{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":0.0,"endTime":4.47,"body":"Hi. I'm Gary"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":0.0,"endTime":4.47,"body":"Waleik,"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":4.5,"endTime":8.28,"body":"Stories from Chabad emissaries"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":8.28,"endTime":9.66,"body":"on the Jewish frontier."},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":12.69,"endTime":16.38,"body":"Life as a Chabad emissary is"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":12.69,"endTime":16.38,"body":"often joyous, but it can be"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":16.38,"endTime":20.07,"body":"unpredictable and even"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":16.38,"endTime":20.07,"body":"dangerous. Chabad has become a"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":20.07,"endTime":23.91,"body":"ubiquitous presence in every"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":20.07,"endTime":23.91,"body":"corner of the world. But behind"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":23.91,"endTime":27.6,"body":"every Chabad house are"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":23.91,"endTime":27.6,"body":"emissaries, regular people,"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":27.69,"endTime":31.53,"body":"striving to transcend their"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":27.69,"endTime":31.53,"body":"circumstances, and the community"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":31.53,"endTime":35.46,"body":"that supports and relies on"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":31.53,"endTime":35.46,"body":"them. These are their stories."},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":40.46,"endTime":44.63,"body":"In episode 13 of Lamplighters,"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":40.46,"endTime":44.63,"body":"we heard the story of Steve"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":44.63,"endTime":49.28,"body":"Wiener, a 66 year old deaf Jew"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":44.63,"endTime":49.28,"body":"from Brooklyn. He was frustrated"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":49.28,"endTime":52.4,"body":"by dismissive attitudes among"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":49.28,"endTime":52.4,"body":"some in the community toward"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":52.4,"endTime":55.94,"body":"Deaf people, and the limited"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":52.4,"endTime":55.94,"body":"opportunities he felt he had to"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":55.94,"endTime":57.59,"body":"live and learn as a Jew."},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":58.07,"endTime":61.19,"body":"After telling himself that he"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":58.07,"endTime":61.19,"body":"was done for good with Judaism,"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":61.4,"endTime":65.0,"body":"He embarked on a distinguished"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":61.4,"endTime":65.0,"body":"academic career that would earn"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":65.0,"endTime":69.08,"body":"him a PhD in education, and"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":65.0,"endTime":69.08,"body":"prominent positions at Gallaudet"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":69.08,"endTime":73.13,"body":"University in Washington DC, the"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":69.08,"endTime":73.13,"body":"only institute of higher"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":73.13,"endTime":77.27,"body":"learning in the world for deaf"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":73.13,"endTime":77.27,"body":"people. But then, about 10 years"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":77.27,"endTime":80.36,"body":"ago, he met Rabbi Yehoshua"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":77.27,"endTime":80.36,"body":"Soudakoff."},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":82.88,"endTime":87.65,"body":"A while later in 2013, when"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":82.88,"endTime":87.65,"body":"wiener was provost at Gallaudet"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":87.92,"endTime":91.58,"body":"Soudakoff made an appointment to"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":87.92,"endTime":91.58,"body":"meet wiener in his office to"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":91.58,"endTime":94.4,"body":"discuss organizing a Hanukkah"},{"speaker":"And this is Lamplighters","startTime":91.58,"endTime":94.4,"body":"event there."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":94.52,"endTime":96.89,"body":"And I just"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":94.52,"endTime":96.89,"body":"thought, this is a message from"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":96.89,"endTime":101.39,"body":"Hashem. He's been sent here to"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":96.89,"endTime":101.39,"body":"come talk to me. And we talked"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":101.57,"endTime":105.62,"body":"and talked and talked. He was"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":101.57,"endTime":105.62,"body":"not at all judgmental, not in"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":105.62,"endTime":109.43,"body":"the least bit. He understood me."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":105.62,"endTime":109.43,"body":"He understood that I married"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":109.43,"endTime":112.16,"body":"someone who wasn't Jewish and"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":109.43,"endTime":112.16,"body":"that we raised our children not"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":112.16,"endTime":114.68,"body":"Jewish, and he was open to me"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":112.16,"endTime":114.68,"body":"regardless."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":114.8,"endTime":117.2,"body":"I interviewed Steve"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":114.8,"endTime":117.2,"body":"wiener with the help of sign"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":117.2,"endTime":121.67,"body":"language translators, Jessica"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":117.2,"endTime":121.67,"body":"Ames, and Craig Fogle. Wieners"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":121.67,"endTime":125.63,"body":"translation is read by Schmuel"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":121.67,"endTime":125.63,"body":"Bolan SUTA coughs is read by"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":125.63,"endTime":126.26,"body":"Fogle."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":126.29,"endTime":127.55,"body":"When I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":126.29,"endTime":127.55,"body":"met Steve, he was at the"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":127.55,"endTime":131.27,"body":"pinnacle of his career. He was"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":127.55,"endTime":131.27,"body":"married, he had children, he had"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":131.27,"endTime":134.9,"body":"everything going for him."