The Reddit forum r/Judaism is the world's largest anonymous Jewish community.  If you know the internet, and you've ever been in a comment section, you might think this faceless space would be cesspool of crazies, haters and pedants. And it sure would be if it weren’t for a handful of committed moderators: our guests in The Zal. We ask what it takes to maintain a forum whose mandate includes everything from complex legal clarification to Jewish feelings of loneliness to baby-Yoda Purim...

Tamir Goodman is the only basketball player in history to play at a D1 level while fully observing Shabbat. It’s a story that includes shocks, setbacks and lots of uplifting moments. Glancing at the Wikipedia version of Tamir’s story would lead most to exclaim “Yoshke! This guy sacrificed a lot to keep Shabbat!” But this isn’t how Tamir sees it. Shabbat kept him. The ups and downs of Tamir’s path were received with a sage-like equanimity which he attributes to wearing G-d’s...

In the long list of liturgical “I’m Sorrys” Jews recite on Yom Kippur, there's one which continues with: “for the sin... of a confused heart.” But to the modern ear, confusion sounds like a pretty plausible excuse, not a mea culpa? Dovid and Adam are joined in The Zal by Nthenya from Kenya - comedian, screenwriter and actor. Don't miss her soon-to-be-released special “Domesticate Me." Music: A bit of shofar from the Yamma Ensemble. The inimitable Richard Poon sings "Complicated" by Avril...

Can I replace my Rabbi with artificial intelligence? Do convenience and (the illusion of) privacy outweigh the power of the human touch? Will AI officiate weddings?  For now, Dovid will keep his job because he can lift chairs — still, the AI Age is upon us. Once-complex questions are being answered with algorithmic ease. But should all questions be answered by the soul-free machine? (And where does this "should" even come from?) In this episode, IBM 7094 gives speech a try (1961), Arthur C....

In this unintended episode, we banter and vent (vanter?) on the ridiculousness that is the self-absorbed-thoughtful-post and the decorum governing it.  Selfies at Auschwitz? Action shots at funerals? Memorial posts that feature your best angle? We go there.  The song of this episode is “Selfie” by Gurshabad.

Nissim Black doesn't just ignore the haters, he studies them. The legendary musician knows there are people who see him as just another fad, an Orthodox Jewish rapper, a token intersection — but he's in it for the duration, batteries charged. Keep your New Year’s resolution of entering The Zal more often and come get a taste of Nissim's music. Plus: excerpts of other contemporary rappers from religious circles and, purportedly, the first rap track ever recorded. Nissim shares joy and loss...

During times of crisis, weary eyes look for guidance. Is our eyesight just getting worse or has the nature of leadership really changed? Are we just crusty curmudgeons or are leaders not what they used to be?  Gotta be both. So: what do we do in this vacuum of guidance — should we be speaking more, or shutting up? This episode dedicated to our friend Dex Carvey, a creator of so much gone so much too soon. Some of Dex's fingerprints: this early stage comic-book series; opened for Dana...

People are putting up and ripping down signs about hostages and casualties of war. People filming people filming, people losing jobs. We have a lot of questions. What consequences constitute "cancellation"? Is silencing a form of speech? What does the first amendment have to say about all of this? (And yes, cards on the table — we've got a lot more questions than answers.) We should probably ask, too: posting and ripping and firing and yelling... does any of it ever move the needle? Music:...

The war in Israel has shifted, or at least recast, certain political alliances - especially for progressive Jews. There was a tacit understanding in the minds of many, that if I march for your cause, you'll march for mine. Many of those who would march arm-in-arm for other humanitarian causes have discovered a newfound silence - or even taken up ranks on the anti-Israel side. And vice versa. In this episode we discuss: false binaries vs. that famous poem and pragmatic support vs....

It feels both sad and true that it took this October's tragedies to rouse a oneness among Jews that would be a dream at times of peace. All too often, it's an outside threat that lumps us together as “the Jews.” In this episode, we talk about that lump. We talk about beards. Episode 40 was recorded in the good ol' days of a few weeks ago, before we were swallowed up. When we could whimsically dissect our differences with that constant belief: they don’t ultimately matter. We’ll be...

A big percentage of our audience (more than just our mothers, less than all of your mothers) commented to us (verbatim): "We love absolutely everything about the pod and have no notes at all, but we would like to hear more about you as individuals. Who are you guys?" So for this last episode of the year 5783, we put humility further to the side and put ourselves under the magnifier to compare some differences of our infra-reform and ultra-orthodox backgrounds and how they shape our...

Does engaging in (political) protest make a difference? Is it apathy to stay home? Is silence concurrence? What is virtue and what is signaling?  These questions grow more pertinent with the spotlight on protests, from America, to Israel, to... Kenya. Reporting from Nairobi is our man Adam, where national unrest had the city half-closed, with millions taking to the streets or deciding not to. We tangle up a list of whys and why nots. Here, take some credit: Casino - What Am I Doing...

