*Note: the play discussed here contains violence*

For the video version of this interview see here.

In this long-form interview, I talk to theater director Igor Goylak about a powerful production titled 'Our Class'. It's a play that tackles timely themes of the human capacity for evil, antisemitism, and the long arc of history. I saw the play in Brooklyn and it's now playing in Manhattan. Igor is a fellow Fellow at the Mandel Institute Cultural Leadership Program Fall 2024 cohort.

**For tickets see the following websites:**
www.arlekinplayers.com
www.ourclassplay.com
www.igorgolyakstudio.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

For YouTube version see here: https://youtu.be/DQgG_Pzxazg

Baily is a character of a Hasidic woman who spends her summers in the bungalow colonies in upstate New York. In this episode, she shares the trials and tribulations of the experience. This segment is comedy, in the great tradition of the Catskills being a place for comedy. Leah Forster is a brilliant comedian who has spent years entertaining Hasidic women before she left the fold and pivoted to perform for a larger audience.

Check out my other videos on the Jewish Catskills and my earlier interview with Leah about her career.
https://youtu.be/Txi0xO-au7I?si=GI6FUWT-jXb4JcwY https://youtu.be/-PWFttncdZg?si=Z_7NNkbd9vvA7BvW https://youtu.be/1J6pNHymChE?si=R0zuBDc6o9xyLwOD

 👉 Please Find Leah Forster on the internet here:
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hellowhellowleah
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahforster/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leah.forster.10

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

For the video version, see here: https://youtu.be/ywWcEMPALlM

You might have heard that in Judaism, there are Hasidic sects. What do we mean by sects? What are the sects, and what’s the difference among them? In this segment, we’ll do a brief introduction to what Hasidic sects are. Please feel free to leave a comment with your questions!

The book referenced in this video is ‘Hasidism, A New History’

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

A candid vlog with my thoughts on appropriate dress in Hasidic Williamsburg. Discussing tourist dress, the model Marisa Papen who walked through Williamsburg without any clothes, and my own choice to wear pants as an ex-Satmar woman.

Video version: https://youtu.be/bE4mSWJzk3I

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Youtube video link: https://youtu.be/2BmWbcCMW3M?si=B3yDwGD7exBuY4fc

In many of my videos, I've explored how Hasidic Jews live in the 21st century.
*But what happens to those for whom this way of life doesn't work?*

Some, like myself, leave. But not everyone who has doubts or different beliefs leaves. Some stay. And in this interview, I explore the stories of what we'll call here "the double lifers". The people who stay, despite rejecting the Orthodox Jewish core theological tenets.

Why do they stay? What's it like to live a double life? What are the moral quandaries of leaving or living a double life? Is it moral to have an affair after an arranged marriage? My wonderful guest delves into so many fascinating topics.

Ayala Fader is Professor of Anthropology at Fordham University. She is the author of the book 'Hidden Heretics, Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age', which tells the stories of a group of hidden heretics, how they lost faith and how they navigated life in the community in their new ways of understanding the world. The book also explores the impact of the internet on Hasidic Judaism, a topic which as the viewers of this channel will know, has fascinated me greatly and been the subject of several of my videos, including my major documentary on how an insular society deals with the internet Ayala also wrote the award-winning book Mitzvah Girls Bringing Up the Next Generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn.

You can get Ayala Fader's books here.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link: https://youtu.be/TkUS0jzJci4?si=QJJ8X5PKB_KKFNrq

This is a conversation with Dr. Howard Rosman, the longtime pediatrician serving the Williamsburg Hasidic community. When I first heard about him from his granddaughter, I spoke to some people in the community to ask them what they knew of him, and it was soon clear that he was a beloved icon in this community.

My aim in this interview was to learn how this very devout community approaches modern medicine. Do they vaccinate? Do they take all medicine - what about kosher concerns? What about genetics? There was so much to talk about. The only reason the interview wasn't longer was because we had enormous technical issues which despite my best ability, we could not solve, and Dr. Rosman had a really muffled audio reception.

I want to clarify that my aim in this interview is not to debate approaches to health and medicine. While I understand that there are now very contentious and heartfelt views on the topic, and I believe the debate is legitimate, this is not the place for that debate. My goal here was simply to hear the insights from a community doctor about the population he served. I would appreciate it if you could consider this when you leave a comment.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link: https://youtu.be/LpW30oZh9rY?si=Z0XV7PGhEhVpOCJD

This is a personal essay I wrote many years ago, shortly after leaving the Hasidic community. It's about my experience during the Get ceremony. A Get is a religious divorce and the ceremony involves several ancient traditions.

A little while ago, when I first tried my first live reading for the camera, I experimented by reading 'The Get'. I had not read it for many years and it was a surprisingly raw experience to go back and revisit it.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Did you know that the large Satmar Hasidic group, and the tiny Naturei Karta group, hold very different views about anti-zionism? Ideologically, the two agree up to a point. They both are anti-zionist until the Messiah comes, and both see Zionism as a secular movement. But Satmar is not the group that is seen on Iranian TV and running around with some pretty disturbing anti-semitic groups. In this segment, I go into the difference a little bit. For several reasons, including resource constraints, I have decided not to develop this segment into video. So for now I am only sharing it in podcast audio form.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version of this interview here. Comments are not enabled on podcasts so please leave comments on Youtube.

