NYJM - Not Your Jewish Mother

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We are, Elianna Yolkut and Tova Leibovic-Douglas, here exploring what it means to be rabbis, mothers and women in the world. Each week we will laugh and think together about the wisdom we learn in our everyday lives as rabbis, parents and humans bringing

Elianna Yolkut and Tova Leibovic-Douglas


    • Sep 22, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 32m AVG DURATION
    • 56 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from NYJM - Not Your Jewish Mother

    Season #4.....An Announcement

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2023 10:17


    Season #3 Final Episode - Musings

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2023 28:14


    Season #3 Episode 16 Rabbi- what does it meant to be a rabbi today?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2023 35:55


    Season #3 Episode 15 On Women's Bodies and Violence

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2023 33:53


    Season #3 Episode 14: Parenting Peer Pressure

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2023 39:51


    Season #3 Episode 13 Passover Episode!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2023 31:34


    Season #3 Episode 12 Special Guest: Rabbi Sharon Brous

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2023 36:29


    rabbi sharon brous
    Season #3 Episode 11 On Breastfeeding

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2023 44:16


    Season #3 Episode 10: Bodies

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 36:48


    Season #3 Episode 10 A New Judaism

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2023 42:12


    Season #3 Episode 9 - Mental Health and Our Kids

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2023 42:10


    Season #3 Episode 8 The Juggle

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2022 39:15


    Season 3 Episode 7 The Anxiety of Parenting or Parental Anxiety

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2022 48:47


    Parenting can be the source of deep anxiety - how do Tova and Elianna cope with the worries, tension and all around culture of anxiety 

    Season 3 Thanksgiving Bonus Mini-Episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2022 22:39


    Happy Thanksgiving from Tova and Elianna

    Special Guest: Rabbi Nicole Guzik

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2022 44:02


    Elianna, Tova and special guest, Nicole Guzik who is the incoming co-senior rabbi at Sinai Temple chat about all the things!

    rabbi guzik sinai temple
    The Episode We Wish We Didn't Have to Do: Anti-Semitism

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2022 39:23


    Failure of Our Educational Systems: This Time Hasidic

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2022 33:04


    Elianna and Tova discuss the recent New York Times piece revealing the lack of general education, abuse and trauma  in some  of the Hasidic schools in New York. They discuss their personal thoughts and feelings on educational systems. They conclude with a beautiful Poem by Nikita Gill. 

    Season 3 Episode 3 - Harried Parenting and Joyous Sukkot!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2022 41:26


    Where we explore why we feel so harried and overwhelmed - is it us? Being a parent of young-ish children? Societal challenge?

    Season 3 Episode 2 - The High Holiday Edition

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2022 39:03


    Season 3 Episode 1-Is Covid Over?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2022 41:12


    Bloopers and Season 3 Trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2022 9:03


    Season 2 Episode 20 - Special Guest Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2022 46:04


    Season #2 Episode 19 - Sacred Rest

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2022 35:21


    Sabbatical. Rest. Breathe. How do we connect to the notion of radical rest - finding space to breathe and find room to connect to ancient notion of stopping. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/opinion/teach-children-to-be-lazy.html

    Season 2 Episode 18 - On Women, Society and Ally-ship

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2022 32:21


    Passover: All The Things

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2022 32:11


    Elianna and Tova discuss this important holiday and all that it brings up. This episode also has some great tips on ways to make the seder feel as welcoming and creative as possible. 

    Hunt. Gather. Parent

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 36:00


    Bonus Reflections on 100 Years of Bat Mitzvah

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 8:24


    Special Guest #2 Rabbi Sari Laufer

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2022 39:06


    Join Tova and Elianna for a wide ranging conversation with colleague and friend Rabbi Sari Laufer. 

    Deconstruction and Reconstruction

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 31:49


    There is a great deal of change happening in the jewish world between congregations in search of rabbis, major jewish establishments selling their property and everything in between. We discuss the deconstruction and reconstruction of this Jewish institutional life and the possibilities of the moment. 

    Surface Pressure: Carrying Expectations, Untangling Burdens and Creating Joy

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 32:54


    Using the beautiful song from Encanto, Surface Pressure, Tova and Elianna wonder how do we manage the demands of modernity? Society asks us to juggle so much and seek out perfection in every aspect of who we are -- what do we loose as a consequence and how do Tova and Elianna experience this tension and try to create space for more joy and less pressure.  https://www.google.com/search?q=surface+pressure+lyrics&oq=surface+pressure+l&aqs=chrome.0.35i39j69i57j0i433i512j46i512j0i512j69i60l3.4623j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 

    Season 2 Episode 12: After Text - Reflections on Anti-Semitism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2022 35:32


    Based on this article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/texas-synagogue-anti-semitism-conspiracy-theory/621286/Elianna and Tova discuss some reflections on Anti-Semitism today, where we have been and where we are going...

