The Jewish Divorce Project Podcast

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep: 61 - The Ex-Rabbi’s Wives Club (Part 1)

This is a fantastic episode. We sit down with Eileen Ansel and Liz Marcus- two ex-wives of rabbis. With bravery, grace, and wisdom they share their experiences in divorce candidly and with humor. We talk about what it means to be seen as "other" and/or the "perpetrator" in the divorce; what true friends look like; what happens when the community disappears; the concepts of "unbinding," and "transactional memory." And we also discuss a letter Eileen wrote to a friend considering divorce after she had already been through it herself. The letter can be found on our facebook page at: The Jewish Divorce Project. Part 2 next week!

 

Eileen Ansel identifies as an adult child of her inner landscape, and of the north fork of the american river. she is a writer, poet, and internal deep diver. she has been called a zaphnath paaneah (one who reveals that which is hidden), and a ‘human emotional can-opener’. highly sensitive, intuitive, and attuned- eileen is a trauma survivor, cancer survivor, and mother- as well as the former wife of, and rebbitzen to, the number one pulpit rabbi in america. once upon a time, she was the proprietor of a show horse barn in sonoma, ran marathons as a charity fundraiser for the leukemia lymphoma society’s team in training, and was a content and literary editor for kirk douglas’s memoirs. eileen delights in homemade chocolate chip and sea salt biscotti, and feeling all the feelings available in this realm. she loves cats, architecture, listening to people’s stories, biplanes, walking in nature, and wild horses- not necessarily in that order. 

 

Liz Marcus is a full time nursing student, aspiring midwife, and mom of 3. She grew up in Boca Raton, Florida and currently resides in Riverdale, NY

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep: 60 - Off the dating apps, and back on antidepressants!

In episode 60 we talk about dating scenarios and breakthroughs. 

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep: 59 - Attachment Styles and Learning From Old Wounds

A brief but deep episode. We talk about symbols for attachments styles; and how we parent based on how we were parented.

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 58 - Divorce from a 10,000ft Perspective w/ Rabbi David Wolpe

We end 2022 right with a powerful and deep conversation with Rabbi David Wolpe, who has been divorced for 11 years. Rabbi Wolpe has a frank and honest conversation with us about divorce in his own life, how divorce impacts clergy, their spouses, dating as a rabbi, and the difference between the vision of divorce life and the reality of it.

David Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.  Author of eight books, including the national bestseller “Making Loss Matter,: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times,” Wolpe has been named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek and twice named among the 50 most influential Angelinos by LA Magazine. He has taught at a number of universities, including UCLA, Hunter college, Pepperdine and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and written for The NY Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Jerusalem Post among other newspapers and journals. Wolpe’s most recent book, “David: The Divided Heart,”  a biography of King David, was optioned for a movie by Warner Brothers. Next year he will be a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School.  

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 57: Being Thankful When You Get, Or Didn’t Get, What You Wanted

Episode 57 is our Thanksgiving special. Noam and Sheva talk about ways to respond to custody schedules over the holidays. Being without our kids can make it tough to enjoy the holidays. On the flipside, there's a whole holiday to enjoy by yourself if you so choose. And even if it's unexpected, the challenges of divorce-life have led you to a place where you really wanted to be. How then, when you got there, did you express your gratitude for how far you've come, and what it took to get there. 

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 56: The Parenting Marriage w/ Susan Pease Gadoua

In episode 56, Sheva and Noam sit down to talk with Susan Pease Gadoua and discuss the idea and practice of the “parenting marriage.” An innovative approach to staying together as a family when other elements of the relationship fail.

Susan is a licensed therapist based in the San Francisco Bay Area with expertise in helping couples connect, reconnect or disconnect in a healthy way. In 2006, Susan began helping couples shape what became known as the Parenting Marriage. Since then, Susan has helped dozens of couples transition their marriage from a love-based union to one in which raising happy, healthy kids are the primary focus. Books Susan has written include the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, Contemplating Divorce, The Parenting Marriage Workbook, and The New I Do, co-authored with Vicki Larson.

