Ask a Jew

As a Rosh Hashana gift to ourselves (and our listeners) we spent an hour with the Beyonce of Rabbis, the honey to our apple, the horseradish to our Gefilte - Rabbi David Wolpe! He joins us from Cambridge where he is a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School (ohh-la-la), though you may remember him from such rabbinical masterpieces as “Most Influential Rabbi in America” (Newsweek), and “50 Most Influential Angelinos” (LA Magazine). A frequent cordial sparring partner of atheists like Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, today he is the Senior Advisor at Maimonides Fund and the inaugural Rabbinic Fellow for the ADL. Yes, that ADL. And yes - we go there!The man is a treasure trove of deep thoughts about ethics, faith and the human condition, so naturally when granted an hour of his time we choose to pick his brain about diet books and Elon Musk. Among the pillars of our talk:🔔 A record breaking Holocaust bell at 2:40 into the interview 🔔 Unironic discussion of generational traumaThe world is super randomWhy is there no Rabbi Dre or Rabbi Pepper?The biggest human problems he sees all the timeHumility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. - C.S LewisBlame it on the pillA vision of a successful marriageWait, is the rabbi single??Talmudic lessons from the 1990 Patrick Swayze masterpiece “Ghost”Human nature is…problematic.Post Sinai lifeCheck out amazing online lessons at the Streiker CenterThe tyranny of the Thank You NoteJews are just like everyone else, only more soThe ADL Vs. Musk - pick your fighter.Secular Vs. Orthodox - pick your fighter. Don't forget to follow us on Substack for regular updates https://askajew.substack.com/Rate and review us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ on Apple podcastsFollow us on InstagramAnd send your questions to Askajewpod@gmail.com Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Why did G_d forsake the people of Israel at Burning Man?Did Abraham work in a gift shop?You’re so not invited to my Bat Mitzvah (J/k please come)Would you read your angsty teenage diary on stage? These people did and its hilarious.Hot 12 year old boysOur traumatic stories from 6th gradeMarraige is good, I guessEsther Perel on artificial intamacy🔔Holocaust Bell rings late! 42:42 🔔A Holocaust Instagram story?What happened to hot Nazis?Some PR advice for the Goyimn Defense League (Maybe a name change? Or shorten to GDL?)What random shows do you love that no one else watches? Chaya Leah is a fan of Hell on Wheels, while Yael yearns for a man with a cat who gets tomorrow’s newspaper todayAn Israel, a Palestinian and a bunch of whites go to dinnerListener Question: Frum vs. SecularsYou’re either and anti-antisemite or you’re an antisemiteJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Remember when diversity wasn’t an annoying word that makes you think of 5 hour office HR power point presentations? Our guest today is diverse in the coolest way possible - not just his background, but his experience and work as well. Yirmiyahu Danzig tells us all about his upbringing as a Carribean/American/Israeli Jew, his military service in the heart of the conflict alongside Israeli soldiers of all religions, and his online work building bridges with our Arab neigbors.🛎 Holocaust bell dings at 4:22 🛎Find him on instagram @that_semite and JewishUnpacked.comNever miss an update! Sign up at askajew@substack.com, send your Qs to @askajewpod@gmail.com,and follow us on IG @askajewpodJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

The Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk of Jewish podcasting are back this week, talking about the latest tragedy to befall the Jewish people, prosthetic noses. We learn that this is the Jewish month of self reflection , debate whether israel should have a Sunday, and answer listener questions about autopay on Shabbat.  For your Qs, our email is askajewpod@gmail.com. Next stop - the Tel Aviv light rail! We discuss public transportation and the conflicts between orthodox men and scantitly clad female passengers. Why can’t we all just get along, the heavily clothed and the half-naked?🛎 Holocaust Bell rings around 3:25 🛎Book club! Pick up a copy of Walter Russell Mead’s “The Arc of a Covenant” about the history of Israeli-American relationships and look smart while reading it on the train. We hope to have him on in the coming months and will take your questions!Join the conversation! We are on substack, where you can sign up for our newsletter and connect with other AAJ fans. The comment section is quite the Shtetel square: Askajew.substack.com. Questions for us? Askajewpod@gmail.com. You can also find us on instagram @askajewpodShow notes:Tel Aviv light rail video https://fb.watch/mz9wiYtKcl/Bring Sundays to Israel: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-755225Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

