America's Top Rebbetzins

Vera Kessler
  • 4.9 (10)
  • JUDAISM
America's Top Rebbetzins

Powerful interviews with inspiring rebbetzins who share words of wisdom designed to instill purpose in our lives. Each rebbetzin offers her own unique insights on living a life filled with clarity and meaning.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Rebbetzin Tehilla Birnbaum--The Torah Approach to Physical, Mental and Spiritual Wellbeing

    In this lively conversation with Rebbetzin Tehilla Birnbaum, we talk about the Torah approach to physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. We learn to understand WHY it is so important for us to care for ourselves in these realms, since they all affect each other. The age old question is..."Am I a body, or am I a soul?" The answer is both. The body is a vessel that contains our soul. Since our body is a vessel that contains our soul, we need to take the best care of it possible. We need to incorporate physical activity into our lives. We need to sleep properly, make sure that we have good physical hygiene (like bathing daily and brushing our teeth at least twice a day), we need to take the time to get dressed properly so that we are put together. We use our physical being to elevate ourselves spiritually. Our thoughts and emotions also play a large role in the way we perceive the world and elevate ourselves. When we are able to look at a situation in a positive light and show gratitude for the blessings, and also the challenges, in our lives, we elevate ourselves emotionally and mentally. Focusing on the positive in people, situations, and circumstances promotes clarity of the mind. When our mind is clear, we can make good decisions. We can keep ourselves spiritually healthy through prayer. It could be through traditional written prayer like you find in a siddur (prayer book) or Tehillim (psalms), or it could be through having a conversation with G-d in your own words (hitbodedut.) By speaking with G-d in your own language throughout the day, our soul is in constant connection with Him. We begin to feel calm and protected. To be connected to Rebbetzin Tehilla Birnbaum, please email Vera Kessler, host of America's Top Rebbetzins at: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    42 min

  2. JAN 28

    Dr. Adrienne Youdim--Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound: Is One of These Medications Right For You?

    Are you looking to lose weight--5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 50 pounds or more? Are you wondering if Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound, the big names in weight loss drugs at the moment, might be right for you? Who qualifies for these medications and what are the side effects? In this comprehensive conversation with Dr. Adrienne Youdim, board certified physician specializing in clinical nutrition and obesity medicine, we get the inside scoop. We learn that these drugs were formulated specifically with health outcomes, not aesthetic outcomes, in mind. In other words, people do lose weight on these drugs, but they were specifically designed for people with certain health conditions, such as diabetes. Dr. Youdim talks about GLP-1 semaglutides and their effects on the body. She explains that they slow down the digestion of food in your gut, keeping you feeling full for longer periods of time, thereby curbing your appetite. This helps fight obesity. Dr. Youdim also explains that since these drugs are directed to function in the gut, the side effects are also felt in the gut. Side effects include, but are not limited to diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, and, in some cases, pancreatitis. You will hear Dr. Youdim speak beautifully about a mind, body and soul approach to medicine, including weight loss. She emphasizes that nothing is without a cost; there is a cost to taking action, and there is a cost to not taking action, when it comes to your health. Dr. Youdim's TED Talk can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AFpeEOeEZVg Dr. Youdim's book, Hungry for More can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-More-Stories-Science-Inspire/dp/0578875632/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2G7ZWPMWL46FR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.78U2LlbpNiwLNjROfhnPj6JWABK7hu10MktR8CPD4JMuKLf6DA3Dqbex8sq1VWhH.e2tjG3HwVxDg2juoMVzbkPcZn96yEs2_78KktZiNmgU&dib_tag=se&keywords=hungry+for+more+youdim&qid=1738091582&sprefix=hungry+for+more+youdim%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-1 To be connected to Dr. Youdim, please email Vera Kessler, host of America's Top Rebbetzins at atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    41 min

  3. JAN 9

    Rebbetzin Lisa Babich--The Influence of Social Media on Adults and Children

    Did you grow up with an iPhone? Were you able to message on Instagram with your best friend in middle school? Was Facebook your primary source of interaction in high school? Many of us grew up at a time where if we wanted to socialize with our friends, we walked over the their house, sat next to them in the cafeteria at school, or called them on their landline phone from our landline phone (or maybe even from a payphone!) Times have changed so much, and the new generation of children are growing up with iPhones, iPads, cell phones, and access to an entire array of social media sites and apps. It's not just our children who have access to these platforms, it is adults, as well. We are role models for our children in the way we use social media. In this honest and sincere conversation with Rebbetzin Lisa Babich, the rebbetzin of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City, we talk about both adult and child usage of social media. As adults, we need to be mindful about the content we are posting. We also want to be balanced so that we don't overpost or overshare. Before posting anything, we need to ask ourselves, "What is the intention of my post?" or "What is my goal in posting?" We need to check in with ourselves to make sure that we are not bragging and showing off, keeping in mind that other people might get hurt or offended by what we post. Rebbetzin Lisa shared a passage from the Torah that speaks about how when the Israelites were camping in the dessert, the openings of their tents were turned away from each other in order to give each person and family their privacy. Not everything is for public consumption. We also have to make sure that we are not obsessed with the number of "likes" we receive for our posts. We need to have inner confidence, regardless of how many "likes" or "views" we receive. Inner confidence leads to true happiness. Rebbetzin Lisa also spoke about having open communication and conversations with your children and spouse about social media, and setting social media limits and boundaries for kids and teens. Contact: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    34 min

  4. JAN 6

    Davira Reichman Bareli--The Truth about Homeopathy

    Do you suffer from back pain? Headaches? ADD/ADHD? COVID? Do you need to lose weight? Do you really want heal from anxiety and depression? Homeopathy may be the solution! And it's not new...homeopathy is actually mentioned in the Torah! In this engaging interview with homeopath and yoga instructor, Davira Reichman Bareli, we discover what homeopathy is, and how it works to heal ourselves. Homeopathy takes into account the entire person. It is is holistic--treating the person, not the symptoms or the diagnosis. Two people can have the same illness, but require different remedies. Before prescribing a remedy, Davira takes into account a person's symptoms, how a person thinks, how they feel, their family environment, their stressors, their physical features, their medical history, and many other things that gives the full picture of the person, so that the right homeopathic remedy can be prescribed. In terms of the right remedy, Davira explains that LIKE CURES LIKE. For example, intermittent heat treat burns. Davira explains how! We learn from this conversation that homeopathy uses the dormant energy in natural substances to heal a person so that they can bring out the best in themselves and perform their unique role in healing the world. To be connected with Davira, please email atrebbetzins@gmail.com (I'm sorry that the conversation cut off at the end due to technical difficulties.)

    44 min

  5. 12/16/2024

    Malka Sima Pais-Connecting to the Light of Your Soul Changes Your Reality

    There is a deep connection between our body, our mind, and our soul. The cells in our body hold our consciousness; our traumas, our negativity. Our body always tells the truth. Quite often we are so busy in our heads with our to-do lists, places we need to go, people we need to call/email/text. Malka Sima Pais helps us to get out of our heads and into our bodies. She helps us stop surviving and start thriving. Malka Sima offers a compassionate, safe space for women, both one-on-one and in community, to tune into the wisdom of their body and soul. She is a somatic and movement therapist, certified Shake Your Soul dance instructor, and Director of the Moonlit Circle. She is also the outreach coordinator of the Purim High Council. You can reach her through her website at https://www.malkasima.com/ We start off our conversation with an empowering somatic healing technique to relax our nervous system and gets us out of our head and into our body. She speaks to us about tuning into our soul and shedding Divine light onto our consciousness. When we connect to the true light of our soul, we are able to change our reality and thereby improve our quality of life. When we listen to ourselves and to what we are feeling, we tune into the wisdom of the soul. We shine light onto our pain, and we see ourselves, really see ourselves. Healing is achieved when we shine love, light and compassion on ourselves. Contact: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    46 min

  6. 12/04/2024

    Miriam Racquel Feldman--The Secret Wisdom of Your Mind, Body, and Emotions

    Have you ever wondered why you keep getting migraines? Why your back is constantly in pain? Why your stomach always hurts or why your body aches? Your body is "speaking" to you through the pain...and it has a lot to say! Miriam Racquel Feldman is a somatic healer, trauma and anxiety specialist, relationship coach, and the author of the book, Somatic Healing for the Modest Goddess. In our conversation, Miriam explains how our thoughts and emotions affect our body, and the different messages that our bodies are trying to tell us. In fact, the cells of our body can hold emotions from traumas that happened 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years ago! Those emotions manifest themselves as pain in our body! In Miriam Racquel's book, Somatic Healing for the Modest Goddess, she starts off with a strategy for for releasing stress, anger, sadness, fear, or any other negative emotion BEFORE it has the opportunity to cause pain in the body. The strategy is called the ROAR! method. ROAR! is an acronym--R for Rip, O for Open, A for Action, and R for Release. She speaks about each of these steps in detail. Miriam Racquel's book is divided into different sections, and is categorized according to topics such as self-care, dating, marriage, parenting, and parnassah (making money/career). In our conversation, Miriam Racquel and I talk about issues that arise in these different areas of our lives, and what we can do to prevent the stress, angst, and confusion from penetrating into our bodies and causing us harm. Remember, we are souls in bodies. We need to figure out what messages our bodies are giving to us, and then we need to pay attention to those messages-don't ignore them! You need to dive into your feelings in order to heal them. If you would like to purchase Miriam Racquel's book, Somatic Healing for the Modest Goddess, please click here: https://www.amazon.com/Somatic-Healing-Modest-Goddess-Anthology/dp/1737745429/ref=sr_1_6?crid=O8ZDQO1448MG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.M-pyaZn8t6CgTtbpbgQCtjxaHbnnlSBlaY2FWVcx251r6hoTZCRsx566o5gYYOycxe8PB5uXAtvIg6uYjLRE-VLZf937nbLPWsa0HFLgpWymi0YeF9QHEUE-OBIbvASSmZ2Pt-K_Tcf3Xvt-9iNI51DXfOwbIi1j6VJo2n6O_RyOb25YbW_W9g5p0V3BivfQ4btBesP3xKYo53RiRortK3R1xlvSj7S3FE9rU4kiBM0.8xsFwwmxD5WCZU2Ql9qGhFFYCwRUdejaS292b2TyQUI&dib_tag=se&keywords=somatic+healing+for+the&qid=1733278967&sprefix=somatic+healing+for+the%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-6 If you would like to reach Miriam Racquel for one-on-one coaching or to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website at: https://www.miriamracquel.com/ Contact: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    45 min

