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PODCAST

Totally Unexpected!

Join Chavie as she discovers the one totally unexpected moment in her guests’ lives that changed everything. These are real stories about pain, joy, and struggle, the moments that make us human. Chavie is obsessed with personal growth and doesn"t shy away from the hard conversations. She covers topics like Jewish astrology, parenting taboos, health and wellness, adoption, race, and sexuality inside the Orthodox Jewish community and beyond. Chavie Bruk is a mother of five adopted children and the

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

147:17

Yocheved Shapiro: A Parent’s Guide to School Advocacy

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/01/26

Yocheved shares her background growing up in a loud, opinionated family as the quieter sibling sandwiched between strong personalities, and how her parents’ journey as baalei teshuva (people who became religious later in life) — including her father returning to school for a master’s in education — shaped her identity as an educator. Chavie and Yocheved compare birth order dynamics, with Chavie as the oldest of nine and Yocheved navigating not knowing where she fit, and how that later informed

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138:24

Yocheved Sidof: Straddling the Edges of Faith & Healing

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/01/12

Chavie and Yocheved start by bonding over their shared experiences navigating parenting struggles and challenges. Yocheved unveils her family’s roots in Iran, including the persecution and faith of the Mashadi Jewish community, and how her parents’ immigration to the United States eventually brought them into the Chabad community in Minnesota. Chavie and Yocheved talk about their shared curiosity about the human mind, and Yocheved reflects on being drawn to both Chassidus and psychology from a young

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138:15

Abi Radcliffe: Are Vulnerability & Authenticity the...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/12/29

Chavie and Abi start off discussing how important it is to be selective with friendships as adults in order to preserve emotional bandwidth for deeper relationships. Abi shares her experience moving between Chabad and non-Chabad schools and how she was always drawn to creativity from a young age, from tinkering with Barbie clothing and scarves to studying fashion in school. She talks about working in retail fashion, stepping back to raise her children, and later joining a children’s wear store in

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136:26

Chevee Szokovski: Where Do I Fit In?

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/12/15

This week, Chavie welcomes her lifelong bestie, Chevee Szokovski, to the pod. They start by rewinding the clock to their high school days in Chicago. Chevee shares that she never quite fit in with the popular cliques going back to grade school and that she often felt socially isolated in high school as well. Chavie and Chevee dive into what it’s like to forgive childhood bullies while still carrying the scars they left behind. They reminisce about their seminary days and what life was like living in

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144:09

BrookeLynne Dukes: Parenting Without Shame

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/12/01

Chavie and BrookeLynne dive into all things parenting in this episode. BrookeLynne shares how a Chicago girl like her ended up with a name like Brookelynne. She talks about excelling in grade school, then running into challenges in the magnet school she attended, and later in college, where she discovered that the standardized educational system wasn’t the best fit for her. Through it all, she still got a master’s in early childhood education. Chavie and BrookeLynne talk about normalizing parenting

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126:54

Aura Rosenblatt: The Creative Rhythm of Spirit & Soul

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/11/17

Aura starts off by sharing her experience working behind the camera as a makeup artist to Hollywood’s stars. Chavie asks Aura if there was a conflict between being a creative in the artistic mecca of fashion while straddling her identity as a religious Jew. They talk about Aura’s beginnings in the colorful, lively home of her legendary parents, Rabbi Shlomo and Olivia “Schwartzy” Schwartz. Chavie and Aura also explore the dynamics of dating within the Chabad world, including Aura’s story of dating

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129:54

Gitty Hecht: How I Decided to Call Chabad Home

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/11/03

In this conversation, Chavie and Gitty start off by exploring Gitty’s unique childhood, going from a Modern Orthodox school to a Bais Yaakov and constantly having to juggle the subtle social dynamics. As a child of immigrants, her parents always demanded excellence and went to great lengths to make sure Gitty had the tools to succeed. Gitty talks about getting married right out of seminary, how she started a jewelry and accessories business after moving to Lakewood, and how she intuitively saw the

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125:58

Esty Prus: From Wig Styling to Tanya Teaching

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/10/20

In this conversation, Chavie and Esty bond about the joys of school finally being in session after a far-too-long, in their very frank opinion, summer break. They talk about how important it is to acknowledge that while they may be imperfect moms, they are the perfect moms for their children. Chavie and Esty share deeply moving and hilarious life hacks from their grandmothers, who were the original models for today’s “self-care” trend. Esty shares about her life journey from being a teenager who

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114:50

Yitzchok Moully: Is There Such a Thing As Jewish Art?

