Shtark Tank

Yaakov Wolff
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  • Judaism
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If you are a Ben Torah in the workforce, this is the podcast for you! Make sure to check out ShtarkTank.org for more meaningful content. You can access bonus content and community events through our quiet Whatsapp Group https://chat.whatsapp.com/B5jEcBP5umZAHWk2ILBWTS Feel free to reach out with feedback, or just to say hi: yaakovwolff@gmail.com

  1. 1 hr ago

    Should You Start Your Own Company? ft. Alec Kremins (Founder, Baal Teshuva, Content Expert)

    One year ago, Alec Kremins got fired. Same week he found out his wife was pregnant with their first child. He had a choice: go find another stable job, or bet on himself. He went all in. Alec built his career at Ramp (now valued near $40B) before making Aliyah and eventually going out on his own. In this episode we get into why he tells most people not to start a company, even though it was the right call for him. We cover: The day he got let go, and the decision that followedWhy he thinks life is about meaning, not comfort, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe story about the "contract" nobody signed promising an easy lifeThe Histadlus/Bitachon dance and why it gets a lot harder when you're working for yourselfWhether your work should be part of your identity, or just what funds itA surprising parallel between starting a company and childbirth (his words, not ours)Why he actively discourages most people from starting their own thingBuilding a personal brand without losing your Shabbos, your learning, or your sanity to the algorithmWhere AI actually fits in content creation, and where it doesn't touch the core at all Alec Kremins is the founder of RallyUp. You can find him on LinkedIn.

  2. 3 Aug

    Yaakov Wolff Answers Your Questions with Rav Ari Koretzky

    Har HaBayit. Torah Im Derech Eretz. Searching for Meaning. It's the summer mailbag episode! Yaakov opens up the inbox and brings on Rav Ari Koretzky (director of Meor Maryland, host of the Iyun podcast) to work through listener feedback together. In this episode: Why Shtark Tank does pre-chag episodes, and whether they're on brand or just a scheduling excuseIs there such a thing as a distinct "baalabatish hashkafa" for guys balancing Torah and a careerA listener's story of how the podcast changed how he networks and built real friendships through cold outreach to guestsRav Ari's day job in kiruv, and why baalei teshuva may find an unexpected home in Shtark Tank's worldPushback on the Har HaBayis episode, including the halachic and hashkafic case against ascending, and whether the debate got a fair hearingHow to handle controversial topics without becoming a clickbait machine, and the cost of staying in your laneWhy the Rav Rafi Dembovsky episode on Torah Im Derech Eretz struck such a nerveThe "grass is greener" pull toward nonprofit work, and why it's not the meaning shortcut people think it isWhat 130+ episodes have taught Yaakov about mindset, and what's actually holding Shtark Tank back from growing bigger

  3. 27 Jul

    Living Up To Our Values ft. Rav Uri Lorkis (Torat JLIC Crossover)

    What happens after the fire of yeshiva goes out? This week I'm sharing an episode from Torat JLIC, a podcast I love, one that takes the complexity of modern life seriously instead of talking around it. The guest for this episode is Rav Uri Lorkis, who just wrapped a few years as JLIC rabbi in Michigan and now works as a startup coach. We dig into the real transition every yeshiva guy faces: how do you carry that intensity into the next stage of life, when the schedule, the chavrusas, and the structure are gone? Beyond the practical adjustments is a deeper crisis: Is it possible to live up to our values? Or will the daily grind dictate our agenda? Rav Uri brings some sharp, honest insight. Make sure to check out the Torat JLIC feed for more great content!

  4. 20 Jul

    Tisha B'Av Prep ft. Rav Moshe Taragin: Mourning in Times of Geulah, Achdut and Har Habayit

    How do you mourn a Beis Hamikdash you never knew, in a generation that's watched Klal Yisrael return to Eretz Yisrael and rebuild a country? Rav Moshe Taragin returns to Shtark Tank to help us hold two truths at once: we are living through open miracles, and we are still so far from the finish line. Rav Taragin unpacks why every question in Jewish life now splits into "before October 7th" and "after," why Tisha B'Av doesn't require manufactured grief but honest yearning, and how looking at Chazal's account of the Churban Bayis Sheni (zealotry, internal division, over-reliance on foreign powers) maps uncomfortably well onto Israeli society today. He also addresses the tension around visiting Har Habayit as a means to an end versus an end in itself, and offers a clear-eyed, non-preachy take on Aliyah, achdut, and what it means to stay grounded when the news cycle wants you anxious and reactive. In this episode: Why October 7th changed the answer to nearly every question in Jewish lifeThe difference between authentic mourning (aveilus balev) and performing grief on cueThe machlokes over changing Nusach HaTefillah to reflect our current realityWhat the internal strife of the Second Beis Hamikdash teaches us about achdut todayThe danger of turning Har Habayit visits into a photo op or political statementWhy Aliyah advocacy can tip into preachiness, and how to hold the ideal without judging the complexity of other people's livesPractical advice for gaining perspective when you're drowning in headlinesRav Taragin's new sefer, Reclaiming Redemption, HaGeula Volume 2: Faith, Identity, Peoplehood, and the Storms of War, is out now. Check out https://www.mtaraginbooks.com/ You can also join Rav Taragin's Whatsapp Chizzuk Chat: https://chat.whatsapp.com/HAER24G31VpJZW5zEXROYH for daily chizuk

