Liz Margolies

As my first interviewee for this new podcast, I bring you Ms. Liz Margolies.

Ms. Margolies is a psychotherapist and the mother of a Jewish prisoner in a federal facility in CT. For the last few years, she has been running support groups for mothers of incarcerated Jews through the Aleph Institute and Hinda Institute. This work builds community among the women by addressing the shame that has led to secrecy and isolation. She has written several articles about mothers of incarcerated sons, seeking to improve the support and services that this population so sorely lacks. 

Please visit her website: www.stillmyson.org to find out more about her work.

The Aleph Institute is a national organization that serves individuals of all backgrounds and faiths. Their guiding factors are Torah principles based on acceptance of God as the Supreme Power and Creator of the universe and emphasizing the values of human dignity, thereby making the world a better place for all. All of Aleph’s services are provided at no charge.

The Aleph Institute, founded in 1981 at the express direction of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, provides crucial financial, emotional and spiritual assistance to thousands of shattered families – helping them persevere through extraordinary crises – while providing support for their loved ones in prison and mental institutions.

Ms. Harriet Rossetto and Rabbi Mark Borovitz

Harriet Rossetto started Beit T’Shuvah over 30 years ago with a tremendous humanizing task: to help broken souls and change a broken system. Harriet’s belief that addiction is a malady of the soul requiring spiritual healing inspired her to create a thriving community that supports addicts of all kinds, wherever they are in life. Her greatest reward is witnessing and participating in the miracle of transformation. Her view that everyone is capable of redemption is at the core of why she empowers the residents of Beit T’Shuvah with employment, hiring 90% of her staff from within. Today they are the lifeblood of the organization.

Harriet is a courageous woman and social worker, who took an interest in the unpopular cause of helping incarcerated Jewish men re-enter society and made it her life’s passion. From that passion was born Beit T’Shuvah, a once tiny halfway house that has grown exponentially into a renowned treatment organization. Her voyage is remarkable and an inspiration to all people.

Rabbi Mark Borovitz

Officially ordained in 2000 at the University of Judaism with a Master’s in Rabbinic Literature, Rabbi Mark Borovitz combined his knowledge of Torah and street smarts to shape his calling: helping recovering addicts find their way in the world. Spiritual Leader, Author, Senior Rabbi, CEO, ex-con, recovering alcoholic, and overall anomaly, he is able to reach both the addict and the congregant, and de-stigmatize this life-threatening disease.

Dr. Yehudah Pryce DSW, MSW

Elaine Sneierson Leeder interviews Yehudah Price, former gang member and now an Orthodox Jew. Hear his remarkable story and enjoy this free ranging and honest dialogue.

In this fascinating and compelling podcast Yehudah Pryce tells of serving over 16 years incarcerated for a non-violent robbery for which he was arrested as a teenager. While inside he was transformed by finding Judaism. (a rather unusual calling for bi-racial ex-gang member who was used to challenging all ideologies).

While incarcerated, he helped design and facilitate personal development curriculum for his fellow incarcerated community members. Since his release from prison on October 22, 2018, he finished his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in social welfare; he graduated with his Master in Social Work degree from the University of Southern California (USC), where he

was the chair of the student caucus group Unchained Scholars; and he completed his Doctorate in Social Work degree, in which his capstone project was “Person-centered Smart Decarceration: an MSW course centered on community members with a lived experience of incarceration.”

In this podcast he speaks on “From a Gangster in Prison to Orthodox Judaism: A Journey of Teshuvah,” discussing his journey from being a criminal to his life as a Chasid.

Below are links to his websites.

www.reishlakishconsulting.com

www.dryehudahprycelcsw.com

Jenna Robinson

Today’s guest is someone whose work lives at the intersection of art, advocacy, and emotional restoration.

Meet Jenna Robinson — a poetry therapist, performance poet, musician, and professor based in the Bay Area of California. Jenna is a fierce advocate for those living at the margins, helping them reclaim their narratives through the powerful traditions of spoken word and therapeutic writing. With over a decade of experience teaching and performing, she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion of Hawaii Slam and has competed on national slam poetry teams, even placing second in the nation at the National Poetry Slam.

But Jenna’s impact goes far beyond the stage. Through her private therapy practice and her leadership in the Bay Area Creative’s “Revisions” program, she supports individuals and families—especially those affected by trauma, abuse, and systemic injustice. Whether she’s working with youth in juvenile detention, teaching graduate students in counseling psychology, or guiding intergenerational writing circles, Jenna brings a rare blend of compassion, creativity, and clinical insight.

In this conversation, we’ll dive into how poetry can be a lifeline, how performance becomes a ritual of release, and how storytelling can be a form of spiritual and restorative justice. Jenna shares powerful stories from her work, including moments of breakthrough with foster youth and adjudicated teens, and reflects on how her own journey through grief and art shaped her path.

So settle in—this is a conversation about voice, vulnerability, and the radical act of being heard. Let’s welcome Professor Jenna Robinson.

Rivkah Slonim

Today’s guest is someone whose wisdom has shaped not only my understanding of Jewish thought, but also my personal path through faith, family, and healing.

Rifka Slonim is the Associate Director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University. She’s an internationally respected teacher, lecturer, and activist who travels widely, speaking on the intersection of traditional Jewish observance and contemporary life—with a special focus on the role of Jewish women in law and lived experience. Rifka is also the editor of two powerful anthologies: Total Immersion, a mikvah collection, and Bread and Fire, which explores how Jewish women find God in the everyday.

In this conversation, we’ll explore the profound Jewish teachings on repentance and forgiveness—not as peripheral ideas, but as central pillars of the human experience. Rifka brings us into the heart of Jewish mysticism and law, drawing from sources like the Tanya and Maimonides to illuminate how we understand sin, return, and the duality of the soul. She challenges us to see every person as inherently holy, even when they’ve strayed, and to embrace the lifelong tension between our godly and animal souls.

This is a conversation about the sacred struggle of being human—and the divine potential in every return. Let’s begin.