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/10/05

Chavie and Yitzchok kick off by reminiscing about his visit to Montana for Chavie's birthday, when he created the Overflowing Cup art installation, proudly displayed in the background of every Totally Unexpected! episode (check out Chavie’s Instagram reels, it’s a must see!!). Yitzchok shares his fascinating childhood journey from the Australian Outback to Crown Heights at the Rebbe’s farbrengens. Chavie asks what first sparked his love for art and self-expression, and Yitzchok opens up about the

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126:50

Bringing Back the Sparkle: How One Chabad Rebbetzin...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/09/18

Chavie begins by asking Chanie about her childhood growing up in Crown Heights. Chanie describes herself as a “poster child” within mainstream Chabad institutions but, as a result, lacking the stimulation to go deeper in her own self-discovery. Chavie and Chanie discuss the challenges of going out on shlichus—starting a Chabad House—at a very young age, newly married, and often with a first child on the way. They compare notes on having to show up for their communities as though they had everything

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144:31

Aleeza Ben Shalom - Does Dating Really Have To Be...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/09/08

Chavie sits down with Aleeza to explore her spiritual journey into Orthodox Judaism, embracing kosher, Shabbat, and modest dress as a student and tells the story of how she met her husband. Aleeza reflects on how quickly it all happened, joking that “fast is my slowest speed,” while sharing how her family needed time to adjust. She opens up about her lifelong dream to move her family to Israel and the Covid-era saga that unfolded when her family finally made Aliyah. Chavie asks Aleeza how she landed

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105:10

Malky Lichtenstein - Finding Your Purpose Through...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/08/25

Chavie sits down with Malky to explore the fascinating world of Human Design. Malky shares her journey of growing up in a big family where her voice often got lost, and how discovering her Human Design chart shifted her perspective. Instead of seeing her personality as a flaw, she learned to recognize her unique way of showing up in the world. Chavie reflects on her own experience and how Human Design has helped her accept her natural personality rather than struggle against it. Together, they break

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02:03:47

Adele Beiny - Beyond Influencing: Reevaluating The...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/08/11

Chavie and Adele kick things off by reminiscing when Chavie lived in Adele’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 school, hustling an office job at a title insurance firm. From there she waltzed into Bloomingdales in Short Hills Mall and got a job in beauty and cosmetic

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01:46:22

Rivkie Block - Meet My Mom: Mother, Mentor, & Chabad...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/07/28

Chavie 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 through forty years of leading Chabad Lubavitch of South Texas with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Block. Rivkie talks about evolving from the wide-eyed idealism

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02:05:05

Larry Cohen

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/07/14

Whole Health: Balancing Western Medicine, Eastern Healing & Nature’s WisdomChavie 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 career as an ER doctor on Native American reservations, later exploring

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01:55:55

Yossi Jacobson

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/06/29

A Teacher’s Journey of Self-DiscoveryChavie 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 anecdote from when he was teaching a class to teenagers, and his own teenage children found it amusing that their father

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02:08:30

Tanya Menlo-Heyman

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/06/16

Happy Chaos: A Journey of Self-Love & AcceptanceChavie 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 the contemporary Orthodox Jewish community in LA. She shares what it was like to grow up in the

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01:58:02

Mimi Minsky

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/06/04

Life Is the MedicineChavie 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 experiencing grief at such a young age while also trying to make sense of the grief of the adults around her. Chavie and Mimi discuss

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01:56:36

Tonia Chazanow

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/05/19

Of Mystics & Poets: A Tale of an Empowered Judaism Chavie 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 towards the deeper, mystical teachings of Chassidus, which harmonized naturally with artistic

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01:54:49

Simi Polonsky

Totally Unexpected! ·

2025/05/05

Facing My Fear of Being AloneSimi 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 The Frock, after Shua’s passing, was a vital part of her healing. Simi and Chavie explore the power of creative

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38 results

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