  5. 13 Jul

    Holiness in the Heat ft. Dr. Dan Jacobson

    To recieve a free copy of Light in the Darkness, about Shemirat HaEinayim in today's world, email dan.jacobson.psyd@gmail.comSummer turns up the heat on shmiras einayim, and this episode isn't going to fix that. It's an honest conversation about the struggle, with returning guest Dr. Dan Jacobson offering real perspective instead of a quick fix. We get into: Why the trigger itself was never the real issue, and what actually determines what happens nextHow mindfulness (yes, the same tools behind DBT and ACT) offers a different way to hold a hard moment, without pretending it isn't hardWhy chasing a clean scorecard of "success" or "failure" in this area does more harm than goodA sharp Taz on hespedim that reframes the whole question: who you are is what you value, not your track recordWhether tznius really is "the battle of our generation," and what it means to sit with that honestlyPractical thoughts on family vacations and beach trips, without easy answersDan mentions Palouse Mindfulness, a free 8-part course by a student of Jon Kabat-Zinn, for anyone who wants to go deeper on their own. If this conversation was honest in a way you needed, leave a 5-star review. It helps more people find it.

  6. 6 Jul

    Should You Be Going to Har HaBayit? ft. Rav Yehuda Levi

    The three weeks are here. The time when we refocus on the fact that our lives are incomplete. There is a gaping hole in our ruchniyus, located at the holiest spot in the world. Har HaBayit. Some of us just think about the problem. Others are actually doing something about it. Rav Yehuda Levy is the latter. He has spent countless hours learning the sugya, written articles, taught classes, and spoken to gedolei yisrael. He also goes up regularly, was involved in starting Yeshivas Har HaBayis, and has played an active role in expanding tefillah rights at our holiest site. All of this, in addition to his professional life as a video production manager and a United Hatzalah volunteer. In this episode, we discuss: A quick overview of the sugya (it's simpler than you think)How an iPhone 11 with portrait mode led to easing restrictions for Jews on Har HaBayisWhy the gedolim were opposedThe pushback Rav Yehuda received (called an apikores and more)The right way to bring the geulah (surprising psak halacha) The goal of this episode is not to change your mind. But this is a sugya that deserves to be taken seriously. To learn more from Rav Yehuda Levi, check out beishashem.org

  7. 29 Jun

    Live @ YU Israel | Reu Berman, Zevi Reinitz, Moshe Rapps and Shaun Regenbaum

    New beginnings are hard. Shtark Tank went live at Yeshiva University Israel in Beit Vagan, recording in front of a room full of YU summer interns spending their summer working in Israel. The theme: new beginnings and transitions, and what it actually takes to navigate them. Part 1 is a panel conversation with threeShtark Tank All-Stars, who have each made their own version of the leap from the beit midrash to the workforce. Rabbi Reuven Berman is a rebbe, business owner, and CEO of Kobe IP. Zevi Reinitz is a founder, marketing executive, and author of 14 Sefarim. Moshe Rapps is a client advisor at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, an EMT, a podcaster, and a baseball coach. Together they get into the unwritten rules of workplace communication that no one teaches you, how to stay true to your values without wearing them like armor, why relationships are the only career asset that compounds forever, and what it really means to reinvent yourself when the world is moving faster than your LinkedIn profile. In Part 2, Shaun Regenbaum joins the conversation. Shaun is a PhD candidate at Hebrew University in bioengineering, founder and CEO of PropheX, and one of the more fascinating people you'll hear on this show. He built a Talmud lab in the middle of Georgia Tech, started his first company as an undergrad out of pure necessity, and has been quietly building one of the most interesting Torah and AI projects around at Talmud.dev. Shaun talks about what entrepreneurship actually feels like from the inside, why he doesn't recommend it for everyone, how he navigated being the only shomer Shabbat Jew at a major research university, and where he sees Torah and technology heading. Recorded live. Real audience. Real questions.

  8. 22 Jun

    Bonus: Live Career Coaching — Kollel to Career with Yaakov and Teddy Berman

    Teddy Berman grew up in the Syrian community in Flatbush, went to college, worked in finance — and then got the itch. Almost ten years of learning later, he's back in the driver's seat, building a family in Yerushalayim and trying to figure out what comes next. In this bonus episode, Teddy reaches out with the questions a lot of guys have but don't always get to ask directly: How do I balance parnasa with a serious morning seder? Is the dream of American hours realistic? Does it matter if I'm a working person or a mashpia by the bima? And how do I even figure out what I'm cut out for? We get into all of it — including the recruiter who laughed in my face, why Rav Yonasan Sacks's career advice puzzled me as a bochur in KBY, and why knowing yourself is the most underrated job search tool there is. Also: what Aliyah really means for your community, your nusach, and your kids — and why "choosing a box" might be the wrong frame entirely. If you're somewhere between the beis medrash and the boardroom, this one's for you. Topics covered: Hishtadlus, bitachon, and the Ramban on going to warAhavat melacha — what Chazal actually say about loving your workSoft skills vs. marketable skills: the honest breakdownUsing AI for career self-reflection (Teddy's been doing it)Building community in Eretz Yisrael as an Anglo olehDati Leumi vs. Haredi — more nuance than you think

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About

If you are a Ben Torah in the workforce, this is the podcast for you! Make sure to check out ShtarkTank.org for more meaningful content. You can access bonus content and community events through our quiet Whatsapp Group https://chat.whatsapp.com/B5jEcBP5umZAHWk2ILBWTS Feel free to reach out with feedback, or just to say hi: yaakovwolff@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Yaakov Wolff
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    137
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Yaakov Wolff
  • Show Website
    Shtark Tank

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