Relatable Parenting With Podcaster Daniella Rabbani

The day that Daniella Rabbani had her first child, a boy named Ness (miracle), everything changed.

“The matrix cracked,” she said. “It was the most profound experience of my life. The joy and the challenges were unparalleled.”

Rabbani, an actress who had worked alongside Sandra Bullock on “Ocean’s Eight” and played a rabbi on CBS’ “God Friended Me,” was suddenly going through all the motions of motherhood: the sleep deprivation, the struggle to find childcare, and the need to be close to her child. At the same time, she was a working mom, keeping up with her roles while taking care of Ness.

When the pandemic hit, things became a little more complicated. She had another baby, her daughter Paz, and was suddenly at home with a toddler and baby. She squeezed in work when she could, which sometimes meant taking the kids to gigs with her.

“I was raised in a tight-knit Jewish community, where friends felt like family,” Rabbani said. “Not having that while raising my own teeny tinies was really hard.”

Post-pandemic, when Rabbani came up for air, she started a podcast called “Mom Curious,” which features a candid conversation with a mother every week. Guests have included Rabbi Rebecca Keren Eisenstadt, aka @myhotrabbi, Lori Hoch Stiefel, PJ Library’s engagement officer, and Tony Award-nominated director Eleanor Reissa. Rabbani and her guests talk about a variety of topics, from being a working mother to not exactly fitting the “typical” mom mold. Through Rabbani’s conversations, she strives to dispel some of the shame surrounding motherhood and represent all the different ways one can be a mom.

“I think there’s a very loud narrative of what a mom is and how best to mother,” she said. “And I looked around at my community and saw outliers of brilliant women who weren’t doing it the conventional way. I wanted to highlight them. I want women coming up into their childbearing age to know that they have choices. In fact, one valid and important choice is the choice to not have children at all. We explore that avenue as well.”

“I think there’s a very loud narrative of what a mom is and how best to mother.”

Rabbani grew up Modern Orthodox on Long Island. Her parents are both Israeli; her father’s family was from Iran, while her mother’s family was from Poland and Romania. She lived in a traditional Persian Jewish community and went to North Shore Hebrew Academy for day school. Her mentor at NSHA was Tony-award winning producer Yeeshai Gross.

“I acted in plays he directed and even assisted him in high school,” said Rabbani. “It’s partially because of him and my professionally creative parents that I always knew I could make a living as an artist.”

Rabbani became interested in the arts and acting. After graduating from high school, she attended NYU and received a BFA in Acting. As a lover of the Yiddish language, she performed in The National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene.

“Yiddish literature and music are so moving,” she said. “My heart swells every time I get to share it. The deeper reason is because it makes me feel closer to my grandfather who survived the Holocaust. He only spoke Yiddish. He could never talk about his time in the war. It’s still a mystery. So I suppose I sing for him.”

Pretty soon, Rabbani started acting in movies, commercials, and TV shows, playing Rabbi Zoe on three episodes of “God Friended Me,” which ran from 2018-2020.

“I loved every second of it, especially since I grew up not seeing women in those types of clergy positions,” she said. “It was really meaningful to me to have all the Jewish knowledge I have and to share it on national TV with such a loving cast and crew.”

These days, Rabbani is still acting (she’ll be in an Off-Broadway production of The Inported Bridegroom this summer and Amid Fallen Walls with The National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene in the Fall) but her main focuses are parenting and podcasting. She wakes up and meditates in the morning, drops her kids off at school and then records her show. She also works as the community manager of the Tel Aviv Institute, supporting Jewish influencers on a variety of projects. By 3 p.m., her workday is over – the kids need picked up from school.

“We play and eat and get ready for bed,” she said. “I try to be present with them but often multitask where I can.”

Rabbani is proudly Jewish and enjoys passing along the traditions to her children.

“I sing to them in Yiddish and Hebrew,” she said. “We read Jewish books. They love the stories. I enjoy the Jewish rituals, the songs and the spirit, especially with my kids. For me, it’s less about the day-to-day practice, though I appreciate it. It’s more of an identity that I grapple with and celebrate.”

In the future, Rabbani hopes to continue building up “Mom Curious” by taking it on the road and making it into a travel show.

“I want to investigate and celebrate the lives of women all over the world,” she said. “I want to take these stories from the shadows and into the light.”

With her podcast, and the stories she shares, Rabbani aims to create a community of moms, no matter what their background, and demystify motherhood.

“As a mom, I am now connected with every parent that ever was or will be,” she said. “I heard a mother from The Parents Circle – an organization that brings Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families together to tell their stories – and as she told the story of her six month old baby dying in her arms. I felt it so strongly. We are connected. I know the love of a mother. And with that knowledge, I have a responsibility to make this world safe for my kids and yours.”