Why is Intimacy Such a Hot Topic These Days?

Intimacy is and will always remain one of the most mysterious human experiences. As the world advances in technology and communications, the information surrounding this topic is becoming more available yet more distorted.

However, Torah and Judaism hold truthful and healthy answers to many of the questions that people ask, even those who are neither Jewish nor religious.

What is intimacy? How can we achieve closeness to our loved ones after years of partnership? What type of person should one look for in pursuing a sustainable relationship? What are the actions that could positively or negatively affect our intimacy?

I am Sara Meira, a Colombian-born Jewish coach with a BA in Psychology and certified training on holistic postpartum care, marriage and intimacy coaching and is currently coursing the recovery addiction coaching program with rabbi Daniel Schonbuch LMFT.ֿ

I started coaching postpartum women in 2019 after recovering from postpartum depression following the birth of each of my three youngest children which also affected my marriage. In the course of this coaching, I kept finding that majority of my clients often struggled with intimacy and love issues as well. During my years living in Crown Heights and now South Florida, I have coached and befriended observant and not observant women who have difficulties in the realm of intimacy with their spouses. I have noticed also, how phone/internet, food, opioids, extramarital and substance abuse has proliferated inside our communities and the way this is impacting marriages and families.

As someone who didn’t grow up in a Jewish religious family, I noticed how the outside world (especially now in the era of smartphones) teach us all misleading ideas as to what intimacy and healthy relationships mean.

Some of this information has trickled inside the observant Jewish community creating true struggles for some couples. Hashem gives us such a healthy approach to these topics, and a warm and true Torah approach can make our loving relationships fulfilling mentally, emotionally, and physically.

This is why I reached out to Rabbonim, kallah teachers, and experts on love and relationships, so we can all start benefitting from learning about true intimacy and healthy relationships beyond what is halachically allowed (as Chassidim we are supposed to go beyond the letter of the law, even in this topic) or what we consider “trendy”.

Besides the monthly workshops on intimacy and postpartum care that I run, I want on this occasion to invite other women to join this series of interviews (the Eternal Joy Show) featuring expert women in the area of intimacy and relationships.

My first guest (recorded interview to be released July 14) is Mrs. Sarah Karmely, a recognized kallah teacher, international speaker for the organization Mikvah USA, and an expert in marriage, relationships, and intimacy. Mrs. Karmely got a blessing from the Lubavitcher Rebbe to teach these topics to other women and she even relates as a personal experience how the Rebbe emphasized on one occasion the need to talk about intimacy (not only the laws) specifically. In this episode, she delves into what intimacy means, what are the practical steps to achieve shalom bayis and why was this topic was so important for the Rebbe. I’m planning to conduct a separate Q&A live session in August on these topics.

Future Guests:

July 21 – Mrs. Chana Carlebach (episode 2, live zoom interview) Chana Carlebach is the director of the center BMC in S. Agathe Quebec with thousands of students worldwide. She is a world-renowned motivational speaker, certified coach specializing in intimate relations with 33 years of experience coaching new brides and couples. Her greatest passion is training Taharas Hamishpacha teachers. She is currently developing a similar curriculum for men. Chana is the Rebbetzin of the house of Israel congregation with over 1000 families. The protagonist in two documentaries Shekinah 1, and Shekinah 2. She received prestigious honors from Federation CJA in Montreal for excellence in education and community together with her husband she is most grateful to Hashem for her 13 children and grandchildren. She is a mikvah advocate and also founded the popular Facebook Group Jewish Women talking about Intimacy in which women from all sorts of religious or not backgrounds find support in the areas of intimacy, marriage, pregnancy, and postpartum care. Mrs. Carlebach will speak about the role of woman’s satisfaction in the couple’s intimate experience.

July 26 – Mrs. Rivkie Brownstein (episode 3, live zoom interview) is a self-care and relationship coach whose work on boundaries, self-care, self-parenting, and relationships stem from a real and down-to-earth perspective. She is a certified Nurtured Heart Approach trainer and has run successful workshops on boundaries, self-care nurtured heart approach and home organization. In this episode Mrs. Brownstein will be talking about the importance of healthy boundaries in a love relationship, how to build them, and what are those blockages can happen in the journey to become better couples.

The live interviews will last approximately 30 min maximum with 15 min time for questions from the audience.

To join Mrs. Carlebach’s interview:
Time: Jul 21, 2021, 11:00 AM Eastern Time (the US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/82364302426?pwd=dVo2OXBGQnFVY2FxdDlpZ0lrS210Zz09
Meeting ID: 823 6430 2426
Passcode: epi2

To join Mrs. Browntein’s interview:
Time: Jul 26, 2021, 11:00 AM Eastern Time (the US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84057061654?pwd=cENxWmQzUHROYUFadFNibXZyUGpWZz09
Meeting ID: 840 5706 1654
Passcode: epi3

Mrs. Karmely’s interview will be available on youtube from July 14

For access to Mrs. Karmely interview and more information about this series please text me to
347-722-0614 or email me saramcoach@gmail.com

For more info about my coaching:
Instagram: @saramcoach
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarameira.gootblatt/
Website: www.mamakor.com