Ask a Jew

By Ask a Jew

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

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The podcast currently has 222 episodes available.

Best of Ask a Jew

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: How Not to Screw Up the New Year
Dear Jews and regular people, Rosh Hashana is upon us, which means it’s time to reflect on the past year, take a hard look at our behavior, ask forgiveness from the people we’ve wronged, and then immediately start judging everyone again. What a year it has been. Actually, we take that back. We’re tired of saying “what a year it has been.” Every year is apparently going to be A YEAR now. We would like one boring Jewish year, please. Nothing historic. Nothing unprecedented. Nothing that requires a statement from a Jewish organization. Just apples, honey, some light antisemitism we can complain about, and everyone home by 10. Is that really too much to ask? This week on Ask a Jew, we’re getting ready for the new year with someone very special: ChayaLeah’s dad, Rabbi Abba Perelmuter. We brought him on partly because he is a rabbi with decades of wisdom and an incredible ability to make big Jewish ideas feel relevant and human. But Yael really wanted him on because she was hoping he would tell an embarrassing story about ChayaLeah. He could not remember one. Honestly, devastating. * Why Sukkot is the tragically under-marketed holiday of the Jewish calendar and deserves a rebrand. * What to do on Rosh Hashanah if you’re Jewish but haven’t been inside a synagogue since your cousin’s bar mitzvah. * Why community matters even if you don’t know the prayers, don’t know what you’re doing, and don’t plan on staying for three hours. Just show up. * ChayaLeah’s annual rant: STOP WAITING TO BE INVITED. Invite someone yourself. You don’t need a gorgeous table or a five-course dinner. There are lonely people waiting for someone to remember them. * Why parents whose college kids suddenly come home with radically different views should educate themselves before starting the argument. * Whether we give antisemites and anti-Israel celebrities way too much of our attention. * Macklemore, Mark Ruffalo, Mandy Patinkin, Ed Sheeran, Brad Pitt, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Nirvana and, somehow, the Miami Boys Choir. * Why America knows what celebrities and quarterbacks think but can’t name four philosophers. Seems healthy. * Whether Ask a Jew could be the Beatles of podcasting. (The answer appears to be no, but Vegas is still on the table.) * And finally, what ChayaLeah was actually like as a child: opinionated, challenging her teachers, befriending older kids and apparently already preparing for a career in podcasting. And maybe that’s what we love most about Rosh Hashana. Judaism gives us a reset button every year, while also being extremely clear that you are, unfortunately, still you. Thank you to everyone who has listened this year… You’ve laughed with us, argued with us, corrected us, defended us, gotten mad at us, and told us you were yelling responses to us while driving. We love this weird little community we’ve built. So for 5787, we wish all of you a year of health, laughter, good marriages, good friendships, good food, and group chats that never get screenshotted and sent to the wrong person. Stay tuned for next year….. lots of great guests coming up including Brad Lander and Mandy Patankin. Shana Tova U’Metuka. See you in 5787. Yael & ChayaLeah
September 10, 202659min
Number 2: A Deep Dive Into The War of 1812 - Just kidding, but CBS’s National Security Analyst Aaron MacLean is here
Aaron MacLean is host of the School of War podcast, a National Security Analyst at CBS, a columnist at the Free Press, a retired Marine captain, and now, a reluctant and delightful guest on Ask A Jew. We discuss Iran, China, growing up the son of a WW2 veteran, The War of the Spanish Succession (??), and, ew, are we turning into France?? Join the conversation on Substack: Askajew.substack.com And check out this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@AskAJew Also: Avoiding the Jihad elective at Oxford. Boulder Colorado is a gateway drug to the Muslim Brotherhood. Aaron learned Arabic only to be deployed to a non-Arabic-speaking country. What’s your favorite war, Aaron? Chaya Leah’s first word was Auschwitz. Why is Harrison Ford still hot?? Not many people know what it’s like to have your freedom at stake? Aaron’s forthcoming book: “Pro-Israel - Despite it all”. Are we winning the war?? What happened to the Turks? They used to be cool. What should we talk about next, China? Cancer? Ew, are we turning into Europe?? Draft - yay or nay? Questions? Submit them here: https://tinyurl.com/askajew
September 01, 20261h 1min
Number 3: Zionism Is Punk Rock - with Warren Kinsella.
Warren Kinsella wears many hats: a lawyer hat, a punk-rock musician hat, an author hat - and our favorite - a pissed-off Canadian hat. We chat with him about his new book, The Hidden Hand: The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda. After you have purchased the book, follow Warren on X as well. Here is a piece he wrote about his research for The Free Press: Our interview with Warren starts around minute 35, before that you can enjoy us catching up about Lindsay Clancy, how dare Bill Ackman donate a billion dollars to medical causes, the land mass currently known as Israel, and more. Also - Have a question for us? We have a form! ICYMI, here we are in Wyoming with Nadav Eyal: Thanks for reading Good for the Jews! This post is public so feel free to share it. 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
August 26, 20261h 29min
Number 4: 1-800-Antisemitism
Hi Jews and Jew Lovers! It’s been an exhausting week running the world, but we still had some time to sit and catch up about Spain, Morocco, water guns and the kingdom of Cerritos Auto Square (mentioning them in case they want to sponsor the podcast.) Have a question?? [email protected] Also: * J-Pop is the new K-Pop. * If Chaya Leah’s hair looks good but nobody can see it, does it still look good? * Can you use a water gun on Shabbat? * Stop calling everyone an antisemite, some people are just stupid. * Tell us if you experienced an antisemitism and we’ll tell you if you really did (that number again is [email protected]) * Our apperance on the Josh Szeps show! Want to listen? How about a 7-day free trial to his channel?? Click here. * Albanians are cool, except that one guy who didn’t let my friends in his restaurant. * Anyone in London?? Hit us up. * You can now watch Mark Dubowitz of the FDD talk about whether the Iranian leadership is hot on YouTube. 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
August 06, 202648min
Number 5: The Foundation Against Deadly Dumbasses - with Mark Dubowitz
Mark Dubowitz is the chief executive of The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and our new reluctant friend. We sit him down to talk about Iran, Saudi Arabia, why the IRGC wants Ted Kaczynski to kill him, why we can’t just send Bruce Willis (in Armageddon) to drill into Pickaxe mountain, and who the bad guys would want winning the Israeli election… Follow Mark on X, but not too closely like the Iranian government. Who’s joining us in Wyoming for our first ever live show?? Nadav Eyal will be there, will you? August 10th, there are only 37 tickets left!! Also in this episode: * Why didn’t Iran pick a good photo of Mark to present at Khamenei’s funeral? * Make democracy cool again. * Mark never met a self-hating Jew until he came to America. * How to deal with your anti Zionist kids? Tell them they’re idiots. * The Iranians won’t miss an opportunity to kiss an opportunity. * Mark realizes we want to talk about whether or not Ahmedinejad is attractive… and he has some thoughts. * What do you say to Americans who ask why are we in this war with Iran? * Trump was talking about Kharg island before it was cool. * The US Israel military alliance is something to behold. * Is Trump forcing Saudi Arabia to hang out with us? * Who do the Iranians want leading Israel? * Israeli politics - this coalition must be defeated. * The Israeli expression that shouldn’t be used in English. * We need to talk about the Mexican president. * Magic Pickaxe mountain. 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
July 30, 20261h 11min