Bad Jew

Let's be real. Tattoos look cool. Some tattoos are questionable and regrettable later in life. But ultimately, who doesn't want a tattoo? It's also important to acknowledge that Jews and tattoos haven't always had the best relationship given our survival story. Despite this, it's been well-known that Jews can't have tattoos. What if we told you that's not true? Chabad Rabbi Dovid Braslawsce hails...

It's Purim! The holiday when Jews dress up in fun costumes, eat cookies, read stories of Jewish revolt, and drink tons of alcohol. Sound accurate to your experience? What if we told you all of that was untrue? Rabbi Raps returns to the podcast to teach the truth behind the beloved holiday of Purim. Join host and birthday boy, Chaz Volk, as he learns about the deeper meaning behind our rituals, the...

Are the Jewish people united? It may seem like a simple question but it's not. Before October 7th, the Knesset faced a great division among its people. During the 96th Academy Awards, we saw Jewish filmmakers speaking against Israel. Among Jews, we see labels and identifiers to help tell our ethnic story. Depending on the context, that label can be used in a negative. In this thought-provoking epi...

Jews are not white! How many times do we need to tell you this? If you're not a Jew and are listening to this episode, you probably have the image of a Fiddler-on-the-Roof-looking fellow (called a Chassid). While they are certainly real, they're not the only ones. Despite being in the minority of Jewish diversity, they are given most of the spotlight. Let's fix that problem. In this episode of Bad...

The movie, One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, just came out which has people looking closer at the Rastafari culture. Putting the culture into the spotlight, many have noticed the undeniable ties between their religion and Jewish themes. Jewish organizations have jumped onto the trend of asking, and even claiming, that Bob Marley was Jewish. Whether or not this is true is trivial. What's more valuab...

Shabbat, the weekly holiday that Jews practice to break from the everyday grind of life, can change drastically depending on who leads it. Factors that can impact your Shabbat experience can rely on the shull you attended, whose home you're in, the experience of the leader, the cultural background, etc. There are so many experiences that come with Shabbat; One has to ask - What is the right Shabba...

It's Valentine's Day, the day that all people either adore or despise depending on whether or not they are single (or whether or not they're in a good relationship). Love is an abstract concept. There certainly are easy-to-spot actions that lovers take like giving and receiving affection, doing favors for each other, exchanging gifts, and even verbally saying "I love you." But how those feelings d...

What have we learned after a year? Bad Jew, the podcast has produced content for over a year. 58 episodes later, the show has reached the top 10% of Jewish podcasts by being consistent in Jewish teachings. But has it been consistent in teaching the foundation it was built on? That there is no such thing as a Bad Jew? Igor Milgram, an entrepreneur from the Bay Area of Northern California, had a sim...

It's the secular new year which means many of you have taken the time to practice introspection and reflect on what was and what could have been. The need to improve for 2024 is conditioned by the growth mindset we all have. As it turns out, even the Torah is built around a growth mindset. While many wouldn't initially recognize the Torah as a place to set goals, Rabbi David Schlusselberg helps us...

Have you hugged a tree today? It might be more therapeutic than you think. In one of Judaism's more light-hearted holidays, Tu Bishvat marks a seasonal change full of joy, gratitude, and growth. For humans, it's just another Thursday. For trees, it's their holiest day of the year and/or their new year! With the theme of new beginnings, Jews around the world rejoice in meaningful activity around sw...

Do you ever wish you could tell the future? Or have some kind of spiritual mirror that reveals your destiny? Does it ever feel like your life is falling apart because mercury is in retrograde? These are all common expressions and ideas from the secular world; Concepts that mix with Judaism like water and oil, simply having no place in common with Jewish discussion. Then you remember, we do everyth...

The spirit of the Jewish people is challenged by the fact that most of us don't have a direct way to participate in this war. Between that simple fact and the negativity spewing off social media, it's easy to fall into a pit of helplessness. It's completely valid to feel down. However... Shoshanna Stein from @MySoCalledJewishLife is a spiritual warrior. She interviews with the host of Bad Jew, Cha...

