InKredible Kids
A podcast with Kosher content geared toward empowering Jewish kids of all ages. We interview kids from around the world and have many interactive segments for all kids to enjoy. While having fun and learning new skills, kids will hear about responsibility, empathy, confidence, and more!
InKredible Kids
How She Turned Pain Into Power | Charlene Aminoff
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In this IK Teens episode, Charlene Aminoff shares a powerful message about strength, resilience, and self-worth.
This episode was originally recorded live during an IK Teens Zoom session, bringing together teens for a real and meaningful conversation.
Through her experience, she speaks about what it means to face challenges, process difficult moments, and choose to grow from them rather than be defined by them.
As we approach Pesach — a time of renewal, growth, and personal freedom — this conversation offers a meaningful reminder that real strength comes from within. It’s about how you see yourself, how you respond to challenges, and how you move forward.
This episode is for any teen who has ever felt hurt, left out, or unsure of themselves — and is ready to discover their inner strength.
🎥 The full video of this session is available on the InKredible Kids YouTube channel.
Welcome To Incredible Teens
SPEAKER_03Hey teens, welcome back to another program for IK Teens, where teenage Jewish girls can come together, grow together, learn together, laugh together, sing together, and get to know ourselves better together. Stay in the know by going to incrediblekids.org for more information. And now it's time for Incredible Teens. Testing, testing. Okay, correct, Mike. Amazing. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Incredible Teens. Uh, this is an amazing, amazing turnout for this crazy time we're in right now, called like, I don't know, I don't want to say R of P Safia, because we still have some time and it makes people anxious, like myself. Um, but it's amazing to see all of you here. Just by raise of hand, I'm gonna switch over to gallery mode. Anyone brand new here who's never been on IK teens before? Anyone, because I see a lot of familiar faces, but hello. Okay, welcome, incredible Leakwitter. And who else? Keep those hands up. Okay, Shook girls and Libacats and the L kinds are in Toronto. I feel like I've seen you before. Okay, I don't know. Um, okay, and so many others as well. So welcome to every single person here, each and every one of you. You are so incredibly awesome for joining us. And um today, we are treated. Tonight, we are treated, rather, it is the nighttime. Um, we are treated to a special guest before we get to our special guest, who, as we know, is Mrs. Charlene Aminoff. This is like something that I've want a person, a special person who I've been wanting to bring onto our program for so long. She is loved and beloved by so many women around the world. And I don't know, I don't know if like I ever got an opportunity when I was your age to um be able to have this kind of conversation with somebody um who normally is world-renowned speaking to big groups of women, but at a you guys are old enough, you guys are mature enough, um, and you're at the perfect age to hear about all of the different inspiring aspects of life. Because I always tell people who are here before, no, I always say that um your stage of life is the best stage of life to be in, even if it doesn't feel it, and I don't and you're like, oh my gosh, it's so lousy that if this is the best, then what what's gonna be? But no, and I'm being serious, like take advantage of the fact that you can focus on yourself as much as you want. Obviously, you need to do chassid, obviously, like the real kind of chassed, that you know what I'm saying, not like the one that the school forces you to do. Um, obviously you need to do chassed, obviously you need to um, you know, give of yourself in order to become a better person. But remember that so much about this time is focusing on yourself. Who am I? Who am I gonna be? Who can I become? What can I work on? And it's much easier to do it at your age. I'm trying now to work on myself in areas that I wish I had known I could work on myself on when I was 15, 16, 17 years old. But it's not too late. It's just much harder. Much, much harder. And I have so much else going on in my life that it's like, ah, so you guys are at this amazing stage where you can still stretch those muscles to make the important change possible in your life. But don't worry about changing so much. You guys be exactly who you are and shine that beautiful light that you're shining. I just played Shane D. Platzker's new Shahakal song. Do you guys know it already? So many people know it already. It just brings so much joy. I love listening to it. It's actually um, it's actually a bracha that I've been loving for a long time. I wish I could say I always say it with kavana. When I say it a lot of times, I'm just like quickly grabbing, if you know, assuming everyone, if you could say a braha already, that's amazing. But to have the right kavana that everything will be how Hashem plans it to be, um, it's such a special thing to remind ourselves are, anyways, when you're making the braha a million times. Um, Risa Yeeman, see you on Pesah. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Yay! Okay, so everybody, um, we're gonna start off Tehilim Army with a park of Tehilim. I'm sorry, Teahilim Army. I'm used to saying it. Incredible teens, but you know, we are in the in the habit of saying tahilim to start out our program. Everybody has something that they're divining for, somebody that they know that they're divining for. Um, I'm gonna start off very quickly to put us into a certain frame of mind, and I also want to give an update. So, so many of you, by raise of hands, who here um knows about Libby, the story with Libby. Oh my gosh, amazing. So Libby's younger than you guys. She's eight years old. Libby's in Columbia Hospital, and um, I made a trip from Baltimore to visit her a few weeks ago, and it was something that she's been begging me for a year to come visit her. And she's waiting for a heart transplant, and it can take a long, long time. And she's been in the hospital itself, living there for six months already, bored out of her mind. So we went, and I'm not gonna tell you all the details because clearly many of you saw the video and it's very special. Um, Libby has a next-door neighbor in the room next door to her. Her name is She-Ra. She Ra, if you didn't yet hear, Shera got a heart yesterday. Barra Hashem, and she is. I'm just giving everyone an update because so many people asked how she's doing. Shera is Bar Hashem doing very well, and she's continuing to improve, and we have to keep divining because um, you know, we have to the heart, the body has to accept the new heart, and that's how it is. But I just want to tell you something quickly that happened yesterday that really changed my entire life. I'm telling you right now, nothing, nothing, nothing in my whole life compares to the inspiration I got yesterday. Guys, this is the craziest thing, and it's not easy to inspire me. It is not. I am a very skeptical person. I it takes a lot to inspire me, and even though I do get emotional, but to be inspired, this is different. Um, so yesterday, Libby FaceTimed me. So she face times me and my kids a lot since we went to visit her. She FaceTimes us and I couldn't pick up. I was very busy. I was giving my kids a bath, and my tickle was falling off my head, and everything was nuts in my house. And my daughter, Leora, is like, mommy, mommy, Libby's calling. I said, You talk to Libby, you know her, talk to her. She's your age. So she's like, Okay. So she picks up my phone, she's like, Hi, Libby, Libby's like, I need your mommy right now. Give your mommy. Where's your mommy? She's like, My mommy's giving a bath. She's like, I uh my mother's not available. Leo, I'm like, Leora, tell her I'll call her back later. She said, No, I need mommy right now. Give me mommy, give me mommy. So I'm like, okay, fine. I quickly like put my tickle back on my head because like usually her father's sitting there or whatever. I go into the can to the to the FaceTime and I'm like, Libby, what's up? And she's like, Marsi, Martiri. I'm like, what? And she's like, I have news, guess what? And when sh my kids were all standing there, so Davore, Nahuva, and Leora and Shlomo even, all came around the phone and they're all looking at my phone and they're like, oh my gosh, could it be? Cause we we all know Libby, we Libby's waiting for this heart for almost six months. And we're like, every day my kids asked me, Did Libby get her heart yet? And she's like, I have news. And I and her father said, because as you know, she had um she had uh two strokes, so it's very hard for her to talk. She could hardly get the words out. She said, My friend, She-Ra got a heart. And I I looked at her and I said, What? What what? I like I didn't I didn't know how to react because she was so happy she wanted us to be happy, but we all thought that she was gonna tell us about herself. And then we saw how happy she was, so we all just like put smiles on her face and we were really excited for She-Ro. We're like, Yay! It's so exciting, Mazletov. And and then Libby's like, Okay, I'm hanging up on you. I have to call my next friend to tell them. You know, like did anyone here ever have a sister who got engaged? And like you have to call