Shtark Tank

Yaakov Wolff
  • 4.9 (42)
  • Judaism
  • Updated Weekly

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. 14h ago

    Rosh HaShana Mega-Episode

    For Rosh Hashana we wanted to do something special. Eight voices from around the world, eight perspectives on the Yamim Noraim. Here's the lineup: Ezra Meyer — car salesman and global chazzan, on how he prepares to lead tefilla on the Yamim NoraimDr. Herman Weiss — OBGYN and baal tokeah, on his path to becoming a baal tokeah and one of his most memorable mistakesRabbi Yossi Katz — Rav in Linden, NJ and partner in a recruiting firm, on Akeidat Yitzchak and how Avraham Avinu reframes how we approach being Bnei Torah in the workforceRav Tzvi Sinensky — director of the Lamm Legacy, sharing a Rosh Hashana drasha Rav Lamm gave his kehilla on integrating business success with religious successRav David Aron — co-Rosh Yeshiva of Orayta and founder of Isralight, on the proper attitude toward Yom HaDinRav Mitch Berger — computer programmer and author on Rav Shimon Shkop's hashkafa in his hakdama to Shaarei YosherYitzi Lowe — combat soldier in the IDF, on Yodei TeruaBonus: Yaakov Wolff on Headlines — audio from an interview on the Headlines podcast, hosted by Rav Ari Wasserman, on the phrase "Shivti B'veis Hashem"A lot of work went into this one. Special thanks to Shlomo Price for extra editing help. If you haven't already, subscribe, and if you're so inclined, leave a 5-star review. It helps the show reach more people. Resources Mentioned: Bshir Yaron, website for ChazzanimThe Revelation of Man, Drasha by Rav Norman Lamm'Widen Your Tent' by Rav Micha Berger Chapter list: 0:00 — Intro2:26 — Ezra Meyer: Preparing to Lead the High Holiday Prayers21:49 — Dr. Herman Weiss: The Responsibility of Blowing the Shofar35:21 — Rabbi Yossi Katz: Avraham Avinu and Finding Meaning in the Journey45:00 — Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky: Rabbi Norman Lamm on Potential and Purpose58:01 — Rabbi David Aaron: Rethinking Judgment on Rosh Hashanah1:09:57 — Rav Micha Berger: Rav Shimon Shkop’s Vision of Responsibility1:29:15 — Yitzy Loew: The Shofar’s Call to Enlist1:45:29 — Headlines Appearance: Building a Torah-Centered Life in the Workforce

  2. Aug 31

    How a Judge Experiences Yom HaDin ft. Jeremy Rovinsky

    Jeremy Rovinsky is a full time United States immigration judge, an associate justice for multiple Native American courts of appeals, a law professor at Crest Point University, and Dean of Teachers for the Tikvah Foundation's Millstone Scholars Program. He's also a baal teshuva who took his judicial oath on the Chovos HaLevavos. Jeremy spends his days behind the bench. This week he brings that lens to the Yamim Noraim: what din really means, why teshuva is recalibration and not erasure, and what it's like to approach Hakadosh Baruch Hu as the ultimate judge when you know exactly what it feels like to sit in the chair. In this episode: Going from philosophy major to talmid of Rav Gershenfeld at Machon ShlomoWhy his Rebbe told him to stay in law, not switch to kiruvThe Zohar's read on Lech Lecha: bring your past with you, don't leave it behindWhy the Sanhedrin required judges to have children (and what that teaches about rachmanus)Justice as love, not just din, and why that changed how he saw his own docketWhat Jeremy says to the God of Israel these days, now that he's not the prosecutor anymore Subscribe, leave a five star review, and check out the newsletter at shtarktank.org for more unfiltered thoughts on Torah, family, and life.

  3. Aug 24

    "The Doctors Told Us to Say Goodbye" ft. Rabbi Jason Weiner

    Emotional support at the end of life. Thorny halachic questions about scientific medical breakthoughs. AI and the end of work. These are all part of the Rabbi Jason Weiner's daily routine. Rabbi Weiner is the senior rabbi and executive director of spiritual care at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. In this episode we cover: What a healthcare chaplain actually does, and how Rabbi Weiner fell into the role with almost no trainingThe hardest moments of sitting with grieving families, including an uplifting story that took nearly 20 years to find its endingHow Torah sources think about medical breakthroughs like CRISPR and GLP-1 drugsHis essay on AI and the end of work: if a machine takes your job, does it take your identity too? To read the full Tradition Online essay about AI and the end of work, click here Find more from Rabbi Weiner at rabbiweiner.com, on YUTorah, on LinkedIn, or on Instagram at @rabbi_JW. Sign up for our newsletter to recieve unfiltered takes on work, Torah, family and more. Go to ShtarkTank.org and subscribe today.

  4. Aug 17

    Rav Hershel Schachter: Finding Meaning as a Ben Torah in the Workforce (Shiur plus Q&A)

    Subscribe to our newsletter at Shtarktank.org Rav Hershel Schachter addresses one of the most persistent tensions in the frum professional world: does the ben Torah at work matter as much as the one in the beis medrash? Recorded live in partnership with the OU Israel Business Professionals Network, this episode includes the full shiur plus a Q&A. What's covered: Why Klal Yisrael needs doctors, lawyers, engineers, and businessmen just as much as it needs roshei yeshiva, and why the "learning is more important" mindset is a distortion, not a Torah valueThe little-known letter from Rav Elya Meir Bloch on why the religious world can't afford to run from Zionism, Tanach, or IvritA Q&A covering how much work is enough, whether a rabbi should be wealthy, balancing communal obligations against raising your own children, and a practical seder for using limited learning time (starting with Kitzur Shulchan Aruch)Why Rav Schachter has spent 30 years teaching high schoolers at NCSY Kollel, and what he sees in that generation

  5. Aug 10

    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.

  6. Aug 3

    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

  7. Jul 27

    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!

  8. Jul 20

    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

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4.9
out of 5
42 Ratings

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
    141
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Yaakov Wolff
  • Show Website
    Shtark Tank

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