Welcome to another episode of The Jews Next Dor! We have the great pleasure to hear from Professor Shoshana Schechter.

Professor Shoshana is a graduate of Stern College for Women, with a B.S. in both Judaic Studies and English Literature, and holds master’s degrees from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Columbia University School of Journalism.

Mrs Schechter is the Associate Dean of Torah Studies at Stern College for Women and the director of the Mechina program. The Mechina program, which she founded 17 years ago, accommodates students who did not receive a formal Jewish education prior to their enrollment at Stern College.

She has also taught Tanakh and English at various high schools in the New York area. She's a frequent lecturer on topics in Tanakh and has been involved in Jewish outreach programs on four continents. She lives in New Hampshire, New York, with her husband and five children.

Timestamps:

01:30 Teaching Torah in the USSR at 16

09:33 Taking ownership of your Torah

11:54 Parents as role models and Operation Moses

15:50 USSR programs after the fall of communism

20:04 Getting into formal education

27:28 Should Jewish people attend Jewish College?

30:04 Vision for the foundation of the Mechina program

34:47 Bridging academic with non-academic learning

37:14 Fostering relationships with children through learning

46:30 How to make spiritual teachings applicable?

49:44 Convicting high-school students to have relationship with HaShem

55:01 Preparing women for their parenting role

1:00:09 The flaws of the Jewish school system and how to improve it

1:05:02 Technology, information overload, and the problem of wealth

1:09:16 Balancing relationship with discipline

1:12:01 How to develop a relationship with children?

1:16:48 Developing a relationship with HaShem

1:19:33 Teaching Mechina program students

1:23:30 Wrapping up

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Welcome back to another episode of The Jews Next Dor! Rav Chaim Marcus. It is an absolute pleasure to be sitting with Rabbi Chaim Marcus who currently serves as the Rabbi of Congregation Israel in Springfield, NJ, The Director of Yeshivat Reishit’s American Office, and Rebbe at Bruriah High School for girls and Camp Kaylie. Previously, Rabbi Marcus was the S’gan Mashgiach at Yeshiva University and a Rebbe at JEC and Camp Mesorah. He is well known for inspiring his audiences (adults, teens, and children alike) to be the very best Jews that they can be.

In this episode, we discuss various parenting topics and strategies for raising children with strong Jewish values and connections to Tefillah, Shabbat, and Hashem through open communication, modeling behaviors, and finding meaningful ways to engage at different ages.

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:57 Rav Chaim Marcus’s background and family 06:13 How does Rav Chaim parent his children? 08:06 Helping kids connect to Hashem 10:26 How to talk to children about Hashem 15:02 Reasonable expectations from children 18:39 Rav Chamim’s goal as a shul rabbi 24:05 How to make shul exciting for kids? 27:13 Most common parenting issues 32:38 The advice to parents 35:59 The importance of Tefillah

Sometimes the best way to improve as a parent is by learning from our children. How do we do that? Our host, Rabbi Yair Menchel brings a lesson for this week's parenting in the Parsha to teach us this simple but fundamental answer. Good Shabbos!

Welcome back to another episode of raising the Jews Next Dor! We have the incredible opportunity to speak with Rav Yaakov Klein on spirituality.

Yaakov Klein is an author, musician, and lecturer devoted to sharing the inner light of Torah through his books, music, and lectures. Over the last 10 years, R' Yaakov has shared his passion for the Chassidic wisdom and the inner light of Torah in a plethora of educational capacities including as a teacher for the Illinois Center for Jewish Studies and Yeshivat Mevaseret Tzion, as the founding director of the Lost Princess Initiative (LPI), and as a freelance content creator and educator for many organizations.

