💍 Sparks & Stability: The Torah Take on Marriage

with Harav Yosef Greenfeld, Rov of Chestnut Shul – Lakewood, NJ

In this deeply insightful and practical episode of the KOLOT Podcast, Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein sits down with Harav Yosef Greenfeld, the esteemed Rov of Chestnut Shul in Lakewood, New Jersey, who has guided and prepared thousands of chassanim for marriage over the course of his career.

Drawing on decades of experience counseling young couples, Rabbi Greenfeld shares timeless Torah wisdom about what truly makes a marriage thrive — from the moment a couple prepares for the chuppah to building a home that lasts a lifetime.

Rabbi Greenfeld reflects on the formative influences that shaped his own path, including the profound guidance of Harav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, and the powerful role his parents played in directing him toward a life dedicated to strengthening Jewish marriages.

This episode explores some of the most important and sometimes uncomfortable questions about relationships — with clarity, warmth, and authentic Torah perspective.

🧭 In This Episode We Discuss:

✨ What does it really mean to be “ready” for marriage?

✨ How does someone know they married the right person?

✨ The balance between individuality and unity in marriage

✈️ Is it appropriate to vacation with friends without your spouse?

📈 What happens when spouses grow at different levels of Shmiras HaMitzvos?

👶 Healthy Torah perspectives on family planning

🏠 Breaking cycles: building a healthy home even if you grew up in a broken one

📜 The essential do’s and don’ts every couple must know

👨‍👩‍👧 Chinuch Habanim U’Banos — raising children in a Torah home

💒 The powerful bracha every chassan and kallah receive under the chuppah

❤️ Practical marriage advice for the first year — and for decades to come

💡 Rabbi Greenfeld shares profound yet practical insights drawn from thousands of conversations with chassanim and young couples, offering guidance that is relevant not only to newlyweds but to anyone seeking to build a stronger, deeper marriage.

Whether you are preparing for marriage, newly married, or many years into building your home, this conversation offers wisdom, perspective, and tools that can transform the way we think about relationships.

💬 This episode will challenge assumptions, strengthen perspectives, and provide timeless Torah guidance for building a marriage filled with both sparks and stability.

Kolot is a project of the Columbus Community Kollel, a full-time learning center in Bexley. Ever Since 1995, boy, girls, men and women of all backgrounds and affiliations have found learning opportunities at the Kollel. Whether it's a study partner, engaging lesson or a program, the Kollel is your one-stop-shop for all your Jewish learning. To learn more, visit www.thekollel.org and forever be inspired!

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

🤝 In partnership with:

The Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation

(Circleville, Ohio • Cleveland, Ohio • Rochester, New York)

🎙️From Ashes to Empire: How Torah Took Root—and Thrives—in America

Recorded live at the Columbus Community Kollel’s historic 30th Anniversary Celebration on November 19, 2025, inside the majestic Ohio Statehouse, this rare conversation brings together two of the most consequential leaders of American Torah Jewry—on one stage, in one unforgettable dialogue.

In this landmark episode, Rabbi Aaron Kotler, President Emeritus of Beth Medrash Govoha, and Rabbi Boruch Neuberger, President of Ner Israel Rabbinical College, trace a three-generation journey that reshaped the destiny of Torah in the United States.

They begin with their grandfathers—survivors of the European devastation—who arrived on American shores with little more than unshakable emunah and a daring conviction: Torah could not only survive in America, it could flourish. They continue with their fathers, who transformed that vision into living institutions as Torah life took root and spread across the country. And finally, they turn inward—reflecting candidly on their own leadership, responsibility, and the weight of carrying a mesorah that now shapes tens of thousands of lives.

Along the way, you’ll hear:

• Powerful, never-before-shared stories of chesed and achrayis (responsibility)—often expressed in the most unconventional and surprising ways
• A penetrating look at the current stage of American Torah Jewry: its strengths, its tensions, and its unprecedented opportunities
• A forward-looking charge on how Torah learning can continue to thrive amid the cultural, spiritual, and communal challenges of our time

The conversation closes with a stirring vision for the future of the Jewish people—rooted in humility, courage, and unwavering commitment to Torah.

This is not a panel.

This is not a speech.

This is a once-in-a-generation conversation between the stewards of the two largest Torah institutions in America.

🎙️ Hosted by: Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein

📍 Presented by: Columbus Community Kollel

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

🤝 In partnership with:

The Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation

(Circleville, Ohio • Cleveland, Ohio • Rochester, New York)

✨ A rare moment. Historic voices. A timeless mission.

🎙️✨ NEW EPISODE DROP! ✨🎙

The KOLOT Podcast proudly presents:

🌟 HaRav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman 🌟

Av Beis Din of London | Renowned Posek | Visionary Leader in Global Jewish Life

🔥 A rare and penetrating conversation exploring halacha, leadership, and Klal Yisrael in the modern world 🔥

💬 Topics include:

📜 Path to Leadership — from Gateshead to London: how his journey shaped a generation of rabbanim and dayanim

⚖️ The Role of a Beis Din Today — protecting and guiding a kehilla beyond dinei Torah and gittin

💡 Halacha in a Modern World — navigating technology, medicine, and finance while preserving mesorah

🌍 Antisemitism & European Jewry — reflections on resilience, unity, and faith amidst rising challenges

🕍 Responsibility Beyond Borders — how a dayan’s psak echoes across continents

🧠 True Mechilah — the Torah definition of forgiveness in an age of public pain and personal growth

👑 Leadership Under Pressure — maintaining composure, clarity, and humility when every decision counts

🌿 Personal Reflections — what decades in communal leadership have taught him about Torah, people, and Hashem’s hashgachah

💎 This episode offers rare depth, balance, and authenticity — a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand how timeless Torah wisdom meets today’s complex world.

✨ The KOLOT Podcast — Conversations that Inspire. Voices that Elevate. ✨

🎙️ Hosted by Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein

📍 Presented by the Columbus Community Kollel

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

In partnership with the Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation of Circleville, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio and Rochester, New York.