like your whole list of friends to tell them. That's how excited she was. She just slams the phone down on us, and me and my girls, we look at each other, and I I said, I couldn't say anything. Actually, I said nothing. We are all just blink, and my daughter Devorah is the one that talked first, and she's the one who came with me to the hospital to visit her, and she's like, I really thought it was gonna be for her. And I said, I know we all did. And then of course I got the chills, and then I I started crying, and we all were just frozen. And then I said, Um, guys, what just what you just saw right now? And I'm hoping that everyone here, all of you, Batcheva and Pessi and Sarah and Sivya, all of you can feel it through me telling you the story because it just happened and I feel the chills all over again while I'm saying it. That's why I'm repeating it. I said, if what you just saw, what we just witnessed today, what we just experienced with Libby on FaceTime, was the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life. Because you know how many stories I've heard about people who felt simcha for another yid, or like even Arun Hakoin, he was happy for Moshe and he got to wear the Khoshan. I was like, this this is what they're talking about. This is it. Like, I this is the real life example of being happy for a friend and and being like, and and you want the same thing as them, and that's all she ever wants. It's exactly the same thing. And instead of being jealous, she's literally on the highest madriga. So we all stopped and I said, Everybody, let's use this moment to say a little bit of like to Hillam. And we don't usually, we're not such a like such a fluffy family, but like we just didn't know what else to do. And we're like, this should be a huge zahus for Libby. And I figured that if, you know, and and I've really been thinking about it since then. It's been now 48 hours since it happened. I I I can't stop thinking about it. How happy she was. The next morning she called me again on FaceTime. This time all my kids were in school. I was out in a bit. I don't always pick up for her. This time I picked up again because I wanted to get an update. She's like, I've been more tiri, I've been saying tahilim the whole morning for Shera. The the surgery's at 2 30. And she held up her tahilim army tahilim. And we set a parak together while I was doing a speed walk, huffing and puffing um down my driveway, down up my street. And it is really you guys, it is really ordinary kids. And not obviously she's not ordinary, but like she is ordinary, you know? We're all ordinary. That's what brings mashiach. That is what brings light into this world. Each and every one of you can be that light. It doesn't take the biggest sadik out there because you just might have that same power inside of you. I am gonna stop talking. I think we're gonna actually go straight over to Charlene and then we'll do that to Helen afterwards because I don't know what kind of schedule you're on, Charlene. I'm gonna add a spotlight over here. Now I see you. I feel like I'm talking to myself over here sometimes, but I know you're all listening because I look at my face. Hi, welcome. I'm so excited to be here.
SPEAKER_00I'm so happy to host you, and everyone is, I'm sure. It's incredible that this worked out. And before we begin, I just want to make a big shout out to my nieces, the Livion family. They're all on. They're watching. So I love you girls. I I'm they're so excited that I when people saw that I'm going to be on Incredible Kids, I cannot tell you what emails, phone calls, messages I received. I was like, we should have done this a long time ago. I think our schedules just couldn't sync, but Hashem wanted it to work tonight, and I'm so excited to schmooze.
Meeting Charlene Aminoff
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so, so excited. I'm gonna allow your you, Charlene, to introduce yourself to everyone the way you would like to be introduced. I look up to you and respect you so much. And you came to Baltimore recently and spoke for the women, and I pushed myself to go to that speech, and I am so happy I did because I gained so much from that night. And so I hope that everyone here can gain something. I'm pressured on.
The Mashiach Bag Homework
SPEAKER_00Who am I? I'm I'm I'm an ordinary average Evet Hashem. Um I have a crazy story from 15 years ago, almost 16 years ago, where I was not yet serving Hashem the way he deserves to be served. So then Hashem, very smartly and with so much kindness and brilliance, decided to send my little daughter Gali to head dive into our pool in Miami. And she ended up sinking, she ended up drowning, think all the way to the bottom of the pool. And in those very, very terrifying and scary moments, I found Hashem in the darkest, darkest place of my life. Lodula Sham, I married a tremendous Sadik, and he has been in Hatzala for over 34 years. Now he's only doing Hatsala air because this guy is so cool. And he began performing CPR on Gali's dead, lifeless body while I looked on in horror and I was not yet wearing a shatl or keeping my body tnewed the way I was supposed to. And at that moment, this pasuk from Tehilim. My favorite parak of Tehilim is Khuf Yud Tet. It's 119. It's the longest parak in all of Tehilim. And it is also the gmatria of Avigail Khana, Gali's full name. So a pasuk from Tehilim began flashing in my mind. Karati Bakholev Anini Hashem Khukeka etzorah. And I had this aha moment. I said, Hashem, I am not serving you on your terms. I'm serving you on my terms. That pusuk means I cried out with all my heart, answer me, Hashem, I will keep your ways. And I literally stopped while my husband is doing CPR on my two-year-old's lifeless body. And I looked at myself and I thought to myself, is this the way someone serves Hashem in a bathing suit with my hair open? So I'm about shuva, right? I didn't grow up from. And I just thought right that moment, with this pusuk flashing in my mind, Hashem wants more from me. And I said, Hashem, I know exactly what it is. It's my hair and it's my body. And I took a towel, covered my body, took a blue shawl, raised up my right arm, and I started screaming and sobbing. And I wrapped my beautiful hair in that blue shawl, symbolizing the last day of my old life and the first day of my new life. And in those crazy hectic moments, so Hashem gave Gali right back to us in perfect health with our Hashem, no brain damage, no water in her lungs, really mamash, a walking miracle. And from that moment on, I became, I started serving Hashem on his terms. So what is my title? I an Ever Hashem. That's it. I'm a mommy of five miracles. I was told I would never have children. I had 11 miscarriages. And through all of that, through all those mountains and challenges and storms that I've had to weather in my life, I'm only 44, but I feel like I've lived like 80 years worth of life. Through all of that, although I did have 11 miscarriages, Kodul Hashem, Ben Parat Yosef, I'm blessed with five of the most sparkling stars in Abraham Avinu's sky. So that's my story. As a result of my challenges but triumphs also, it's not just about the trials and tribulations, it's about the trials and triumphs. Through all of that, I decided to spend my life spreading light however I can, whether it's to encourage somebody to cover their hair, whether it's to encourage someone to dive in more, to encourage someone to just recognize that Hashem is kolyachol. And there is no situation in the world that is beyond the help of Hashem. That's such an important lesson because we often think we're in control. We're in control. We're not in control of anything. We are in control of how we react to the circumstances Hashem puts around us. So I choose to always be the Simcha. I choose to take that simcha and shock Shamayim with the happiness. So much so that if those, I don't know if if the the girls here know, but my most recent mountain that Hashem wanted me to climb was this past year when I was diagnosed with the machine. I was diagnosed with cancer. But don't feel bad. I am 10 million times closer to Hashem now than I was before I got diagnosed with this scary disease. And Hodula Hashem, Baruch Hashem, I'm good, done with treatment. And it just was another mountain that Hashem wanted me to climb so that once I climb it, I can then help others climb theirs. So I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to just be able to share a little bit of me and a little light, a spark, and Bajrat Hashem, maybe it'll be enough to bring Mashiach. I'm ready for Geoula. In fact, Moritziri, I don't know if you know this, but I have had a Mashiach corner at the front of my house since COVID, since March of 2020, packed suitcases, uh tambourines, the plaque of the brachot we make when we see mashiach when we hear the shofar. So after 120 years, when Hashem asks me, Sepita La Ishua, did you anticipate mashiach? Did you really live day to day yearning for redemption? I'm gonna be able to say yes. So before everybody goes to sleep tonight, I have one spiritual homework for everyone. I want every one of you to go and pack a mashiach bag. Make sure there's no khamates in it, make sure it's completely kosher the paysach, but put a bag or a duffel bag or a suitcase by your front door. I put a beautiful white gown, I put our passports. We're not gonna need passports when the mashiach comes. Hold on, you wear a white gown? Can I show you my mashiach corner? Do you guys want to show my?
