Ask a Jew

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

  1. Your Personality Is Not a Disorder: Social Media, Girls and Gen Z, with Freya India

    12 HR AGO

    Your Personality Is Not a Disorder: Social Media, Girls and Gen Z, with Freya India

    Today on Ask a Jew, we’re joined by writer Freya India, author of Girls: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything, to talk about what growing up as a girl looks like in the age of Instagram, how we are all carrying generational trauma from Eve, and why not everything in your life is a problem to be fixed. Turns out we’re all just 13-year-old girls! Now go buy the book. Do you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Well, you can! We also get into why social media can feel like a “rumination machine” for anxious girls, how beauty culture and Facetune turn teenagers into products, and why every normal feeling is suddenly language‑ified into a “disorder,” a “trauma,” or a “healing journey.” We also talk about what boys are seeing online, the rise of “looksmaxxing,” and whether anyone knows how to have a normal relationship anymore. If you’re a parent, a millennial/Gen X woman looking at Gen Z with horror, or a Gen Z girl trying to make sense of your own feed, this one is for you. Also: * Will the allure beauty box change your life? * We are all just 13 year old girls * Social media escalaes every trend o the extreme * Not everything needs to be solved * Is therapy a scam? * We’re all trying to gain control * social media is a rumination machine * Beware of therapy talk * Feeling anxious? you’re probably normal * The stories we tell ourselves * We all have generational trauma from Eve * You think you need therapy? Go live in Somalia! * Freya is so pretty * Is every personality trait is a problem? * We don’t care about your healing journeys 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

    1hr 3min
  2. Paging Dr. McJewy - With Jamie Denbo

    22 APR

    Paging Dr. McJewy - With Jamie Denbo

    Jamie Denbo is an actress, comedian, formerly a writer and producer on Grey’s Anatomy (yes, that Grey’s Anatomy), and creator of The Beverly Podcast! Oh, you may have also seen her on Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother. We talk to Jamie (and Beverly) about comedy, Hollywood, Jewish moms, what we can learn about antisemitism from 12-step programs, and what happened post-October 7th in the writer’s room of a hit show (unfortunately, nothing good). Also: * Can we talk about The Pitt instead of Grey’s Anatomy? * Whispers of support, public silence. * Turns out people don’t know what Jews are. * Your coworkers posted what on Instagram?? * You can learn a lot from the antisemites. * An abundance of anger. * One righteous man in the writer’s room. * How can there be antisemitism when Donna Martin from 90210 is Jewish? * How much is real estate in the Shtetl? * Beverly is for everyone! (and thank you to the Jewish Writers Institute) * Everyone has an inappropriate, overly-sexualized aunt. * Which kind of Jews are more annoying - women or men? * Call your mother!!! Check out the Beverly Podcast! wherever you get your podcasts, on Youtube and Instagram. Thank you for listening to Ask A Jew! We love you all equally, but our non-Jewish listeners are more equal. We want to send some love and welness vibes to listener Jonathan Campbell, who is going through some rough s**t and currently on a healing journey. Jonathan, get better soon. We can’t afford to lose any listeners 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

    1hr 10min
  3. 1 APR

    The Jews Cannot Survive on Hate Alone

    Rabbi David Wolpe needs no introduction, but if you insist: He’s a scholar in residence at the Maimonides Fund, Rabbi Emeritus at LA’s Sinai Temple, and formerly a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School (where, you know, Yael…never mind). This is a somewhat optimistic, thoughtful (well, at least Wolpe’s part), conversation about why Jews are fine (when’s the last time you saw a Hittite walking around?), whether the bible is true, how we can build stronger friendships with other communities, and if we should forgive Kanye….not to mention Mandy Patinkin. Happy Passover to our Jews, and Happy Easter to our Christians! Everyone else, have a wonderful and happy week, and thank you for listening! Also: * Jews like our clouds without silver lining. * Things are great! All things considered. * There’s no such thing as a grown up. * The wrath of Jewish WhatsApp groups (you don’t need to text him about every Swastika) * Wait, not everything in the bible is real?? A controversial sermon. * What makes the Exodus true? An interview with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (but finish listening to this first) * Is AI good for the Jews? * How Jewish do you need to be? * Why did you become a Rabbi? * What to say to a young Jew who wants out? * Recommended reading: Testament of a Jew from Saragossa, by Eli Wiesel. * We live in a society where victimhood is power. * We need you! * Where have all the Hittites gone? * Can Judaism survive without a Tzar? * Which Jews can we kick out though? * Does Rabbi Wolpe forgive Kanye? * Can’t finish without Pharoah Mandy Patinkin. NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM! We’ll be off next week, but if you miss us and want to help us grow, consider going to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a five star rating and a nice review. 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

    58 min
  4. We’ve Gone from Darkness to Light Before, We’ll Do It Again

    27 MAR

    We’ve Gone from Darkness to Light Before, We’ll Do It Again

    Dr. Jonathan Sarna is one of the most well-regarded historians in America and the Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. He has written and edited over 30 books (which is more than we have read…combined) and is the expert on the Jews of America. We rate the American presidents on whether they liked or didn’t like Jews, discuss how bad antisemitism really is today compared to the past, and learn why we have always been blamed for everything — historically speaking, of course. Also: * A brief detour into the history of… Sex and the City. * The Jews that don’t eat Turkey. * Rehabbing Ulysses S. Grant. * It’s always the fault of the Jews - even before it happens. * What Jews can learn from Feminists. * What is going on with Jewish Studies departments in academia? * Why many Jewish academics prefer to sit the antisemitism discussion out. * Who hasn’t gotten an antisemitic letter from Richard Nixon?? * Honest Abe lives up to his name. * How bad is it really? Oh hey guess who else wrote something? Honored to make my debut in National Review with a piece about Israeli wartime humor. Also, friend of the pod and previous guest Jen Brick Murtazashvili had a wonderful piece in the Washington Post today about what we get wrong about this war (a lot). Here’s a gift link. 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

    1hr 6min

About

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

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