Totally Unexpected!
Chavie Bruk
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About This Podcast
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 co-director of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana together with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk. On Totally Unexpected! Chavie doesn't just interview her guests, she sits with them for long, unfiltered conversations where they laugh, cry, and share the stories that shaped who they have become. Chavie also writes a weekly essay on Substack about the unexpected moments in her life, the one's happening in real time that are challenging her, stretching her, and helping her grow. Sign up for free here: www.TotallyUnexpected.blog.
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Recent Episodes
Paola Feher: From Yoga to Ayurveda - A Guide to Breath, Body, & Self
Chavie and Paola open by reminiscing about how they first connected when Paola walked into Chabad of Bozeman for a Passover seder 18 years ago and instantly felt at home. Paola talks about her…
Aimee Baron: I Was Supposed To Have a Baby
Aimee opens up to Chavie about her childhood in Lakewood, where her Holocaust survivor grandparents had a chicken farm. She shares how she became religious and didn’t go to prom because it was on a…
Dassi Zar: In Between Selves - The Act of Rebirthing
Chavie sits down with Dassi, who starts out by sharing how she was born in Iran in the middle of the Iran-Iraq war, where her mother delivered her by emergency C-section during a blackout. Dassi…
Elin Cohen: Meet Chavie's Book Buddy
Chavie sits down with her long-distance book buddy Elin for a special episode where they review their book buddy picks but first, Elin shares what it was like growing up in Sweden, the extreme swings…
SPECIAL EPISODE: A Day In the Life of Chavie Bruk
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…
S1E41 Rivkah Slonim: Chassidic Feminism - Could It Be?
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…
Chaim Bruk: Our Infertility & Adoption Story
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…
Anna Sherman: Life After Brain Surgery
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…
Mushky Yiftach Hashem: Becoming the Duct Tape Queen
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.…
Yocheved Shapiro: A Parent’s Guide to School Advocacy
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…
Yocheved Sidof: Straddling the Edges of Faith & Healing
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…
Abi Radcliffe: Are Vulnerability & Authenticity the Same Thing?
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…
Chevee Szokovski: Where Do I Fit In?
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…
BrookeLynne Dukes: Parenting Without Shame
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,…
Aura Rosenblatt: The Creative Rhythm of Spirit & Soul
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…
Gitty Hecht: How I Decided to Call Chabad Home
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…
S1E30 Esty Prus: From Wig Styling to Tanya Teaching
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…
S1E29 Yitzchok Moully: Is There Such a Thing As Jewish Art?
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…
Chanie Chein - Bringing Back the Sparkle: How a Chabad Rebbetzin Found Agency In Her Life
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…
S1E27 Aleeza Ben Shalom - Does Dating Really Have To Be This Hard?
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…
Frequently Asked Questions
Totally Unexpected! has published 47 episodes since August 2024, covering topics in Judaism, Personal Journals.
Totally Unexpected! is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 2h 3m.
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