to notice the narrative and to pay attention to one's own thoughts and experiences.
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Ep. 9 // "From Lubavitch to Gateshead and Back" with Rabbi Moshe Leib Gray
Ep. 9 // "From Lubavitch to Gateshead and Back" with Rabbi Moshe Leib Gray
Nov 13, 2023
1:58:30
Rabbi Moshe Leib Gray was a teenage Lubavitch yeshiva student when he found himself in the renowned yeshiva of Gateshead just a year after Gimmel Tammuz. This would not be the last time he'd find himself somewhere unexpected: Never expecting to go on shlichus, today he is the shliach at Dartmouth University. In this podcast he tells us his amazing story and the lessons he learned along the way.
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Ep. 37 // "The Need To Move Forward" w/ Mrs. Toby Hecht
Ep. 37 // "The Need To Move Forward" w/ Mrs. Toby Hecht
Aug 11, 2024
1:49:09
Mrs Toby Hecht is the director of Shabtai, a global Jewish leadership society at Yale University in New Haven. Toby grew up on shlichus in Seattle and was finishing up her senior year in Beth Rivka High School in Crown Heights when she and her friends were swept up in the collective grief of Gimmel Tammuz. In this conversation, Toby reflects on the feelings of that time, the emergent awareness of needing to move forward and the responsibility we have today to take decisive ownership of the future.
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Ep. 38 // “Finding the Rebbe’s Softer Voice” w/ Rabbi Berry Farkash
Ep. 38 // “Finding the Rebbe’s Softer Voice” w/ Rabbi Berry Farkash
Aug 18, 2024
2:05:49
Rabbi Berry Farkash is a Shliach in Issaquah, Washington and director of Chabad of the Central Cascades. Several years ago, a local crisis led Berry into the world of psychotherapy where he became a certified clinical psychotherapist and practices Hypnotherapy and other Transpersonal modalities. Today all of his clients are fellow Lubavitchers, many of them shluchim. In this conversation, we discuss his own journey toward finding the Rebbe’s softer voice and the need for forgiveness and compassion. We also discuss the importance of companionship - especially highlighted by the Rebbe’s “bakosho nafshis” to find a mashpia, or in other words, to talk about real and weighty issues with someone else. 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 39 // "Working With What I Have" w/ R' Yossel Mochkin
Ep. 39 // "Working With What I Have" w/ R' Yossel Mochkin
Aug 25, 2024
1:49:40
Reb Yossel Mochkin grew up in Crown Heights in the 1960s and 1970s, living in the cloistered world of his immigrant parents and their friends but surrounded by a fast changing and exciting world around him. Never finding it easy to fit in to the milieu around him, Yossel had to ask on his own questions about the direction his life was to take. These questions were never fully resolved, but a yechidus with the Rebbe gave Yossel a blueprint his is still continuing to implement. In this conversation we discuss the never ending journey of finding one's place, the private wrestling with one's faith and the ability to grow through it all.
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Ep. 40 // "May We See The Rebbe" w/ Mrs. Tzivia Jacobson
Ep. 40 // "May We See The Rebbe" w/ Mrs. Tzivia Jacobson
Sep 1, 2024
1:59:55
Mrs. Tzivia Jacobson grew up in in the 1930s in a Lubavitch family in Kutaisi, Georgia under Soviet rule. Nobody in her family had ever seen a picture of the Rebbe at that point, let alone met him, but every night her mother would put her to bed with a blessing that one day they would see the Rebbe. Her family would eventually escape the USSR and make their way to Brooklyn where Mrs. Jacobson would be one of a handful to see the beginnings of the Lubavitch story in Crown Heights and up to this very day. Along the way, Mrs. Jacobson and her husband, Mr. Gershon Jacobson a"h, would found the yiddish newspaper The Algemeiner Journal and pioneer a new way of communicating the Rebbe's ideas with the broader world. In this episode, we discuss her growing up in the Soviet Union, what changed for her family and community when they moved to the United States but also what stayed - and always stays - the same. 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 41 // "More Needs To Be Demanded" w/ Rabbi Levi Avtzon
Ep. 41 // "More Needs To Be Demanded" w/ Rabbi Levi Avtzon
Sep 8, 2024
2:07:30
Rabbi Levi Avtzon grew up in Crown Heights and lives today in Johannesburg, South Africa where he is a rabbi at the Linksfield Synagogue. In this episode we continue the conversation in recent episodes about the tension between the soft and demanding voices in our community. We discuss the changing narratives in the Lubavitch community and how past demand for conformity has now given way to a therapeutic mindset, and we debate whether or not this change is in fact a true change at all. 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 42 // "The Rebbe's Doctor" w/ Rabbi Michoel Seligson
Ep. 42 // "The Rebbe's Doctor" w/ Rabbi Michoel Seligson
Sep 15, 2024
2:05:11
