Brokenness to Belonging: Why We Built the Yodi App

Tikkun olam — repairing the world.

It’s not just a commandment. It’s a way of seeing. A way of responding. It’s what you do when you notice something broken, something fragile, something beautiful that could be lost — and you decide not to look away.

Yodi, a relationship skills app launched by the PAIRS Foundation, was born from such a moment.

Not a startup moment. A human one. An ache.

I’ve spent much of my life walking with people through the delicate terrain of love and connection. Veterans returning from war. Couples growing distant in the chaos of daily life. Parents and children who want to reach one another but don’t know how. Over the years, I’ve come to believe what I was taught from a young age: that love is not luck. It’s a language. A skill. A sacred practice.

It’s what my mother, Lori Heyman Gordon, devoted her life to.

She founded the PAIRS Foundation more than 40 years ago, with a simple and revolutionary conviction — that emotional intimacy could be taught. That love could be sustained not by magic, but by knowledge, compassion, and consistent practice.

Growing up with that wisdom wasn’t just a gift — it was a responsibility. And it became my life’s work.

When the World Closed

For decades, we taught PAIRS skills in classrooms and sanctuaries, military bases and community centers. People came in hesitant and left transformed — not by us, but by their own courage to love more honestly.

Then came the pandemic.

Workshops shut down. The world retreated indoors. And with that, millions of people — especially couples and families — found themselves more disconnected than ever before.

At PAIRS, we asked a hard question: How do we continue helping people when they can no longer come to us?

That question led to Yodi.

A Companion, Not Just an App

Yodi wasn’t built as a product. It was created as a presence — a way to bring the timeless skills of emotional connection into the places people already turn when they’re struggling: their phones, their bedrooms, their 2 a.m. moments of silence.

We built Yodi not to entertain, but to equip. To give people a voice when they feel stuck in silence. To guide a conversation when words are too hard to find.

Thanks to the generosity of the Unlikely Collaborators Foundation, and the visionary leadership of its founder, Elizabeth Koch, we were introduced to the concept of the Perception Box — the invisible filters through which we experience ourselves, others, and the world. That insight helped us shape Yodi to do more than teach communication. It helps people see differently — with greater empathy, awareness, and grace.

From Boca to Bangkok

We didn’t launch Yodi with a marketing campaign or influencers. We offered it quietly, faithfully — and trusted that those who needed it most would find it.

They did.

Today, more than 200,000 people across over 150 countries and territories have downloaded the app. From homes in Jerusalem to apartments in Seoul, from quiet mornings in Johannesburg to late nights in São Paulo — people are using Yodi to practice what my mother devoted her life to teaching: how to love more wisely.

And for me, that’s the most sacred part of this journey.

Not just honoring her legacy. But continuing it. Expanding it. Offering it freely to the next generation of couples, families, seekers, and skeptics. Because the need for love — real, skilled, lasting love — is more urgent than ever.

The Torah of Togetherness

In many ways, Yodi is a digital expression of a Jewish truth: that relationships are holy. That to listen deeply is a form of prayer. That to express needs without shame, to appreciate without hesitation, to navigate conflict without destruction — these are not just tools. They are mitzvot. They are how we live out our values in daily life.

Yodi isn’t a replacement for community, or for counseling, or for Torah. It’s a humble offering — a companion for the moments when you want to try, but don’t know how.

The app is free. Love never is.

It costs presence. Courage. Practice. But it is possible.

And in a world where so much feels beyond our control, Yodi reminds us that healing begins in the space between two people who are willing to show up.

May we continue to show up. May we continue to love well. May we continue to repair.