SPEAKER_03I was about to say, can we see it? That's why I was just unmuting.
SPEAKER_00So wait. So I don't know if I can have, I don't know if I have a picture of my gown, but I have a picture of my corner.
SPEAKER_03I didn't know that like gowns were the type. Like I'm gonna be very underdressed if I bring what I was planning on bringing.
SPEAKER_00Moritziri, please go and buy yourself a mashiach gown.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00And and put it in a duffel or a suitcase by your front door and say, Hashem, this is my tsepita leishua answer. And get tambourines and get your little uh mashiach cards because mesh can come. Kahf ain. Are we ready? I am. I'm gonna show you how ready I am. Are you guys ready for this? All right, now my Rebbe is a Vimosha Weinberger from Ashkodesh in Woodmere. And I we I was schmoozing with the Rebbe during uh COVID, because you know everybody thought Mashiach was coming during COVID. And somehow the topic came up where Rebbe asked me something like Michael, my Hebrew name is Michal, as you can see from my profile. My Rebbe asked me, Michal, are you ready? And it was a very he wasn't referring to Geaula, he was referring to like I was doing an event for his community and he said, Michal, are you ready? And I said, Rebbe, I'm gonna show you how ready I am. So this is my Mashiach video. Hang on, I'm gonna show it for you guys. I also want you to share the bracha with us because I don't know that people know. Wait, is it that's your suitcase?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, we see.
SPEAKER_00No, no, you need to hear me. I'm ta I'm like, uh, wait, wait.
SPEAKER_01Rebbe, I wasn't kidding.
SPEAKER_00I was not kidding about my mashiach suitcases packed with our passports, money, some jewelry, my very expensive mashiach gown. Of course, we're gonna fly first class, and these are our Aminov tambourines. One for me, one for each girl. I'm ready, Rebi. After 120 years, when Hashem asks me, Supika La Yeshua, I'm gonna show this video. And it's still there. Four years, four and a half years in counting.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Is everybody still the same size? Like, do you have to change out anything in the store?
SPEAKER_00So it's so funny. I gained a lot of weight over the past few years. COVID, COVID quarantine 15, that was real. Yeah. But then after my diagnosis, I ended up losing a lot of weight. So I actually fit back in my mesh gown. Perfect. Perfect.
SPEAKER_03Or maybe there will be some sort of miracle. Like with the case. Yeah, maybe all of a sudden seams will spread and you know, who knows? Everyone will fit into their Shavebrachos dress again. That would be amazing. Um, that's that is so that is so cool. That is so amazing. I wonder how many people here, I wonder how many people as mothers here are gonna think we're nuts when we, you know what I'm saying? I don't have that problem. My mother has no clue, but everyone else here.
SPEAKER_00I think I think being nuts, the Dara Hashem, kind of cool in this day and age.
SPEAKER_03Wow, wow, very cool. Okay. Um, so are you cool if I ask you some questions? And then I would love for some of the I'm sure the girls, like I even noticed, by the way, that while you were sharing some of the bits of your story, bits, because there's really obviously so much more. Um, some of the girls here looked like they were nodding because you know it's hard. We can't hear people. So people, oh yeah, I knew that. And then some people are like, she drowned. Like, so obviously, obviously, you know, and you have to realize when did that happen? You said 14 years ago?
SPEAKER_00Gali drowned tuba of July 26th, 2010. So we're approaching 16 years.
SPEAKER_03So I'm seeing some of like some people here weren't born, you know?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So it's it's like it's a story that I remember happening, like it feels like it just happened, but it clearly didn't. Um, so that's why, that's why we need the you know, it's good you're coming on now to tell the next generation.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. All the things that we take for granted that we remember, you know. That's how I became from, and that's how we started my my company. It's called Ghali's Kutura Wake. So, Mirza Hashem, when all of you girls are kalas, you can come to me for your shatels, because we do shatels pretty much at costs, and it's a really fun um environment. I also, uh it's crazy how Hashem works. As a result of Gali's nace, I became from and I started covering my hair right away. But right after my daughter's drowning, her her her miracle, her nace, my mother was diagnosed with stage four, a very, very advanced stage of the bad disease, also. Um, this is going back again 16 years. So, right when my company started, I wanted it to really be just for the callas and for from women, but I I it ended up being that I wanted it to be also a medical uh service that we offer. So we actually, the Khaz de Hem, we fought with lawmakers in Albany, and it took almost four and a half years, and we finally got this really cool thing called an NPI number. It stands for National Provider ID number. And I can give wigs totally for free for someone who's sick and who's losing their hair from treatment. So that became my that just became like my my my extra project that I I focus so much of my love on because as a woman, and you know, we all like to look pretty and we like to have pretty shapes and nice hair. But for a woman to get diagnosed and to have that fear of what is just gonna look like without hair, we say, Don't worry, we'll take care of your wigs, you take care of your health. So that became our our little add-on bonus of Golly's story.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Wow, wow, that's amazing. Okay. Well, the first thing I was gonna ask you, just because we are here with so many teens and I see some preteens. Um, basically when people say that, can I come on the Can I join the teens? Am I considered a teen? I say, listen, if you are asking the question, then we're not gonna, we're not gonna say no to you. We you know, if you feel we say, uh, my Majikhan seminary, we just we discovered she was younger than some of us. And we were like, oh, we're not listening to you. Yeah. And she would say, It's not the age, it's the stage. I was okay. So it's definitely so you know, sometimes you have a fifth grader who has the maturity of a tenth grader, and sometimes you have a 50-year-old with the maturity of a 12-year-old. I'm kidding. So so that's why we have so many different people, girls here of different ages. It is a nice range. So I'd love to hear from you, Charlene, a little bit about what you were like, not even religiously, just as a teenager, what you remember from those years, what are maybe some of the talking points?
Charlene’s Bullying Story
SPEAKER_00So interesting. I don't think I've been asked this question on an interview before. What was I? I wish I had my Rebbe's or my moras here to answer that for me. I was okay, so I went to Yeshiva Dovrevel uh for elementary school, and then I went to Oh, my father went there. No way. Yeah. What how old is your father? Like for kindergarten, I think.
SPEAKER_03No, actually, maybe for elementary school.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so I'm 44. So if he's it within like two, two years of me.
