THE BJH PRESENTS... A BOOST OF “INSPIRATION”

ivan Rahav Meir is an Israeli journalist, lecturer, and media personality. Born in 1981, she has become one of the most prominent voices in Israeli media, known for her insightful commentary and thoughtful analysis of current events. Meir began her career as a journalist in the Israel Defense Forces Radio station, where she worked as a reporter and anchor. She later joined the Israeli television station Channel 2, where she worked as a political correspondent and news anchor. Today, Meir is a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon and serves as a commentator on Israeli television and radio programs. She is also a sought-after public speaker, known for her engaging and inspiring talks on topics such as Jewish identity, Israeli society, and the power of the individual to effect change in the world.

SIn our interconnected world, the power of the media cannot be overestimated. Internet websites, social media, radio, newspapers, and magazines increasingly control the fate of politicians and governments, world finances and morality. In the chareidi world, the messages conveyed by religious media can shape and strengthen emuna, enrich charitable efforts, and ferment new shul and yeshiva policies. Therefore, it was a great privilege to interview the highly influential Rabbi Eli Paley, owner of Mishpacha Media Group and publisher of the Mishpacha Hebrew and English weekly magazines.

something and so brought her back. She says, “If you find the right opportunity you can change someone’s life in a second”.

with you for tomorrow, give it to the people, and share it with others.

My Journey to Orthodoxy & Israel’s Top News Anchor: Sivan Rahav-Meir ELI PALEY CEO OF MISHPACHA

Eli Paley is a businessman and social activist. He is chairman of the Paley Family Foundation which supports and promotes Torah Centers and social initiatives in the Charedi community. A member of the Jewish Funders Network, he is active in several philanthropic organizations.

We discussed the Mishpacha’s origin, the challenges he is faced with policy decision making, and the overall goals he hopes to attain through the publication.

She found a balance between being frum in a secular family until she married. What was a bigger challenge was her colleagues on TV where she had worked since the age of 6. Suddenly she wanted to work only 6 days a week and people in Israel saw her changing. She realized she had to find deeper content and started dealing with the weekly Torah parsha.

Eli was born in in the Mattesdorff neighborhood in Yerushalayim. His great-grandfather and grandfather arrived in Eretz Yisroel in 1925 to establish the Slabodka Yeshivah in Chevron. Later his grandfather became the assistant to Rabbi Herzel, the chief rabbi of Israel.

Eli himself is an alumni of Chevron yeshiva. When he married his wife, a graduate of Michlala in Bayit Vegan, his dream was to continue learning. However, a few months after his marriage, his brother mentioned a new monthly publication called Mishpacha was looking for someone to work as a distributor in Yerushalayim for a day and a half once every 5 to 6 weeks. With flex hours like that, Eli took the job, earning twice as much as he would be for an entire month in a kolel. Financially independent, he continued to learn diligently.

Sivan Rahav-Meier has been voted by Globes magazine as the most popular female media personality in Israel and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world. She is an incredible journalist who brings something so different to Israeli TV.

His father, Rabbi Yehuda Paley, bought the Mishpacha Magazine business. To help his father, Eli got involved in the editorial angle of the magazine figuring out how it could make a unique contribution to the field of journalism. He left learning to pursue his new mission to inspire and influence the Chareidi community. It is that idealism that still drives him in his work so many years later.

While Mishpacha is well-received around the world, the goal of Mishpacha is to serve, elevate and be the voice of the Chareidim, particularly in Eretz Yisroel. The real customers are not the advertisers but the audience. Mishpacha seeks to portray an independent voice which is unaffiliated with any political party. In the early years, in the chareidi world of pollicization, this was perceived as a weakness. However, the years have passed, and this freedom has become one of the most salient factors of its success.

Sivan did not grow up religious. At the age of 15, she discovered her Jewish identity after three girls invited her for Shabbos. Just because someone cared about her meant so much and she realized that inviting someone to a Shabbos meal can change a person’s life as it did for her. Years later when she asked why she had been invited she was told that Shabbos is “our mutual treasure”. They saw that she had lost

Sivan spoke about the many people she has interviewed including Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, politicians, and victims of terror that remind you what is important in life. She has also interviewed “the real Jewish heroes” from Ukraine, olim chadashim, and holocaust survivors. She says she hopes her most interesting interview is yet to come.

Mishpacha was the first Charedi publication to give the same respect to the Sephardi and Ashkenazi societies, attempting to create a sense of unity. Over time, this adherence to equality and ahavas Yisrael became the secret to the business’ success.

Mishpacha’s quest in elevating frum society is done through sincere, honest writing. Mishpacha does not engage in pretending that society is perfect. While recognizing the great achievements and accomplishments in the frum world, Mishpacha will tackle even unpleasant issues, albeit in an extremely sensitive way.