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":131.27,"endTime":134.9,"body":"Despite all that, he couldn't"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":134.9,"endTime":139.46,"body":"find his connection to Judaism."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":134.9,"endTime":139.46,"body":"He felt like it was miles away."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":139.64,"endTime":142.82,"body":"Steve, who had been"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":139.64,"endTime":142.82,"body":"a very bright kid, wanted to"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":142.82,"endTime":146.33,"body":"learn deeper Jewish texts than"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":142.82,"endTime":146.33,"body":"what he had learned up until his"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":146.33,"endTime":150.44,"body":"bar mitzvah. But he had no one"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":146.33,"endTime":150.44,"body":"to do that with. And he felt"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":150.47,"endTime":151.31,"body":"isolated."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":151.37,"endTime":153.98,"body":"I felt like a"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":151.37,"endTime":153.98,"body":"second class citizen growing up"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":153.98,"endTime":157.16,"body":"in the Jewish world. And after"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":153.98,"endTime":157.16,"body":"my Bar Mitzvah, it was really"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":157.16,"endTime":159.65,"body":"like, bye, bye. You know, you're"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":157.16,"endTime":159.65,"body":"done."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":159.74,"endTime":163.1,"body":"But a long talk"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":159.74,"endTime":163.1,"body":"with Soudakoff had re energized"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":163.1,"endTime":163.37,"body":"him."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":163.4,"endTime":167.93,"body":"He made me feel so"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":163.4,"endTime":167.93,"body":"welcome. And I was like, Wow, a"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":167.93,"endTime":172.1,"body":"Hasidic Rabbi welcoming me as I"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":167.93,"endTime":172.1,"body":"am, welcoming me just as a"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":172.1,"endTime":172.88,"body":"Jewish person."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":175.1,"endTime":176.63,"body":"I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":175.1,"endTime":176.63,"body":"think maybe I was a positive"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":176.63,"endTime":181.37,"body":"role model, or an example of a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":176.63,"endTime":181.37,"body":"Jewish Deaf person who felt"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":181.37,"endTime":182.87,"body":"connected to Judaism."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":183.02,"endTime":185.93,"body":"And I was so"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":183.02,"endTime":185.93,"body":"inspired by our conversation."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":186.35,"endTime":189.53,"body":"And he asked me for help in"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":186.35,"endTime":189.53,"body":"setting up a nine foot menorah,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":189.89,"endTime":193.25,"body":"and having a Hanukkah service"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":189.89,"endTime":193.25,"body":"outside. And I just said,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":193.4,"endTime":195.86,"body":"absolutely, yes, let's do it."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":198.51,"endTime":200.73,"body":"He"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":198.51,"endTime":200.73,"body":"sprung into action to help us"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":200.85,"endTime":205.35,"body":"and really shepherded the"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":200.85,"endTime":205.35,"body":"process forward to have a big"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":205.47,"endTime":212.16,"body":"public celebration of Jewish"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":205.47,"endTime":212.16,"body":"identity. Prior to that, all the"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":212.16,"endTime":215.79,"body":"Jewish celebrations on campus"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":212.16,"endTime":215.79,"body":"had been very low key and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":215.79,"endTime":218.55,"body":"understated. And when I got"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":215.79,"endTime":218.55,"body":"there and wanted to make a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":218.55,"endTime":224.46,"body":"splash, with a big public"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":218.55,"endTime":224.46,"body":"display, nine foot hanukkiah for"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":224.46,"endTime":228.69,"body":"all to see. Initially, it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":224.46,"endTime":228.69,"body":"ruffled some feathers."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":228.9,"endTime":230.7,"body":"Why would a"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":228.9,"endTime":230.7,"body":"Hanukkah celebration in"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":230.7,"endTime":232.83,"body":"Washington have ruffled"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":230.7,"endTime":232.83,"body":"feathers?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":232.98,"endTime":236.91,"body":"Oh,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":232.98,"endTime":236.91,"body":"brother, I, it's politics. In"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":236.91,"endTime":239.64,"body":"DC. Everything is politics."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":239.85,"endTime":243.0,"body":"Rabbi Soudakoff"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":239.85,"endTime":243.0,"body":"says that first menorah lighting"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":243.0,"endTime":246.87,"body":"at Gallaudet gave Jewish"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":243.0,"endTime":246.87,"body":"students there an opportunity to"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":246.87,"endTime":250.83,"body":"express their identity on"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":246.87,"endTime":250.83,"body":"campus. He credited Steve Wiener"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":250.83,"endTime":252.09,"body":"with making it happen."