SPEAKER_03No, no, my father's way older than you.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So I never heard of anyone going to that school. I'm it was it was it was pretty cool back in the day. It was it was a popular school back in the day, and I was there until fifth, sixth grade, and then I switched over to Ezra Academy. So, girls, actually, I have a crazy story to share. I don't know if um anyone has heard me speak about this because it was a very dark time of my life. I was bullied terribly in school. Um, during my years of yeshiva do revel. My my worst bullying years were third, fourth, and fifth grade. Uh, and sixth actually was four years. And then Baruch Hashem, when I moved to middle school, seventh and eighth grade, the bullying stopped. And from ninth grade and on, Khazdeh Hashem, it was a totally different story. But for four years, I was bullied so badly. I don't think people even know to what I'm saying. I would never have guessed. Never. You've never spoken about this before? No, the first time I spoke about it officially was two weeks ago. I was flown into Chicago to speak for the Walder Lev education uh organization. And they wanted me to speak about Chesed and bullying. And when they spoke to me about the topic, I said, one minute, you know that I was bullied? And they said, no, we just want you to speak on it. I said, one second, this is gonna be almost like an autobiography. I had the worst ex I had the worst bullies, the meanest, cruelest bullies, but I do have a very happy ending. I had these two girls whose mission through from third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade was to make me cry. And I don't know if the girls here know I'm very, very petite. I'm five feet tall. Okay, so I'm very short, I'm very little. My husband, Bar Khajan, is six two, so he's like a giant, and I'm like a little, little, little girl next to him. And because I was so small, I would get picked on. And the bullies just were relentless. Um, I have green eyes. I don't know if you guys can see. My eyes are green. Their song was green is the color of throw up, green is the color of throw up, alluding to the fact that my eyes look like throw up. And it just went on and on. And Bar Hashem, I was a very, very, very bright girl. My eye got straight A's. I was very, very smart. So the teachers loved me, but I didn't have a lot of friends. I had two friends, but these two friends were so scared to be my friends out in the open because the two bullies were way bigger and scarier and more intimidating. So this went on for four years. One of the worst experiences I remember, but not worse as in bad, worse as in it made me who I am today. So as a matter of fact, it's probably the best story ever is that it was a fire drill. And I was in third or fourth grade, and as we were marching up, marching in a line to go out of the school to go out, you know, because it was a fire drill. I don't know if they do fire drills anymore these days, do they? I hope they do. They do, they do. Okay, I'm seeing a lot of thumbs up. Okay. So back back, I'm again, we're going back about 30-something years. Back then, when they would do fire drills, it was actually really scary because the sirens would ring through the halls. And if you're older, you're probably gonna like it because it's a good way to waste time and you get to see your friends. But when you're younger and you have a fire drill, it could be scary. You don't know what's happening. You don't know if it's a real fire or it's a drill. So we were lined up and heading out of Dove Revel to go and stand on the street corner. And as I was lining up, one of my bullies opened up the janitor door. She shoved me the closet of the janitor's office, this look scary, creepy, dirty, gross closet. She opened the door, she shoved me in and she locked it. This is the worst story ever. But can I tell you how good Hashem is to me? Let me tell you what happens. She throws me in the closet and she locks the door. And because I'm so short, I wasn't able to reach the light. The light wasn't like the modern day light switches where it's it's on the wall and you could just tap it and turn it on. It was a light bulb hanging from the ceiling with a little string attached to it. You have to pull the string and the light bulb would turn on. Really old. And I couldn't, no matter how much I jumped, I couldn't reach the string to open the light. So I couldn't see anything and I couldn't feel anything. And I was trapped in that closet for about 30 minutes, 40 minutes, as long as it takes to go all line up old school outside, wait, and then line everybody back in. Probably took about 30 minutes. And I was sweating and I was crying and I was like talking to Hashem and finally and I was begging Hashem and Hashem help me, Hashem, please get me out of here. And I will never forget when I heard them coming back into the school, and I was banging and banging on the door. And a teacher opened up the door and said, What are you doing in here? And I didn't know the laws of Lash and Hara enough to know, am I allowed to tell her what happened? So I said, somebody threw me in here. And she said, You have to tell me who I said, I can't, I can't, I can't. She said, Charlene, you need to tell me who did this to you. And I said, I can't, I can't. I wanted to go home and speak to my mom and my father and to see, am I allowed to say anything? So it was a really long day. I went home. I was so sad. And I got home and my mom had made the most amazing dinner and I couldn't even eat it because I was so sad. And she's like, What's wrong? And I sat and I burst out crying and I told my mom the whole story. And I said, Am I allowed to tell the school who it was? And she said, Well, first of all, in a situation like that, it is technically like Lato LFs. Like you, you may be able to tell them because they might be able to help the girl. If she's hurting you, she's hurt. Hurt people, hurt people. So she said, So before we do anything about telling the school, let's dovin for her. Because if she's so hurt that she feels the need to throw another person, someone who's so happy, in a closet and lock them in, there's something wrong up here, and she's really hurting. So my mother and I sat right by her favorite, the big fluffy sofa, and we brought our tahilims out and we set tahilim for my bully. And this went on for a while. The school couldn't really do anything. It was a complicated situation. And anyway, this went on for a few years. I had multiple instances. One time I will, it was picture day, and my own hair, my natural hair, is straight. So the night before picture day, my mom, right at when I would come out of the shower, she would braid all of our hair. We all, all my sisters, we all have straight hair. And we always dreamed of having curly hair. So my mom would braid our hair while our hair was still wet and damp. And we would go to sleep. And in the morning, when we would open it, it was all crimpy and mermaid y. So it was picture day, and I had crimped me my, I had the braids in my hair from the night before. And I opened and I felt so pretty. And I was wearing a brand new sweater, and I was really excited for picture day. And I went to school and we were online waiting for the pictures to be taken. And the other bully, they were like like besties. They were like sidekicks. The other bully took a can of Coke from the vending machine and she shook it and shook it and shook it and shook it and shook it and shook it and shook it. And then she came right in front of me and she opened the can. So the thing exploded all over my hair and all over my shirt. Wow. And I had to call my mom, tell her to come back to school and bring me a change of clothes and to fix my hair. But let me tell you how everything turned around. Yes, I'm waiting for the good part. The good part.
unknownOkay.