In this long-form interview, I talk to Eli Benedict about his life story. Eli grew up in the Hasidic community in Bnei Brak, Israel, and later left the fold. He remains deeply engaged with the Hasidic community and has a tremendous passion for Yiddish language, literature, old books and community. He is the CEO of YungYiddish and he runs the channel for the @LeagueforYiddish .

I have brought Eli to you on my channel before. Most notably, when he showed me around his hometown of Bnei Brak, just a few days before the horrific October 7 attack. That video is my only content from outside of New York City (for now!) I also shared some shorter videos with Eli, and one longer interview we did after the October 7 attack.

I went into this interview knowing that Eli has warm, complicated feelings for his community and that he was willing to speak candidly and honestly about the world he comes from. I did not know what Eli would share and it was quite a difficult interview to have and process. I thank Eli for sharing and hope you will all listen to his story with open minds.

Eli's story is another story that presents a perspective on the Hasidic education issue. My interviews on the subject create a mosaic with many different narratives. Hopefully, watching them all provides a more complicated, nuanced, and meaningful overview of the situation than one may find when reading the news.

Here are some more of my videos on #hasidiceducation

A trip down memory lane: my own Hasidic education || https://youtu.be/ZRhOovJLcBY
Gerry Albarelli, who taught English to Hasidic boys || https://youtu.be/lR7UL9b_xNU
Eli Spitzer, a Hasidic boys' school headmaster || https://youtu.be/li3y_lwwIyw
Moshe Krakowski, who studied Hasidic boys education || https://youtu.be/IjVyVP7KA8s
Pearl, a Hasidic mother who educated her son's in this system || https://youtu.be/V05SsdMGqkg?t=697
Izzy Posen, former student || https://youtu.be/SeZL920Eae8?si=-VCli1etsg4MJVtD

All my longform content is also available in podcast version.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

What are the rules of expectation for Satmar Hasidic girls?

In my most recent documentary on Hasidim and the internet, I showed a few pages of the Satmar Girl's school rulebook. This is the rulebook that contains a great many rules that the school has for its students. Among them are rules on modesty, vacationing, technology, college education, and more. Some people asked to see more of it, so I am here sharing the second half.

Here is the video version of this segment: https://youtu.be/jcDFUDXa8jk

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

An episode discussing Hasidic/Orthodox Anti-Zionism in depth, with historian David Biale.

There has been quite a bit of public conversation about Hasidic Anti-zionism. In one well-circulated tweet, critics of Zionism touted a gathering of 40,000 Satmar Hasidim as an event that proved the Jewish solidarity with the secular anti-zionist movement. But Satmar was quick to tweet back that they were in no way expressing any kind of collaboration or sympathies with the secular anti-zionist movement. You can see the tweet here:
https://friedavizel.com/2023/12/15/satmar-anti-zionism-vs-secular-anti-zionism/

While there is a lot of controversy and opinions around Israel, and I am completely appreciative of debating the war and many people's positions, I feel very strongly about clarifying the many misconceptions around Orthodox Jewish anti-zionism. And so, after much thought, I decided to discuss this issue with the brilliant historian David Biale (who seems to have a superhuman memory) and he brought so much nuance and insight into the topic. It isn't an easy topic to discuss, especially the aspects of the Satmar rebbe, but I feel like this difficult discussion was handled by my guest with as much objectivity and humanity as I could hope for. I invite you to check out my other video with David and the book that brought me to him: 'Hasidism a New History' which you can find anywhere where books are sold.

Hasidism | Princeton University Press

Youtube version here: https://youtu.be/mQC4g--Q-fM

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

For the YouTube version click here: https://youtu.be/_uxPKgA6hVU

You might have heard a bit about the Hasidic Jewish music scene from my previous videos or from browsing YouTube. It’s a wonderful world, and Yossi Desser is a wonderful part of it. He’s a Satmar Kiryas Joel native (like me) who has a deep love for special kinds of Jewish songs like Rabbi Yomtov Ehrlich songs, old Yiddish theater songs, the stories around Hasidic niggun and the adaptations of Christmas carols to Yiddish Chanukah Carols.

In this segment, Yossi and I sit down to discuss the stories around some iconic Jewish music and he performs some of it. I invite you to join this holiday-time discussion and to leave a comment! I added the translations to the songs so you can follow along no matter if you understand Yiddish, Hebrew or Hungarian.

Many thanks to Mrs. Dina Storch whose translation of ‘Yom Kippur’ by Yom-Tov Ehrlich was very helpful.

