Marking Shabbos Nachamu, Merkos 302’s Chabad on Call has launched Hand in Hand, a six-part podcast mini-series sharing the raw, real stories of people who have endured profound suffering yet found strength and comfort in Torah’s timeless teachings.
Hosted by Shlucha Amanda Spiro, who, together with her husband and children, recently opened Chabad in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the series offers a deeply personal lens into hardship, hope, and healing. Amanda herself has faced life-altering loss and a battle with cancer, and her conversations with guests blend empathy born of experience with the uplifting perspective of Chassidus.
Produced in the Merkos 302 studio, Hand in Hand invites listeners into a space where pain is met with compassion, resilience is nurtured, and Jewish wisdom becomes a lifeline.
“We may not have all the answers to life’s hardest questions,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302. “But we can always show up, show we care, and draw strength from each other and the Torah. That’s how the Rebbe built the global support system of the Jewish people, and now, with social media, our responsibility to reach every Jew everywhere has only grown.”
The title Hand in Hand draws inspiration from many letters of the Rebbe, in which he reminds correspondents undergoing health and general life challenges that a Jew’s efforts in the natural world must go “hand in hand” with deep bitachon.
In episode one, Amanda shares her own journey, which began with losing her best friend at 17, leading to years of grief, a transformative trip to Israel, and then an unexpected cancer diagnosis that tested everything she’d learned.
Episode two tells the story of Randy, who survived a devastating car crash only to lose her newborn son to a rare illness, and how she keeps his memory alive through Jewish ritual and acts of kindness.
“Each guest’s story is heartbreakingly personal yet universally relatable,” said Chani Goldberg, Director of Chabad on Call at Merkos 302. “By showing how they’ve navigated loss and challenge through community, mitzvos, and connection to Hashem, we hope to offer comfort and belonging to anyone going through life’s unexpected turns.”
Each story is an unfiltered look at the human capacity for resilience, anchored in the belief that even in the darkest moments, we can have Bitachon, show up for each other, seek out Torah wisdom, and discover the strength to go on.
The Chabad on Call Shluchim, the world’s largest Jewish chaplaincy network, supports patients, families, and medical staff through hospital visits, holiday packages, cultural training, chaplaincy training, and more.
Hand in Hand will be streaming on all podcast platforms, offering solace, solidarity, and Torah’s reminder that there is always hope.
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