Closure Through Forgiveness
SPEAKER_00We I did end up telling the school, the teacher, who the girl was and who the other girl was. And nothing was done from by the hands of the teachers or the school. They couldn't. It was a little complicated situation. The girls both had kind of a hush of families that were very involved in the school and in and you know, supporters and and builders. Anyway, fast forward 20 something years. I'm trying to think. It was the it was the first week salons opened during COVID. Okay, so fast forward maybe 30 years. Okay, I never I never had closure from this whole bullying incident. They left, I left, the school ended up closing down, I switched schools. My new school was Ezra Academy, the best school in the entire world. I went from being like the Nebach Miskena bullied victim to like the coolest girl in school. So Hashem really had my back. And I was the first of my friends to get married to a literal malach. My husband is actually an angel sent from Shamayim. And I had these delicious, incredible kids. So I was walking, I had both my bullies. I had my moment of truth with them. The bully that threw me into the closet called me. It was the first day nail salons had opened after COVID. And my nails were gross and long and yuck. And I was so excited that she gave me an appointment. And we got, we went with our masks and our gloves and everything. And I was sitting in my car right outside the nail salon. What is it? Plexiglass. Yes, exactly. All those awkward, yeah, they were. Exactly. And it's so cumbersome and it was like moving the whole time. And I I I'm going into the nail salon, and all of a sudden, my phone rings, and I see from the caller ID, it's the name of my bully. And I'm like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Even though I'm an adult and Baruch Hashem, a capable adult, I declined. I was like, no, no, no, I can't talk to her. And I declined. And then all of a sudden I was like, wait, she can't hurt me anymore. I'm married with five kids, and Baruch Hashem, like, every Hashem is so good to me. Why am I scared? And she left a message saying, Hi Charlene, I don't know if you remember me. And I'm like, ah, I remember you, my friend. And she's like, um, if we went to elementary school together, if you can call me back, I just I I had a quick question. And I had, I came home, I got my nails done, but it was like a bad manicure because my mind was racing. I couldn't even enjoy it. I came home and I told my husband, I was like, honey, my my bully called me. He's like, and I'm like, oh, I declined it. I didn't answer. He's like, You're you're a grown adult. Why don't you call her? Here, I'll sit next to you. Let's call her back. See what she wants. So I said something to Hillim. I composed myself and I called her. And she's like, Hi, it's so-and-so. Do you remember me? And I'm like, yeah, I I I do, I remember you. And she's like, I have the weirdest question. Was I mean to you when we were younger? I'm like, what do I do? Do I say the truth? Or do I act like it was no big deal? But it really, it it terrorized me and it traumatized me for many, many years. But I'm a happy person and I had wonderful support of the best parents and the best life, it didn't derail me, didn't break me, but it really, really affected me. So I took a deep breath and I said, uh, maybe a little. And she said, Did I bully you? And I was like, a little, but you know what? It's it's fine. We're grown-ups now, we're good. And she started crying. And I'm like, oh my gosh, what is happening? What is happening? And she said that she had a really, really hard life. And she said, ever since she was a little girl, she had a really hard life. And her way of getting a little bit of simcha or a little bit of power or a little bit of value to herself was to dig holes for others to elevate herself. And then she said that she has been going through a lot of really, really bad health struggles. And her husband was not doing well with Parnassa, and they were about to lose their house. And she just started naming a bunch of really, really sad things that happened to her. And she said that she had gone to Ertisrael and she went to Tsadikim for a bracha for her mazzle. And one of the Tsadikim, one of the gadolin that she went to, said to her, Is it possible you hurt people when you were younger? And maybe that's why your mazzel is locked? And she was like, I think. I wasn't her only victim, so she had a lot of people to call and apologize to. But she, so the Rav told her, this big Tadik and Erzisral told her, call every person that you were really, really mean to and that you bullied and that you hurt and ask them to forgive you and ask them to dog for you. Maybe someone whose nishama is still hurt from the way you treated them. It's like it's like blocking your tfilot from getting uh going up to the Kiseha Kavod. And she called me and she said, Can I ask you to forgive me? And girls, I was like, I've been waiting 30 something years for this phone call. Like, I've been waiting so long to feel like I got the upper hand. I won this battle. But instead I said to her, I said, from the bottom of my heart, I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you. Mahulach, mahulach, mahulach. And I said, now give me your Hebrew name. I would like to dive in for you. I will take upon myself to say Nishmat Kolhai for you for the next 40 days. And please, please, please be in touch with me with your good news. Girls, it wasn't 40 days later, it was maybe 60 days later. It was about two months later. My phone rings again and it's her. And again, my silly knee-jerk reaction is to decline because I got panic stricken to see her name. But then I was like, no, wait, we're not, we're past that. So I called her back and I said, Hi. And she said, Sharlene, you saved my life. Ever since I hung up the phone with you, right away, I just felt like a load off my body, off my shoulders. And Bar Hashem, she had a Rafua. Bar Hashem, her husband found a job. They did not lose their house. Her child had a ishua. Everything that she was divining for ended up working out Litova. So that was the bully number one. Bully number two. I was on Main Street in Queens with my husband and my kids, walking to go to Shimon's pizza. And as I'm walking on the street holding my kids and just like living life and being so grateful to Hashem for my miracles. Like, I was told I would never have a child. And here I am with these five awesome, delicious, super cute kids. Like, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky. And I'm walking with my kids and my husband, and a lady walks past me and she coughs. And my heart started to race. I said, I recognize the sound of that cough. That cough has haunted me for decades. So I turned around and I went over to the lady and I said, Excuse me, are you so-and-so? Bully number two with the can of coke. And she said, Yeah. And I said, Oh, hi. Um, it's Charlene Levy before I got married. My name was Levy. It's Charlene Levy from Dovreville. And she said, Oh, hi. And I looked at her and she needed a zivok. She was not yet married. And she was not yet married, and she looked like she had a rough life. And I stopped and I said to her, I said, I just want to say that it's so nice to see you. And I wish you the best of muzzle and everything. And invite me to your vart. And she was like taken aback. She was like, and then she said, she's like, oh, I mean, thank you. Um, by the way, I'm sorry if I was like really unkind when we were younger. I was like, don't worry about it. I forgive you, forgive and forget. We're good. Guys, six months later, she invited me to her VART. Do you guys understand? It's unbelievable. So my my elementary years were not the best, but then my high school years were. And then right when I got married, it's like I'm everything that I had gone through suddenly became so worth it. Because, okay, so I had to go through those little challenges. But in the end, Hashem showed me that he had my back the whole time. And Bar Hashem, now we're good, we're all good. There's no more trauma. The bullies are married and healthy and happy and everything. But I saw with my own eyes how I was so blessed. And so if anyone here has dealt with bullying, I assure you, Hashem has your back. And justify it by telling yourself, hurt people, hurt people, but forgive your bullies so that they can have muscle too. This was my lesson that I learned.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Uh wow. First of all, that was very, very, very, very incredible that you shared all of that. Because first of like, I'm sure everyone here is thinking what I'm thinking. Like, you are the most beautiful, like cool person. And when you think of someone, if I were to say to a person, draw a picture of a kid who's being bullied. Like you would you'd be thinking like Neb, like you know, whatever, like big glasses, but I have big glasses. I'm not wearing them now. But like, you know what I mean? Like you would, you would, you would have like a certain idea in your head of like who should be bullied. But this shows that, you know, it there's nothing wrong with you. Like, it's not you. And we've all, you know, sometimes people are quick to say, oh, bullying. What you described are two those two stories are both very, very real bullying stories, right? Sometimes people feel like they're being bullied in a smaller way or in a bigger way, whatever it is, like it could first of all, it could pass, like you were just saying, like it will pass and it does pass. Um, and sometimes it could be fixed in the situation, but oftentimes it takes longer than we want. And we can't fix people like this, and we can't really fix people ever. They have to really want to fix themselves. And what's so interesting that you said about that first girl was that that first girl, she only called you once she was asked, Was there anyone you bullied? And she even had to ask you, Did I bully you? Right? Like, because for her, you know, people forget, like like Hashem does this thing to people in general. It's like it's proven by science that like if you I'm not a scientist, so don't quote me on this, but like, you know, um things that happened to us in our childhood that are bad memories or takufas in our life, even like some people who've been through really, really hard things when they're in their 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s, they can't remember. Like they could like forget like whole chunks, whole 10 years at a time. Like they could you could say, Do you remember anything from being 12, 13, 14, 15? And they'll say, No, I remember nothing because they've been through something so terrible. So it's possible we right, like that someone like that, they were hardly even aware to the point that she can't even realize she really can't remember. And you're thinking, What do you mean? How could you not remember? Like I was like, you were so mean to me, right? Because it's so if for you, you replay it like a movie in your head, and you can say the details of the how the you could smell the closet and you could right and you can feel the sweat from all the waiting for someone that I'm feeling the sweat secondhand listening. So, but then for the other person, they're really, really struggling. Not to say that we should be okay with whatever they're doing, but it's just it's so it's such a good visual for us to know that they really are hurting. And we really are not to blame. And you have the nicest green eyes. So she took but they take, it doesn't even make sense. Somebody said something very mean to me yesterday. No, I'm not even saying what it is out loud because I'm not supposed to even like pay attention.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, don't give a co-op. But words sting, yeah, they really do. You know the saying, sticks and stones can hurt my bone, can can hurt my bones, but words could never harm me. Whoever made that up was so wrong because sticks and stones can break your bones, but bones will heal. Words that are painful will stick with you forever. And also, I learned from my own incidents that Lefum Sahara Agra, the greater the suffering, the greater the reward. Third, fourth, fifth grade, it was a bit of a blur because I was so traumatized and terrorized by these two girls. And those are just two stories. I have volumes. I it was uh we were leaving gym and my mom had made me a delicious sandwich, and I took out my sandwich and I was so hungry and I came to bite to bite into it. I had washed, so I couldn't even talk. And I was about to bite into it, and one of the bullies smacked the sandwich out of my hand, so it fell to the ground. I was so hungry that I was like, I'm just gonna pick it up and eat it. I don't care. And she saw from my eyes that I was about to go for it and still eat it. So then she stomped on it. And this went on like every day. I was thrown in the dumpster. There was like they were doing renovation in a school. So they picked me up and they threw me in. These are like just memories of my childhood. Oh, very, I promise you.