    Season #2 Episode 11- Facing Covid in the New Year

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2022 35:40


    Processing The Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2021 36:09


    In this episode Tova and Elianna discuss the origin story of NYJM and what this process brings up for each of them. 

    Season #2 Episode 9: The Good Enough Mother

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2021 32:24


    good enough mother
    Special Guest: Rabbi Shira Stutman

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2021 39:28


    This is our first special guest! Tova and Elianna interview Shira on the many journeys: her rabbinate, jewish-spiritual life, parenthood and more! Rabbi Shira Stutman is a nationally known faith-based leader and change-maker with more than twenty years of experience motivating and inspiring groups large and small, most recently as the founding rabbi of Sixth & I in Washington DC. She teaches and speaks nationally on topics including growing welcoming Jewish spiritual communities; building the connective tissues between different types of people; and the current American Jewish community zeitgeist. She also is writing a book on the blessing of interfaith couples. Next month, she and the actor Joshua Malina will launch the PRX podcast “Chutzpod,” which aims to provide Jewish answers to life's contemporary questions and help listeners build lives of meaning. She was named one of “America's Most Inspiring Rabbis” by The Jewish Forward, among other awards. She graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. 

    america washington dc jewish rabbi sixth shira prx american jewish joshua malina reconstructionist rabbinical college
    Not An Episode Trailer for Special Release

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2021 3:45


    Season 2 Episode #7 - Scenes from a Marriage

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2021 38:45


    A bonus mini episode on wellness, sports and Jews

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2021 12:39


    Tova and Elianna discuss their connection to wellness and sports as players and spectators. 

    What's it like to be a female rabbi? Our smashing the patriarchy series continues

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2021 32:51


    Elianna and Tova continue the series on smashing the patriarchy and discuss their personal experiences of being female rabbis. 

    Season 2 Episode 4: Small Animals - Parenting in the Age of Fear

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2021 34:29


    In this episode Tova and Elianna explore the nooks and crannies of parenthood in a world that at times seem scary and dangerous and ask how should we think about our parenting and how much risk we are willing to take and teach our kid. 

    fear parenting small animals
    Season 2 Episode 3: Feminism, Identity and A Touch of Smashing the Patriarchy

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2021 30:24


    Where Tova and Elianna discuss what Feminism means (or doesn't) to them. 

    Season 2 Episode # 2: Another High Holiday Pandemic: How To Gather In This New Old Reality

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2021 30:08


    Join Rabbis Elianna Yolkut and Tova Leibovic Douglass as they explore how to think of gathering, spirituality and life during a sacred season for a second year of pandemic living. 

    Season 2 Episode 1: Thinning Break Pads - Being in the World During Difficult Times

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2021 29:12


    The second season opens as we discuss how we cope when the world feels like it is falling apart, when we are stuck, when we despair and trying to find the light. 

    NYJM Season Two Trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2021 0:59


    Welcome back to season two of NYJM! This is a podcast with rabbis, two women and two mothers  (Elianna Yolkut Tova Leibovic-Douglas) discussing spirituality, judaism, parenthood and how it all intersects. This season you can expect some tears, laughter, disagreement and special guests. 

    Episode 10: Finale! Our Rabbinic Origin Stories.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2021 44:18


    Join Tova and Elianna for an intimate conversation on how they became rabbis - what inspires their rabbinates, what is challenging for them as rabbis and the sparks of their rabbinic vision.

    Episode #9: On Boundaries, Protecting Wellness and the Work of Changing Systems

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2021 31:46


    Join as we explore what it means to say no in a public and private way. How do women confront the reality of a system set up for constant production even to our determinant. A story about Star Wars and a piece of Torah wisdom on Good and Evil Inclination. 

    Episode #8: Pride Month - What Does It Mean To Identify As Queer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2021 38:29


    An exploration of identity during this season of offering love and acceptance to all. 

    Episode #7 On Parenting and Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 35:03


    Episode #6 Murky Waters: A reflection on Israel-Palestine

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2021 42:01


    Tova and Elianna reflect on the role of rabbis during this painful moment. They both, as usual, have different opinions and thoughts and bring their personal reflections to this episode. This is a hard topic and we at NYJM recognize that many of our listeners will have different thoughts and feelings on this. Our goal as always is to create a space which at the heart contains discourse, human to human and soul to soul conversation. Article/Letter Discussed:https://forward.com/scribe/469900/my-rabbinical-students-letter-shows-imbalance-and-a-lack-of-empathyfor/https://forward.com/scribe/469583/gates-of-tears-rabbinical-and-cantorial-students-stand-for-solidarity-with/

    Not Really An Episode

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2021 1:39


    Episode #5 On Education

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2021 33:20


    In this episode Elianna and Tova focus on education. They discuss the power of amazing teachers, their personal thoughts on education and the purpose of school and conclude with an amazing rabbinic story related to the theme. 

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