11:15 ‘Ani Mamin’ by a Modzitz Hasid who perished in the holocaust
32:55 ‘Yom Kippur’ by Reb Yom-Tov Ehrlich
49:51 Hasidic Niggun (Rizhuner)
1:00:45 ‘Belz’ or ‘Beltz’, a Yiddish classic song
1:09:59 ‘Sola Kokosh Mar’ from the Kalover Rebbe
1:21:31 ‘Luz a Shnei’ by Yossi Desser

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Andrew Jacobs directed the beautiful documentary 'Four Seasons Lodge' about holocaust survivors who spent every summer in the Catskills in a bungalow colony, connecting and loving life. The documentary follows them during their last years, as they are in their 80s, navigating the end of their time together. They are full of laughter, love, humor, sorrow, and memories of the horrors they went through. When I talked to Jacobs about his work on the documentary, and then so many of the subjects passing away, he welled up as he talked about what the survivors went through and how despite all that, they had so much gusto for life.

👉You can watch this beautiful documentary on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Y4ydDl
👉You can visit the Borscht Belt Museum here: https://www.borschtbeltmuseum.org/
👉For the Borscht Belt Fest, see here: https://www.borschtbeltfest.org/
👉For my visit to the Borscht Belt Museum, see here: https://youtu.be/-PWFttncdZg?si=khrPb2cz9nOyrXT6

This video is brought to you with the generous support of Fairfield University / Bennet Center for Judaic Studies. The Bennett Center for Judaic Studies is a unique academic center that strives to enrich the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual dialogue of Fairfield University. Continuing the vision of Carl and Dorothy Bennett, the Center fosters continued learning experiences and campus-wide awareness about Jewish history, ethical values, and religious observances. It also seeks to engage the Greater Fairfield communities through inspiring lectures and annual programs. https://www.fairfield.edu/undergraduate/academics/centers/bennett-center-for-judaic-studies/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Here's the link to the youtube video version: https://youtu.be/9GcRIbVEt8c?si=2TmJgN8QtvUvVa6y

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

This is a very, very special episode of a never before seen, very candid conversation about the marriage customs of the insular Jewish Hasidic Jews of the Satmar sect.

Pearl is a Satmar Hasidic woman who has been married for fifty-six years. Her marriage, and the marriage of her children and grandchildren, were set up according to Hasidic customs.
Pearl shared very candidly how her marriage was organized and graciously answered all of my questions about dating, attraction, sex education, matchmaking, and so much more.

This is a very very special interview, and I am so delighted to share it with you all.

To learn more about my work visit:
Website - friedavizel.com
Instagram - @friedavizel
Facebook - /toursbyfrieda

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

You might have heard that Hasidic women shave their heads. You might also have heard that when someone leaves the faith, their family shuns them. I asked the lovely Pearl, a Satmar Hasidic woman, to speak about these topics.

Pearl practices the custom of shaving the head - as is common in the Hasidic community. In this video, she talked about what it meant to her and what she thought of the portrayal of the custom in the show Unorthodox.

Pearl also has a son who left the faith. I asked her to tell her side of this story, and she shared it so warmly and openly.
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share this conversation with you all and I look forward to your thoughtful comments.

To learn more about my work visit:
Website - friedavizel.com
Instagram - @friedavizel
Facebook - /toursbyfrieda

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

For the video version of this conversation, see here.

*UPDATE:* After we filmed this segment, as I was about to share it, Izzy's young mother passed away in a tragic car accident. I am so heartbroken for Izzy and his terrible loss. He has been writing on his Twitter and his website about his grief for his mother and he shared a few words about her in this updated version. She was such a loving and wonderful woman. If you'd like to read more of Izzy's writing on grief and his complicated family relationship, go here: https://izzyposen.com/ https://twitter.com/posenizzy

----- A conversation with the wonderful Izzy Posen about his education as a Hasidic boy. Hasidic boys have very different types of schooling than girls, and here Izzy shares his at times horrifying, at times fascinating, experience in the Hasidic education system. Here are some more of my videos on #hasidiceducation

A trip down memory lane: my own Hasidic education || https://youtu.be/ZRhOovJLcBY
Gerry Albarelli, who taught English to Hasidic boys || https://youtu.be/lR7UL9b_xNU
Eli Spitzer, a Hasidic boys' school headmaster || https://youtu.be/li3y_lwwIyw
Moshe Krakowski, who studied Hasidic boys education || https://youtu.be/IjVyVP7KA8s
Pearl, a Hasidic mother who educated her son's in this system || https://youtu.be/V05SsdMGqkg?t=697

#ex-hasidic #otd #hasidiceducation

For the Youtube video, see here.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

What are the rules of expectation for Satmar Hasidic girls?

In my most recent documentary on Hasidim and the internet, I showed a few pages of the Satmar Girl's school rulebook. This is the rulebook that contains a great many rules that the school has for its students. Among them are rules on modesty, vacationing, technology, college education, and more. Some people asked to see more of it, so I am here sharing the first half. I hope to share the second half whenever I can.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

This is the story of the Hasidic Jews and the internet. In this documentary, I chart the dramatic saga of how different people in the Hasidic community first reacted to the internet, and how the community slowly coalesced on a solution for dealing with the web. Yes, many Hasidic Jews have now accepted the inevitability of the web, and many of them are online. But this is not without caveats and the community's own inventions. Join me for this long-form documentary to learn more. How are standards enforced? What are the standards? What's my personal connection to all of this? I answer as much as possible in a video that tells a story with wider implications than this community alone. It's a story about technology, change, culture, faith, and what it is to be human in the 21st century.