SPEAKER_03It made me who I know, but you were definitely in you were definitely like you didn't deserve that at that age, though.
SPEAKER_00I was in so much pain back then, but I had the awareness that Hashem is in control, and I have my mother and my father, and we're gonna dive in, and everything's gonna be okay. And this doesn't make me a bad person, it doesn't make me a lesser person. I'm not, you know, and then it helped me become super sensitive to bullying. It made me empathetic, it made me so giving and loving that I kind of feel like okay, thank you, Hashem. I I'm so happy it happened. Happy it's over, but I'm happy it happened. Right, right, right, right, right. It was a gift. It was like a very, very strange way of all of my challenges in my life between my bullying, my infertility struggles, my 11 miscarriages, my daughter Gali's drowning, my own cancer, every single Ended up being a tremendous gift from Hashem. Not at the moment. It took a while until I could really come out and say that. But when I got diagnosed with the bad with the machla with cancer this past year, I got diagnosed January 6th, 2025. So it's 14 months ago. I finished treatment on May, May 14th, May 16th, I finished treatment. And when I first got diagnosed, I thought, Hashem, where is the lesson here? What am I learning? I already felt like I'm so close to you. I'm already on a mission to spread your light. I've dedicated my life to Chesed and to Torah. What is there in this message that I need to learn? And then I thought to myself, if one person can find out because of me and go get check and go to the doctor and go for a checkup and find something really early on and I could save her life, Dainu, then it's worth it. So, Mort Siri, I want you to know that I had told myself, if one woman, I save one woman's life as a result of my own condition, my own diagnosis, it's enough. As of two months ago, 33 lives were saved because of my cancer. So, how is that not a gift from Hashem?
SPEAKER_03How do you how do you know that number?
SPEAKER_00Like, is that I have saved every they they didn't just like stomp stop me on the experiment on me. It was like a heartfelt email or a long, lengthy email uh phone call to my office because either they were coming in to get a wig or they were letting me know that I saved their life and they don't need a wig. I the number 32 is a Hushiva Hushiva Rebitsin, who's much, much older, who the only people in the world who know are me, her husband, and Hakadash Varahu. And she said she'll never ever tell anybody that she found the disease in her body. But she heard me speak. She was at one of my sheer. She went home. She told her husband, I haven't gone for a checkup in a long time. She went and they found it, and she is perfect, done. She didn't need to do anything. She just removed it and it's done. So when I Khazal tell us that when you save one person's life, it's like you've saved an entire universe. I've saved 33 universes. Wow. How awesome is Hasha.
Questions From The Girls
SPEAKER_03Wow, that's amazing. Okay, I know, I know, I don't know how much time you have left, Charlene. We're good. I'm good. Let's do this. Okay, so let's let's take some questions from the girls because I can I can do this all day from my my own, but you superseded. No, no, no, like for real. Like I anyone who listens to my podcast, to the Incredible Kids Podcast, knows that we've done many different segments on bullying specifically. Um, because I I can't speak about it enough. And I think the more people hear and see that it's people you would never have expected. They're big, you know, singer superstars that we know and respect, and we found, oh, they were bullied. Like you hear these things and you're like, okay, we're gonna be we're gonna be good, you know?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're gonna be more than good. Yeah. In fact, when I spoke in Chicago on this topic, um, I said, I feel and I wish my bakasha is that there should be a zero bullying policy, zero tolerance for bullying in all schools, because no one should have to endure what the victims of bullies go through. But if you are the victim of bullying, just know that your future is so beautiful and so bright. And just Davin. That's all I can tell you. Just Davin.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so I see some girls with their hands raised. So I'm gonna unspotlight myself and let's see. So, girls, think of your question now. Like, think of something, something for based on something that Charlene said or something that you would love to ask her. Unrelated Libby from a few questions. Who's Libby from London? Are you in London right now? Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00Time is it, Libby? It's 1 21. I'm sorry you stayed up so late to hear us schmooze. Was it cute? She doesn't look sorry. Libby, what's your question for me? Do you still see the billlies on a regular day? No, bar Hashem. No, one of them moved away. And the other one, although she does live in New York, we're very different. Um, just hushkafikally, we're so different that we don't really run into each other. So, bar Hashem, no. Even though if I did see them now, I would just go over and give them a hug. I'm like, we're good now. I'm over it.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, thanks for joining us. Whoa. Wow. Oh my gosh. Okay. Every once in a while I see some people in Europe and I'm like, what in the world? So crazy. Um, okay, let's see.
SPEAKER_00Look at your reach. Look at you. Your link.
SPEAKER_03I do, barra khasham. And I already also got many, many emails from people overseas saying, please record it, please record it. We're missing it. And I said, go to sleep and we'll we'll send it to you.
SPEAKER_01We'll share the link.
SPEAKER_03Let's hear the incredible Bleamy Levy. Bleamy Levy, I'm gonna unmute you. Hi, Bleamy. Hi.
SPEAKER_00Welcome. I love your hair color. Thank you. I donated it. Saj day kit. So so special. Hashem gave you a gift and you forwarded your gift to somebody else. You're so amazing. You're incredible, just like your name says. What's your question for me? Um, was your husband from when you got married? Such a good question. So Jonathan and I were both kind of on the same level when we both got married. We're both Balichuva. So we were both keeping kosher and we were both Shomar Shabbat, but I wasn't dressing Tsanua, I wasn't dressing Tniasa yet. And he wasn't like so careful with going to Minyan three times a day and learning. Now, Barak Hashem, he goes to Minyan three times a day. He learns every single morning. Um, he is the he founded the Great Neck division of Hatzala, but now he's doing Hatsala air. He's like the chsed, I don't know, angel of Great Neck. But it was actually both of us growing together at the same pace through all of our challenges together. When I couldn't have children, a big tzadik from Erit Israel, the Biala Rebbe from Ben Abrach, and Rabemosha Weinberger, my Rebbe from New York, both told me to stop wearing pants. And when I stopped wearing pants, that was the month that Hashem blessed me to get pregnant with my Jacob, with my oldest, who's 22. So Jonathan was, we were both totally on the same level. So every time I wanted to grow, he grew with me. And it's such a braha that he was never, we were never opposing. It was always just like a team. So I want to give a braha to everybody here that Amir Tashem, when you become Kalas, you should find a Hassan that will always be your teammate and build the most beautiful future together without any strife or struggle. Because having him as my my Azar Connector, my plus one in life really allowed me to become who I am today. So um we both grew together and I think we're both still a work in progress. We're still both growing and growing. And Baruch Hashem, my kids are all following in their Tzadik father's footsteps. Boys, Zachary's and Ertz Israel. He didn't come back for Pesah, he's staying. My oldest son, Jacob, is part of the Kolel, and my youngest is going into high school. And then I have my two girls, Gali and Aliza, who are in TMM in the five towns. And I cannot count my blessings enough. I'm so, so, so blessed. So do lashem. But none of this would have been possible if Jonathan and I weren't the same level and moving along together. Wow, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_03Great question, Blamey. Good question, Bleamy. Thank you. Wow, I love that you donated your hair, also. Okay, let's do another question from the incredible Lake Waters. Is it yes, plural, Lake Waters? Hi.
