M54 Podcast

Summary: In this milestone episode recorded exactly 24 years after their arrival at Brandeis University, Rabbi Peretz and Chanie Chein introduce their revolutionary new initiative: Chabad Brandeis 360°. Joined by Koby Gottlieb, a senior, they discuss this comprehensive educational program that transforms the traditional Chabad house model from hospitality-focused to education-centered. Key highlights include: The 360 Program StructureA Radical ShiftEducational vs. HospitalityPost-Graduation PreparationStudent Perspective The conversation addresses practical concerns about exclusivity, scholarships, social implications, and how this model differs from traditional Chabad House on Campus operations. The hosts emphasize that this isn't about creating barriers but rather inviting intentional commitment to Jewish growth and learning during the formative college years. This episode offers valuable insights for students, parents, and Jewish educators about innovative approaches to campus Jewish life and the evolving role of Chabad in higher education.

The M54 podcast returns with a fresh perspective on the importance of insourcing, or Avoda Pni mit, as a means of personal growth and understanding in an age overwhelmed by external influences. Chanie and Peretz reflect on their hiatus and discuss how the demanding nature of their work limited their ability to engage in podcasting. They emphasize the need for individuals to internalize wisdom rather than simply consuming external ideas, highlighting the transformative power of meaningful conversations. As they share insights from their experiences and interactions with students, they illustrate how a shift in approach can foster deeper connections and understanding. This episode sets the stage for a journey of exploration into the dynamics of personal development, curiosity, and the joy of learning together. Takeaways:

The obstacles, the stakes, the joys. What does a magical conversation that lasts through the night until 9 am, look like? Growing up and changing requires insourcing - what are the obstacles it encounters, and how to overcome them? The stakes of not growing up are huge but what emerges from change is spectacular. Learn what it looks like in this episode.

Navigating life isn't easy. Often we go, go, go and feel like we can't catch our breath. And when we do need help, we often outsource our solutions to others. Taking time to reflect on our own lives in order to gain agency is crucial. Making choices to increase our lives vibrancy doesn't need to be outsourced. Everyone can learn how to do it. This podcast will help you learn how. Thank you for listening! Chanie & Peretz

Over the past 14 months, since we published our last podcast, we have been hard at work developing, applying, and teaching the pedagogy and skills of self-reflection and growth through language and finding voice. This will be the last episode of a New Conversation with Chanie and Peretz. Moving forward our podcast will be called the Torah of Conversation! This episode, recorded in front of a live audience, is a reflective conversation on our 21 years at Brandeis and our dream for the future. The conversation is skillfully moderated by the Jacob S. Potofsky Professor Emerita of Sociology, Shulamit Reinharz. We invite you to join us in upcoming episodes as we explore the torah of conversation.

Grab a drink of your choice and join us in the Chein living room! In this episode you will hear exactly what a conversation using the three steps of ‘let-it-land’, ‘tell- me-more’, and ‘name the thing’ can sound like. Through a real conversation about concerns surrounding the upcoming Passover holiday, we move away from the abstract to explicitly model what happens when using these three tools and demonstrate how it can lead to a more productive conversation.

‘Naming the thing’ is critical in taking a conversation to a new level and greater depth. In this episode, we share what naming the thing has done to our relationships with others and each other. ‘Naming the thing’ is about putting forward what is unsaid but fully present, taking up space, or weighing heavily on either of the participants. We explore what prevents “naming the thing” and what can happen when done well.

In this episode, we share three simple words that can make any conversation deeper, more thoughtful, and more productive: Tell Me More. When you invite someone to “tell me more,” you’re inviting them to look within themselves and open up another layer to the conversation. The listener’s role becomes less about offering advice or solutions to a problem but supporting the other’s own exploration. Not only does this help the one sharing their feelings, but it also strengthens the relationship between the two in conversation.

Think about a recent conversation you had with someone. Did you find yourself formulating a response in your head before the other person finished their thought? In this episode, we talk about the value of “letting it land” - taking in what someone is offering to you in a conversation, pausing, and then engaging with a response. We also discuss how important it is to have conversations with those you love, even when a relationship feels perfectly fine as is. It is about digging deeper and opening up a richness that can only be accessed through conversation.

