Homesick for Lubavitch

Dec 01 2024 49 ep. 109 mins 35

Homesick for Lubavitch Podcast artwork

An exploration of Lubavitch identity in 2023, hosted by Bentzi Avtzon.

Religion & Spirituality

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Ep. 49 // “Shlichus Love Story” w/ Rabbi Nissen Goldman

Dec 01 2024 107 mins

Fifteen year ago, Nissen Goldman was a teenage son of a rabbi in Johannesburg, South Africa finding his own way. After leaving high school, Nissen ended up spending time in Cape Town where his sister and brother in law where on shlichus and ended up in a relationship with the daughter of their shul’s president. Fast forward fifteen years, and Nissen is on his shlichus at Univer

Ep. 48 // "From Auschwitz to Lubavitch" w/ Rabbi Nissan Mangel

Nov 24 2024 96 mins

Rabbi Nissan Mangel was ten years old when he came face to face with Dr. Joseph Mengele at the gates of Auschwitz and was miraculously spared the fate of too many others. In this episode, Rabbi Mangel shares his journey from his small childhood town in Slovakia to Auschwitz and then England and Canada where he eventually met a number of fellow Lubavitch survivors of the war who in

Ep. 47 // “Agree To Disagree” w/ Rabbi Yaakov Winner

Nov 17 2024 108 mins

Rabbi Yaakov Winner grew up in Brooklyn and has been the mashpia in Yeshiva Gedolah of Melbourne, Australia for thirty five years. In this conversation we discuss the mashpiim that most impacted Rabbi Winner as he was growing up, and how the role of a mashpia has developed over the years. We also discuss how the idea of hiskashrus and Lubavitch identity has shifted over the years

Ep. 46 // “Taking the Rebbe At His Word” w/ Rabbi Dov Yona Korn

Oct 13 2024 119 mins

Rabbi Dov Yona Korn grew up in Morris Plains, NJ in a “very Reform” Jewish family and is today the shliach in NYU and several other schools in the Bowery district of NYC. In this episode, we discuss his discovering Chabad in the months after the Rebbe’s passing and the difference this timing made in his own understanding of the Rebbe and Lubavitch. We also discuss how the R

Ep. 45 // "Painting The Truth I See" w/ Mendel Treitel

Oct 06 2024 126 mins

Mendel Treitel grew up on shlichus in Montreal and is today a modern art painter living in Sydney. In this episode, Mendel shares his journey through yeshiva and how a number of special teachers helped him reconcile his artistic disposition with the norms of the Yeshiva. We discuss the challenges in being both a chossid and an artist, the question of individuality and how the art a

Ep. 44 // "Rosh Hashana 5785" w/ Rabbi Yosef Katzman

Sep 29 2024 165 mins

Rabbi Yosef Katzman grew up and lives in Crown Heights, where for many years he hosted the "Cable to Jewish Life" television show. In this episode, Rabbi Katzman reflects on different pivot points through the years and how these relate to the community's changing attitude towards asking questions. He also reflects on Rosh Hashana "back in the day" and where this leaves us going int

Ep. 43 // "The Narrative of Chassidus" w/ Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

Sep 22 2024 94 mins

Rabbi Naftali Silberberg grew up on shlichus in Detroit and today lives in Crown Heights where he is the co-director of curriculum for JLI and host of the Let's Talk Tanya podcast. In this episode, we trace Naftali's years in yeshiva that took him to Oholei Torah in the late 80s and then to Kfar Chabad, where he discovers a life long love - almost despite the yeshiva - for

Ep. 42 // "The Rebbe's Doctor" w/ Rabbi Michoel Seligson

Sep 15 2024 125 mins

Rabbi Michoel Seligson is a teacher and author who lives in Crown Heights. He is also the son of Dr. Avrohom Abba Seligson, a"h, who was known as the Rebbe's doctor. In this episode, Rabbi Seligson shares his father's amazing story of becoming a doctor as a frum Jew in pre-war Europe, his escape to Shanghai and the role he played in saving the Jewish refugees over the

Ep. 41 // "More Needs To Be Demanded" w/ Rabbi Levi Avtzon

Sep 08 2024 127 mins

Rabbi Levi Avtzon grew up in Crown Heights and lives today in Johannesburg, South Africa where he is a rabbi at the Linksfield Synagogue. In this episode we continue the conversation in recent episodes about the tension between the soft and demanding voices in our community. We discuss the changing narratives in the Lubavitch community and how past demand for conformity has now g

Ep. 40 // "May We See The Rebbe" w/ Mrs. Tzivia Jacobson

Sep 01 2024 119 mins

Mrs. Tzivia Jacobson grew up in in the 1930s in a Lubavitch family in Kutaisi, Georgia under Soviet rule. Nobody in her family had ever seen a picture of the Rebbe at that point, let alone met him, but every night her mother would put her to bed with a blessing that one day they would see the Rebbe. Her family would eventually escape the USSR and make their way to Brooklyn where