SPEAKER_02Hi, girls. So it's more of a comment than a question. Sure. Um, so I'm I'm like the youngest from all my neighbors. So I used to get like bullied a lot. And I had a neighbor who was like, she was, she wasn't like, she did not blame me at all. She was just like standing on the side and just watched. Because like you said, like she was, let's say, scared of other ones. And look at us now. We are bestie. I am chill. You on my heart. I love that. So Bestie's like, they go like one of them goes to the same school. We're like best friends.
SPEAKER_00Girls, you know that exactly what you're doing is exactly what's needed to complete the Beta Mikdash. You know, we're in Gallus because of Sin Ashinam. And the only way to get out of Gallus and to rebuild the Beta Mikdash is to Av Ashinam. So what you guys did, that you repaired that little bullying kink that was, you know, you you ironed that out and now you guys are besties. Do you know how proud Hashem is of you? This is incredible. I'm so proud to hear that. Remember this always. Just spread kindness. The kinder you are to other people, people, the kinder Hashem will be to you. So just keep at it. Amazing. Amazing.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Hashem, that we called on them. That was so good. Let's do, let's do like two more because there's so many amazing girls here. Okay, let's see. The Incredible Sin C girls.
SPEAKER_01Hi, girls. Hi. Um, we want to know um when you like when something happened, like, what was like the first like person that like you thought of to like go to and tell and like tell them, like, or like ask, like, what should you should you do?
SPEAKER_00My mom. My mom. Definitely my mom. She's also still my first fashion choice. When I buy something, like we're going, we have a simcha and I buy a gown. First, I show my mom. If my mom loves it, then I'll show other people. But my mom is just the biggest sadekest. She's been she's been a preschool teacher for 35 years. She's the most amazing Mora Juliet. And she has so much chachmah. She's so wise and she's so beautiful. And she's had a crazy story herself. She was diagnosed a very, very advanced case of the bad disease of lymphoma cancer 16 years ago. And when she found out that she was sick, she danced and she made all of us get up and dance with her. And that was my, she's my role model of life. And because she reacted that way to her news, I knew exactly how to react when I got the phone call that I had cancer. And I picked up my kids and we danced around the uh dining room table at the Altair Hotel. So if anybody has watched my podcast for Inspiration for the Nation with Jakov Langer, I allowed him to put that video of me dancing with my kids in the hotel room. It was moments after I found out I was I had this disease. And I allowed him to put it in because I felt like if people can see when a woman really, really trusts Hashem and really has Amuna, true Amuna, even the scariest hurricanes will get up and dance because we trust Hashem. So my mom is definitely my first phone call. It's my first phone call in the morning, my last phone call at night. And also she lives seven houses away. So it's so fun to be able to run over. And she's the best cook. So I'll sometimes when I'm really hungry and my kids ordered like weird takeout, I'm like, I'll be right back. And I run to my mom's house and I eat her food.
SPEAKER_03That is so cute. I see your mother in the background, in and out, and your mother's like, I hope my kids do that for me, right? They're the best. They're the best. Amazing. Okay, thank you, girls. Wow, that was so good. Okay, I said I said one more, so let's do one more. Even though I wish we could do a hundred more, but I just know that I'm gonna start getting a text like more tiri. Wrap this up. It's bedtime. Um, okay, whoa, there's so many. What this is a very intriguing name you have. Incredible Toll Timber teens. Is that the name of your street? Toll Timber? That's my guess.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Hi girls.
SPEAKER_00Hi. Welcome. What what question or comment would you like would you have for me? What school do your kids go to? Okay, so I have a 22-year-old Jacob. His Hebrew name is Jakov Vitzhak. He goes, he is now in Kolel. And then my Zachary is in Nativ Arye and Artis Rel. He's in Yeshiva and Artisral. He's 19, almost 20. And then I have Gali and Aliza. Gali's my miracle girl. And Aliza is the girl that we started a clothing line for because one mor one night, very late at night, Aliza, as a little girl, walked into our bedroom and said, it's not fair. Gali drowned and she got Gali's kutter wigs. I don't want to drown, but I want something too. So we did a clothing line. I don't know if you guys have heard of the Kitty Chic. So I designed the Aliza collection for Kitty Chic, and it was amazing. So that became Aliza's project. So Aliza and Gali both go to TMM in Farakwe. Gali is graduating. She's a senior. Aliza's in 10th grade. Gali is going in Mirta Sham to Kitov Sahra Seminary this summer. We're very excited. And then my baby is Yosef. My Yosef Aaron is 14 and he is going to Messifta Teras Yaakov in September. He's finishing Kolyakov now. They're going to the five towns.
SPEAKER_03New girls got all the hack. And they're exactly I am an off rundown. That's the cutest thing ever. I love that they wanted to know that. Listen, you know, it's a it's a very big compliment. It's like when you feel like comfy with somebody, it's like we want to know everything.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
Gratitude Before The Yeshuah
SPEAKER_03Um I wanna like before we say goodbye, I wanna, and we still have to do it to hell him, girls. Let's not forget. Um before we say, before we close out, I wanna say that um after Charlene, after you spoke, and I I sent you this email um a little bit after uh you spoke here in Baltimore. I was in my ninth month. I was very, very pregnant when I came to your speech.
SPEAKER_01Remember.
SPEAKER_03And I was really scared. I was very, very scared. I really didn't tell anybody, um, out even outside my family, because I didn't want to scare anybody else. But I was a little bit scared because I had a little bit of a scare at my last birth, and this time I was a little bit nervous um for the actual birth. And I was trying to have a lot of amuna, and I was I knew I was not doing anything, you know, not responsible because the doctors told me I'll be okay and don't worry, we got you. But the only doctor that I know is Hashem. So I was still, you know, scared, but with Amuna, scared and Amuna. It was like it was like a scale. And then I came to your speech, and I was so happy I did, and I remember that you had spoken a lot about thinking Hashem. That's like that was like the whole theme of your speech, and you were talking about how to have gratitude, and you said, like you said, you gave us homework about we all have homework tonight, the Mashiach homework. The homework was that we're supposed to be like thankful and this and okay. So I took I was taking it all in, and at the end I said hello to you, and you gave me a bracha, and I really felt empowered when I came home. I I came in feeling exhausted, but I because you know I was physically exhausted, but then I left and I was like, I got this, I got this, and I am going to do Charlene's homework. So Charlene, I'm telling you, girls, Charlene's homework really works. When she has homework, we need to do our homework. So I said, I'm gonna start just finding reasons to thank Hashem every single day. And you had specifically said that when there's challenges, then you thank Hashem before you even get what you really want. So, like, for example, if you Hashem. What do you call it? Pre-preakin. Exactly. Like you want to do well on a test, say, thank you, Hashem, that I'm doing so well on this test. Like I ace the test. That's gonna get a hundred on the test. Yeah, like I'm gonna whatever, whatever it is, even though I can't even believe I just said that because I literally just finished telling my daughter upstairs that I could not care less what she gets on her test if she studies and she's happy and whatever. But yeah, you know what I mean. I was just that's like the example that people have to say, you know.
SPEAKER_00I say it when I'm going to Brooklyn, sorry to cut you off. Thank you, Hashem, that I'm gonna find a parking spot right inside. Perfect.
