The Avrum Rosensweig Show

Episode 5: Eli Rubenstein: A Good Man, A Vigilant Jew, A Powerful Activist

Eli Rubenstein and I have been friends for forty years. Close friends. It is therefore from the vantage point of familiarity I was compelled to do this interview with him. I know his stories and I know how riveting and from his heart they are. I knew Eli would be open to challenging questions. 

So the fifth episode of HAT RADIO! is a recorded schmooze between Eli and I in his living room, for a couple of hours. What i was intent upon finding out was: how the transition was from being a right-wing Orthodox Jew to a humanistic Jew. He told me. He said it was freeing. He lamented, it was difficult because in many ways he has left the community he knew as a boy. But he was not afraid to show his secret side. His words were intimate.

I wanted to know from Eli what drew him to Holocaust Survivors so much so he became the spiritual leader at Congregation Habonim, a synagogue started by Survivors. His response was they were courage; they are brave; they are Jews who danced at the bar mitzvah of their grandchildren after going through the hell we call Auschwitz. 

And I asked my friend Eli about his close relationship with Native Canadians and his leadership within Israel's seeing-eye dog community and his passion for music and love of all peoples. And he answered mostly in stories, because Eli Rubenstein is a prolific storyteller.

Listen to episode 5. Then listen again, and perhaps another time. It is the type of interview  you will learn from, more and more as you go...about life, humility, love and a powerful drive of one person to bring joy and comfort to all people. And that is Eli. We are dear friends.

HAT RADIO!   A show that schmoozes. 

 

 

 

 

Episode 4: Alexa Gilmour - The Real Deal

Over time I have become aware there are very gentle, loving souls in our world whose capacity to care and to help is huge, greater than most. They are the ones we can emulate, not necessarily match. They are our role models. 

My parents of blessed memory were like that.  

Alexa Gilmour, our guest for this episode is like that.

Alexa is the one who became a minister after a vision quest, in place of a successful acting career. She is the leader who successfully encouraged her church to hide a Roma family, Dad, Mom and 6-year old child, and give them sanctuary when other churches said no.  Alexa is the woman who adopted 3 children, siblings, with her husband as part of their life-long plan. 

Alexa is the real deal.  

Please listen and let us know what you think. Comment. Share the link There is much to learn from Alexa Gilmour about kindness and love. And you can only do that if you listen.   

HAT RADIO! A schmooze about life. 

Episode 3a - Bernie (Kitty's Daughter) - Bonus Interview

Bernie Riley is lucky at her stage of life to have a mother. But guess what? Her Mom is 106 years old and she is here to tell us about her - Kitty Cohen - in this BONUS INTERVIEW. Listen to this 10 minute interview and learn about her Mom's very refreshing view on life and her  unique ability to become a better person, even at 106 years old. Bernie, a loyal and caring daughter also tells us about Kitty's life-long love of dancing including her parents dancing outings in the 20's and 30's. Enjoy! This is quite a story!    

Episode 3: Kitty Cohen - The Unbelievable Spirit of a 106 Year Old

She was 106 when I interviewed Kitty RIP. Her full name was Kitty “Leah” Cohen and she practiced Yoga regularly. Kitty played the bongo drums and she said she would have loved to date a good man, and would have gone as low as 60 years-old. I loved that about her.  

I was blown away by my interview with Kitty and deeply honored to speak with her as I had never met anyone her age, and few people as delightful as she is! 

Kitty was a very vibrant woman with a twinkle in her eye. She was constantly strengthening herself to become a better person and hoped to live for many more years. This centarian-plus used to bemoan those in her senior home who hung their head in despair and depression. Kitty told me she was the exact opposite and couldn't wait to approach every day with song and dance and the chance to learn new things about our planet and her life. 

Some might describe Kitty Cohen's longevity as a miracle. Others may state her length of days was an anomaly.  Either way, here is our schmooze, the last one of length with Kitty. I will never forget our brilliant time together and hope that this interview acts as sort of a legacy for her life.

Just as we are mesmerized by the purity and the clear canvass of a new born, so too will you be fascinated by the wisdom, experiences and shear positivity of a 106 year-old - Kitty “Leah” Cohen.   

You know, I’m certain there must be a blessing to say upon meeting a woman like Kitty! I'm saying one now. Rest in peace dear woman, and as David Nefesh wrote (the man who wrote the Hatradio! song) 'thank you for coming our way'! 

SPECIAL BONUS INTERVIEW: Please listen to a 10-minute interview following 106 YEARS YOUNG with Kitty's daugher, Bernie, who told her Mom how she felt about her and how lucky she was to have a mother like her. Click here for this bonus interview  https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-whjqx-a2ff13

 

Episode 2: Karen Goldenberg -- Positivity Defined

Episode 2 of HAT RADIO is an interview with KAREN GOLDENBERG, a most loving and passion  human being. The title of the show is POSITIVITY DEFINED. I have chosen this title because, as you will learn, Karen is a person who has gone through great trials in her life including the suicide of her first husband and the early death of her sisters, and despite all of this she is cheerful, buoyant and industrious person. Listen to episode 2 and discover the compassionate parents Karen was blessed to have, two accountants who were committed to helping others through an open-door policy and giving of their own resources. Discover Karen's romances, first with a very intelligent doctor (she likes smart men), and later to Sid, a student of the Talmud who ended up adopting Karen's two children. Listen to Karen discuss her career as an occupational therapist and then the founder and director of a number of different non-profit organizations. Her insight into mental illness is profound but mostly her love for humankind jumps out of the computer. You can feel it! Therein is the reason this interview is called POSITIVITY DEFINED. Learn from her. Please feel free to comment and share the link. 

HAT RADIO, a schmooze-fest with some very loving, kind and special people.    

Episode 1: Lou Berkovitz - Having and Losing a Soulmate

'Having and Losing a Soulmate' is my first interview on Hat Radio. It is our maiden podcast voyage! Thank you for joining us.

This story is so beautiful, and told by my dear friend, Lou Berkovitz. In essence, it is a raw and candid discussion with a man who found his soul mate, Renee Roth, and was blessed to spend ten years together with her, until a very grey day when this passionate, kind and stunning woman died of lung cancer.

I wanted to do my first interview with Lou because he is articulate as a radio-man himself and therefore able and willing to share well with others the intimacies of the greatest love affair of his life time. His personal story as a paramedic, a casino developer and today as yoga teacher and an ambassador of Lululemon, is also compelling and reflects this 60-year old man's drive to grow and live life to its utmost.

For one singular decade he did so with the love of his life, the apple of his eye - Renee Roth!   

in 'Having and Losing a Soulmate' you will also be privy to Lou and Renee's first date; the time Lou leaned Renee up against the fridge and said unabashedly for the first time, "I love you". You will listen to Lou's fascination with his wife's hand's which he stated were, "tiny and delicate....thoughtful, with a sense of kindness that always came through them." You'll  hear Lou and Renee's romantic love affair, complete with giggles and a whole lot of fun, a passion for adventure and predicated on trust and real, genuine love.

Lou and Renee were of one soul. They had a deep and meaningful relationship, the kind most of us would want. I enjoyed watching them together. I appreciated that Lou agreed to speak to me about it and I am forever grateful for his openness and what he brings to this new podcast - Hat Radio. After doing the interview I wasn't sure if i should celebrate to its fullest what Lou and Renee had for a blip in time, or mourn what they lost - a soulmate. In the end, I did both.

Enjoy my discussion with Lou and feel free to contact me with any questions or thoughts on your own love affair. If you like 'Having and Losing a Soulmate' please share it with others. Thanks!