News is only new for a few hours, the next day it is old. She tries to create news that will still be meaningful in 5 years. She always tries to do “tachlis”, something practical. This means “Give me something that I can take home with me, something accessible, applicable, something I can take into my life immediately.”

She feels privileged and loves to be able to cover the various peace agreements. She says when you meet someone huge, try to take something say Mazaltov to a new celebrity couple who got engaged where the one party was not Jewish. She was accused of being a racist but she cannot say Mazaltov “when it comes to assimilation.” She has been accused of being too extreme but reiterates, “Be proud and know your values, usually people appreciate when you say what you think.”

Sivan discussed the challenges of being such a public person. She started working in media at the age of 6 and she feels Hashem blessed her as it can be a disaster to sudden ly become a personality. She says she is used to being recognized, she belongs to the public and she loves it. She has been recognized for 35 years and she feels like a “shaliach tzibur”.

The topic of poverty among Charedim and the poor economic situation in the Israeli community lay heavily on Eli’s heart. As part of the solution, Eli started the Charedi Institute of Public Affairs to engage with the government with hopes to resolve this in a way that will allow the Charedi society to retain its Torah values.

While American Jews may have difficulty in relating to the issues overseas, Eli, as a born and bred Israeli is certainly in touch with the masses. He recalls the issue he faced during his kolel years when distributing the magazine. The government regulation forbid a yingeman from receiving Kollel benefits if he had any other source of income. Therefore, he was forced to register his side job under his wife’s name, a desperate solution used by many. In his publication, he attempts to broker a better solution.

Her favorite mitzvah not surprisingly is Shabbos, as it was her first experience of Yiddishkeit. She feels if you keep Shabbat you will be connected to all the other mitzvahs. On Shabbos, you get to taste heaven, who would not want to taste the world to come every week?

Another example of difficulties that Israeli chareidim face is the draft. Mishpacha discussed population statistics -- one out of four children is Charedi– and how the army and Charedi society can possibly reach a solution.

The paper is faced daily with Hashkafa decisions that have far-reaching effects on our society. The issue of printing pictures of women in the magazine has been debated back and forth in many forums. When Hilary Clinton was running for President, Mishpacha shocked many readers by publishing a blurry photo of Donald Trump and Hilary on the cover. “We just wanted to see how people would react,” Eli confides.

The office did receive some complaints, but the Gedolim the magazine consults advised them to include her since there was a real possibility Hilary would indeed become president. However, in Israel, an anti-Mishacha publication blasted Mishpacha , claiming they were breaking the rules of modesty and Torah by publishing a picture of Hilary Clinton.

This became a real issue because it was very hard for Eli to justify in his mind why they could not print modest pictures of women, particularly considering how hard it seems to be to explain to ba’alei teshuvah why women are “ignored.” In order to make Mishpacha, often one of their first exposures to Yiddishkeit, more palatable, Eli is comfortable with his decision.

She was asked how she balances being a mother and having such a successful career. It is a challenge for everyone to build a family privately in a world where everything has become so public. We have a spiritual mission and it takes time to build your personality, your neshama. We are living in the busiest time that ever existed and yet we have no time to be ourselves or for our family. We should take advantage of all the technical tools and find time to learn more Torah, to be with our children but unfortunately, the opposite has happened.

If she could spend time with someone who is no longer in this world she would choose the Lubavitcher Rebbe although she would be afraid of what he would say. She is not officially Chabad but feels everyone has to be a shaliach. When visiting America Sivan always goes to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel. The Rebbe was a very practical leader and someone who created so many unique projects yet still remembered each individual. He inspired millions including her.

He’s on a big mission: to expose our brothers to true Torah values, and he bears the responsibility seriously. He often employs a different way of thinking, a creative model, a stretch and a twist, that can support our lifestyle while at the same time show that we care about the Israeli economy, security, and its welfare system. “Instead of just complaining about why we are not understood,” Eli explained during the interview, “we must ask what we can do in this field. While we have to make sure that our kids are not too exposed to the big world, the (outside) world exists, and we have to face reality and come up with practical solutions. “

Sivan is often put in the uncomfortable position of being asked to give up some part of her Yiddishkeit. She said if it did not happen then she would be worried. She gave the example of refusing to interview after Shabbos in Israel but when it would still be Shabbos in America which some people find extreme. She also once refused to

Rather than hiding his head in the sand, he is ready to take on the problems in our neighbourhoods and cities, working with the authorities instead of against them. Slowly, he believes, we will be able to build better trust.

People always want to be remembered. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once said the most common question he was asked is, “Rabbi do you remember me?” We can discuss ideologies but at the end of the day we want a connection and it is the same when it comes to our relationship with Hashem. Hashem loves and remembers us and that is the most important thing.

Eli is proud that Mishpacha does not try to be sensationalist. Rather he makes an effort to keep his editorial policies responsible and sensitive. “If you’re going to do it le’shaim shamayim” Eli ended, “you’ll have disyata d’shmaya to do it right.”