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":252.18,"endTime":254.43,"body":"We've"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":252.18,"endTime":254.43,"body":"connected time and time again."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":254.7,"endTime":257.97,"body":"We've studied together over"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":254.7,"endTime":257.97,"body":"zoom, and have had some"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":257.97,"endTime":260.1,"body":"fantastic experiences together"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":260.28,"endTime":263.19,"body":"Torah, in depth"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":260.28,"endTime":263.19,"body":"discussions about Mishna and"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":263.19,"endTime":264.57,"body":"studying Rashi's work."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":264.66,"endTime":267.09,"body":"Wiener says he"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":264.66,"endTime":267.09,"body":"tried to learn my Maimonidies"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":267.09,"endTime":270.96,"body":"Guide for the Perplexed when he"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":267.09,"endTime":270.96,"body":"was 20 years old, and two more"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":270.96,"endTime":275.31,"body":"times when he was older, but"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":270.96,"endTime":275.31,"body":"each time he was on his own. He"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":275.31,"endTime":277.14,"body":"was, well, perplexed."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":277.32,"endTime":280.08,"body":"But now I'm going"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":277.32,"endTime":280.08,"body":"to try to read it again. And"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":280.08,"endTime":283.65,"body":"it's going to be very different,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":280.08,"endTime":283.65,"body":"because I know that I have Rabbi"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":283.65,"endTime":285.24,"body":"Soudakoff to talk it over with."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":288.54,"endTime":291.75,"body":"As Soudakoff was"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":288.54,"endTime":291.75,"body":"meeting Deaf Jews and helping"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":291.75,"endTime":295.26,"body":"them connect to their heritage"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":291.75,"endTime":295.26,"body":"in the US, he was also learning"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":295.26,"endTime":299.73,"body":"how Jews around the world were"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":295.26,"endTime":299.73,"body":"underserved. In 2013 when he was"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":299.73,"endTime":303.69,"body":"just 22 years old, he was"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":299.73,"endTime":303.69,"body":"approached by a total stranger"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":303.69,"endTime":307.68,"body":"at a Shabbos dinner in Queens."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":303.69,"endTime":307.68,"body":"The man was an older Russian"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":307.68,"endTime":309.69,"body":"gentlemen, and he was deaf."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":309.78,"endTime":312.06,"body":"And he"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":309.78,"endTime":312.06,"body":"came right up to me and said,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":312.48,"endTime":316.41,"body":"\"You need to start a camp in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":312.48,"endTime":316.41,"body":"Moscow. There are hundreds of"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":316.41,"endTime":320.82,"body":"deaf children in Russia, Jewish"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":316.41,"endTime":320.82,"body":"Deaf children who need a place"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":320.82,"endTime":323.94,"body":"to go, they need to run free and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":320.82,"endTime":323.94,"body":"have a camp to go to\"."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":324.15,"endTime":327.09,"body":"Soudakoff told the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":324.15,"endTime":327.09,"body":"man that he knew no Russian, and"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":327.09,"endTime":330.99,"body":"that the idea was impossible."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":327.09,"endTime":330.99,"body":"But the man was insistent."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":331.11,"endTime":333.27,"body":"And"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":331.11,"endTime":333.27,"body":"after Shabbat, I thought, you"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":333.27,"endTime":336.81,"body":"know what, I'll humor him. I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":333.27,"endTime":336.81,"body":"wrote an email to the Chief"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":336.81,"endTime":340.59,"body":"Rabbi of Russia, and I never"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":336.81,"endTime":340.59,"body":"thought I'd hear back but I sent"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":340.59,"endTime":346.26,"body":"off the email. And I got an"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":340.59,"endTime":346.26,"body":"answer within hours. \"Sure, we'd"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":346.26,"endTime":347.58,"body":"love that. How can we help?\"."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":348.23,"endTime":351.14,"body":"The next summer"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":348.23,"endTime":351.14,"body":"Soudakoff opened Camp Gan Israel"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":351.14,"endTime":355.52,"body":"in Moscow. It began with just"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":351.14,"endTime":355.52,"body":"two deaf children. The camp now"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":355.52,"endTime":358.52,"body":"serves about 40 Boys and Girls"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":355.52,"endTime":358.52,"body":"each year."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":358.64,"endTime":361.34,"body":"This"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":358.64,"endTime":361.34,"body":"past summer, we had a camp in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":361.34,"endTime":365.15,"body":"Tbilisi, Georgia, a place where"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":361.34,"endTime":365.15,"body":"kids could come and enjoy"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":365.15,"endTime":368.66,"body":"themselves, have fun, and learn,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":365.15,"endTime":368.66,"body":"and have the opportunity to"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":368.66,"endTime":373.04,"body":"grow. A program like that gives"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":368.66,"endTime":373.04,"body":"them the fuel to connect to"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":373.04,"endTime":375.08,"body":"their Jewish identity year"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":373.04,"endTime":375.08,"body":"round."