With many thanks to my channel members who support my work!
With thanks to Nicole Limperopulos for the financial support towards this video. Please check out Nicole's brilliant street photography on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streetpicnicphotography/

Many thanks to the wonderful Steve Milligan for all the hard work in editing this video. https://www.cliquemojo.com

Video by Keith Pressman https://kepress...
& Beka Namicheishvili https://biaproduction.com/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Leah Forster spent many years delighting Orthodox female audiences with her comedy. It is hard to overstate her success: she produced CDs, musicals, a ton of live acts, and was a household name among all Hasidic women. She was not only very funny and booked for major women's events, she was also an English teacher in Bais Yaakov for ears. In the last few years, Leah has been on a different path, as she was outed as gay and her place in the community fell apart. In this video, I ask her about her experience as a comedienne, and we talk about the many audiences that she has made laugh.

0:00 An overview of Leah's Hasidic and post-Hasidic comedy
4:58 How did you become a comedian?
11:36 Where did you grow up?
18:15 What was your comedy like for Orthodox women?
20:45 Why is it so hard to find your old comedy online?
27:44 Can you give examples of jokes you'd make when performing for frum audiences?
37:05 Are orthodox people offended by your imitations of Orthodox characters?

For the youtube video, see here.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Last week, I traveled to Israel to meet with Eli Benedict for a tour of his Hasidic hometown in Bnei Brak, Israel. Our time together was wonderful. And then the vicious, shocking attacks came, just after I got home. In this spontaneous interview, I check in with Eli to hear what's going on with him, with his community, and of course, with the larger situation in Israel. Eli had to leave the call suddenly when a siren went off, but he's fine. Stay tuned for more content with Eli.

עם ישראל חי

Eli Benedict is a researcher in Yiddish, he co-runs Yugn Yiddish and the Youtube channel @LeagueforYiddish.

For video version click here.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Moshe Krakowski American Haredi education and culture, focusing on the relationship between communal worldview, identity, and education. He also works on curriculum, cognition, and inquiry learning in Jewish educational settings. He has written extensively about the Hasidic boys' education controversy, often representing the community from a more favorable perspective. He visited many Hasidic boys' schools for his research, so I invited him on to share with us what he saw.

For Youtube video see here.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

The book "Hasidism, A New History" is a five-pound tome, but it's an excellent tome. It tells the amazing story of the formation of the Hasidic movement in a way that I found gripping. It is a thoroughly scholarly book, representing the works of eight scholars who are among the foremost important scholars in contemporary Judaism. The book looks not only at the story of Hasidism but also the many histories that have been told in the past and how they might not represent the story as it can be pieced together from contemporary archival material and from evaluating what we know. So considering how important this book is to my own work, I was very happy to have the opportunity to host David Biale, the lead author of this book, on my channel to share with you a bit of the story of the book.

Check Amazon for the book here: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description...

You can find the pashkeville against David's book here: https://docdro.id/pNxxLed

If you enjoy this kind of long-form interview, make sure to leave a comment to tell me so! Share your thoughts. I try to answer comments with questions.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/311WBTY7mrs

Tuvia Tenonbom is a character! He grew up in the Haredi enclave of Bnei Brak, which I've introduced you to in another video. He left the fold in his early twenties and became a bestselling author and journalist in Germany - with oft-hilarious, oft-controversial views. During covid, he was sent on an assignment to the insular Haredi enclaves of Israel, to the world of his childhood, to write about the experience. He was warned by many people that he'd be kicked out as soon as he arrived. But what happened left him surprised, humored, and a little bit in love with the Haredi world.

The result of Tuvia's time in Bnei Brak is a book and a documentary, both of which I've experienced. The book is titled 'Careful, Beauties Ahead', and the documentary, which I saw at a small theater in Manhattan, is titled 'God Speaks Yiddish'. I don't believe you can watch the documentary anywhere except during limited screenings in various places, but you can get his book!

👉 Tuvia's book titled 'Careful, Beauties Ahead / My Year with the Ultra-Orthodox': https://a.co/d/015wC8l2
👉 Tuvia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuviatenenbom/ ✅Other Tuvia works: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ATuvia+Tenenbom&s=relevancerank&text=Tuvia+Tenenbom&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 \
🔥📷Tour of Bnei Brak: https://youtu.be/f6cnYL94PSY?si=hzOSx4fBlcWpLDdO

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

QUESTIONS:

01:33 || How can someone visit the Hasidic community respectfully?
02:17 || What do you think of cursing?