Along with his wife and their two children, Rav Yaakov has moved to the UK to join Jewish Futures as the founding director of Eilecha, a new organization focused on creating opportunities for spiritual growth and experiential education in the local community and beyond.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:17 Moving to London and founding of Eilecha

04:49 Spirituality as a unifying essence

07:26 Allowing the soul to get revealed

12:46 The parents need to have a flame

15:00 Getting in touch with your inner flame

23:33 Stop pretending before your children

28:11 Spirituality in different stages of life

35:33 Spiritual growth in males and females

38:52 Using daily life to teach kids spirituality

43:18 Understanding God’s messages

45:02 Final message

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How do we fulfill חנוך לנער על פי דרכו in the fullest sense? How do we parent towards each child's individuality? Rabbi Yair Menchel shares an idea of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshat Bamidbar to answer these questions. Enjoy!

Welcome to another episode of The Jews Next Dor. We have the incredible pleasure of having a great conversation with Dr. Aviva Goldstein, a lecturer, family counselor, and educational consultant committed to utilizing the wisdom embedded within Judaism and positive psychology to nurture the inherent strengths of young children, adolescents, parents, families, and communities.

Parenting is never easy, but guiding children in their faith adds another layer of complexity. In this episode, Dr. Aviva Goldstein shares her best advice on having open conversations with kids about difficult topics like loss, tragedy, and unanswered questions.

Get tips for supporting children through hard times while fostering their spiritual growth. Whether you want to prevent doubts or help kids through a crisis of faith, Dr. Goldstein provides tools to strengthen a family's bond with God through any challenge.

Help your children build resilience, ask tough questions without fear, and develop stronger faith and connection to their Jewish identity and values. This episode offers ideas on nurturing spiritually confident kids who are well-equipped to face life's uncertainties.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:08 Perfectionism and resilience in this generation of children

04:41 Age-appropriate sharing of personal struggles

08:05 Being honest or shielding children in tough times

11:26 Normalizing death in children’s education

16:03 Approaching death in terms of relationship with Hashem

23:04 How to talk about bad things happening in Hashem’s world

26:24 Theory of love languages and Hashem’s unconditional love

33:27 Challenges of teenagers in relationship with Hashem

35:50 The role of parents and educators in children’s spiritual growth

39:47 Parents who don’t know how to answer children’s questions

46:36 Authoritative parenting – love within the context of limits

49:39 Distinction between Judaism and Jews

54:08 The final message

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Welcome to another episode of The Jews Next Dor! Our guest today is Rabbi Yakov Danishefsky, a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in trauma, sex addiction, couples therapy, and other life-adjustment challenges. He is also a speaker and educator for various Jewish organizations, blending spirituality, philosophy, and psychology.

Rabbi Yakov discusses how a child's earliest bonds shape their ability to relate to the divine.

He offers powerful insights that will help you gain a new understanding of how attachment styles and parenting approaches impact lifelong faith. Walk away with practical tips to strengthen your child's bond with the Infinite through everyday moments.

Tune in to uncover the keys to raising children with a deep, lasting love for Hashem and faith.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:36 The attachment theory and the relationship with Hashem

15:04 Learning to pay attention to intuition, emotions, and senses

24:20 The effects of disengaged and controlling parenting

28:37 The importance of having questions

31:08 God as a powerful, not a punishing being

36:00 How to talk to teenagers

42:41 Talking about God with a child

46:46 The importance of Shabbos experience for kids

53:14 Challenges of sexual development

55:07 God is found in the heartbeat of personal everyday life

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Check out his book here - https://a.co/d/4B1QpLI

Check out his podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3J0C9YRySOhJ1KnDjIelw6?si=dT1byW9bQhWOFNMg42oSBQ

The way our children view themselves is vital to influencing their everyday actions, and their self-esteem and confidence. How can we help our children view themselves in a more positive light? How can we help them realize and focus on the greatness within them?

Our host, Rabbi Yair Menchel, takes us through an insight from this weeks Parsha, to develop this more fundamental idea of how we, as parents, can play a vital role in this aspect of our children's development. Enjoy!