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":375.17,"endTime":378.56,"body":"Rabbi Soudakoff"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":375.17,"endTime":378.56,"body":"grew as well. He can now sign in"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":378.56,"endTime":381.2,"body":"Russian and Hebrew, and Yiddish."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":382.91,"endTime":386.03,"body":"Even as he was helping deaf Jews"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":382.91,"endTime":386.03,"body":"break down communication"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":386.03,"endTime":389.72,"body":"barriers. Soudakoff was dealing"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":386.03,"endTime":389.72,"body":"with stereotypes about deaf"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":389.72,"endTime":392.9,"body":"people. For about three years,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":389.72,"endTime":392.9,"body":"he had been looking for a"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":392.9,"endTime":396.86,"body":"marriage partner. In 2011. He"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":392.9,"endTime":396.86,"body":"went to a matchmaker in"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":396.86,"endTime":398.0,"body":"Lakewood, New Jersey,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":398.03,"endTime":400.04,"body":"This"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":398.03,"endTime":400.04,"body":"was somebody who specialized in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":400.04,"endTime":404.54,"body":"making matches for people with"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":400.04,"endTime":404.54,"body":"diverse special needs. She said,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":404.72,"endTime":408.83,"body":"\"Yehoshua would you be willing"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":404.72,"endTime":408.83,"body":"to date somebody in a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":408.83,"endTime":412.13,"body":"wheelchair?\" And I said, \"I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":408.83,"endTime":412.13,"body":"don't understand the question\"."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":412.97,"endTime":417.77,"body":"And she said, \"Well, you know,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":412.97,"endTime":417.77,"body":"you have a disability, maybe it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":417.77,"endTime":422.15,"body":"would be a good match, it seems"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":417.77,"endTime":422.15,"body":"obvious to me\". But to me, it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":422.15,"endTime":425.48,"body":"wasn't obvious. Disability is"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":422.15,"endTime":425.48,"body":"not even part of the equation."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":425.48,"endTime":433.28,"body":"It's a linguistic thing. I said,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":425.48,"endTime":433.28,"body":"\"Look, I have no problem with"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":433.31,"endTime":437.21,"body":"dating any kind of diverse"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":433.31,"endTime":437.21,"body":"person with any kind of need."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":437.21,"endTime":439.79,"body":"But I don't want to date"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":437.21,"endTime":439.79,"body":"somebody that I would need an"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":439.79,"endTime":441.8,"body":"interpreter to communicate"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":439.79,"endTime":441.8,"body":"with\"."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":443.75,"endTime":447.68,"body":"I don't see deafness as a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":443.75,"endTime":447.68,"body":"disability. We're a linguistic"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":447.68,"endTime":451.46,"body":"minority. We just are a group of"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":447.68,"endTime":451.46,"body":"people who speak a different"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":451.46,"endTime":453.74,"body":"language and come from a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":451.46,"endTime":453.74,"body":"different culture."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":454.01,"endTime":456.53,"body":"With that in mind,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":454.01,"endTime":456.53,"body":"Soudakoff founded the American"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":456.53,"endTime":461.45,"body":"base to Jewish Deaf foundation"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":456.53,"endTime":461.45,"body":"in 2014. The Foundation offers"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":461.45,"endTime":465.02,"body":"innovative programs in sign"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":461.45,"endTime":465.02,"body":"language to Jews all around the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":465.02,"endTime":465.56,"body":"world."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":465.62,"endTime":467.27,"body":"When"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":465.62,"endTime":467.27,"body":"you're in an all deaf"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":467.27,"endTime":471.17,"body":"environment, everything is"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":467.27,"endTime":471.17,"body":"through direct communication. So"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":471.17,"endTime":474.89,"body":"questions and answers can flow"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":471.17,"endTime":474.89,"body":"freely. When someone has that"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":474.89,"endTime":479.72,"body":"experience, I believe that"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":474.89,"endTime":479.72,"body":"empowers them to go participate"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":479.75,"endTime":482.72,"body":"in an environment where maybe"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":479.75,"endTime":482.72,"body":"they are the only deaf person,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":483.17,"endTime":486.17,"body":"because they've had enough"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":483.17,"endTime":486.17,"body":"formative experiences where they"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":486.17,"endTime":488.66,"body":"can participate in a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":486.17,"endTime":488.66,"body":"predominantly hearing"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":488.66,"endTime":490.88,"body":"environment, and feel like they"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":488.66,"endTime":490.88,"body":"can hold their own."