Hard Questions
04:15 || Are convert Jews discriminated against?
05:56 Pearl first told the story in this video here Video
08:32 || What if someone wants to join the insular Satmar community? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V05SsdMGqkg&t=698s
11:38 || Why is schooling not a priority for Hasidic boys?
12:23 || Why aren't the boys prepared to earn a living?
14:02 || Were you worried about your sons not being able to speak English?
14:45 || How much Secular education did your Hasidic sons get?
15:30 || Do you agree that this way of life is not for everyone?

On Faiths Beyond Satmar
16:45 || How do you feel about other branches of Judaism?
17:57 || Is it correct to call you "Orthodox Jews"?
19:15 || If a Jew isn't observant, you feel sorry for them?
19:50 || What about when people feel sorry for you?
20:20 || How do you feel about the lack of faith in the world?
22:38 || What do you think of people who pray "to no one in particular"?

Personal Questions
25:22 || Which Austrian Displaced Persons Camp were you born in?
26:00 || How did the Holocaust affect you personally?
28:33 || What is "The Country" to Hasidic Jews?
29:49 || Do you talk to your children about the Holocaust?
31:50 || What surprised you most about being newly married?
33:45 || Did any of your daughters go to college?
34:05 || Did your mother also have this passion and zest for life?
34:56 || Did your mother have a hard time understanding you?
35:30 || How do you navigate a relationship with an abusive parent?
36:30 || How do you find downtime?
36:50 || Can you share your favorite recipes and homemaking ideas?
37:30 || What about cooking something on camera for youtube?

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

QUESTIONS:
0:01:10 What do you think of all the questions we got?

On Women and Motherhood in Satmar Hasidism
0:02:00 || Are women LOOKED DOWN in Judaism?
0:04:54 || What is your perspective on women in leadership positions?
0:06:34 || Are there instances when women take on leadership positions?
0:07:20 || What do you think of Hasidic women who have big career accomplishments?
0:08:38 || Do Hasidic women celebrate Mother's Day?
0:09:58 || Would you say respect for the elders is more prevalent here?
0:09:57 || What about women who struggle with infertility?
0:10:56 || Is infertility intervention a contradiction with accepting God's fate?
0:11:35 || Is science at odds with religious belief?
0:12:18 || If one-half of a couple cannot have children, do they get divorced?
0:13:26 || Could there be women who don't want to be mothers?
0:14:47 || On head-shaving and head-covering: why?
0:15:48 || Why cut your hair and wear fake hair?
0:16:22 || Do you still want to talk about the head-shaving?
0:17:45 || Do men "tell women to shave their heads" and what to do?
0:18:36 || If women are "queens" and second in the hierarchy, does that not bother you?

Insularity
0:20:45 || What do you think of the internet?
0:21:39 || Why do you need to be insular?
0:24:18 || Are you allowed to have friends outside of the Hasidic community?
0:25:00 || Are you allowed to talk to me as an ex-Hasidic woman?
0:25:24 || What about secular Jews?
0:27:12 || Are you allowed to read secular books?
0:27:27 || What kind of novels would a young girl read?
0:28:39 || Referring to this video where we discussed "arranged marriage" Video
0:28:45 || Does believing that everything is led by God give you comfort?
0:32:48 || As a child, were you aware of antisemitism?
0:34:24 || Do you go on excursions to the beach, museums, and so on?
0:36:32 || Do you like to travel?

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Most Hasidim don't have pets. Many of us who leave the Hasidic community, like myself and Naomi Seidman, adopt animals and come to love - deeply! - our furry friends. In this long-form conversation, I talk to Naomi about why we grew up without pets, our attitudes towards animals in the past, and how that has changed. Naomi draws from her recent research into Freud and Max Weinreich to look at the historical relationship between Jews and dogs, and how that might shed light on our own pet journeys.

We also talk about the grief of losing an animal and the challenge of communicating it to the people in our former communities who never had pets.

We also get to meet Naomi's most adorable dog Vanessa, whom you will all love, even if you never had a pet!

Here are some links to Naomi's work:
Heretic in the house: https://www.hartman.org.il/program/heretic-in-the-house/
The Bais Yaakov project: https://thebaisyaakovproject.religion.utoronto.ca
Naomi's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00...

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You might have wondered: do Hasidic Jews get shunned if they leave the faith? Does their family sit "shiva" for them -- meaning, does their Hasidic family consider them as if they are dead, and perform the rituals of mourning?

In this long-form interview, I talk to Zalman Newfield. Zalman is a professor, researcher, and fellow exiter from Hasidism. For his research, he set out to answer the above questions and many others. Zalman interviewed 74 people who left the fold and his findings tell a complex, yet universal, story. He published his findings in his wonderful book 'Degrees of Separation - Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism'. In our talk, we cover many topics about the relationship with the community while leaving: from the challenges of maintaining a relationship with family in the community, to custody battles, to ways of holding on to parts of the past that are valuable.

Zalman's work can be found on his website at https://zalmannewfield.com/ and you can buy his book on Amazon or directly from the publisher here: https://tupress.temple.edu/...

