I love people and I love hearing their stories. I want to know who they are, how they got there, what didn’t go as expected, and what they did about it. That passion and curiosity led me to create “Totally Unexpected!” A podcast featuring interviews with guests who inspire me. Whether it’s the mom next door, the enlightened academic, or the maverick healer, I am here to learn about their unique contribution to our world. I’ve had my own fair share of unexpected twists and turns; a permanent ...
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Adele Beiny - Beyond Influencing: Reevaluating The Value I Deliver Online
2:03:47
2:03:47
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2:03:47Chavie and Adele kick things off by reminiscing when Chavie lived in Aidel’s childhood home in Morristown, New Jersey, as a dorm counselor. Years later, their paths crossed again when Chavie hired Adele to create a brand video to launch Chavie’s then-new blog, clearasmud.blog. Adele shares how she jumped into the workforce straight out of high scho…
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Rivkie Block - Meet My Mom: Mother, Mentor, & Chabad Pioneer
1:46:22
1:46:22
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1:46:22Chavie opens by asking her mother how she feels about Chavie sharing her life so openly on social media. They then go on to talk about the fascinating connection Rivkie’s father had with the Lubavitcher Rebbe during his time in Paris while the family was trying to emigrate to America. Chavie asks her mom how she sustains her energy and commitment t…
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Larry Cohen - Balancing Western Medicine, Eastern Healing & Nature’s Wisdom
2:05:05
2:05:05
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2:05:05Chavie opens the conversation by reflecting on how Dr. Cohen was her doctor since she was just three years old. Dr. Cohen tells the story of his family’s fascinating immigration from Europe to the Texas-Mexican border in the early 1900’s when there was still a lot of resistance to Jewish immigration in the USA. He shares how he began his medical ca…
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YY Jacobson - A Teacher’s Journey of Self-Discovery
1:55:55
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1:55:55Chavie begins the conversation by asking Rabbi YY how he manages his output of classes and public appearances while balancing personal responsibilities. Rabbi YY shares that although he has always maintained a heavy workload, he eventually realized that constantly jumping from one thing to the next can be a distraction. He shares a personal anecdot…
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Tanya Menlo-Heyman - Happy Chaos: A Journey of Self-Love & Acceptance
2:08:30
2:08:30
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2:08:30Chavie and Tanya open the conversation by exploring the tension between being perceived as popular or “cool” but not actually feeling that way inside, and the journey towards truly accepting oneself feeling “cool” from within. Tanya reflects on her upbringing in Los Angeles as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivor Sam Menlo, who helped establish …
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Mimi Minsky - Life Is the Medicine: A Jewish Take on Psychedelics
1:58:02
1:58:02
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1:58:02Chavie and Mimi talk about their shared sleep deprivation struggles, thanks to their kindred spirit, non-bedtime-conformist six-and seven-year-old daughters. Mimi shares how her idyllic childhood growing up in Miami Beach was disrupted at age ten when her nineteen-year-old brother passed away suddenly in his sleep. She reflects on the impact of exp…
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Tonia Chazanow: Of Mystics & Poets: A Tale of an Empowered Judaism
1:56:36
1:56:36
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1:56:36Chavie and Tonia connect over their shared upbringing as daughters of Chabad emissaries in Texas, reflecting on how empowering it was to carry so much responsibility from a young age. Chavie asks how Tonia maintained her creative spirit as a teenager, within a system that often values conformity, and Tonia shares how her strong intuition drew towar…
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Simi Polonsky - Facing My Fear of Being Alone
1:54:49
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1:54:49Simi Polonsky, co-founder of The Frock NYC, joins Chavie to reflect on her journey from a stable and joyful childhood in Coogee Beach, Australia to navigating the loss of her first husband, Shua, at just 31. Chavie and Simi explore whether hardship must always be the catalyst to “doing the work, and how Simi’s return to working with her sisters at …
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Lisa Schlosberg - Food is Your Friend: Reframing Trauma to Heal Your Body
1:54:42
1:54:42
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1:54:42Chavie and Lisa begin by bonding over their shared experience as podcast hosts and reflecting on Chavie’s participation in Lisa’s program. Lisa traces her path from personal trainer to certified health coach, eventually pursuing a Master’s and Doctorate in Social Work and launching a holistic and integrative health coaching business. She shares her…
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Malka Groden - Motherhood of Choice: Infertility, Adoption, Race & Everything in Between
1:52:23
1:52:23
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1:52:23Chavie and Malka begin the conversation by reflecting on their shared experience of marrying young and expecting to have children right away. They discuss the harsh reality of infertility, the emotional toll of repeated interventions, and the pivotal decision to stop and consider new options. Together, they break down the step-by-step process of ch…
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Linda Laverty - Beyond the Surface: How To Heal & Restore Our Skin
2:24:00
2:24:00
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2:24:00Chavie begins the conversation by sharing her struggles with skincare and the transformative experience that led her to Linda, forming a deep friendship along the way. Linda reflects on what it was like to be born in Hawaii, grow up in Washington State, and move to Japan with her family for middle school. She shares how, after returning to the West…
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Chaim Bruk - Rabbi Chaim’s Story: Mentorship, Growth, & Therapy
2:37:31
2:37:31
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2:37:31Chavie begins the conversation by asking Chaim about his childhood, growing up under the Rebbe’s wings in Crown Heights. He shares how idyllic it was to live in the Rebbe’s presence and how it permeated every aspect of daily life. He also reflects on some of the negative influences he absorbed as a yeshiva student, particularly the “you are with us…
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Mina Richler - Nurturing Your Creative Soul
2:36:44
2:36:44
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2:36:44Mina and Chavie begin by reminiscing about their high school days together in Chicago. Mina reflects on how her parents nurtured creativity in each of their children, inspiring her to explore photography and writing. She then shares the earth-shattering moment when, at just eight years old, she learned her brother passed away as an infant due to a …
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Brochie Spritzer - Interior Design: It Starts from Within
2:09:34
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2:09:34Brochie talks with Chavie about pausing her interior design business after having twins, which created an "empty space" for her to explore a new approach to design. She shares how she discovered Human Design, which focuses on identifying one's unique gift to share with the world and the most natural way to do so. Chavie and Brochie discuss how and …
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Michal Carlebach - Finding Your Voice Through Fashion
1:57:54
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1:57:54Chavie and Michal compare notes on growing up outside mainstream religious communities, and speaking Yiddish and Hebrew, respectively, as their first languages. Michal shares how she developed a passion for education early on and always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Chavie and Michal then discuss how although teaching might not be the most glamo…
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Sheva Givre - Hashem, Challenge Accepted!