Rabbi Michoel Seligson is a teacher and author who lives in Crown Heights. He is also the son of Dr. Avrohom Abba Seligson, a"h, who was known as the Rebbe's doctor. In this episode, Rabbi Seligson shares his father's amazing story of becoming a doctor as a frum Jew in pre-war Europe, his escape to Shanghai and the role he played in saving the Jewish refugees over the course of the war, and his eventual arrival to Brooklyn where he developed a close, private and miraculous bond with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. We discuss his father's unique style of being a both a chossid and a doctor, where amongst many others things he showed a true example of what it means to be a "rofeh yedid." Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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
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Ep. 43 // "The Narrative of Chassidus" w/ Rabbi Naftali Silberberg
Ep. 43 // "The Narrative of Chassidus" w/ Rabbi Naftali Silberberg
Sep 22, 2024
1:34:35
Rabbi Naftali Silberberg grew up on shlichus in Detroit and today lives in Crown Heights where he is the co-director of curriculum for JLI and host of the Let's Talk Tanya podcast. In this episode, we trace Naftali's years in yeshiva that took him to Oholei Torah in the late 80s and then to Kfar Chabad, where he discovers a life long love - almost despite the yeshiva - for the study of Tanya. We discuss what makes the narrative of Tanya so unusual and how a thoughtful study of the Torah Shebichsav of Chassidus makes it more, not less, relevant for our own day and age. Presented in honor of 18 Elul - the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov and the Baal HaTanya. Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 44 // "Rosh Hashana 5785" w/ Rabbi Yosef Katzman
Ep. 44 // "Rosh Hashana 5785" w/ Rabbi Yosef Katzman
Sep 29, 2024
2:45:36
Rabbi Yosef Katzman grew up and lives in Crown Heights, where for many years he hosted the "Cable to Jewish Life" television show. In this episode, Rabbi Katzman reflects on different pivot points through the years and how these relate to the community's changing attitude towards asking questions. He also reflects on Rosh Hashana "back in the day" and where this leaves us going into this new year. Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 45 // "Painting The Truth I See" w/ Mendel Treitel
Ep. 45 // "Painting The Truth I See" w/ Mendel Treitel
Oct 6, 2024
2:06:36
Mendel Treitel grew up on shlichus in Montreal and is today a modern art painter living in Sydney. In this episode, Mendel shares his journey through yeshiva and how a number of special teachers helped him reconcile his artistic disposition with the norms of the Yeshiva. We discuss the challenges in being both a chossid and an artist, the question of individuality and how the art a chossid paints today should be different and unique from the art a chossid painted generations ago. Mendel's work can be found at:https://www.mendeltreitel.com Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: 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.thisworldisagarden.com 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
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Ep. 12 // “Winning in the Marketplace of Ideas?” w/ Yanki Tauber
Ep. 12 // “Winning in the Marketplace of Ideas?” w/ Yanki Tauber
Dec 3, 2023
1:43:00
Yanki Tauber is a writer who lives in Woodmere, NY where for over a decade he has been working on his newly released Chumash, the OpenBook Torah. What makes his Chumash different is the confidence it has that the reader can be brought into the process of commentary, and the more the reader knows about the process the better. We discussed his upbringing in Crown Heights and his special relationship with his grandfather, the famous poet and chossid Zvi Yair, and how this led to the manner in which he approached his Chumash.
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Ep. 47 // “Chassidim Ein Mishpocho” w/ Rabbi Yaakov Winner
Ep. 47 // “Chassidim Ein Mishpocho” w/ Rabbi Yaakov Winner
Nov 17, 2024
1:48:59
Rabbi Yaakov Winner grew up in Brooklyn and has been the mashpia in Yeshiva Gedolah of Melbourne, Australia for thirty five years. In this conversation we discuss the mashpiim that most impacted Rabbi Winner as he was growing up, and how the role of a mashpia has developed over the years. We also discuss how the idea of hiskashrus and Lubavitch identity has shifted over the years, the importance of definitions and speaking with intention, and most importantly the importance of listening to and learning from one another. 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.thisworldisagarden.com Homesick for Lubavitch began a year ago as a small passion project and has grown into an important conversation in the Lubavitch community. As we look forward to year two and iyH the years after that, I invite the listeners and viewers of this podcast to take part in ensuring this podcast is sustainable and continues to grow. To help support this project please visit: https://www.hflpodcast.com/donate 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