If you enjoy this interview, like, subscribe and leave a comment with your thoughts.

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If you are new - welcome to my channel!
▶▶ Please subscribe and like!
➡Leave a comment with your thoughts! ❤

This conversation for my long-form series is with my video editor Steve Milligan. We had a good time chatting about the behind-the-scenes, the making of, and a bit of an introduction to Steve, who has done such wonderful work to make this project come to life.
Steve's website is https://www.cliquemojo.com/ and you can follow his youtube work at @shootitsteve or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/shootitsteve/.

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In this long-form conversation, I talk to Sara about her life journey, from secular Holland to NYC, where she became deeply involved in religious life. She was drawn to the insular Hasidic sects like Satmar, became close friends with families in Kiryas Joel, and her wedding was attended by, among other dignitaries, the Satmar Grand Rabbi's wife Sosha Teitelbaum. Sara was extremely forthcoming in sharing what drew her to the community, the challenges and joys, and how her family reacted to her journey.

Sara Braun's book on her life journey as a Hasidic woman can be found here: https://a.co/d/5jigc0q

For youtube video, see here.

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Eli Spitzer is a headmaster of a Hasidic boys' school and a columnist for Mosiac Magazine. In this long-form interview, we talk about the Hasidic boys' controversy, which was recently covered extensively in the New York Times. The issue relates to the very limited secular education Hasidic boys receive. I talked to Spitzer about these big questions and on some other topics in our lengthy Thursday night talk.

I know that this topic ignites a lot of intense and animated debate, and I invite your respectful opinions. Let's have an interesting debate in the comments!

For Eli's columns, see: https://elispitzer.com/ https://mosaicmagazine.com/author/eli-spitzer/

For more of my long form interviews, see https://www.youtube.com/playlist...

Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more!

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In this long-form (podcast-style) interview, I talk to Steve Nolt about Amish life. So many people compare Hasidim to the Amish, and I've known so little about the Amish. This conversation brought so many differences into sharp contrast and left me with a sense that these two insular societies are different in very profound ways. There are also some interesting similarities in regards to modifying how modern society is negotiated and more. It left me hungry to visit the Amish world and learn much more.

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This is a long-form zoom conversation with Naomi Seidman, host of the wonderful "Heretic in the House" podcast.
You can find the podcast here: https://www.hartman.org.il/program/heretic-in-the-house/

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Gerry Albarelli wrote one of the most unique books on the contemporary Hasidic community. It's on the subject of his experience as a secular studies teacher in the Satmar Hasidic boys' school. His book tells the story of how Gerry, as an outsider, navigated the chaos and challenges of teaching Hasidic boys' a bit of math and spelling. Unlike most conversations on Hasidic boys' education, his book isn't a commentary on the moral question of the state of Hasidic boys' education (which is perhaps a conversation for another day!) but simply a reflection filled with lovely insight, humor, and terrific culture clashes.

In my conversation with Gerry he did a bit of reading from the book and then shared with me his experiences as a teacher, as well as his experiences writing the book. He had a lot of great insight and I hope you'll have a listen/watch!

Follow my work at www.friedavizel.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/friedavizel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friedavizel

For the video version of this podcast see here.

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Video interview: https://youtu.be/2saQ0LEwZXQ

Gita Katz is a larger-than-life character. I got to know her through Pearl, the famous Hasidic woman whom I have had the honor of having on this program before. In this interview, she shares what it was like to grow up in Hasidic Williamsburg in the shadow of the Holocaust.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a rich immigrant history. Before the South Side became the Hasidic enclave that it is today, it was a much more eclectic immigrant neighborhood. Among its former residents is the writer Phillip Lopate, who grew up in what's now the heart of the Hasidic "shtetle".

Phillip lived in Williamsburg from age 4 in 1947, until he reached about high school, but after his family moved out of Williamsburg, he returned daily to attend high school at Eastern District High.

Phillip generously joined me in Williamsburg for a visit to his old haunts. We first stopped by his old place at 352 Broadway, right by the noisy train tracks, and then the apartment at 151 Ross Street, which is right off Lee Avenue. We also visited the famed former Eastern District High School, which I've written about extensively, and the public library that sits right across from it, and discussed the Brooklyn Queens Expressway's impact on the time Phillip lived in Williamsburg. We stopped over for knishes and rugelach, ambled along Lee Avenue to see Flaum's Deli, and said our goodbyes at Gottlieb's. It was a lovely afternoon!

Phillip's brother Leonard Lopate is also well known as a famous radio personality. I've written about Leonard Lopate in Williamsburg before and hope to one day visit with Leonard.

Thanks for watching. Please take a moment to subscribe to my youtube channel to help me create more content!

Follow me on my blog @ friedavizel.com
Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ToursByFrieda
Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/friedavizel/

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I had the great pleasure of doing a live zoom conversation with fellow former-Hasid [OTD] and professional thinker Izzy Posen. Izzy is a prolific personality on Twitter, where he is eager to encourage nuanced, honest dialog among us ex-Haredim as well as with the communities we were raised in. This live zoom was an opportunity to ask what we need to leave behind when we leave, what obligations we have to our former worlds, and what we can understand about each others' journeys.

