Judaism

Chosen People Problems

Yael Bar tur, secular sinner, and Chaya Leah Sufrin, pious Haredi, ask each other the hard questions, from Torah to Tinder askajew.substack.com

Latest Episodes:

Gen Z and the Z word - with Blake Flayton Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

We welcome young journalist and activist Blake Flayton, fresh off a ground invasion into academia. He tries to explain to us what is wrong with the kids today, what TikTok and peer pressure has to do with it, and why we need different kinds of Jews on campus.

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Blake’s NY Times piece about antisemitism on campus

Follow Blake on Twitter

Make Zionism Sexy Again

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Islamophobia Month Special - with the Habibi Bros Mujahed Kobbe and Siraj Hashmi Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

In honor of Islamophobia month, we detained Mujahed Kobbe and Siraj Hashmi, otherwise knows as the Habibi Bros, hosts of the Habibi Power Hour." Seriously, this is the most fun we’ve had all month - and that's before we strip searched them. Follow their show and socials if you don't believe us!

We heard these boys are safe and funny, but when Mujahed showed up to our video call with a background of a tunnel, we knew we had found our people.

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Return of the Jewish whisper - with Yossi Klein Halevi Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

The girls use their guest Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Hartman Institute, as a free therapist.

Warning: This episode gets funny and lighthearted at times, some might even say optimistic. We talk:

Israeli music is so….Israeli.
Why is Yossi doing a bit better?
Hamas really messed up by making us stop hating each other.
Our leaders don’t deserve us
Moral failures
What the hell does Hashem want from us??
Even the orthodox are becoming Zionists (and why that’s weird)
Mental health help is not the answer to antisemitism
The privilege of the progressive Jew
Why there can never be a two-state solution and yet there HAS to be a two-state solution.
There are more people of good will on the other side than the right thinks, but less than the left thinks.

Links:

More about Yossi

https://www.yossikleinhalevi.com/

Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Palestinian-Neighbor-Yossi-Halevi/dp/0062844911

Spotify Avoda Ivrit playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5RZ2TSTjeQqglz9G35n8Uk?si=mtj5VHRMQ0O4UN9m4CUpMw

The Genesis War - Yedidia Stern

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/yedidia-stern/

Chaya Leah's YKH-inspired playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2oWIUXjGtjZwB9nOgQeFnh?si=S2kSqXUUTOCU7a70uYs0rw

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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You've got a friend - with Mary Katharine Ham Oct 24, 2023

Show notes

On October 6th, we sat down for a lovely conversation with journalist Mary Katharine Ham, who you may know from CNN, The Federalist, and as the co-host of wonderful podcast "Getting Hammered".

I'd like to say that back 3 weeks ago when we recorded this we didn't have any problems, but we did, just at a much smaller scale. We discuss a lot of the things that were on our minds then and now like Israel, journalism, and American campus madness in this timeless episode. In her southern generosity, Mary Katharine agreed to come back a few days ago, so we also recorded a more timely intro for y'all where we discuss the last couple of weeks.

Join our community on substack askajew.substack.com

Help us grow by rating us 5 stars and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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12 Days of War - with IDF Col. (Res.) Miri Eisen Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

12 Days of War - with IDF Col. (Res.) Miri Eisen

We are joined by IDF Colonel (Res.) Miri Eisen, formerly a senior intelligence officer and now the head of the International Institute for Counterterrorism at Reichman University.

We discuss Hamas's endgame, future escalation, and the enviable strength of the people of Israel.

If you are a new listener, our episodes are usually a lot funnier. Stick with us please till we make it past these dark days and go back to being our usual lighthearted and goofy selves. We have every plan to bounce back!

Please rate and review us five stars on Apple Podcast

Email us your questions and comments at askajewpod@gmail.com

And you can also follow Yael on Twitter with updates from Israel https://twitter.com/yaelbt

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Special Episode: War In Israel Live Zoom Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Big Girls Don't Cry at the Holocaust Museum Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Elon Musk goes to Auschwitz, Chaya Leah goes to spin class.

Are you a holocaust denier? Then why aren't you following us on Substack?? https://askajew.substack.com/

Please rate and review us five stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ on Spotify/Apple - it helps us grow!

Also:

How do you say Jew in sign language?

🔔 Holocaust bell rings around 10 minutes in... 🔔

Why does Oprah love her dog more than she loves the Jews?

Chaya Leah wants to rebrand herself from a Jew to a person who goes to spin class

Somewhere out there is s someone who is sick of sleeping with a supermodel

We get vulnerable searching for our true selves... (spoiler alert - we couldn't find it)

Is self-acceptance for losers?

Did yael fail at Yom Kippur?

Secular vs. Religious in Israel - Yom Kippur edition. We don't entirely agree with one another, but tend to nod along to Yossi Klein Halevi on this one - all of us should be ashamed.

Yael's quest for Nazi Porn

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Send emails to askajewpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram @askajewpod

Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.com

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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The Swinging Chicken Dance Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

Saudi Arabia, you up?

Bibi and Elon, sitting in a tree

A beautiful tradition or antisemitic blood libel? Why not both?

Non binary silverware

Yael asks Chaya Leah about a Yom Kippur tradition involving Jews paying Arabs

The weird chicken thing that Orthodox Jews do

Tradition!

🔔 Holocaust bell rings at 26 minutes 🔔

We talk about Lauren Boebert, Bari Weiss, and Palestinians antisemites at UPenn, because we always like to be 2 weeks behind the news.

The time Chaya Leah got scolded for bringing a Nazi to campus

Are we in control? Hashem says: lol.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Democracy Hipster - With Yascha Mounk Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Democracy Hipster - With Yascha Mounk

Oh look, Yascha Mounk wrote another book. "The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time" is really great (just like all the others), so we invited Yascha on to talk about democracy around the world in 2023, why identity politics is bad for everyone, post-liberalism on the right and left, Germany and Israel being BFFs, Donald Trump , social media, and the death of self critique.

🔔 Yascha rings the Holocaust bell at 4:15 🔔

Also - how Jewish is Yascha? Is he single? And why might he want to work at Trader Joe's?

Find out by listening and subscribing:

Substack: https://askajew.substack.com/

Rate and review us five stars to fight antisemitism ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-a-jew/

And send us your emails to askajewpod@gmail.com

BUY THE BOOK! https://www.amazon.com/Identity-Trap-Story-Ideas-Power/dp/0593493184

Yascha rings the Holocaust bell at 4:15 telling us about his family and growing up in Germany

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Rosh Hashana Special with Rabbi David Wolpe Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

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 trauma
The world is super random
Why is there no Rabbi Dre or Rabbi Pepper?
The biggest human problems he sees all the time
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. - C.S Lewis
Blame it on the pill
A vision of a successful marriage
Wait, is the rabbi single??
Talmudic lessons from the 1990 Patrick Swayze masterpiece “Ghost”
Human nature is…problematic.
Post Sinai life
Check out amazing online lessons at the Streiker Center
The tyranny of the Thank You Note
Jews are just like everyone else, only more so
The ADL Vs. Musk - pick your fighter.
Secular Vs. Orthodox - pick your fighter.