Life is Rich Dishing Tradition Bonnie Rich & Leah Rich

Bonnie’s daughter, Leah Rich, takes over the podcast this week. She’s in search of advice on how to spice up her wardrobe from her always fashionable Bubbie, Florene Bernstein (that would be Bonnie’s mom). And in true Bubbie fashion the conversation takes a turn to life advice, funny family stories and a sprinkle of kvelling.

Our podcast graphic is from Leah’s bat mitzvah in 2005.

Bonnie talks to Matchmaker Rabbi Tamara Miller about finding the perfect match for Bonnie’s 30-year old daughter. As Rabbi Tamara says, “Marriage is a serious business, but the pathway there should be fun.” And she delivers with song, story and a Yiddish lesson.

We are at day 42 of the 40-day practice. Bonnie and the girls are surprised at how fast it’s gone and how little ground they’ve covered. They each assess the effect of the journey and talk about the chesed or loving-kindness practice that Bonnie assigned. Bonnie and Leah talk about wonder and awe and Rebecca adds her own special insight. Have lives been changed? Is this really the end? Will they still video chat weekly?

We are at day 30-ish of the 40-day practice. Leah travels to Malibu for a Life is Rich screening at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue. It’s her first Q & A without her mom and she’s dishing on that experience. Life gets real for both Bonnie and Leah, and they talk about how to handle soul sucking diversions.

We are at the midway point in the 40-day practice. Bonnie and Rebecca talk about the power of daily gratitude in the form of the prayer Modeh Ani. Plus they discuss the power of shira (song) and later in the episode Rabbi Shira Stutman answers Bonnie’s question as to if the Torah is the ultimate self-help book. Bonnie and Leah address the troubling theme in the Passover story of the tenth plague and God smiting children. They also have a contest as to who is more woo woo, and take a throwback tangent to yoga camp. 

Last week, Bonnie tried to add some light and childhood play to the 40-day practice. But Leah and Rebecca found a dark side to the exercises. How will mom and daughters sort through the imperfect art of working together creatively and spiritually?