Bad Jew

We know Judaism really cares about rituals and commandments. But is there any focus on personal well-being? Mental health? Self-care? In this interview with actor, Eli Sandhaus, we explore Judaism's view on mental health. Sandhaus explains that the tale of anxiety, depression, OCD, and schizophrenia is a tale as old as time... or at least the Torah. These sicknesses can be a common experience with...

Many of the Jewish holidays we cherish today, like Passover, are inspired by our survival story against antisemitism. While the holidays themselves are delightful, the backstory and relevant reality of racism, violence, and intolerance toward Jews are discouraging and disheartening. Roz Rothstein faces antisemitism for a living.  In this episode, Roz speaks with Chaz Volk to highlight the passiona...

For those who don't know, some Jews simply hate Israel. Anti-Zionists come in all shapes and sizes. Even in the Jewish context. Some Jews strongly dislike Israel, if not hate Israel, for a variety of reasons. Some jump on the bandwagon rhetoric that it's an apartheid state. Some get caught up in the long bloody history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Some go as far as to call the Knesset fascist...

Yeah, we've heard the melodies from prayers in shull. But does our sense of tune go beyond that? Is the melody really just there to make the prayers more interesting? Or do Jews, both religious and secular, embrace a deeper and more meaningful heritage of music? Jonathan Maimon, producer, and director of I Hear You, jumps onto Bad Jew with Chaz Volk to shed light on the Torah's perspective on musi...

Well? Can we? After all, at first glance, one might look at the number of times Jews have been persecuted and assume that we are a weak, submissive, opportune people to conquer. Chanan Smith, a veteran of the IDF, Krav Maga trainer, and authority in the world of security, speaks on the history of Jewish combat and how we, as a nation, learned to fight for our existence. The IDF might be our curren...

We hear about these various labels of Judaism all of the time; Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, Hassidic, Talmudic, Kabbalistic. The list goes on and on and on. So how many types of Jews are there? Who better to answer that question than Rabbi Moshe Bryski of Conejo Chabad. Rabbi Bryski is a religious and community leader who shares the message that, truly, there is o...

Remember that thing we do on Fridays called The Sabbath? Remember that nice little dinner at the end of the week that feels a little more warm and fuzzy than the others? That's called Shabbat. But why does it matter? What's the origins of this festive night? Is there a way to do it right? And why does every Jew have a different opinion on it? Aliza Kline, the founder of OneTable, tells us about he...

Yiscah Smith is a religious leader based in Jerusalem, Israel. After living in such a pivotal time, studying Judaism changes and personal pathways became her calling. Yiscah jumps onto the Bad Jew podcast to remind you that you are not a bad Jew for independently discovering yourself while doing what makes sense for you Jewishly. Don't just do Jewish. BE Jewish. BIO: Yiscah is a spiritual activist...

Why is it important to be Jewish if you are Jewish? And do some just "do" Jewish? How do you add meaning and intention to your identity? Simpsons writer, "Street Rabbi", and time traveler David Sacks joins Chaz Volk to discuss the act of being Jewish, how to do it, and what it means to add a certain level of depth to your identity. About David Sacks Born and raised in New York City, David Sacks at...

Fun fact: Men aren't the only ones missing their shot. Shira Melul of AishLIT has a few things to say about that. As we near Valentines day, why not go into the world dating with the proper mindset? In the 2nd of this 2-part series on dating, Shira Melul talks about the strengths that women have while also highlighting the repeated mistakes and commonly heard grievances from the women's perspectiv...

As we get closer to valentines day, one has to ask, what does it take to be good at dating? From the Jewish perspective, that question differs depending on whether you're a man or woman. Rabbi Jack Melul of AishLIT steps onto the podcast with his wife, Shira Melul, to point out the mistakes he has noticed amongst men in the dating world. As we near the peak of cuffing season, you should go into yo...

You may have heard the stereotype of Jews running Hollywood. You'd have to be living under a rock to think that Jews never had anything to do with Hollywood. This concept is taken to an extreme that feeds anti-Semitism. We hear such rhetoric from non-Jewish figures Dave Chappelle and even from Jewish figures like Larry David. Why is that? Saul Blinkoff jumps onto Bad Jew to demystify these buzzwor...

Is Torah relevant as we go into the new year (not the Jewish new year, just the regular new year)? Afterall, this text was written over 3,000 years ago! How can something so literally ancient be applied to a world with social media, vaccines, gender studies, technology, and more? Rabbi Benzion Klatzko explains the world that we face today from the Jewish perspective. This fascinating dialogue brin...

Rami Matan Even-Esh aka Kosha Dillz just put Kanye West down a peg with his diss track Death Con 3. In this 2 minute comeback of a response, Kosha Dillz references the hate Jews face, American politics and the lack of action our representatives take, along with our relationships with other races. That begs the question, should we all make rap songs every time an anti-Semitic attack is hurled at us...

What is a Bad Jew? Hi, I'm Chaz Volk and time and time again, I've been called a 'Bad Jew'. But why? There's a few potential reasons that we uncover in this episode. My Jewish journey has been lifelong however my emotional breakthroughs started in July of 2022. During an organized trip in Israel, it became very clear what was missing in my life. I started practicing the entry level teachings of th...

What is a bad jew? What does it take to not be one? Is it anti-Semitic to say? Or is it just a phrase that Jews use to cruelly judge one another? Chaz Volk, a newly observant Jew, shares that the greatest way to embrace your identity is to question everything. And we mean EVERYTHING! Chaz questions the Torah, law, politics, standards, communities and even G-d itself in this confrontational and edg...