9: Man, I Feel Like a Woman

Israel Story

Judaism, Palestine, Jewish, Stories, Religion & Spirituality, Israel

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2015

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What do you do when you realize that in order to be true to yourself, you have to shatter everything around you, including the lives of those you love most?

Yiscah Smith lives in Nahlaot, in Jerusalem. But her journey to this Orthodox-meets-hipster neighborhood took her through what seems like four lifetimes. She was born in Long Island, as Jeff Smith, to a Conservative Jewish family. Jeff married a woman, they became more religious, and moved to Israel. Jeff became Yaacov, a Chabad Rabbi, and also the father of six children. A few years later, Yaacov’s identity began to unravel, presenting a terrible dilemma: What do you do when you realize that in order to be true to yourself, you have to shatter everything around you, including the lives of those you love most?

This is Yiscah’s story, as told to reporter Molly Livingstone.

Produced by Benny Becker with help from Raoul Wootliff and Rachel Fischer, and music help from Shoshi Shmuluvitz. Music for this episode comes from Blue Dot Sessions, Dana Boulé, and Ben Sound.

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or The Times of Israel.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Try royal opera house stream this Christmas for just one pound and watch enchanting productions including the nutcracker
0:07.0	enjoy unlimited access to over 80 extraordinary ballets, operas and exclusive behind-the-scenes features.
0:15.0	Sign up for Royal Opera House Stream now with your first month for just one pound.
0:19.0	For details, visit R.OH.org. UK forward slash offer.
0:23.0	One pound for the first month after 14 free days,
0:26.0	and 999 a month thereafter.
0:28.0	Cancel any time, tease and sees apply. Have you tuned in to
0:37.0	tuned into the Hadassa on call podcast?
0:40.0	It's an inspiring and captivating glimpse behind the scenes of the remarkable work being done at Hadassa hospitals in Jerusalem.
0:47.0	From updates on the hospital's response efforts during the Israel-Hamass War,
0:51.0	to the medical pioneers who are creating life-changing treatments
0:54.4	and the oncologists discovering new ways to treat cancer. This podcast offers a unique
0:59.6	perspective from health care experts and their tips for staying healthy.
1:04.0	You'll also hear remarkable patient stories and why Newsweek has named the Hadassa Medical
1:09.4	Organization, a world leader in cardiology and oncology and for the use of smart technologies. Visit go dot hadassa dot org slash on call Israel that Israel. That's go.
1:24.0	H-A-S-A-A-H.
1:28.0	dot-O-O-S-A-S-A-S-A-S-A-S-A-S-A-O-O-O-O-O-E-O. call Israel.
1:36.7	The last time we had people over, we were already feeling separate from each other.
1:40.9	We were feeling disconnected more and more. It really was catching up with me. I was
1:46.0	headed towards a nervous breakdown basically. But the last time we had company over, it was a friend of Varus who was just becoming involved in Torah Judaism,
2:04.0	and a whole group of them were coming to Israel,
2:06.7	and she wanted to give them a very special Friday night.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Israel Story, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Israel Story and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.