Marriage Reimagined Seminar: Sherman Oaks - January 12th, 2025

Rabbi Toledano’s ‘Marriage By Design’ is a game changer. As he states, ‘you can’t go wrong if you just follow the recipe ingredients in a cookbook’! Coming from a household that didn’t have a great marriage, my husband and I were set on being well equipped for the journey we set out to embark on. Through the weeks leading up to our wedding, we attended one of his larger group seminars and had one on one couple sessions that I truly believe provided us with unparalleled knowledge that set the tone for our marriage by offering us new perspectives on relationships, life as a whole, and building a life together. IT ALL MADE SO MUCH SENSE! I continue recommending his seminar to family and friends that are married and those that are dating with hopeful prospects of marriage. I am forever grateful for the knowledge gained through Rabbi Toledano and I am eagerly looking forward to the continuation of ‘Marriage by Design’

Although David’s seminar is titled ‘Marriage by Design’, it could easily be referred to as ‘LIVING BY DESIGN’. David’s manner of coaching is extraordinarily unique and unlike any other coaching or therapy I’ve personally experienced or heard others talk about. He beckons you to look deep within yourself to find the answers because it’s all there when we are in a comfortable and welcoming environment where speaking freely about our desires, goals, and fears is strongly encouraged. I have never experienced a session where a coach or therapist did not attempt to change my point of view until working with David. He actually found value in my perspectives and sought to understand my way of thinking! Through his desire to understand me I learned that my initial feelings and response to matters of life and relationships may not have been authentic to me, but that I had been taught to respond in specific ways that rarely yielded long-lasting, desirable outcomes that I wanted. David teaches people how to have healthy relationships in all aspects of life (personal and work) so that we can feel successful no matter what we are trying to accomplish.

My husband and I work in different fields that can often cause issues for married couples. I am an actress and my husband is a surgeon. Rabbi Toledano’s “Marriage By Design” was the answer to our relationship and his coaching was an ongoing source of encouragement when bringing our lives together in marriage. We both knew what we wanted with personal career goals and sometimes it can seem great while you're dating, but things can change after marriage because either one or both people had expectations they didn’t make known or perhaps they talked about it but the other spouse figured they would eventually change their mind or vice versa. That way of thinking often leads to unhappy marriages and maybe even divorce. My husband and I wanted to be in this together and understand each other wholly. Rabbi Toledano taught us how to dig deep into ourselves and overcome the fear of rejection when saying what we need and want. We learned how to be free with each other so that we could build a lasting marriage, friendship, and family. His teachings are never forgotten and are practical for use in many areas of life. David is truly an invaluable soul!

Initially I learned about Rabbi Toledano through my work with a television production company and sought out to work with him by showcasing his talent as a “Rescue Rabbi” because that was how he had been categorized. I was engaged at the time to my current husband and hadn’t entertained the idea of pre-marriage counseling, but when Rabbi Toledano asked if we would be interested it seemed intriguing. During our sessions, David coached us on the importance, and value, of expectations and communications. We all know those two things are important but it’s how we convey our expectations and seek to communicate those, among other things, effectively that makes a huge difference. We still actively discuss the lessons learned from David even after years of marriage and having children because we didn’t learn how to communicate more effectively for short-term fixes. The information learned is for long-term solutions. I can’t expect for my husband to do something that would be meaningful to me if I never talk about it with him. He is very honest and forces you to be honest with yourself and what you are looking for. One thing that stood out to both my husband and I was the Rabbi’s question, ‘What does your plate look like that you are bringing to this table?’ The table of course being marriage and marriage to this person is a choice. In comparison to other life coaches I’ve found that most of them want for you to think more broad-spectrum whereas with Rabbi Toledano it is more granular and builds towards the broad context of things because the real work is done pre-marriage in order to create a solid, lasting foundation with yourself and for the person you are choosing to be in a marriage with. Another thing I want to emphasize is that you do not need to be Jewish, or of any faith for that matter, to experience Rabbi Toledano’s amazing work because he transcends faith that is not bound by religious or spiritual beliefs. Some people might be concerned that they will not benefit from his work if they are not Jewish or religious or that they will feel forced into speaking about religion and that just isn’t the case at all. His coaching can help anyone to create a happy home life and having that is a launchpad for other things in our life like having children, and even with career and work environment. We’re just people trying to help each other get through life, and marriage is a huge step. It’s so important to have someone with so much knowledge and experience with their own marriage to help aid others and Rabbi Toledano is that person!

Marriage Reimagined Seminar: Sherman Oaks – January 12th, 2025