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":490.0,"endTime":496.63,"body":"While he was"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":490.0,"endTime":496.63,"body":"blazing new trails for the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":496.63,"endTime":500.17,"body":"Jewish Deaf community, Soudakoff"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":496.63,"endTime":500.17,"body":"was still struggling to find a"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":500.17,"endTime":504.01,"body":"match. A friend of Soudakoffs"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":500.17,"endTime":504.01,"body":"tried repeatedly to set him up"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":504.01,"endTime":507.7,"body":"with a deaf woman in Israel. He"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":504.01,"endTime":507.7,"body":"procrastinated for months,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":507.85,"endTime":510.97,"body":"putting the needs of his campers"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":507.85,"endTime":510.97,"body":"and students ahead of his own."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":511.27,"endTime":513.22,"body":"But his friend was relentless."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":513.28,"endTime":514.9,"body":"And"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":513.28,"endTime":514.9,"body":"I'd been asked enough times that"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":514.9,"endTime":518.41,"body":"I finally said, All right, what"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":514.9,"endTime":518.41,"body":"do I have to lose? Let's give it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":518.41,"endTime":518.92,"body":"a shot."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":519.31,"endTime":522.01,"body":"In the summer of"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":519.31,"endTime":522.01,"body":"2016, Soudakoff began to"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":522.01,"endTime":525.52,"body":"communicate with a deaf woman"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":522.01,"endTime":525.52,"body":"living in Israel. Her name was"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":525.55,"endTime":528.91,"body":"Cheftziba. But before she would"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":525.55,"endTime":528.91,"body":"agreed to meet him in person,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":529.12,"endTime":530.2,"body":"she had a question."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":530.54,"endTime":531.98,"body":"\"Do"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":530.54,"endTime":531.98,"body":"you see yourself living in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":531.98,"endTime":535.94,"body":"Israel?\" And at the time, I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":531.98,"endTime":535.94,"body":"wasn't sure. And she made it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":535.94,"endTime":539.54,"body":"quite clear from the beginning,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":535.94,"endTime":539.54,"body":"If this is going to work, if"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":539.54,"endTime":542.36,"body":"we're going to be married, if"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":539.54,"endTime":542.36,"body":"there's a future for us, it's"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":542.36,"endTime":543.41,"body":"going to be in Israel."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":544.1,"endTime":546.86,"body":"So Soudakoff made"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":544.1,"endTime":546.86,"body":"the trip to Israel to meet"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":546.89,"endTime":551.03,"body":"Cheftziba. They went on a date,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":546.89,"endTime":551.03,"body":"quickly hit it off, and the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":551.03,"endTime":555.8,"body":"match was made. They were"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":551.03,"endTime":555.8,"body":"married in early 2017. And now"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":555.8,"endTime":559.79,"body":"raise a young daughter in"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":555.8,"endTime":559.79,"body":"Israel, of course."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":561.86,"endTime":565.85,"body":"The Soudakoffs began working"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":561.86,"endTime":565.85,"body":"with Israel's deaf community. In"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":565.85,"endTime":571.52,"body":"2018. They established \"Chushim"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":565.85,"endTime":571.52,"body":"ben Dan\" in Rishon L'tzion. It's"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":571.52,"endTime":574.49,"body":"the official Chabad center of"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":571.52,"endTime":574.49,"body":"the deaf and hard of hearing"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":574.49,"endTime":575.24,"body":"community."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":575.48,"endTime":578.93,"body":"But what exactly is the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":575.48,"endTime":578.93,"body":"significance of the name Chushim"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":578.96,"endTime":579.65,"body":"Ben Dan?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":579.74,"endTime":583.55,"body":"Chushim"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":579.74,"endTime":583.55,"body":"ben Dan is the only character in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":583.55,"endTime":588.26,"body":"the Tanach that is identified as"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":583.55,"endTime":588.26,"body":"deaf. In all of Jewish"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":588.26,"endTime":592.58,"body":"tradition, we have this one"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":588.26,"endTime":592.58,"body":"character to look to. And I was"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":592.58,"endTime":594.17,"body":"inspired by his story,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":594.26,"endTime":597.35,"body":"but there's another"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":594.26,"endTime":597.35,"body":"reason the Soudakoffs chose that"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":597.35,"endTime":597.8,"body":"name"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":597.83,"endTime":599.93,"body":"in"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":597.83,"endTime":599.93,"body":"Hebrew, the acronym of Chushim"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":599.93,"endTime":605.15,"body":"ben Dan actually forms the word"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":599.93,"endTime":605.15,"body":"Chabad. So it just seemed"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":605.18,"endTime":607.25,"body":"natural. It just made sense."