The girls welcome Israeli author and co-founder of the Tel Aviv, institute Hen Mazzig. Hen, who identifies as a Queer, Mizrahi Zionist, has a huge online footprint, where he shares stories about Israel that people may not have seen before.We talk about everything from his family's Jewish roots in North Africa and Iraq, American Jews and Israel, being a Mizrahi or Sephardi Jew, progressive politics, and more! You can find him at Henmazzig.com or on social media @Henmazzig. Check out his book "The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto" wherever you get books. Follow his work on Twitter @HenMazzig, Instagram  and Facebook and on his website: www.HenMazzig.comQuestions? askajewpod@gmail.com and follow us on substack to get updates: askajew.substack.com  Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Chaya Leah is back from Italy and FranceThe hazards of kosher fine-dining in EuropeHarvard loves dead NazisYael is traumatized by classic EuropeAmericans love standing in lineThe Jewish ethics of having an affairYou don’t *have* to love thy neighbor in AmericaA solemn yet insightful conversation about IsraelIs hatred of the religious people in Israel out of control?Save us, Eurovision!Barbie’s Kosher DreamhouseArchie comics were more damaging than BarbieCongratulations Rabbi Shmuly!Oh look another sad Jewish holidayYael suprises Chaya Leah by announcing a new project - The AAJ Book Club! There is no deadline and definitely no meetings (unless you guys want to do that). Our book is “Arc of a Covenant” by Walter Russel Mead.Questions? Askajewpod@gmail.comFollow our substack askajew.substack.com and find us on Instagram @askajewpodShownotes:Israeli protestors connectingJewish students giving it to TitusLiel Leibovitz on Commentary - do you agree or nah?The Arie Deri law Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Yael is stuck in Texas, so Chaya Leah and her father, Rabbi Aba Abba Perelmuter, take to the stage for some light Torah studies. They were left with explicit instructions to answer listener questions, but you know, these people...instead they have an enlightening conversation about the Talmudic interpretations of the Russia/Ukraine conflict,  honoring thy father and thy mother (complete with loopholes), and this weird modern idea of following your passions.Subscribe to our Substack askajew.substack.com and ask questions (we will get to them some day) at askajewpod@gmail.comWe are off for a summer break, but will be back soon with exciting guests and much to catch up on! xoxoJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are joined by author and journalist Matti Friedman, who recently penned "Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai" (you can hear him discuss it with Bari Weiss here) and before that the incredible "Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel" about the founding of the Mossad and the nation.A former AP correspondent, Matti blew the lid on what the media gets wrong about Israel, in this badass essay in The Atlantic and in Tablet.We cover a lot of ground in this one, and manage to make it all the way to the end without talking about current Israeli politics, but then discuss Matti's impactful and insightful letter to American Jews (with OG's Yossi Klein Halevy and Daniel Gordis) on why they need to raise their voice against Israel's current government. Also: From Toronto to JerusalemThe myth of the KibbutzIf someone offers to introduce you to an old spy - you say yes!There are no delis in israel This ain’t Norway Why the media is so obsessed with Israel (maybe because there are more staffers covering Israel than all of China and Africa?)Save us Bruno Mars Herzl the Hipster Media literacy Where does Matti get his information? (in books, like some nerd)News is activism We want to believe...The NY times Can we afford to criticize Israel publicly? Let’s end on a pessimistic note J/k we’re never letting him go The orthodox scene in israel is thriving...and it’s terrifying (to some of us)We want to be socialists, as long as everyone else is a libertarian Draft theo orthodox to the army? Yael puts chaya Leah on the spot Matti's Hotmail We want to give Matti an out but then we remember Indian Jews Questions? Email askajewpod@gmail.comSign up to our substack askajewpod.substack.com Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

New segment: What kind of Jew is this? Podcast about K-Pop and the war in Gaza (Hebrew)Robbie Williams does Pride TLV Don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and follow us on Substack and instagram @askajewpodJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

We are back with our friend and reluctant mentor, Meghan Daum! Meghan is an author, host of The Unspeakable podcast, co-host of A Special Place in Hell with Sarah Haider, and founder of the Unspeakeasy, a special online community for special online women (we are both members!). As usual, we start light and breezy by gushing over hot dictators and 90's TV dads, and end up musing about regret, marriage, and successful divorces.Here's what made the cut:Jews and Muslims both hate petsWhatever you do, do not Google “Do monkeys menstruate?”With the right Instagram filters, you too can look like Martha StewartThe missing Friday Night Lights sex sceneBirth control and mikveh appsDo women even drink beer?Everybody should be assigned a “bully buddy”Can women have it all? How about some? How about anything?The nature of regretHasidic influencers, but not that kindThe Unspeakeasy AAJ crossover spectacular shabbat crossover.If you have a question please email askajewpod@gmail.com, follow us on Substack, and rate and review us on Apple to help us grow.Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe