Shtark Tank

Over this Bein Hazmanim, I will be sharing some of the the podcasts which I have been listening to lately. This is from the Shtark Tank archives, one of our very early episodes, with Marc Lesnick.

In 2004, Rav Ari Katz moved with his family to Gush Katif, to serve as Rosh Yeshiva of a local high school. Just over a year later, soldiers knocked on his door and told him to leave.

In this 9 Days special episode, Rav Katz shares:

• What drew him to Gush Katif despite knowing the threats

• The beauty, unity, and spiritual strength of the community

• His firsthand account of the expulsion—including “the longest day of his life”

• How he and his community coped with the trauma, picked themselves up, and started again

• Why he believes October 7th began in the summer of 2005

Modern Day Churban?

As we approach Tisha B’Av, the day we mourn our exiles and national losses, this story feels especially relevant. Because Gush Katif was not ancient history—its a kind of modern Churban, including the destruction of entire communities, shuls and schools.

And yet, its a very complicated story. The 'disengagement' was the product of a Jewish government, and a Jewish army comprised of Jewish soldiers. The residents were not sent in to actual exile, they moved in to other parts of a flourishing and successful State of Israel. Rav Katz doesn't shy away from these complexities.

Pain and Hope

We spoke about pain and trauma, but we also spoke about resilience. After the final Mincha minyan, David Chatuel addressed the community. A year earlier, his preganant wife and all four of his children were murdered by terrorists. He got up and said "When tragedy strikes, you can crawl under your blanket—or you can get up and live."

Guest Bio

Rav Ari Katz is the Director of Sderot Hesder Yeshiva

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For more on the Gush Katif Heritage Center click here

For more on Sderot Hesder Yeshiva click here

Yaakov Ehrenkranz grew up in Memphis, learned in KBY and the Mir, got smicha from YU—and today helps dozens of families navigate the financial realities of life in Israel. In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover his personal journey from the American South to Ramot Beit Shemesh, and his professional journey from options trading to financial advising.

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We talk about:

• Why real estate is the #1 financial challenge facing Olim

• What Americans get wrong about “affording Aliyah”

• How Israeli society creates more meaning—and more happiness

• The role of values in long-term financial planning

• Balancing money and shalom bayis

And much more—including lessons from Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine zt"l, the economics professor and Talmid Chacham who shaped his thinking early on.

Rav Boruch Clinton spent two decades as a high school Rebbe before pivoting to a second career in IT. Along the way, he wrote prolifically about Torah, technology, and the challenges of working life — including a practical guide for Bnei Torah entering the workforce.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why Rav Hirsch remains his intellectual and spiritual anchor

• How writing became his tool for learning, clarity, and impact

• What Torah actually says about choosing a career

• The dangers of romanticizing our generation’s nisayonos

• Why being a mentch is a core Torah value — especially at work

Plus: the forgotten career that now pays $92K/year as an apprentice, the Hirschian take on Kabbalah, and how to push back respectfully when Torah values are at stake.

“If you’re a Ben Torah in the Beis Medrash, you should be a Ben Torah in the boardroom. No barriers. No masks.” – Rav Boruch Clinton

Resources

• Rav Boruch Clinton’s Substack: Bechol Drachecha

• “A Career Guide for Bnei Torah” by Rav Clinton (available via Amazon)

“Life is like a train. You might get derailed, but you know where the train needs to go. You get back on the track.”

Rav Reuven Berman didn’t plan to leave chinuch. He made Aliyah with a dream job teaching Torah in Yerushalayim—but it quickly became clear that the math didn’t work. With five kids and growing responsibilities, he transitioned into the business world while trying to hold on to his identity as a ben Torah.

In this honest and moving conversation, we cover:
✅ Being grouned in business while also connecting to yeshiva
✅ What he learned from a personal tragedy
✅ Why teaching—even part-time—can protect your neshama
✅ The power of a strong minyan
✅ How to stop dreaming of the “perfect community” and live in the one you’ve got
✅ And why every year in yeshiva still counts—even if you go to work later

Reuven shares what helped him stay grounded through transitions, success, and grief—and why he still dreams of being back in the beit midrash full time.

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What happens when a full-time chiropractor with a busy practice, a big heart, and zero spare time decides to launch a global tzedakah revolution—one dollar at a time?

This week on Shtark Tank, we sit down with Dr. Jonathan Donath, founder of Daily Giving, a platform that’s quietly transformed the world of tzedakah. What started as a flash of inspiration in a shul lobby has turned into a global force for chesed, distributing over $24 million to 100+ vetted nonprofits (including ADI Negev) and empowering over 21,000 daily givers around the world.

But the road wasn’t smooth. In this raw and inspiring conversation, Dr. Donath shares:

• 🧠 His powerful “epiphany moment” that sparked Daily Giving

• 💵 The emotional struggle of transitioning from volunteer founder to salaried CEO

• 🧘 How self-compassion and meditation saved him from burnout

• 📉 The surprising downside of professional success—and why he gave up Tuesdays

• 📚 The books, seforim, and mentors that changed how he thinks about purpose

This week on Shtark Tank, we welcome Rabbi Shalom Rosner—Rav of Kehillat Nofei HaShemesh, Rosh Beit Midrash at Machon Lev, beloved Daf Yomi maggid shiur, and my uncle—for a deeply personal conversation about his father, Dr. Fred Rosner z”l.

Check out the newly released Shalom Rav Birkon (bentcher) here.

Born in Berlin in 1935 and rescued via Kindertransport, Dr. Rosner began life with no formal Jewish education. But he went on to become not only a world-renowned physician and medical ethicist, but a serious talmid chacham, translator, and teacher of Torah and halachic medicine.

