Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today I have Gila Levitt on the show.

Gila is a Torah Marriage and Intimacy Specialist with over 20 years of experience empowering Jewish women to create emotionally connected, deeply fulfilling marriages. As the creator of Heart of Marriage: Soul Satisfying Oneness, she blends timeless Torah values with the latest research in emotional intelligence, brain science, and relational well-being.

Gila’s work is grounded, warm, and deeply respectful on each woman’s inner world. She offers not just guidance—but clarity, chizuk, and a path forward for the woman who wants to become her best, most authentic self in her marriage. Through mindset shifts, emotional insight, and practical tools, she helps women align with who they truly want to be—in marriage and in life.

This episode was one I wasn’t sure I wanted to do to be totally honest. It covers a really vulnerable topic and one that isn’t often spoken about publicly. That being said, it’s an important one, one that affects every marriage and every woman in some way so when Gila reached out, I really thought it through and it felt like a good opportunity to delve into things a little more.

Because intimacy is such a private thing, it can be one women don’t really feel comfortable getting help on or seeking support if they need it and I’m hoping this episode will help break a little bit of that stigma.

In the episode we cover a lot — from what intimacy actually looks like in a Torah marriage — the mindset around it and the body-soul relationship to practical ways to achieve more connection to it if it’s something that’s hard for you. We speak about the differences between men and women in general and in this space that could be coming up and realistic expectations to have around its impact on your marriage.

For more from Gila, visit heartofmarriage.org or reach out to Gila at info@heartofmarriage.org.

For more classes from Gila on Kol Halashon, click here.

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If there is someone you want to see on The Chai on Life Podcast, email me at alex@chaionlifemag.com or send me a DM @chaionlifemag.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, I am so excited to welcome Atara Weisberger to the podcast.

Atara is a trailblazing health and wellness coach, personal development mentor, and co-author of the transformative book How to Soul: Navigate Your Life Path with Clarity, Inner Peace, and Joy. With a unique ability to blend ancient wisdom with actionable strategies, Atara empowers individuals to break free from emotional blocks, rediscover their inner strength, and cultivate lives rooted in authenticity and joy.

She of course, has her own personal journey to getting where she is today. Her own baal yeshiva story has shaped her mission to help others find meaning and connection in today's fast- paced, often overwhelming world. As the founder of The Tribe, a holistic wellness community, Atara leads a growing movement where spiritual growth meets modern self-care. She is very active herself and is a runner, yogi and loves to explore healthy cooking.

In the episode, we’re talking all about her new book that she wrote with Rabbi Dov Lipman which is all about reconnecting to your soul, your real inner essence which can so easily get lost in today’s world.

You know the feeling you get when you go to a really good shiur? It’s like everything just clicks and makes sense and you feel aligned with who you are really meant to be. That is this book.

Anxieties, insecurities, awkward social interactions, social media, meetings, family dynamics and more can easily make us feel like we’re not enough and can throw us off balance from knowing who we really are.

The goal of this book is to remind you of your inner essence, to give you tools to always be able to get back to your soul and to feel like you’re really living a connected life in the true meaning of the word — not the 2025 version.

In the episode, we speak about

-Atara’s journey to writing this book

-Her main goal that she wants readers to take away from it

-How to connect more deeply to your soul and how to get back to it when you feel like you’ve strayed

-How to find balance and meaning in religious halacha and how that goes hand in hand with spirituality and a real relationship with Hashem

-Why the struggle and the process of growth is the way and why growth is never linear

-Practical tools to utilize in this world to get you back to a more spiritual place

-How we can make peace with social media and living a life in a technological world without making it black and white

-Cultivating more emunah and bitachon with the wisdom that she shares

..and so much more!

If you want more from Atara, visit Howtosoulbook.com — at the bottom you can get two free heart-opener meditations.

To get in touch, you can email Atara at Atara@howtosoulbook.com.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Chai on Life Podcast. I’m Alex Segal and today, I am speaking with Merissa Gross, a shadchan, or matchmaker, extraordinaire.

Merissa is a ball of energy, just so much fun to be around with is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dating.

This is a full raw, real, tachlis conversation. We really get into it. Even though I’ve interviewed other dating experts on the podcasts, I think this one is the most insightful in terms of the behind-the-scenes aspect that happens for a matchmaker. She does not hold back — she shares it all with stories and details so even if you’re not currently in the dating scene, this is an interesting one to listen to.

We speak about:

-Her day-to-day schedule and what goes into working with a couple

-How she sets parameters around who she sets up

-How the payment system works with her and other shadchanim — this was really interesting to see how it’s evolved

-How she decides who to pair up — if it really is a gut feeling or there is a system

-Addressing mistakes matchmakers make and clearing up misconceptions about the reputation so many unfortunately get

-Why you may feel frustrated with the matches that you’re getting

-How to make the best impression at a meeting with a matchmaker

-What to do if you feel like you’re not getting the best matches and how she has handled certain situations

-Red flags to look out for in dating

-The concept of settling versus not

-How to know when you’re ready to get engaged and what that feels like

...and sooo much more.

As you can see from that list, we cover A LOT of ground and even if you’re married, this is a super engaging conversation to listen in on just from a place of personal interest and as a way to help any single friends find THEIR match.

If you'd like to get in touch with Merissa, you can email her at mg@merissagross.com

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