This week Joanne meets Jacqueline Rose, an award-winning integrative menopause educator, coach and hormonal health specialist based in Israel. A mother of five with a background in environmental science and yoga, Jacqueline has built a second career helping women understand the full hormonal arc of their lives, with a particular focus on perimenopause, menopause and the too-rarely-discussed post-menopause. Her approach draws on functional medicine, yoga, and a deeply Jewish lens on what it means to thrive at every life stage. They cover an enormous amount of ground: why HRT alone is never the whole answer, the five pillars Jacqueline uses to restore hormonal balance (stress, nutrition, sleep, movement and connection), and why "being symptomatic is not a prerequisite for being a menopausal woman." Jacqueline introduces a fourth, often invisible category of symptoms: spiritual ones. The identity shifts, the changing relationship to giving, to self, that so many women experience but have no language for. They also discuss what Jewish women specifically need to hear about their hormonal life cycle, the silence around post-menopause, and the quietly radical idea that menopause is not a decline but a bridge to a woman's most purposeful stage. It's a wide-ranging, practically grounded and genuinely moving conversation about reclaiming the language of women's health from the inside out. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.  

Seasoned shlucha Danielle Chaimovitz has nurtured communities in Estonia, Poland and Germany. A daughter of olim, she was always drawn to communal roles in Jewish life, and she and her husband have made it their specialty to help small communities thrive. Danielle and I discuss the role of a shlucha - what does success look like? How much should your children be part of your work? Should you ever be advising your community to leave? I'm surprised and touched to learn the incredible ways the Munich community supported them through the October 7th war, and fascinated by the subtle differences she's discovered between communities, and how that's affected her leadership style. Our new beginner's Gemara course starts this Thursday, 4th December - a deep yet accessible course to help women feel confident navigating the Talmud. Find out more and book at In Depth Talmud: Studies in Sanhedrin.  This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at [email protected] and tell us who you'd like to hear interviewed.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Gila Pfeffer is an award winning author, breast cancer prevention advocate and mum of four. Her recent book, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences, was the 2024 winner of the Gilda Women’s Book award and had me laughing hysterically and sobbing in equal measure. She describes it as “about losing both my parents to cancer, trying not to get cancer myself, then getting it anyway”. We answer questions like: why would you choose humour as a vessel for discussing breast cancer and loss? How do you navigate the publishing world as Jew in the current climate? What do you say at a shivah? And, why are there so many photos online of you holding up two large, round objects? To find out more about breast cancer awareness, take a look at the resources below: Cancer Research UK: cancerresearchuk.org The Breast Cancer Research Foundation: bcrf.org Jnetics - Improving the prevention and diagnosis of Jewish genetic disorders: jnetics.org Sharsheret - the Jewish breast and ovarian cancer community: sharsheret.org #FeelItOnTheFirst

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Who do you look after when you can't look after everyone? How does a leader react when she's the one in need of help? What do you do if you feel pidgeonholed by your education or career choices? Rebbetzen Yael Roodyn, much loved Rebbetzen of Finchley Federation synagogue, gives us insights into caring for and inspiring her close-knit community, bringing out the leadership in others and ensuring everyone feels part of the family. With a Master of Research in Computer Vision and Image Programming, Yael began her professional life at KPMG Tel Aviv as a trainee actuary. She later taught in several seminaries in Jerusalem and now, as well as being rebbetzen of her shul, handles Aish UK's Campus Follow Up for women. Yael and her husband are blessed with eight children. Our conversation reveals a deeply thought-through set of decisions which led Yael to where she is today, the theme of which is finding the right balance of caring for others, bringing up her family, and developing herself. Yael shares creative leadership guidance, self-care principles and wisdom that can help us all feel more balanced, productive and fulfilled.  

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. I'm delighted to be joined by Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, one of the most refreshing and challenging voices in contemporary Jewish learning. Based in Jerusalem, Nechama teaches Talmud and halachah at the Pardes Institute and Matan, where she's known for tackling some of the most complex questions around gender and relationships with honesty, warmth and depth. Her recently published book, Uncovered: Women's Roles, Mitzvot, and Sexuality in Jewish Law, offers a fearless, richly sourced exploration of women's ritual obligations, religious identity and sexuality in Jewish law. Nechama's teaching combines rigorous text study with a rare sensitivity to lived experience. Link to the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uncovered-Womens-Mitzvot-Sexuality-Jewish/dp/9655243753