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":610.87,"endTime":613.69,"body":"So how does Chushim"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":610.87,"endTime":613.69,"body":"Ben Dan help deaf Jews in"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":613.69,"endTime":614.23,"body":"Israel?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":614.35,"endTime":616.51,"body":"Like"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":614.35,"endTime":616.51,"body":"many Chabad houses, we have"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":616.54,"endTime":620.65,"body":"gatherings for Shabbat, for"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":616.54,"endTime":620.65,"body":"holidays, we have summer camp"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":620.65,"endTime":623.5,"body":"opportunities, we have"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":620.65,"endTime":623.5,"body":"children's programs, we have"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":623.5,"endTime":628.3,"body":"programs for senior citizens, we"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":623.5,"endTime":628.3,"body":"take trips, we do workshops, we"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":628.3,"endTime":632.17,"body":"have one on one mentorship and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":628.3,"endTime":632.17,"body":"lessons, Bar \u0026 Bat Mitzvah"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":632.17,"endTime":636.61,"body":"lessons. Everything under the"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":632.17,"endTime":636.61,"body":"sun is what we do. We provide"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":636.61,"endTime":641.71,"body":"opportunities for every deaf and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":636.61,"endTime":641.71,"body":"hard of hearing Jew to actively"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":641.71,"endTime":646.12,"body":"participate in their Jewish"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":641.71,"endTime":646.12,"body":"life. Our program provides an"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":646.12,"endTime":649.69,"body":"opportunity for our community"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":646.12,"endTime":649.69,"body":"members for deaf and hard of"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":649.69,"endTime":654.13,"body":"hearing Jewish individuals to"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":649.69,"endTime":654.13,"body":"become active participants, to"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":654.13,"endTime":656.98,"body":"become leaders in their"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":654.13,"endTime":656.98,"body":"community, to make things"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":656.98,"endTime":657.52,"body":"happen."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":657.76,"endTime":660.55,"body":"The Soudakoffs hard"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":657.76,"endTime":660.55,"body":"work brings with it unique"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":660.55,"endTime":664.87,"body":"challenges. For instance, during"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":660.55,"endTime":664.87,"body":"Rosh Hashanah, how does one help"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":664.87,"endTime":668.65,"body":"deaf Jews fulfill the obligation"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":664.87,"endTime":668.65,"body":"of hearing shofar?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":668.71,"endTime":670.54,"body":"Well,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":668.71,"endTime":670.54,"body":"I can't give you one answer,"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":670.54,"endTime":673.84,"body":"because deaf people are diverse."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":670.54,"endTime":673.84,"body":"There are some people who wear"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":673.84,"endTime":676.09,"body":"hearing aids. There are some"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":673.84,"endTime":676.09,"body":"people who use cochlear"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":676.09,"endTime":679.18,"body":"implants, and may have some"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":676.09,"endTime":679.18,"body":"residual hearing. And so they"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":679.18,"endTime":682.81,"body":"experience it phonetically. And"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":679.18,"endTime":682.81,"body":"there are different opinions and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":682.81,"endTime":687.16,"body":"interpretations of what it takes"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":682.81,"endTime":687.16,"body":"to satisfy that commandment. If"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":687.16,"endTime":691.27,"body":"you're listening through hearing"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":687.16,"endTime":691.27,"body":"aid or a cochlear implant, that"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":691.3,"endTime":692.77,"body":"may be one way to do it."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":693.04,"endTime":696.13,"body":"I am not a hearing aid user. I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":693.04,"endTime":696.13,"body":"don't have a cochlear implant."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":696.79,"endTime":699.73,"body":"But what I like to do is stand"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":696.79,"endTime":699.73,"body":"next to the person who's blowing"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":699.73,"endTime":703.36,"body":"that shofar and let them blow it"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":699.73,"endTime":703.36,"body":"right into my ear. I can hear a"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":703.36,"endTime":706.81,"body":"little something. And that's"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":703.36,"endTime":706.81,"body":"meaningful to me. It's the"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":706.81,"endTime":710.2,"body":"faintest of sounds, but I can"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":706.81,"endTime":710.2,"body":"hear it and I connect."