Craig Kohn was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as a child. Many people would have kept that as private as possible. Craig chose to speak openly about it, and in doing so he took what could have been a lifelong challenge and turned it into a blessing, for himself and for a great many others.

Today he is a life coach and advocate who has helped countless people on the autism spectrum find their footing, build real friendships, and live with independence and dignity. He founded TeamAutismpedia to bring that same guidance to families and communities everywhere.

What strikes me most is that Craig's wisdom is not only about autism. It is about how any of us connect, how we understand one another, and how we make room for people who see the world differently. I think we all have something to learn from that.

In January 2024, three months into the war, Daniella Hellerstein took that office in her Modi’in business center and turned it into Beineinu Podcast Studio. David told her she was crazy. Two years later, many hundreds of episodes have been recorded in that room, by soldiers, by bereaved families, by people who just needed to tell their story.

In this episode: the hallway encounter between an outspoken guest and a host who can’t stand him. The sticker board in her studio that is now full, and why a full board brings such mixed emotions. Whether a podcast audience can ever really be a kehilla.

And the hardest question of all: the same medium that let Israel finally speak for itself gave our worst critics their biggest platform. Is there anyone Daniella would refuse to let record? Where is the line, and who draws it?

What started as a business became a mission.

Few voices have carried the weight of this moment like Rabbi Doron Perez. The President of the World Zionist Organization and Chair of World Mizrachi, Rav Perez is also the father of Captain Daniel Perez הי״ד, who fell defending Israel on October 7th and whose body was held in Gaza for 163 days before being brought home for burial.

In this episode of Defining Moments, Rabbi Perez sits down with Rabbi David Fine for a conversation that begins, as it should, with Daniel. Who he was, what shaped him, and what the rest of us can learn from the way he lived and the choice he made on his final morning. From there, Rav Perez opens up about what it means to hold pain and privilege, חדווה and חרדה, in the same heart at the same time. Not as a contradiction to be resolved, but as the truest description of Jewish life in this hour. We also turn to the hard questions about Klal Yisrael, the Israel-Diaspora relationship, and the unity we have to fight for even when we disagree.

A conversation about one son, one people, and one heart big enough for both joy and grief.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​