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at [email protected] and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. Joanne Greenaway is joined by Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founder of Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem, and Head of its Research Institute. One of the great pioneers of women's Orthodox Torah scholarship, Rabbanit Henkin has transformed the landscape of women's halachic and spiritual leadership. Together with her late husband, Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz"l, she founded the Yoatzot Halacha programme, training women experts in Jewish law and women's health, whose work has changed the way halachic guidance is sought and given across the Orthodox world. A beloved teacher and visionary, Rabbanit Henkin has received honorary doctorates from both Bar-Ilan and Yeshiva Universities and was awarded Israel’s prestigious Agrest Prize for innovative religious education. She reflects on resilience amid personal loss, explains the vacuum that prompted her to start the Yoatzot Halacha programme, discusses continuing her late husband’s work on women in halacha and demonstrates how halacha has given agency to women. We discuss the difference between a yoetzet and a rabbi, and the changing relationships between women and rabbis in the information age, and she inspires us with a message about serving the community in the future. To access our full LSJS programme of learning, visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning. Our new women’s gemara course, A Taste of Talmud starts on Wed 22nd October. Book it for free here.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at [email protected] and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. Joanna Benarroch joined Rabbi Sacks’ Office of the Chief Rabbi in 1997 and worked for Rabbi Sacks for the next 24 years, first as his Executive Director and then running his private office. Since his passing, Joanna has played a key role in establishing the Rabbi Sacks Legacy to perpetuate his values and teachings. We discuss what drove Rabbi Sacks to keep seeking and writing, the far-reaching plans he made and high standards he held himself to, as well as his relationship-first approach and genuine interest in people and what made them tick.  Joanna Benarroch talks about her own trajectory as a behind-the-scenes leader and the privileged position she found herself in, as well the explosion in popularity of Rabbi Sacks right across Israeli society since his death and her mission now, post-aliyah The Rabbi Sacks & the Scholars LSJS course begins this November with a free taster class, Judaism at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Discover the beauty and clarity of his teachings. More info and book at: www.lsjs.ac.uk/sacksandscholars.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at [email protected] and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble to the podcast—turning the tables a bit, since Yosefa herself is an accomplished host of not one, but three podcasts in both Hebrew and English. Her mellifluous voice and natural storytelling draw you in, but it’s her deep Torah insights and thoughtful reflections on personal growth that make this episode truly special. Yosefa teaches Tanach, Biblical Exegesis, and Jewish Thought at Migdal Oz Beit Midrash,  lectures at Herzog College and Herzog Global, and serves as a Yoetzet Halacha and madrichat kallot. She’s also a member of the second cohort of Sacks Scholars and hosts a widely acclaimed weekly Parsha podcast for Matan Women’s Institute for Torah Study, alongside a new show on women and mitzvot with Shayna Goldberg. In our conversation, we dive into her journey from Albany, NY to Efrat, the mentors who shaped her, and how she balances spiritual growth, leadership, and daily life. We explore topics we’re all thinking about as we approach Rosh Hashana including personal growth, very practical methods for teshuva, habits that foster growth, differences between Israel and the diaspora regarding women's roles and leadership, and where we have and haven’t made progress in women’s learning. To learn about the parasha in Yosefa’s unique style, visit the Matan Parsha Podcast. Stretch your mind and soul through ideas based learning in free and paid classes, courses and events - visit the new LSJS website at www.lsjs.ac.uk.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. I’m delighted to welcome Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval, Director of the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halachic Leadership at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and a graduate of its rigorous five‑year program as a Morat Hora’a and Manhiga Ruchanit - empowering women with halachic authority and spiritual leadership and enabling female halachic leaders to claim their place in discourse, advisory roles, synagogues, schools, and more, both in Israel and abroad. She spent two transformative years, alongside her husband and five daughters, at Ohr Torah Stone in Springfield, NJ teaching Talmud and Jewish law at Rae Kushner Hebrew Academy. A WIHL alumna, Chamutal follows in the footsteps of trailblazer Rabbanit Devora Evron. I also reflect on my own journey through the IHSP flagship program and the privilege of learning under Chamutal’s emerging mission. We explore role models and trailblazing pathways, titles and recognition; how we create meaningful roles for women in the synagogue setting; and encouraging more women to write halacha, publish books, build communities and shape the next 20 years of Jewish life. Gain rare insight into the mindset and mission of this influential female halachic leader today - her vision for the future, her personal journey, and her impact on Jewish leadership globally.