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":710.44,"endTime":713.08,"body":"Back in the US"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":710.44,"endTime":713.08,"body":"Steve Wiener serves on boards"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":713.08,"endTime":716.2,"body":"for the Jewish Deaf Resource"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":713.08,"endTime":716.2,"body":"Center, the Jewish Deaf"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":716.2,"endTime":719.95,"body":"Congress, the Maryland School"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":716.2,"endTime":719.95,"body":"for the Deaf, and the New York"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":719.95,"endTime":721.09,"body":"School for the Deaf."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":721.21,"endTime":723.28,"body":"I'm involved with"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":721.21,"endTime":723.28,"body":"the civil rights movement,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":723.4,"endTime":726.49,"body":"fighting for the rights of deaf"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":723.4,"endTime":726.49,"body":"people. And I'm involved with"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":726.49,"endTime":730.0,"body":"deaf education with the goal of"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":726.49,"endTime":730.0,"body":"improving the experience of deaf"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":730.0,"endTime":730.51,"body":"children."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":730.6,"endTime":733.21,"body":"But what about the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":730.6,"endTime":733.21,"body":"goal of improving his own"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":733.21,"endTime":736.06,"body":"experience? Here's a story about"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":733.21,"endTime":736.06,"body":"that."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":739.18,"endTime":742.03,"body":"Not long after the Menorah"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":739.18,"endTime":742.03,"body":"lighting Steve wiener helped to"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":742.03,"endTime":745.75,"body":"make a reality on the Gallaudet"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":742.03,"endTime":745.75,"body":"campus, he was walking with his"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":745.75,"endTime":749.44,"body":"brother and his son on"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":745.75,"endTime":749.44,"body":"Manhattan's Lower East Side."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":749.54,"endTime":752.39,"body":"And it was Friday"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":749.54,"endTime":752.39,"body":"night, and it was getting darker"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":752.39,"endTime":756.05,"body":"outside. And a Hasidic man came"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":752.39,"endTime":756.05,"body":"up to me and said, \"Was your"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":756.05,"endTime":759.74,"body":"mother Jewish?\" And I said,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":756.05,"endTime":759.74,"body":"\"Yes.\" And I had my brother"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":759.74,"endTime":762.71,"body":"there. And my brother said,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":759.74,"endTime":762.71,"body":"\"yes, our mother was Jewish.\""},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":763.31,"endTime":767.06,"body":"And I said, \"Well, my son's"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":763.31,"endTime":767.06,"body":"not.\" And he said, \"it doesn't"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":767.06,"endTime":767.51,"body":"matter\"."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":767.63,"endTime":770.51,"body":"Soon, Wiener and"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":767.63,"endTime":770.51,"body":"his brother and son entered a"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":770.51,"endTime":774.5,"body":"basement shul. Remember that"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":770.51,"endTime":774.5,"body":"Steve had, in his own words,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":774.5,"endTime":778.67,"body":"left the Jewish community"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":774.5,"endTime":778.67,"body":"decades ago. He hadn't attended"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":778.67,"endTime":780.62,"body":"a minyan, since his bar mitzvah."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":780.8,"endTime":783.2,"body":"And my brother and"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":780.8,"endTime":783.2,"body":"I were the ninth and 10th"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":783.2,"endTime":786.11,"body":"people. So then they finally"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":783.2,"endTime":786.11,"body":"could start their service."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":787.07,"endTime":789.65,"body":"Steve says his"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":787.07,"endTime":789.65,"body":"brother knew little about Jewish"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":789.65,"endTime":791.54,"body":"afternoon and evening prayers."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":791.6,"endTime":793.88,"body":"And so I was"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":791.6,"endTime":793.88,"body":"explaining to my brother what to"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":793.88,"endTime":798.11,"body":"do, when to sit, and bow, and"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":793.88,"endTime":798.11,"body":"all of that. And he had his"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":798.11,"endTime":801.62,"body":"prayer book upside down. And I"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":798.11,"endTime":801.62,"body":"found a prayer book in English"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":801.62,"endTime":805.85,"body":"for him. And my son was watching"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":801.62,"endTime":805.85,"body":"all of this. And when the"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":805.85,"endTime":809.72,"body":"service was over, and we left,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":805.85,"endTime":809.72,"body":"my son said something very"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":809.72,"endTime":814.58,"body":"important to me. He said, \"Dad,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":809.72,"endTime":814.58,"body":"I've never seen you that happy\"."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":815.12,"endTime":817.43,"body":"He said, \"Your eyes were"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":815.12,"endTime":817.43,"body":"shining\"."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":818.6,"endTime":821.33,"body":"Steve credits"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":818.6,"endTime":821.33,"body":"Soudakoff with rekindling his"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":821.36,"endTime":825.29,"body":"Jewish flame. He says he's never"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":821.36,"endTime":825.29,"body":"met anyone like him."