If you were on the call, thanks for joining! If you missed it, here's the video recording, have a watch!

You can follow Izzy on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/PosenIzzy

And make sure to check out Izzy's Youtube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/chan...

Thanks for watching! I am hopeful there will be more opportunities for live video events in the future.

Make sure to subscribe to my youtube. For more of my work check out friedavizel.com.

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I'm delighted to be posting another video conversation with a Jewish Williamsburg "old-timer", this one with Harry/Chaim Weiss.

Harry Weiss was born September 24, 1949, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and he lived there until 1960. Harry's parents, who were from Hungary, survived Auschwitz and the Holocaust. His father opened up a furniture-making factory on Marcy ave and Keap St. in 1955 and then moved the factory to Flushing Ave. Harry joined the furniture business in 1968 and stayed in the Flushing location until 1991. Many of his clients were of the Hasidic community. Harry has many colorful memories of those transformative 50s and in the neighborhood.

See my blog post for a transcription of highlights of our conversation.
https://friedavizel.com/2022/02/02/interview-...

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In this video post, I explore a very interesting part of Hasidic clothing: the silver decorative strip found on the men's prayer shawls. I talk to Elena Solomon, who, together with Lilly Homer is writing an encyclopedia entry on the special craft involved in making these decorative garments. It's an art style unique to Ashkenazi Jews, and it's called 'shpanyer arbet'.

For the video version of this episode see here.

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I had the pleasure to talk to Nathaniel Deutsch about his new book on Hasidic Williamsburg.

Nathaniel Deutsch is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he holds the Baumgarten Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies. He is the author of a number of books related to Hasidic history and culture, including The Maiden of Ludmir: A Jewish Holy Woman and Her World, The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement, and most recently (with Michael Casper), A Fortress in Brooklyn: Race, Real Estate, and the Making of Hasidic Williamsburg. He is currently developing The Minhag Project: A Crowdsourced Archive of Hasidic Customs.

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This video is part of a research project to document the way Hasidim came to America after the war and turned Williamsburg into an insular religious enclave.

Nelly Grussgott was born in 1930 in Berlin. In 1940, she and her mother fled nazi Germany for NYC, but her father could not make it out. Although Nelly and her mother were relatively modern, in 1946 her mother remarried a very pious Hasidic man, Moshe Nigreshel. The couple, along with Nelly, moved to the Williamsburg part of Brooklyn. There, Nelly's mother was expected to adopt rigid Hasidic customs like shaving her golden locks. This Nelly's mother did for life, but Nelly herself could never do it, and she struggled to understand her mother's path. Nelly moved out of Williamsburg when she got married, but her mother remained in the neighborhood until her death in 1990.

Many thanks to Nelly for the lovely conversation and for sharing her memories.

Please subscribe to this channel.

Follow my blog on Hasidic Williamsburg at friedavizel.com/blog

For the video version of this podcast click here.

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For the video version of this segment, click here: https://youtu.be/jiE9cTn6Yi0

Riki Rose grew up in Hasidic Williamsburg, in a very conservative family. From when she was young, she had that star celebrity quality to her. But as a woman, her ability to fully express her talents was significantly limited by the religious laws on Kol Isha, which prohibits women from performing to male audiences. Still, Riki's life has been full of joys, good humor, and great moments to shine. In this long-form interview, I talk to Riki about her amazing life story. And as a wonderful bonus, we even hear her sing some songs!

💌Please support Riki in the production of her first album by contributing to her fundraising efforts: https://thechesedfund.com/rikirose/the-riki-rose-album

✅And check her out on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/riki_rose

✅You can find a bonus video of Riki's music as a Hasidic teenager here: https://youtu.be/1eBVPsFmZy4

Timestamps for songs:
1. Yomtov Ehrlich's Song 'FRUNZER ESHALON' 15:08-18:07 English translation for the song: https://www.dinastorch.com/songtitle/frunzer-eshalon
2. Cantorial music: 45:23-48:35
3. Riki's original song "Woman": 1:32:15-1:35:40

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Video version of this segment: https://youtu.be/tq8y3KkAWTk

As many of you know, my first language is Yiddish. It is the language of the Satmar Hasidic community I come from. The story of why I grew up speaking Yiddish, and not Hebrew, is intimately tied to the story of the birth of Israel, Zionism and Jewish language. And so, today I want to delve into the history of how two Jewish languages came to represent contrasting Jewish ideologies. 

I was inspired to do this segment after visiting the wonderful YIVO exhibit in Manhattan titled: 'PALESTINIAN YIDDISH: A LOOK AT YIDDISH IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL BEFORE 1948'
Link: https://cjh.org/visit/exhibit-info/palestinian-yiddish
Address: 15 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011

About my guest Eddy Portnoy, the curator of the exhibition: Eddy Portnoy is an expert on Jewish popular culture. Portnoy earned an MA in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University and a PhD in Jewish History from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He currently holds the position of Senior Researcher and Exhibition Curator at YIVO.

