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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

53:09

SPECIAL EPISODE: A Day In the Life of Chavie Bruk

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/04/05

In this episode, Chavie sits down with her producer, Elie Benhiyoun, to break down what a day in the life of Chavie Bruk looks like. She walks through a recent Friday, from the moment she wakes up already feeling overwhelmed to the moment she gets into bed with a book after the last Shabbos guest leaves. She opens up about her morning routine, and how she has learned over the years to protect the things that keep her going, including exercise, a proper lunch, and therapy, even on the busiest days

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133:14

Rivkah Slonim: Chassidic Feminism - Could It Be?

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/03/23

Chavie sits down with Rivkah Slonim — author, lecturer, and self-described Chassidic feminist — and walks through her childhood growing up in Crown Heights in close proximity to the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, with grandparents rooted in the illustrious Kapichnitz Chassidic dynasty. Rivkah shares how she came to coin the term "Chassidic feminist" and traces it back to her early years at Chabad of Binghamton, where she was confronted with the widespread assumption that Chassidic women are oppressed, and

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148:36

Chaim Bruk - Our Infertility & Adoption Story

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/03/09

Chavie sits down with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the podcast’s first returning guest, just ahead of their 20th anniversary. For the first time, they walk through their entire infertility and adoption journey from beginning to end. They revisit the moment they received the excruciating diagnosis of permanent infertility and how they charted their own path in a world where infertility and adoption was still taboo, and their decision to go public when the expectation was to keep these struggles

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131:56

Anna Sherman - In Between Worlds: Life After Brain...

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/02/23

Chavie and Anna begin with Anna’s roots in Toronto and what drew her toward becoming more religious in high school, navigating the tension between the world she grew up in and the one she was choosing. Anna opens up about her first two marriages and what it felt like to be a young divorced woman in a community where it was taboo and kept hush-hush which leads to Chavie and Anna reflecting on the progress made in removing shame around taboo subjects. Anna then shares how she met and fell in love with

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152:08

Mushky Yiftach Hashem: Daring to Be the Duct Tape Queen

Totally Unexpected! ·

2026/02/09

Chavie starts off by diving into Mushky’s early relationship with creativity. She talks about her mother noticing her artistic tendencies and her love of crafts being nurtured by her grandfather. Mushky shares how she came back from seminary and rediscovered the pull toward crafts, including when she realized if you can make something out of duct tape, you can make anything. Mushky explains how designing and wearing duct tape outfits became a form of safety, giving her structure and permission to

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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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