My Stutter Miracle (3-Minute Mommy Peptalk)

My Stutter Miracle (3-Minute Mommy Peptalk)


Two weeks ago, I received a very, very exciting Email. Rabbanit Yemima wrote to ask if she could interview me for her show on national radio.

I responded right away, “Of course, what an honor! Thank you so much for asking me!”
But a nanosecond after I pressed the send button, I realized that there was one small problem. One huge problem, in fact.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been stuttering. When I st-st-st-start a word especially.

In daily interactions, this stutter is awkward. But on national radio? While struggling my way through a live interview in Hebrew? A stuttering attack would be upgraded from awkward to disastrous.

But the next morning, while in line at the corner store, I remembered something that really calmed me down.
Moshe Rabenu, Moses, also stuttered. He even told Hashem that there was no chance the Israelites would even listen to him because of it.

But Hashem told Moshe Rabenu the following…he said: “Who put a mouth in a human being?… Is it not me, the L-rd? Now go, and I will be with your mouth, and I will instruct you what you will say.”*

So, I decided, that if Moshe Rabenu, a fellow stutterer, could speak with Pharaoh and lead the entire Jewish nation out of Egypt, I could do this interview with Rabbanit Yemima. Even in Hebrew.

The whole day before the interview, I was out of sorts. I was stuttering a lot. Even on the way to the interview, I was stuttering.

And then I entered the building of Israel’s Broadcasting Authority. And I entered the studio with Rabbanit Yemima and put on my headphones. It was beyond surreal.

And while Rabbanit Yemima was interviewing her first guest, I closed my eyes and imagined that I was a pipe. Not a shiny, high-quality pipe. I was a rusty pipe badly need of replacing. But I imagined that Hashem would send the right words through that rusty pipe that is me–stutter free.

And, thank you, Hashem, it worked. I stuttered before the interview. I stuttered after the interview. But during the interview itself, my words flowed like water through a pipe.

In the taxi, on the way back to Jerusalem, Rabbanit Yemima told me something incredible. And she told me I could share it with you.

Rabbanit Yemima told me that whenever a woman Emails her asking for advice, when she sends off her response, praying that she said the right thing, as she presses the send button, she focuses on the Hebrew word written on her send button–Shlicha.

Which means to send, and also mean–Shaliach– G-d’s messenger. And Rabbanit Yemima reminds herself that, at that moment, sending that Email to a woman in need, that’s exactly what she aspires to be.

*ויֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָיו, מִי שָׂם פֶּה לָאָדָם, אוֹ מִי-יָשׂוּם אִלֵּם, אוֹ חֵרֵשׁ אוֹ פִקֵּחַ אוֹ עִוֵּר–הֲלֹא אָנֹכִי, יְהוָה. יב וְעַתָּה, לֵךְ; וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִם-פִּיךָ, וְהוֹרֵיתִיךָ אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר.

8 comments

  1. Not a rusty pipe at all! Maybe a silver flute from which flows beautiful music !
    Or perhaps one of the spigots of the kiyor which sanctifies the hands and feet of the kohanim and brings sholom to homes.

  2. I 2nd what Mina said above. And certainly not in need of replacing! Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your experience and what Rabbanit Yemima told you.

  3. Amazing!!! Any way we could listen to the interview online?

  4. Nechama Koren

    So proud of you! What an amazing accomplishment 🙂 Super impressed.

  5. Stuttering runs in our family.
    My Dad was had a stutter and was a gifted English Professor, giving lectures everyday.
    I’m a teacher and mother of 8 kids, struggling at times with speech.
    My youngest also stutters. I’m guessing he will be a teacher, as well.😊

  6. Your story is inspiring and touching me ! I also stutter. I think of stuttering as a challenge that Hashem gave us to overcome and make us realize that our voice counts even though it sounds broken sometimes. It’s hard because it’s much easier to give our message to the world in writing rather than verbally.
    Congratulations on getting through this challenge baroukh hashem.

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