In this episode of The Zal, meet David Yarus, Founder at JSwipe (affectionately: Tinder for Jews). We talk about the difficulties of modern dating: paradox of choice, cowardice, ghosting and worse. Along the way we discuss insights for individuals in the journey for their “one” and, fixes for what David refers to as “Big Jewish.” Music: Nostalgic Longing, Jovial Longing, Modern Contentment - Thanks artists! #AirTags #Bashert

The kerfuffle over 'Taco Tuesday' that pitted Taco Bell and LeBron James against Taco John’s, a far smaller taco purveyor, got us thinking about owning things that can’t be touched.  What are the differences between trademarks and copyrights? What would the ancient scholars think about Taco Bell's case? How can anyone argue LeBron isn’t the G.O.A.T.? We give great answers to 0 out of 3 of these questions, but hey, we only had twenty minutes.

Lewis Franck is on a first-name basis with some of the great drivers of all time — but, you might ask... is this a NASCAR podcast now?* What makes racing bigger than just turning left a lot? Lewis schmoozed, reported, investigated, philosophized.  In the Zal, he tells us about the benefits of trespassing, what racing tells us about class and future (im)possibilities for egality, and how he gave bar mitzvah lessons in the Sistine Chapel. We got metaphors baby. Intro music: ("Indianapolis...

Three time Indy 500 winner, Mauri Rose, was a member of the tribe. Or he wasn't. The standout driver faced the slurs of anti-Jew leaflets, was inducted to The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and - went to a Lutheran church.Michael Brown, of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, enters The Zal to help us untangle the story.Indy 500 Highlights from 1939 & 1941 (Warning ↑↑ contains b&w news footage of violent accidents.) Music by Zusha Band: "Dovber"

Rabbi Raps is back for part 2 of his visit into The Zal. In this episode he shares how he originally was compelled to influence, his need to remain not overly-prepared and why he loves an audience of gentiles. (That is: people who are fine with the temperature in the room.) Plus, there are humans on the internet! Real ones. Individuals! Music by the Chassidim at Zusha Band Audio snippets from @RabbiRaps

Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport a.k.a. @RabbiRaps joins this episode of The Zal to discuss influencing: what's it like having an online congregation 1800 times bigger than at Shul? The tightrope of preserving both the meaningfulness of content and clickability, is not for the faint-hearted. What are the considerations when speaking to your family, your friends, your community and your... world? Person Vs. Persona. Spoiler: staying natural - and transparent - are big keys for the good Rabbi. Oh also:...

We're faced with an annoyance of our own making: call it turbulence, call it discomfort. To what degree are we supposed to ignore it or suffer it stoically or fight it?  What should Dovid say to his kids when the plane is bouncing around? What should you do when you hit those big bumps in the road, or realize you're just going to be driving on gravel for the next 200 miles? In this episode, Metaphor Guru Adam — he once called a confluence of bad things a "perfect storm"!  Brilliant — takes...

In this Internet Age the difference between a 4 and 5 star review may mean the success or failure of a business. (Or your Lyft wait times.) With so much at stake, Adam and Dovid examine several considerations for internet reviewers - and whether they should be reviewing at all. There is no 'Amazon Chapter' in the Talmud, but the Sages didn't not see this kind of thing coming. Mixing ancient principles, personal analysis and a little common-sense, you'll have the tools to answer the biggest...

After theorizing in part 1 why a Jew might be inclined to allow Antisemitism to define their Judaism, Dovid and Adam now lay out arguments why this framing should be prevented. The reasons for a real, human and proactive involvement in Judaism - or at least Jewyness - run from the pragmatic, to the substantive, to the purposeful. Dovid'll instruct you to lay Tefillin or light Shabbat candles. Ask Adam and he might advise to host a binge of Mel Brooks - not Gibson - films. There is a...

Conversations surrounding Antisemitism, though painful, typically are clear as to the danger, sources and ultimate foolishness of Jew-hate. What to do about it is less straightforward. In this first part of The Zal's Antisemitism Episode, Dovid and Adam point to - and try to make sense of - the noticeable irony that the likelier a Jew is to be a victim of Antisemitism - the less they tend to speak of the problem of Jew-hate. This topic is understandably fraught, but please join us - and...

No, they’re not on this episode, but their South Park ordeal got us thinking: Do you stand to lose by letting loose? Is there any importance to unimportance? This time, we put ourselves to a new test: a twenty minute episode. The clock’s ticking as we bounce between the sub-rational and the trans-rational with a bit of royals sprinkled in between.   More on the madness of Purim

Diversity is no small issue, but what all can it mean? Is our goal to acknowledge the commonality in diversity or to accept diversity as an end in itself?  Current tech and ways of being have helped us silo our understandings *and* our understandings of those understandings. (Zal enough for ya?) In this episode, Adam and Dovid discuss how this siloing happened, what contributes to it, and what might increase the truest kind of diversities in our lives. Music by Nosson Zand, Stephanie...