You can follow Eddy on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/eddyportnoy
You can see his book Bad Rabbi on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/cLuRcup

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For the video version of this discussion, see here: https://youtu.be/S2LMqtNjg6c

The Hasidic community has been the subject of great, lurid fascination. People love to hear the stories of its unusual customs and darker sides. I see this fascination as part of a larger fascination with subcultures and cults. For instance, Youtube is full of channels that tell ex-Hasidic, ex-Mormon, ex-Amish and ex-Cult stories and these videos draw hundreds of thousands of views. 

Guinevere Turner grew up in a cult. In the Lyman Family cult. What's unique about her is that she doesn't give the audience the lurid story they want. She also has written about how cults are talked about in the larger society. Her essay in the New Yorker, 'My Childhood in a Cult', influenced my own writing, 'Is the Hasidic Community A Cult?'


In this episode, Guinevere joins me to discuss our experiences as women with life stories that draw so much fascination. We talk about why we think the world wants our stories, and why we might not want to give them up. We discuss the Lyman family cult and other groups that are perhaps communes, perhaps cults. A discussion that touches the tip of the iceberg!



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Video version of this segment here: https://youtu.be/_H1hjrS2MLo

A chained wife is a woman who is chained to a man in marriage, even after the relationship ends. This can happen in Jewish marriages when one partner refuses to give or accept the Get, the religious divorce. Malky is a Hasidic woman in Kiryas Joel who has been a chained wife for 4 years. In recent weeks the activist Flatbush Girl has spearheaded a campaign to pressure Malky’s husband to give a Get, by protesting in the strict and insular village of Kiryas Joel, by entering synagogues, and most controversially, by calling for a sex strike. 

In this segment, I talk to Keshet Starr, the CEO of the organization ORA, or Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. We talk about how the problem of chained wives comes to happen, how these problems are unique in insular communities, how it impacts the children, the types of pressures that are applied, and more.

Some links related to this segment: ORA’s website: https://www.getora.org ORA’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oraagunot/ Keshet Starr’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keshetstarr/ Flatbush Girl (Adina Miles)’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flatbushgirl/ Thanks for watching!

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Link to video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/8oVcC5z24c4

The Satmar Rabbi is one of Hasidic Jewry's great figures, yet his legacy is mired in deep controversy. He is credited with much of the revival of Hungarian Hasidism post-holocaust. Still, his anti-zionism draws deep criticism, especially since he was rescued during the holocaust by the Kastner train, a special rescue train that was negotiated by the zionists.

In this episode, I bring you a conversation with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz on the life and controversies of the Satmar Rabbi. Rabbi Katz was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and attended Satmar Hasidic Yeshivas. He now is a renowned Rabbi outside of the community. He has a lively presence on Facebook where you can read his writing and thoughts at: https://www.facebook.com/ysoscher

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Link to video version of this conversation:
https://youtu.be/O-ov6vTAAqQ?si=uqY1x8Yt-8woN-TD

In this video I talk to Hasidic Jew Rabbi Mendel Hersh Paneth about the community's complicated relationship to animals. People's fear of dogs, the way that animals are slaughtered for kosher purposes and the ritual of kapores. Stay tuned for additional discussions with Rabbi MH Paneth. 


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Youtube video: https://youtu.be/aTkJpC3h7cg

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Join me for an interview with the Hasidic Yiddish influencer Raizy Fried. Please check out the youtube version of this video here:
https://youtu.be/oycLsS4ulyg

In my work documenting the Hasidic community, I've gone to great lengths to bring out of the shadows the story of women in this world and their voices. It has been incredibly difficult, as much of the female sphere is modesty and behind a curtain. Still, I've felt it's important to share this world with you all, as I feel that otherwise, the female experience is invisible, as if erased, out of sight and out of mind. So it's a great honor for me that the first Hasidic "star" that I interviewed is a woman. I've approached several men, but they were apprehensive. I hope to speak to them one day, but for now, this is my discussion with the lovely Raizy Fried from Inspired Living. Please check out Raizy's website at raizyfried.com

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Video version of this interview here: https://youtu.be/5-RsTIrIbmo

Lea Kalisch has a dream to sing at the Superbowl, in Yiddish, with a shtreimel. She is a singer of many genres, but some of her Yiddish songs reflect a longing for a simple, religious world. "I am a shtetel Neshama (soul), a Jew from yesterday. I should have been a fruma, my hashtag is 'oyvey'." We hear so many stories of people from the religious community longing for the secular world, what does it mean to grow up secular and express a longing for the religious world? For Lea, the answer is very complicated. She at once embodies a side that is a "rebbetzin" and a side that is wearing barely anything to perform. Her perspective is fresh, energetic, passionate, and unique. Please join us for a conversation about the story of Lea Kalisch. 👉 Lea's website is: https://www.leakalisch.com/ 👉 Find Lea on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leakalisch/ 👉 Find Lea on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LeaKalisch

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