},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":825.47,"endTime":827.99,"body":"He has the light"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":825.47,"endTime":827.99,"body":"of the shechina emanating from"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":827.99,"endTime":831.53,"body":"his soul. He is armed with"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":827.99,"endTime":831.53,"body":"knowledge, and with love of"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":831.53,"endTime":835.7,"body":"learning, and love of Hashem,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":831.53,"endTime":835.7,"body":"And Hashem's people. The Rabbi,"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":835.88,"endTime":838.01,"body":"he's really my biggest"},{"speaker":"Steve Weiner","startTime":835.88,"endTime":838.01,"body":"supporter."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":840.32,"endTime":843.74,"body":"Rabbi Yaehoshua"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":840.32,"endTime":843.74,"body":"Soudakoff is just 30 years old."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":843.98,"endTime":847.91,"body":"He wants to help create more"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":843.98,"endTime":847.91,"body":"community leaders. To do that,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":847.91,"endTime":852.14,"body":"he and Cheftziba want to expand"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":847.91,"endTime":852.14,"body":"Chushim Ben Dan, which he says"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":852.14,"endTime":855.83,"body":"needs a new building to call its"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":852.14,"endTime":855.83,"body":"own. For now, they will continue"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":855.83,"endTime":860.12,"body":"to operate in their small rented"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":855.83,"endTime":860.12,"body":"space and to meet as many people"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":860.12,"endTime":860.99,"body":"as they can."},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":861.35,"endTime":862.43,"body":"I"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":861.35,"endTime":862.43,"body":"think it all comes down to"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":862.43,"endTime":866.03,"body":"leading by personal example. So"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":862.43,"endTime":866.03,"body":"just by meeting people and"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":866.03,"endTime":870.47,"body":"having them meet me, has an"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":866.03,"endTime":870.47,"body":"impact. It changes the way they"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":870.47,"endTime":873.98,"body":"view the world, and what they"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":870.47,"endTime":873.98,"body":"think is possible, and they go"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":873.98,"endTime":876.89,"body":"out into the world and just"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":873.98,"endTime":876.89,"body":"blossom from there."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":876.0,"endTime":880.11,"body":"So Rabbi Soudakoff,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":876.0,"endTime":880.11,"body":"what's next for you?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":880.35,"endTime":883.17,"body":"More"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":880.35,"endTime":883.17,"body":"counseling, more teaching, more"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":883.17,"endTime":884.07,"body":"encouraging!"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":884.25,"endTime":886.86,"body":"I already know the"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":884.25,"endTime":886.86,"body":"answer to this question, but I'm"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":886.86,"endTime":890.94,"body":"going to ask it anyway. Are you"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":886.86,"endTime":890.94,"body":"satisfied with what you've been"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":890.94,"endTime":892.59,"body":"able to accomplish so far?"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":892.86,"endTime":895.29,"body":"I've"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":892.86,"endTime":895.29,"body":"never met a Chabad Shliach who's"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":895.32,"endTime":897.66,"body":"satisfied with what they've done"},{"speaker":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff","startTime":895.32,"endTime":897.66,"body":"so far."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":900.18,"endTime":903.39,"body":"A full transcript"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":900.18,"endTime":903.39,"body":"of this episode, and also of"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":903.39,"endTime":907.23,"body":"part one of our story about"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":903.39,"endTime":907.23,"body":"Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff can be"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":907.23,"endTime":909.27,"body":"found at lubavitch.com."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":913.17,"endTime":916.26,"body":"I'm Gary Waleik. Thanks for"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":913.17,"endTime":916.26,"body":"listening to Lamplighters,"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":916.29,"endTime":919.68,"body":"stories from Chabad emissaries"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":916.29,"endTime":919.68,"body":"on the Jewish frontier."},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":923.25,"endTime":926.4,"body":"We welcome your questions and"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":923.25,"endTime":926.4,"body":"comments about what you've just"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":926.4,"endTime":929.52,"body":"heard on Lamplighters. Please"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":926.4,"endTime":929.52,"body":"email us at"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":929.52,"endTime":933.57,"body":"podcast@lubavitch.com. And if"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":929.52,"endTime":933.57,"body":"you know of a great story"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":933.57,"endTime":935.82,"body":"involving about Chabad"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":933.57,"endTime":935.82,"body":"emissaries or the people they"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":935.82,"endTime":938.97,"body":"inspire, please let us know"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":935.82,"endTime":938.97,"body":"about them. That's"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":940.5,"endTime":953.58,"body":"podcast@lubavitch.com. This is a"},{"speaker":"Gary Waleik","startTime":940.5,"endTime":953.58,"body":"Lubavitch international podcast."}]}