ELLEN GELLER KAMARAS
“The huge shift that I made after ten years in the corporate arena to the yeshiva world was good for my Jewish soul. I feel like this is what Hashem wants me to do.” – Tali Yaakov
Please meet Talia Yaakov, better known as Tali. She simply exudes positive energy and passion.
After a career of ten years as an optician for a global retailer of prescription eyewear, Tali had a “quarter life crisis.” She pivoted and created a new profession for herself as a dance teacher, which also greatly improved her work-life balance.
Tali is not the first family member to appear in this column. Her older sister, Shany Sharabany, a nurse practitioner, was featured during the summer of 2021. She was a front-line hero during the pandemic.
Tali’s sister-in-law, Adina Yaakov, was featured in the February 2024 Woman to Woman column and is a registered dietician nutritionist. Her column in Community, Once Upon a Thyme, is a favorite of many shaatras.
A Little History
Tali was born in Flatbush to Shaul and Stella Dagmy, both Lebanese immigrants. They worked hard to establish themselves in the United States. Tali is the youngest in her family, with three older brothers and her older sister Shany. The siblings are very close.
Tali attended Shulamith Elementary School and Machon Yakov L’Bnos, Manhattan high school for girls, whose principal is Rebbetzin Ruthy Asaf.
She was an outgoing child and she blossomed in social settings, including at school. Tali enjoyed her relationships with her teachers.
“I was always that loud student. In my yearbook, they referenced me as ‘the one who can be found singing and dancing up and down the halls.’ I received the Spirit Award in eighth grade for my influential positive energy. My favorite part of the day was always gym class – I was naturally athletic and loved sports.”
During her grade school and high school years, Tali performed and flourished in her roles in plays, dances, and skits and she attended dance classes with her friends. She started crafting dances as early as fourth grade with her classmates.
Tali continued to use her talents in student government and in helping with the sixth-grade production when she was fourteen.
“My earliest memory of dancing is when, as a little girl, I would hold my father’s hand during Friday night Kiddush and dance while he sang Shalom Aleichem. Dancing is something I must do. The rhythm gets to me.”
Post High School
After high school, Tali studied at Machon Seminary in Boro Park and Shaare Bina, also in Brooklyn. She also enrolled in NYC College of Technology and became a NYS licensed optician and dispensed glasses and contact lenses.
Tali describes herself as energetic, positive, loud, outgoing, focused, and regimented. She likes to have fun, too. She is warm, smart, and is always growing and expanding her toolbox.
Tali met her naseeb, Yoseph Yaakov, who is four years older, through mutual friends. Two friends living in Israel told her about a Sephardic kollel student living in in Brooklyn. It was true hashgacha pratit! A shadchanit arranged for the two to meet. They got along immediately. They both share the ability to relate well and to connect with others. Yoseph is a yeshiva rebbe and a youth rabbi on Shabbat, and is also a social worker. The couple have three children and consider themselves blessed to live in a wonderful community.
The Pivot
Tali was thriving at her job at LensCrafters and even met celebrities when she worked in Soho.
Covid hit and the world shut down in March 2020. Tali was furloughed from her position at LensCrafters. She was itching to do something meaningful during her time off. While her daughter was in day camp, Tali offered to come in once a week and teach dance and sports to the campers. The camp director was immediately impressed by Tali’s energy and camp vibe, and after the first day she invited Tali to return for the rest of the season. Since then, Tali has taught in camp every summer.
“I was that girl at weddings that danced and danced and didn’t stop. Over the years, I would attend people’s parties, mostly bat mitzvahs, and everyone would come over and tell me that I should teach dance. But the timing wasn’t right when I finished seminary.”
In the fall of 2021, Tali returned to LensCrafters. The following summer, she asked for two days a week off to work in camp. At the end of the summer, Tali realized that she didnot want to go back to her optician position in the City.
“Although I liked the corporate world and the professional aspect, I realized I enjoyed the yeshiva world and wanted something more fulfilling. The yeshiva environment was good for my soul.”
Tali Reinvents Herself
Tali turned her passion for dancing, her positive energy, and her ability to inspire others into a new career. Her new profession and livelihood give her the flexibility and work-life balance to be home with her children when they get off the school bus. It helps her to feel fulfilled and gives her life more meaning and a sense of purpose.
“I love bringing happiness and energy and unifying all girls whether they can or cannot dance. I enjoy bringing joy and spreading joy! My husband supports me in all my decisions and is my biggest cheerleader.”
After leaving her optician job, Tali secured a job teaching math to sixth grade yeshiva students. She likes to have fun with her students while maintaining discipline and a healthy social and emotional environment in her classroom. No bullying or shaming is permitted in Mrs. Yaakov’s classes. Students must respect each other as well as the teacher. “I strive to gain my students’ trust and teach the kids good habits for the future.”
Tali’s children love to dance and even her almost two-year-old child is now dancing. “Music is always on in my house.”
Her eleven-year-old daughter pitches in at night with the younger ones when Tali is teaching a class.
A Range of Students
Her fitness and dance students come from word of mouth. Tali teaches Zumba and Pilates two mornings a week and she ensures her students use every muscle in their bodies. She also does girls’ dance parties and senior exercise classes with lots of stretching. Tali started out as an assistant at bat mitzvah dance parties and advanced to running her own.
Recently, Tali started doing exercises with special needs girls once a week at theelementary school division at IVDU School for Special Education. The occupational therapist complimented Tali on how therapeutically beneficial her exercise routines are.
Tali is always expanding her skill set and knowledge base. After giving birth to her third child, she enrolled in a fitness center that offered classes for women and she incorporated what she learned into her own programs and events.
Nachat
At a recent event,one of the girls told Tali that she never gets up to dance. With Tali’s encouragement the girl took the leap to participate, and dance she did! The young girl was so proud of herself. Tali felt so gratified that she was able to help that girl go from a non-participant to an active participant, and to experience the joy of dancing. “I feel like this is what Hashem wants me to do.”
The following story perfectly captures Tali’s passion.
“I was listening to a podcast interview with Benny Friedman, and they asked him how he knew that he was supposed to be a singer. He answered that it’s something he can’t NOT do. That really resonated with me. For me, dancing is a calling, something I can’t NOT do. It’s a part of who I am at my core.”
Connect with Tali at Mrsyaakov@gmail.com with or by text at 917-674-0484.
Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Her coaching specialties include life, career, and dating coaching. Ellen is active in her community and is currently the Acting President of Congregation Bnai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights. She can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).