1:36:51
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1:36:51Sheva and Chavie begin by discussing the value of dark humor as a coping mechanism for navigating life’s painful moments. Sheva reflects on her childhood, growing up in the desert of Tucson, Arizona, on a beautiful 10-acre property raised by her hippie parents. After being expelled from high school, she attended a school for troubled youth. At 15, …
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Shaina Wiess - Parenting Teens & Ourselves
1:32:41
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1:32:41Shaina and Chavie start off by reflecting on Shaina’s upbringing on Shlichus (Chabad outreach) in 1970s Los Angeles. They explore how the unique challenges of her childhood and teenage years pushed her to grow up before she had the tools to manage her emotional and mental health. As a young parent, Shaina was determined to break the cycle, so she s…
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Sheva Kastel - Faith & Fashion Aligned
2:19:24
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2:19:24In this episode, Chavie and Sheva dive into the intersection of fashion and spirituality. Sheva shares her journey from being a fashion-forward teen with limited resources to founding a spiritually-driven fashion magazine that empowers Jewish women to embrace their essence. She reflects on transforming mivtzoim, (Jewish outreach), in high school fr…
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Sarah Immerman - The Complex Emotional Lives of Our Teens
1:18:56
1:18:56
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1:18:56Sarah and Chavie begin by discussing how Sarah started journaling as a young child, which ignited her love for self-expression. They explore the tendency for kids to box themselves into labels and emphasize the importance of letting them know it’s okay to have fun and embrace who they are. The conversation shifts to the "Suffering Olympics" and hus…
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Moshe Weinbaum - What Is Emotion Code?
1:26:51
1:26:51
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1:26:51Moshe shares his journey with Chavie growing up as a shy introvert in a large family and developing a debilitating anxiety with many physical symptoms that went unexplained for years. Life took a dramatic turn when his wife had a seizure and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, propelling him into a journey of healing and self-discovery. Moshe shares …
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Shoshana Bruk - A Mother & Daughter's Adoption Journey
1:44:09
1:44:09
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1:44:09Chavie and Shoshana begin with an account of Shoshana's challenging childhood before she found a fresh start with the Bruk family in Bozeman, Montana. Shoshana shares what it was like to be the eldest of her new siblings while integrating into an observant Jewish household and community. Wanting to fully commit, she attended an all-girls Chassidic …
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Mendel Zirkind - Can Astrology Align With Traditional Judaism?
1:45:40
1:45:40
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1:45:40In this episode, Mendel tells Chavie about his first encounter with astrology on a random night in Brooklyn. A man read his chart and he was fascinated by how accurate the reading was. That set him on a journey to learn everything he could about astrology and the human psyche. Mendel also shares about how he became interested in farming as a young …
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Chana Traxler - October 7th One Year Later: First Hand Recap
1:28:54
1:28:54
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1:28:54Chavie and Chana begin by connecting over their shared Chicago connection and their mutual appreciation for living in the mountains. Chana shares how she immediately felt at home in Tzfat, Israel after attending seminary there. They also bond over embracing a variety of personal and professional talents, rather than conforming to societal expectati…
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Elisheva Liss - Sex-Ed in Traditional Jewish-Orthodox Communities
1:31:04
1:31:04
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1:31:04Chavie and Elisheva begin by discussing the challenges and benefits of creating free content on social media. Elisheva shares how her love for words started at a young age and how she always aspired to be a therapist. She eventually specialized in relationships and sexuality after noticing that very few were addressing this topic within the Orthodo…
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Sara Miriam Smith - Going On Coffee Dates With G-D
1:34:36
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1:34:36Sara Miriam Smith has a master's degree in special education and is the author of, "Are You My Mother?" Chavie and Sara Miriam talk about how they met on social media and then became friends in real-life. They discuss how hard parenting is and that instead of beating ourselves up when we make mistakes, we should believe in "our own goodness." Then,…
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Introducing: Totally Unexpected! with Chavie Bruk
2:53
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2:53Introduction to my new podcast: Totally Unexpected! I love people and I love hearing their stories. I want to know who they are, how they got there, what didn’t go as expected, and what they did about it. That passion and curiosity led me to create “Totally Unexpected!” I've had my own fair share of unexpected twists and turns; a permanent infertil…
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continue reading