Chavie sits down with her long-distance book buddy Elin for a special episode where they review their book buddy picks but first, Elin shares what it was like growing up in Sweden, the extreme swings between dark winters and sun-filled summers, the way catching sunlight becomes a cultural priority, and how hygge isn't just a trend there but a way of survival. Elin talks about the meet-cute way she and her husband had at Ascent in Tzfat and how they ended up living and working in Kenya at the height of the HIV crisis. Chavie asks about what parenting looked like while living abroad and moving back and forth between countries. Elin talks about the devastating loss of her brother-in-law and his wife, how her niece became a permanent member of their family, and the foster care advocacy work that she is now involved with. In the second half of this conversation, Chavie and Elin go through their book buddy picks, what they loved and what they didn’t, and how reading the same books and talking about them ends up being a way of getting to know someone more deeply than you normally would.

Elin Cohen grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and lives with her family in San Francisco, California. She holds a JSD (PhD in Law) from Stanford University and works in international economic development, supporting the design and implementation of U.S. government foreign assistance programs. She very much enjoys being at home in beautiful San Francisco with her family and friends, and she also feels fortunate to travel extensively for work, to visit family, and for fun and adventures. Elin is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for youth in foster care and she is also an avid reader. She and Chavie are book buddies and frequently chat about the books they are reading together, as well as the many reflections those books spark in relation to their own lives, experiences and perspectives.

This Week's Prompt

Bar Mitzvah Culture Is Out of Hand: Yes or No?

This is a NEW segment at the end of every episode featuring voice notes from listeners with their HOT TAKES on a given prompt!

Referenced On the Pod

• 30:46 – Ascent Institute
• 1:09:19 – National CASA Program

A full list of Chavie and Elin’s book buddy picks, along with the book podcasts mentioned will be available on www.totallyunexpected.blog.

Stay in touch with Elin!

@elin.cohen on Instagram

Stay in touch with Chavie! @chaviebruk on Instagram www.totallyunexpected.blog Totally Unexpected! on Youtube

Want to sponsor or dedicate an episode? Reach out to Chavie on Instagram or by email at chaviebruk@gmail.com.

In this episode, Chavie sits down with her producer, Elie Benhiyoun, to break down what a day in the life of Chavie Bruk looks like. She walks through a recent Friday, from the moment she wakes up already feeling overwhelmed to the moment she gets into bed with a book after the last Shabbos guest leaves. She opens up about her morning routine, and how she has learned over the years to protect the things that keep her going, including exercise, a proper lunch, and therapy, even on the busiest days. Chavie breaks down her post-treadmill protein shake situation, her gluten-free bagel with lox that she somehow managed to sit down for in the middle of cooking for 70 people, and the secret hummus recipe that has become a staple of her Shabbos table. She shares what came up in her therapy session that Friday, tracing her discomfort with pressure and overwhelm back to her childhood as the oldest sibling on Shlichus. She then walks through the hours of cooking for 70 Shabbos guests, the constant interruptions, the mikvah construction happening steps from her house, and how she designs her schedule to avoid coming into Shabbos frazzled. Chavie also talks about what Friday night actually looks like, the women gathering in the kitchen before the meal, the dynamic she and her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk, have built at the Shabbos table, and which books she reaches for once the guests are finally gone.

This interview was published in written format for a collaboration with Valour Magazine. You can find the full interview in print format here: https://valourlifestyle.co.uk

Referenced On the Pod

• 3:16 Valour Magazine
• 23:42: Busy In Brooklyn

Stay in touch with Chavie! @chaviebruk on Instagram www.totallyunexpected.blog Totally Unexpected! on Youtube

Want to sponsor or dedicate an episode? Reach out to Chavie on Instagram or by email at chaviebruk@gmail.com.

Chavie sits down with Rivkah Slonim — author, lecturer, and self-described Chassidic feminist — and walks through her childhood growing up in Crown Heights in close proximity to the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, with grandparents rooted in the illustrious Kapichnitz Chassidic dynasty. Rivkah shares how she came to coin the term "Chassidic feminist" and traces it back to her early years at Chabad of Binghamton, where she was confronted with the widespread assumption that Chassidic women are oppressed, and found herself doing the research to answer questions she had never quite asked before. Chavie brings the hard questions she has collected from her community and her own life about women's place in Jewish law and tradition — including mikvah, taharat hamishpacha, and halacha's relationship with female equality. They then dig into what it means to build a community and raise a family on Shlichus, and whether self-care is a modern invention or just an age-old value with a new name. Rivkah also shares how she came to author her most recent book, Holy Intimacy — which brings the conversation about women's pleasure and Jewish marriage into the open for the first time.

Rivkah Slonim is the Associate Director of the Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University, which she co-founded with her husband, Rabbi Aaron Slonim, in 1985. A self-described Chassidic feminist, she is an internationally known lecturer and activist. She is the editor of Total Immersion: A Mikvah Anthology (Jason Aronson, 1996; Urim, 2006) and Bread and Fire: Jewish Women Find God in the Everyday, and co-author of Holy Intimacy: The Heart and Soul of Jewish Marriage with Sara Morozow. Slonim serves on the Editorial Board of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, sits on the executive boards of Tamim Academy and the Institute of Jewish Spirituality and Society, and is a senior lecturer at Bais Chanah Women International.

This Week's Prompt

What are your favorite Pesach hacks and tips?

This is a NEW segment at the end of every episode featuring voice notes from listeners with their HOT TAKES on a featured topic!

Referenced On the Pod

• 2:06:39 Chavie's blogpost on Substack about her Bubby

Links to Rivkah's books:

• Order Holy Intimacy on Amazon
• Order Total Immersion on Amazon
• Order Bread & Fire on Amazon

Stay in touch with Chavie! @chaviebruk on Instagram www.totallyunexpected.blog Totally Unexpected! on Youtube

This episode is dedicated in honor of my dear mother, Rivky Slonim, who inspires me daily. May she continue to inspire the world in good health for many more years! - Chani Levertov

Want to sponsor or dedicate an episode? Reach out to Chavie on Instagram or by email at chaviebruk@gmail.com.