IG: changingmarriage  FB: parenting marriage FB: The New I Do

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 55: The Love Equation

Sheva and Noam get a chance t catch up with each other between special guests. We talk about managing family life, dating status, past relationships, the "love equation" and, the different ways to say "I love you," as performed by Sheva.

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep: 54 - Tara Eisenhard and Divorce Through a Child’s Eyes

In episode 54 Noam and Sheva meet Tara Eisenhard. In other episodes we've had great conversations about custody arrangements and co-parenting. But in this episode, Tara shows us what divorce is like from a child's perspective. Tara talks to us about some great ways to care for your child during divorce, and what you might say to your inner-child who suffered divorce trauma.

Tara Eisenhard helps struggling singles transform conflict and confusion into clarity, confidence, and control. She’s a child of divorced parents, an ex-wife, a “next” wife, and the previous partner of a divorced dad. Personal experience taught her that divorce is about evolution, not dissolution.

Tara works as a coach, author, mediator, and educator with a passion for healthy and happy divorces. She provides personal private coaching as well as online courses and community events. Tara is the author of the book The D-Word: Divorce Through a Child’s Eyes, the workbook, Your Bittersweet Beginning, and the blog, Relative Evolutions. She’s been interviewed for various radio and TV programs, and her writing has been featured by The Huffington Post, Divorcedmoms.com, Family Affaires, DivorceForce, Stepmom Magazine and MariaShriver.com.

You can find Tara on social media at:

Facebook.com/author.taraeisenhard

Twitter: @taraeisenhard

Instagram: @taraeisenhard

Tiktok: @divorcecoach

 

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 53: Jewish Divorce and Discovery Retreat w/ Rabbi Deborah Newbrun + Rosh Hashanah Rituals for Divorce

In episode 53 Noam and Sheva talk with Rabbi Deborah Newborn who has created the innovative Divorce and Discovery retreat. It’s a weekend long experience for Jews and Jew-adjacent folks to process and find meaning in their divorce and separation. Along with her personal journey through divorce, we discuss the need for Jewish community-based divorce programming for families and individuals.  We also talk about how Rosh Hashanah can be a great time to explore ones divorce journey and use the rituals involved to find meaning, grow, and move on from this major transition.

 

Deborah Newbrun's career as a Jewish leader (particularly in Jewish environmental education) spans more than 35 years including 24 years as Director of Camp Tawonga, four years as Hazon's Bay Area Director and serving on the founding boards of Wilderness Torah and Bay COJEL (Coalition for Jews and the Environment).

 

Deborah is a recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award. Her groundbreaking work as co author of Spirit In Nature/Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail paved the way for numerous Jewish outdoor programs for children including the Teva Learning Center. Most recently, Deborah co-founded SVARA's Queer Talmud Camp and worked with Keshet to create a curriculum that helps Jewish summer camps be welcoming and inclusive of gender non-conforming campers and staff.  Deborah has served on the faculty of many Jewish professional fellowships currently for Hineni a Jewish leadership training for LGBTQ folks. Her recent projects also include creating: Spirit In Nature Podcasts with Sarah Lefton and “Divorce and Discovery a Jewish Healing Retreat” offered in partnership with Camp Tawonga to be launched in October 2022.

Before entering the Jewish not-for-profit world, Deborah was a National Park Service Ranger. She lives in Berkeley with her wife, Rabbi Sue Reinhold PhD. Between them they have four twenty-something year old children and a beloved doodle dog.

The Jewish Divorce Project - Ep 52: Co-Parenting Expert - Tamar Burris

In episode 52 Noam and Sheva sit down with Tamar Burris, an expert co-parenting coach. Tamar generously shares her time and wisdom with us about the beauty and pitfalls, success and failures of co-parenting. All while balancing a child on her head! 

Tamar Burris is a certified relationship and co-parenting coach. She is also a certified pre-mediation counselor and New Ways for Families coach, and has published a children's book for families of divorce called "A New Special Friend," which helps introduce new romantic partners to our children. Her motto in working with two-home families and parents is: Co-parent without blame, shame, or games." 

You can find Tamar on at these links:

Website: www.tamarburris.com

Instagram: @tamarburris

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamarburris/

Twitter: @CoachTamar

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamar-burris-77644821/