SPEAKER_03Because it's like feel it's almost impossible, but you're gonna think Hashem because anything is possible. So I said, you know what? I'm gonna thank Hashem for my healthy birth, my healthy delivery, my healthy child before my child's born. I'm just gonna keep thanking him. And that's what I did until the day I went into labor and I went to the hospital. And as I was in the hospital, I had my tahim, my incredible kids to help, of course, with me in the hospital. And I just kept repeating, Hodo Hashem, and I kept saying specifically, what do we say for uh Ms. Marla Soda? I kept saying that parak. That's our that's the one we say to thank Hashem the most. And I just said it over and over again, and every time, you know, things were intensifying and I was feeling a little nervous, just thank Hashem again. And I did it and I did it. And um, my husband kept saying to me, By the way, do you know what we're naming this baby? Like, we didn't know if it's a boy or a girl. And I said, I I am, I don't know. I don't know. I'm gonna wait till the baby's born and I'm gonna feel I'm gonna feel like the imahos, you know, the imahos when when they had their babies, we always learn like Rashi says that Leia would declare, Hashem, help me, so I'm leaving it this and this, right? So I said, let's see what happens. So when my little cutie was born, it was very clear to me suddenly. I I she was born, I held her in my arms, the doctors were doing their things, there was a little bit of a complication, but Bar Hashem, they m they got it under control. And whatever they gotta do, I was just ignoring them, and I just was holding on to my tahilim and kept saying Ms. Marlisoda. And one of the psukim in Ms. Marlisoda is Bo Sha Rav Bitoda Khati Rosa Betehila. And I looked at that pasak and I said, That's my baby. She's my tahila. And hi, who's here? Oh, the it my kids want to do a show and tell. One second.
SPEAKER_01You want her to be on display? Oh my god.
SPEAKER_03So this is the this is the show and tell. Oh my soda baby. You want to say hi? We are delicious. Should our Tehila. And now you guys know the story of why your name is Tehila. And I didn't really tell anybody. I did tell you, Charlene, because I felt like very emailed me and I and I replied to your email.
SPEAKER_00I think I told you. You did, you did, you did. My Hebrew name is Michal, which equals 100. The gamacho is 100. So I say mismerla toda maybe 50 something times a day. So that's my that's also my most commonly recited parent.
SPEAKER_03How do you have time for everything in your life? You're busy with a clothing line and a wig line and speaking and saying mismerla soda and kofia test. Like I'm overwhelmed.
SPEAKER_00I don't see so much. I know, but feet's delicious. Look at that face.
SPEAKER_03Cutie patootie. Okay. My goodness. Amen.
Saying Mizmor LeToda Together
SPEAKER_00Amen. I hope so. Um Siri, would you like to lead the way for Parak Koof? Yeah, so ah, what?
SPEAKER_03What? No, it's okay. She could stay as long as she's not crying. Thank you, Dee. Um, and that's my Devorah, of course. She always deserves special mention for helping me. Um okay. So, you know what, Charlene? You are our you are the queen tonight. You could lead us in Parakouf. So, how do how do you like to do it? Do I say one line and they repeat? Or would you just You can say one line and everyone will repeat after you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright. Guys, I'm having a special kavana that this is my Peric. My Peric is a hundred, um, the gamachi of my name. And I do say this so, so, so, so many times a day. Like, I my husband's like, stop bothering Hashem. He's so annoyed from hearing your voice all day. I'm like, no, but we're besties. But I am having in mind that I'm thanking Hashem. I had a little scare um the past couple of weeks with everything that I'd gone through. And Hodo Hashem, really, really, truly thank you, Hashem. Um, everything turned out to be okay. It was just a scare, it wasn't really anything serious, but I had to go through some procedures and see some doctors and some specialists and bar Hashem. Everything is good. So I'm having in mind that this parak is to thank Hashem for the khasad he showed me this past month and the ni sim viniflaut that I always saw, I am seeing, and I will continue to see. So I am like more serious that I'm pre-thanking Hashem, that everything in my life with my health and everyone around me is always going to be perfect and with no worries. So that is my that is my maqshaba, that is my kavana. Mizmorla Toda Hariu Adonai Kola arat.
SPEAKER_03Mizmar Litoda Hariu Ladonai Kalaarat.
SPEAKER_00Ivdu it adonai basimcha baulab birnana. Ivdu as adonai basimcha baulab birnana. Deu ki adonai hu elohim, hu asanu velo anhnu amo vitson marito.
SPEAKER_03Deu ki adonai hu alohim, hu asanu velo anachnu amo vitson marito. Boush arab betoda khatsirotab bitsehila, hodulo barhushemo. Bousha arab betoda khatsirotav bisehila. Hodu low barhushimo.
SPEAKER_00Kitov adonai le olam chasdo, the ad dor vador emunato.
Pesach Mindset And Goodbye
SPEAKER_03Kitov adonai le olam chasto, the ad dor vadar emunaso. Yay! Thank you, Charlene. I wanna say that going into Pesach, um, you know, we didn't even specifically talk about paysach, but I feel like we kind of did I did packasukas. Exactly. And but I'm saying, you know, the message of Pesach really is about the, you know, connection that we have with Hashem that's unwavering and it's passed down generation to generation. And girls, when you're at your ceder and your mind is wandering because the words are getting, you know, sometimes it's hard. It can be very hard to connect to a ceder, um, especially since it's so long and even if you feel connected and then you're in and out, you can go into it with that mindset, you know, just to be able to replay some of these ideas that we talked about of being ready for Mashiach, being ready for Gula, and how to you know, all it like all of the Gam Tovim, I feel like they're all connected that way. Like they really are different themes, but they really are similar themes. Because at the end of the day, we're all connecting past, present, future, and whatever way that's possible, you know. It's really crazy. I was just my little four-year-old son asked me, he's like, Mommy, what's after Pesah? So I said, uh, Lagba Umar. And I said, actually, I just remembered you need to really get a haircut because you're not gonna be able to get a haircut to Lagba Omar. And he goes, Why can't we get a haircut? And I'm like, Well, Rabbi Akiva students, and I'm like, we're just such a cool nation. We're always like remembering things from a thousand years ago. Like, I mean, way more than a thousand, but like, you know what I mean? Like, we're just so it's so crazy. Like, we're we're so cool.
SPEAKER_00Girls, another cool thing that I can give you as some emotional exercise leading into Pesach, keep in mind that this was the this was. The Khag that Hashem decided we are freed from slavery. And every person here, including myself, we have something that is holding us hostage, it's holding us a slave. Whether it's uh you can't connect, or you have uh there's a health situation, or your older sister's in shidukim, or your mother's trying to get pregnant, or there's something that's causing you to feel like you're in slavery and you're sad and you're scared. This is the time that Hashem said, you're free to go. So you can actually redeem yourself from your slavery. We are talking about it's because of the righteous women that we were redeemed from it's from slavery. But the continuation of the Pasuk is the best part. And it's because of us that we will be redeemed again in the future. What do we need to do? Just rise above your nature and give it over to Hashem. If your nature is to be anxious, if your nature is to complain, say thank you. If your nature is to be lazy, get up and go. When you rise above, you show Hashem that you're doing this for him. And Vezrat Hashem, that will get you and all of us out of his current mitzvahim and bring down our much needed third and final home, Beta Mikdash.
SPEAKER_03Okay, we'll see you there.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm ready. I'll be wearing my wife with my.
SPEAKER_03Guys, big round of applause for Charlene. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, we are so grateful. I am so grateful, and I'm sure everyone here is so grateful that you were able to join us tonight. And we would love to have you on a weekly basis.
SPEAKER_00Sure. No problem.
SPEAKER_03This has been so amazing, right?
SPEAKER_00Uh we'll we'll do this again.
SPEAKER_03We will not let it be so long. Yes. Okay. Same to you, Chakashurvisamayak, and everyone out there. You are all incredible kids. Bye. Say bye-bye.
