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Three years after October 7th, Jon, Asher, and Dave set aside the usual format to commemorate the day with personal reflections and two interviews about hope, courage, and Jewish unity.

The episode opens with the hosts sharing where they were on October 7th, 2023. Dave remembers getting the news in fragments from the security guards outside shul and deciding whether to go ahead with a scheduled community program. Jon recalls the next morning in shul, when an accidental alarm sent a room of parents and children to the floor and made the distance to Israel feel very short. Asher describes waiting for information with family in Israel, including parents who had made Aliyah only weeks earlier. Dave also reflects on a chesed mission to Israel, where he visited soldiers in hospitals and saw the unity of the Jewish people up close.

Sam Kramer is a longtime friend of the show and a former West Hempstead resident who made Aliyah and now lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh. On the night after October 7th, she helped start a WhatsApp group to share positive and hopeful stories. It grew into Israel Good News Only, now about 30,000 members across 26 WhatsApp communities, with a newsletter as well. Sam shares how the group began, why membership grows on the hardest days, her view on the media's portrayal of division in Israel, and how the work deepened her love for the Jewish people. She closes with a charge for listeners: look at what you already have to give, and use it.

Rabbi Ben Menorah made Aliyah as a child, served in the IDF, and became a campus rabbi at Binghamton University with his wife Ellie. He tells the story of October 7th on Simchat Torah weekend in Binghamton, the decision to fly to Israel, and rejoining his reserve unit on the northern border. He speaks candidly about the first nights waiting for an attack, the weight of leaving his family and community, the toll of the war on soldiers, and the loss of friends and neighbors. He also shares why he believes the answer for the future is Ahavat Yisrael, and recommends Nivut, an organization that supports lone soldiers and veterans.

The episode closes with the Question of the Week: How has October 7th changed you? Each host shares an honest answer, and we invite you to share yours.

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Chapters with Timestamps

2:17 Dave's Memories: News Through the Security Guards

13:13 Introducing the Two Interviews

14:30 Sam Kramer Joins the Conversation

15:01 How Israel Good News Only Began and Grew to 30,000 Members

19:11 A Recent Miracle in Israel and What It Reflects About the Country

25:50 The Stories Behind the Group: Miracles, Unity, and Soldiers Coming Home

39:36 Sam's Charge: Use What You Have to Give

44:32 Rabbi Ben Menorah Joins the Conversation

47:08 October 7th on Simchat Torah Weekend in Binghamton

51:59 Flying Back to Israel and Rejoining His Unit

55:08 A Community That Showed Up With Support

1:02:05 Walking to Shul Past the Homes of the Fallen

1:03:43 Reflections on the Beeper Operation

1:05:12 Looking Forward: Strengthening Ahavat Yisrael

1:08:08 Supporting Lone Soldiers and Veterans Through Nivut

1:10:40 Question of the Week: How Has October 7th Changed You?

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Chag Samayach Everyone! Dave from Flatbush counts down his top 5 Non House or Sukkah places to live... and there are some... takes. Agree? Disagree? email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com and we'll discuss in an upcoming episode!

Please rate and review The Carpool Guys!

You can email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

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Send us a question, a comment, birthday wish, shoutout, or anything else fun and positive, and maybe we'll feature your addition on the next episode of The Carpool Guys Podcast!

Send us Fan Mail

As the High Holidays approach, Jon, Asher, and Dave slow down for a more reflective conversation, though not without the usual chaos first. Asher recaps a passive-aggressive flag football sideline standoff (WhatsApp texts only, naturally), the ongoing Tisha B'Av beach chair debate, and a genuinely great bit about Dave's new "I Already Davened" personalized shirt, born from Dave's guilt about being seen walking past shul during Mincha without going in.

Happy birthday shoutouts go out to Asher's daughter Ayelet and Dave's daughter Tzivi, both born the same week, with a sweet story about Tzivi getting her whole class hooked on the podcast without even telling them her dad was one of the hosts.

Then the conversation turns toward the season itself. The guys share the chazanim who live permanently in their heads during the Yamim Noraim, from childhood cantors and grandfathers to the ongoing Menachem Brick versus Yossi Brick debate. They get into a genuinely funny and surprisingly heated ranking of holiday niggunim (Machnisei Rachamim is controversial, "the good Chamol" is sacred, and there is exactly one correct opinion on all of it), plus their personal pre-Yamim Noraim rituals: mikvah trips, shofar traditions passed down from grandfathers, and Asher's streak of listening to Rabbi Fran's Erev Yom Kippur drasha.

The tone shifts into something more personal as each of the guys shares an honest resolution for the new year, from increasing Torah learning and davening for others by name, to simply reaching out more to the people they love. It's funny, it's real, and it closes out the way this show does best: humor and heart in the same breath.

Plus: the great Slichos start-time debate (does 9pm count?), the Announcer's Test performed in full from memory, and a genuinely moving reflection on what Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur mean across the Jewish people.

We want to hear from you: what has been your favorite part of this season? Reach out and let us know, and while you're at it, reach out to someone else too.

📩 carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

📱 @carpoolguyspod

🔗 linktr.ee/carpoolguyspod

⏱️ Chapters with Timestamps

0:22 — Welcome Back From Vacation (Sort Of)

1:46 — The Flag Football Sideline Standoff

7:36 — Happy Birthday Ayelet Dworetsky

7:46 — Happy Birthday Tzivi Tannenbaum, Secret Podcast Recruiter

17:23 — The "I Already Davened" Shirt Origin Story

20:32 — Setting the Scene: Heading Into the Yamim Noraim

21:38 — The Chazanim Who Live in Your Head: Grandfathers and Childhood Shuls

33:53 — Pre-Season Rituals

42:38 — New Year's Resolutions

50:16 — The Big Question: Is This Season Joyful, Scary, or Both?

59:51 — Question of the Week!

Please rate and review The Carpool Guys!

You can email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram @carpoolguyspod

Send us a question, a comment, birthday wish, shoutout, or anything else fun and positive, and maybe we'll feature your addition on the next episode of The Carpool Guys Podcast!