  7. 12/02/2024

    Rebbetzin Chavie Bruk--My Personal Journey of Adopting Five Children

    If you have ever considered (or are now considering) adopting a child (or multiple children), this is the conversation for you! Rebbetzin Chavie Bruk, and her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk, founded Chabad Lubavitch of Montana in Bozeman, in 2007. Soon afterward, Rebbetzin Chavie was diagnosed with infertility. She was 23 years old. During our discussion, Rebbetzin Chavie shares her story about what it was like for her to adopt five children; how she felt when she adopted her first child, and why she and her husband decided to adopt more children. She tells us not to limit Hashem (G-d.) He is capable of giving to us in abundance. We should never decide for Hashem what He will give us or how much He will give us. Rebbetzin Chavie also opens up about the ups and downs of motherhood, and how raising adopted children is different that raising biological children. She tells us that every parent has a unique situation, so we shouldn't compare and despair. Instead, we should find a support group of people who are going through something similar to us so that we can be strengthened by each other's support. Rebbetzin Chavie has a fun blog called, Clear As Mud, which can be found by clicking this link: https://www.totallyunexpected.blog/ She also has a podcast called Totally Unexpected, which you can listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else that podcasts are found. Contact: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    50 min

  8. 11/20/2024

    Devorie Kreiman-Our Circumstances Are NOT a Mistake; It's All on Purpose. Seeing Joy Through Pain

    The struggle is real! We are all going through some type of turmoil--financial crisis, health issue, dealing with difficult people, losing a loved one, or any other challenge that we are facing. Devorie Kreiman, an inspirational lecturer and writer on the power of faith, humor and joy, lost 5 of her 8 children. Four of the children passed away as babies from a generic disorder, and her son, Yossi, passed away at the age of 23 in a SCUBA diving accident. Devorie shares her personal story of loss and grief, and what she has learned through her own struggles. It was so refreshing to hear her humanity as she was telling her story; the ups and downs of how she was feeling. She shared the moments of laughter that she experienced among the pain. When you heal, you need to be real with yourself; the good, the bad and the ugly. You need to take time, privately, to be with yourself without distractions like food, television, music, or cell phones. It is so important to tell the story of what you went through, even if you are just telling it to yourself. You need to be real and raw. Whatever emotion you are feeling is ok. Devorie emphasizes that our circumstances are not a mistake; it's all on purpose. There is no such thing as an accident. Hashem provides us with everything we need at all times. She notes that it is important to remember that we are souls in human bodies, and we have the struggle of two kings inside of us--the struggle of human desires vs. the struggle of the soul who constantly wants to be spiritually uplifted. We have to remember that both are important, and both are real. Devorie emphasizes the we are all souls who came into this world to fulfill a mission. What we say and what we do matters. It's the same with our davening. Sometimes when we are grieving, and we need to feel the closest to Hashem, that is when we find ourselves pushing Him away the most. In this situation it is important to realize that the words of davening that you say right now WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. This is true even if you are not a davener; even if you have never prayed before in your life. The words of prayer that you say RIGHT NOW WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. You need to feel it to heal it! If you would like to read Devorie Kreiman's book, Even If I'm Not, you can purchase it through this link: https://www.amazon.com/Even-if-Not-Devorie-Kreiman/dp/B0BFJSZY7Q Contact: atrebbetzins@gmail.com

    50 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Powerful interviews with inspiring rebbetzins who share words of wisdom designed to instill purpose in our lives. Each rebbetzin offers her own unique insights on living a life filled with clarity and meaning.

Information

  • Creator
    Vera Kessler
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    174
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Vera Kessler
  • Show Website
    America's Top Rebbetzins

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