What prevents someone from having a conversation? Often people want easy life fixes; they turn to self-help books or TED Talks or lectures telling them how to solve their problems. This keeps someone from looking inside themselves, considering their reality, and engaging with it alongside another person. In this podcast, we discuss these conversation preventers and others. Instead of turning to others for fixes, we encourage the practice of conversation.

Chanie and Peretz continue the conversation about approaching Judaism and life from a healthy, wholesome perspective. Chanie shares what has driven her to speak on this topic - her upbringing in a community that often demanded her identity be completely centered around Jewish expectations, as well as her current roles as a mother, a wife, and a mentor. Both also share how their approach to engaging students and adults with Judaism has evolved to allow a broader discussion not based on Jewish text alone, but around one’s personal experience and one’s whole, authentic self.

In this episode, Chanie and Peretz frame an ongoing conversation about what it means to consider the interplay of life and Judaism. They suggest that for many, the demands of life can take priority, relegating Judaism to the backseat. The opposite also occurs - Judaism is the only way one knows how to approach the world, which can prevent them from taking an honest look at the dynamics in their lives and their relationships. With these possibilities, how can one live Jewishly, so to speak, through their own lens? Chanie and Peretz suggest the best way of thinking about this question is through conversation that allows for deep and honest thinking about the role Judaism plays in our lives, and vice versa. Read a full transcript of this episode here. Visit www.m54.co

The raw intimacy between a committed couple nurtures their overall relationship and also reflects it, for better or worse. In this episode we reflect on conversations we had with committed couples exploring this critical yet often insufficiently discussed topic. A video recording of this conversation can be viewed at www.M54.co. We welcome your thoughts and feedback.

In this episode titled, 'Our Narratives', we begin a new series of conversations on topics we’ve explored with various groups, or as we call them pods, in M54. Our narratives guide us through life and usually enter the room before we do. The narratives handed to us are layered with the ones we create on our own. Some we adapt and others we discard. Our navigation through them is perhaps the story of our lives. In this conversation we explore some of the dynamics that make up our narratives. A full list of topics as well as a video recording of this conversation can be found on the M54 website, M54.co. If there is a particular topic from that list that you would like us to discuss, let us know!

We've not published a podcast since the onset of Covid-19 in March. At first, like many, we were bewildered and living in a sort of haze. Then in the later weeks we began exploring something we've been dreaming of for some time. Here is that story. A video recording of this conversation can be viewed at www.m54.co.

Being in a healthy relationship with someone demands that the character of the people be present and vibrant. Paying someone to begin a relationship with Judaism taints the potency of it. In this podcast we discuss our drive and commitment to nurture people’s characters in order to be in a healthy relationship with Judaism. *OT [Our Thoughts] are episodes in which Chanie and Peretz discuss the previous episode’s conversation with a guest.

Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld is a pioneer in Jewish college student engagement who introduced a new, yet old method, to engage college students in Jewish learning. Namely, to pay them. His success has spawned other organizations, including Chabad, to imitate it. We disagree with this approach and in this episode the issue is debated.

Community is deeply formative in people's lives and how we navigate it plays a large part in forming who we are. Identifying its complexities is vital in knowing how to harness its benefits and avoid its landmines. In this episode we explore it from our personal observations and experiences. *OT [Our Thoughts] are episodes in which Chanie and Peretz discuss the previous episode’s conversation with a guest.

Listen to the story of a person belonging to a prominent Talmudic and Chassidic family, and deeply immersed in Torah learning and Mitzvot observance, whose Jewish void was filled by Chabad. For anyone who cares to understand Chabad beyond the hugs and chicken soup, his tale is a window into the undercurrent of Chabad.

Listen to the story of a person belonging to a prominent Talmudic and Chassidic family, and deeply immersed in Torah learning and Mitzvot observance, whose Jewish void was filled by Chabad. For anyone who cares to understand Chabad beyond the hugs and chicken soup, his tale is a window into the undercurrent of Chabad.