In this episode, we explore:

• The incredible story of Dr. Rosner’s late start in Torah learning—and how one summer of Mishnah changed everything

• His unwavering consistency and sense of mission, both in the hospital and the beit midrash

• The evolution of Jewish medical ethics, and how Dr. Rosner worked alongside gedolim like Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l

• Balancing public influence with personal humility

• The quiet legacy of a man who never wasted a moment, right up to the final day

Along the way, we also discuss family, Shabbos zmiros, Rambam, professional responsibility, and what it really looks like to synthesize Torah and derech eretz—without compromising either.

Check out ShtarkTank.org for more!

We recorded a regular Shtark Tank conversation with Tuvia Eisenman—about sales, chessed, and life in Israel.

Then the war broke out.

Tuvia was called back to reserve duty, and he joins us now from his IDF base with an emergency update. He walks us through the past few days, shares what it’s like on the ground in the Jordan Valley, and offers powerful reflections on what soldiers and their families are facing right now.

After the update, we return to the original conversation, recorded just days earlier. Tuvia shares how a yeshivish kid from Passaic ended up serving in the IDF, building a sales career in Israel, and using those skills to raise millions for nonprofits around the world. We talk about the art of listening—how it drives both sales and parenting—and how he balances intense frontline experiences with raising a family and living a life of purpose.

We also dive into the world of nonprofit marketing and fundraising. Tuvia offers a frank take on why most campaigns fall flat, how organizations can do better, and why peer-to-peer giving—though messy and personal—is actually one of the frum community’s greatest strengths.

Simon Baum is a seasoned lawyer, a Daf Yomi maggid shiur (twice daily!), and a thoughtful voice on what it means to live an integrated Torah life while fully immersed in the workforce. But his real story begins not with success, but with a breakdown.

In this moving and practical conversation, Simon opens up about:

• Hitting rock bottom after closing a billion-dollar deal

• Reframing his relationship with Hashem from stress to serenity

• Giving a Daf Yomi shiur as a path to deeper learning and community

• The relationship between professional success and spiritual growth

Simon shares his high-powered legal career, his weekly flights between London and Israel, and the moment of inner collapse that made him question everything—even at the peak of outward success.

Real growth came not from switching jobs—but from changing his view of what it means to live with Hashem. Guilt-based Yiddishkeit gave way to an honest, intimate relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam.

Simon moved to a Tel Aviv law firm, enabling a less frantic schedule and new consistency in his learning. His twice-daily Daf Yomi shiur has grown into a tight-knit chevra with shared values and simchas.

Work isn’t just a B’dieved. Simon explains how his law career actually deepened his Torah—offering insights, challenges, and identity shifts he couldn't have experienced elsewhere.

Simon explores how to grow spiritually without falling into toxic introspection, and how healthier self-worth leads to healthier avodah, relationships, and responses to stress.

• Olam HaYedidus by Rav Shlomo Wolbe

• Bikshu M’sham and K’savim by Rav Soloveitchik

• Crossing the Unknown Sea by David Whyte

Money Quote: “Real relationships have closeness and distance. You don’t do Avodas Hashem just to tick boxes—you do it because it’s real, and you want to live it.”

Chapters

00:00 Intro and Early Life

04:17 The Turning Point: Realizing the Need for Change

10:02 Transforming Life: Practical Changes and New Perspectives

17:00 Integrating Faith and Daily Life: A New Approach

21:59 The Pilgrimage of Identity in Work

23:50 Crisis and Self-Discovery

27:19 Managing Stress and Relationships

31:17 Navigating Self-Reflection and Growth

35:39 Seeking Professional Help vs. Self-Help

41:50 Future Aspirations

44:00 Lightning Round

As we prepare for Shavuos, Rav Moshe Taragin joins Shtark Tank to discuss his powerful new book on Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l, a towering educator who fused unwavering Emunah with deep compassion and realism.

The conversation moves from personal to national—from the rehab ward of an IDF hospital to the historical arc of Jewish destiny—and touches on some of the most urgent questions facing Bnei Torah today:

• What does real long-term chinuch look like?

• Is Jewish identity dependent on Torah observance?

• How do we avoid turning ambition into burnout?

• • What does it mean to live a life of Kiddush Hashem—in Israel or abroad?

  
  

  To order the book:

  • To order in Israel
  • To order in America

🧠 Key Topics:

• Faith under fire: Writing a sefer while in the ICU with his son

• The duality of chinuch: Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein as complementary voices

• Jewish identity beyond mitzvah observance: What Rav Amital taught us about Am Yisrael

• Kiddush Hashem as national mission: How Rav Amital redefined religious Zionism

• Hungarian vs. Lithuanian Torah cultures: Ambition, hasmada, and mental health

• Living b’achdus: What we can learn from Oslo, Rabin’s assassination, and post-October 7th Israel

• Careers, calling, and giving: Rav Taragin on choosing work that contributes to Yeshua Shel Olam

💬 Quotes to Remember:

“Kiddush Hashem isn’t just an individual act—it’s the arc of Jewish history unfolding.”

“Stories don’t just teach; they preserve a lost world and reframe our present.”

“Rav Amital reminded us: You’re a human being before you’re a masmid.”

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Personal Reflections

07:11 The Role of Community and Family in Crisis

13:13 Authenticity in Education and Long-Term Impact

20:35 Jewish Identity and the Concept of Bechirah

27:21 Kiddush Hashem: Personal and National Perspectives

39:17 Lessons from the Oslo Accord and Internal Struggles

45:52 Balancing Ambition and Mental Health in Jewish Education