I remember being introduced to the concepts of Mitzvah (good deed in Hebrew) and Tzedakah (charity) when I started Sunday school at a very young age.

While the do-gooder in me was compelled to give, the curious and perhaps precocious part of me was wary.

It seemed that most our Sunday school’s Mitzvah and Tzedakah was for Jewish people and organizations. I couldn’t understand why we weren’t helping everyone. It seemed we should.

I took my concerns to my father, a Hebrew and Sunday school teacher, and asked him to explain this obvious mistake to me.

He said, “We help our own because there was a time when no one helped us.”

If you knew my father, you know his response didn’t at all imply that other people, organizations, or causes weren’t equally worthy, it simply meant as a Jew, I had an obligation to take care of our people.

During these unimaginably difficult times for Jewish people around the world, I take his message to heart. I also once again feel pain for those who are not Jewish but are suffering.

I share this message today because earlier this month I decided to dedicate this week’s podcast to raising awareness about Domestic Violence Awareness Month and welcomed Jordyn Scorpio, the Director of Community Education for SHALVA, the oldest independent, Jewish domestic abuse agency in the United States, as my guest.

Our conversation was not focused on domestic violence in Jewish communities because abuse does not discriminate. But I was compelled to highlight SHALVA because it was an opportunity to spotlight an incredible organization committed to helping its own.

In this episode, Jordyn talks about how to foster healthy relationships, signs that you or someone you love might be in an unhealthy relationship, and how we can stop the cycle of violence for ourselves and those we love.

This one might be triggering, so please check in with yourself if this is an episode you want to skip. But if it’s simply uncomfortable then I urge and encourage you to tune in and share it with those you love.

Through hard conversations like these, we might be able prevent hard outcomes for ourselves and the next generation.

xo,