Take 2 with Yossi Gestetner

How can you keep smiling when tragedy strikes… twice? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Yossi Hecht; media personality, author, musician, cancer survivor and husband about his incredibly inspiring life story. They discuss the ways that Yossi was able to harness and exude an incredible simchas hachayim despite losing his ability to walk and the devastating loss of his mother shortly thereafter. How was Hashem Yossi’s shadchan? Who usually gets pesicha d’neila of Yom Kippur in Rabbi Bender’s Shul? And how do you pronounce Dovi Safier’s name?

When your work puts you inside some of the most sensitive situations in our community, how can you keep from burning out? Have shadchanus fees gone up, and should they? Do all bachurim vape? And can shadchanim drink on Purim? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Rabbi Tzadok Katz, Rabbi Shlomo Lewenstein, and Rabbi Meir Levi, three preeminent Lakewood shadchanim. They discuss how the field of shadchanus looks from the inside, how technology has changed the landscape of dating, and how they navigate a career that doesn’t allow for any semblance of a normal life outside of their jobs.

What is the challenge of our generation? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Rav Aaron Lopiansky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva of Greater Washington. They discuss the Rosh Yeshiva’s written legacy, and how many chiddushei Torah should be out in print today. The Rosh Yeshiva talks about how true gadlus is emes and yashrus, even sometimes instead of learning full-time. They discuss how the Rosh Yeshiva tries to keep the personal aspect of the transaction of giving tzedakah alive, and how to look for good in this world, even when there’s so much for us to work on. And if people are giving, does it matter how much they spend on material items in their lives?

What do you do when Hashem says no? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Rabbi Shlomo Bochner, founder of Bonei Olam, who shares the story of the foundation of the organization, once just intended to fund infertility treatments, but now a huge umbrella of services that help a range of people from single people, through marriage, infertility, and up until the birth of a child. They discuss the work Bonei Olam has done in eliminating genetic disorders and identifying mutations on a cellular level, and how the stigmas of infertility have lessened and what that means for getting support from family members, and their involvement in navigating high-risk pregnancies and misdiagnosis.

How can you make innovations in a yeshivah when the goal is to continue a long mesorah? Did Lakewood have a thriving Jewish nightlife before the yeshivah settled there? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Rabbi Aaron Kotler about the unique position that Rabbi Kotler took in Beis Medrash Govoha, and who he looked to as his inspiration when he grew the yeshivah to what it is today. They dispel the myth about why his illustrious grandfather, Rav Aharon, chose Lakewood to begin with and discuss what Rav Aharon might think about today’s Lakewood.

How can the unfathomable pain of losing a child be channeled into something holy? In this moving episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Shloimi Steinmetz, who lost his son Dovi as one of the 45 kedoshim in the Meron tragedy of 2021. Since that trauma shook our nation, Shloimi has channeled his energies into teaching bitachon and emunah to others, relaying a message that he lives every day. He shared how his family rallied in the days following the petirah, why they began the Ani Maamin initiative, and what it means to give chizuk to others when you need it yourself.

Does overexposure exist in today’s media-frantic world? In this episode, Yisroel Besser talks with Benny Friedman about Jewish music, and what it’s really like to make a parnassah in a field that is so unique. They discuss the impact that Avraham Fried and Doni Gross have had on Benny’s career, and what it takes to make great music. Did Avremel advise him to go into showbiz? And does being a Lubavitcher chassid hurt or help a singer’s career?