Israel's strength is once again being challenged in a multi-front war. Everyone's willpower has been tested from the top of government to everyday citizens. Once, it was only the South that was at risk. The general consensus among Israeli citizens is that everyone just has to try and do their part and attempt to carry on with daily life. For the most part, this is doable, and from what many are sa...

Surely you've heard the chant "Free Palestine" but have you asked yourself What is Palestine? It'd be irresponsible not to do your research. Perhaps you'd be surprised to learn it was never a state but rather a land. You may also be surprised to learn that Jews, Christians, and Arabs alike were once called Palestinian. What regional features define the land of Palestine and what are we 'freeing'?...

If you're a Jew, life feels like chaos right now. How can you not spiral into the anxiety-induced environment we're in? If you're like us, you go from your phone (filled with terrible news stories coming out of Israel), to your local supermarket (wondering who's going to scope you out and say something because you're Jewish), only to wind up back home where the normal everyday responsibilities of...

Yes, some hostages are back but the war still rages on. To say Israel hasn't been the same since October 7th is an understatement, to say the least. The country pre-war was more divided politically than it had ever seen. There was political unrest, which was a reaction to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reform. Protests and demonstrations were being made in front of the Knesset and ot...

It's time to light our candles, fill our donuts with jelly, and spin our dreidels. American Jewry's favorite Jewish holiday is here! Hanukkah. Channukah? Chanukkah? Which spelling do you go by? Regardless, this time is marked by festive parties, gift exchanges, and family time. With the international crisis of the Jewish identity, with the war in Israel raging on, we need this positivity for our m...

If you've been keeping up with the news, you've probably noticed a group of Jews who have protested in a different style than most when it comes to Israel. In fact, these protests aren't pro-Israel rallies. They're anti-Zionist rallies that have taken to pro-Hamas rhetoric and slanders that are quite dangerous for Zionist Jews globally. From takeovers of government buildings to blockades, Jewish V...

There's something uncanny happening in the background of the Israel-Hamas war right now. Do you see it? The Torah seems to be predicting... everything. In the recent Torah portion of Noah's Arc, "Hamas" is mentioned twice... TWICE! Since then there have been other important correlations that have acted as milestones in this conflict. With the eyes of the world focused on the Middle East, Torah-obs...

Israel is in the depths of a bloody war. Jews inside and outside of Israel don't feel safe. Antisemitism across the world is on the rise. Anything with a Jewish symbol on it is targeted. Echoes from the PTSD-induced horrors of the holocaust sound louder than ever. How does one smile during these dark times? Influencer and promoter Uri Cohn has an answer. Embracing his hard-to-hide Israeli identity...

There's a phenomenon where pro-Hamas supporters have torn down the posters of the kidnapped. On October 7th, 2023, on our happiest day of the year (Simchat Torah), terrorists from Gaza launched a heinous attack killing 1,400 Israelis including men, women, and children, while forcefully kidnapping 240+ other Israelis. Since then, a brutal war of severe magnitude has reigned on. By the time this pod...

I think it's safe to say that the person who has the toughest job in the world right now is President Joe Biden. How do you support your allies, allocate funds and war effort on multiple fronts, and prevent World War 3 all while maintaining order? The answer: It's probably impossible. Meanwhile, the United States of America is 1 year away from another big election. This election will be a flashpoi...

Let's play "Put A Finger Down". Put a finger down if you've had to unfriend people from your life for only listening to one side of the conflict. Put a finger down if you've gotten into arguments in the comments section. Put a finger down if the buzzwords "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" have polluted your content. Put a finger down if your friends still don't understand why commenting "free Pale...

The war we're experiencing in Israel (started by Hamas from Gaza on October 7th, 2023) isn't the first dark time we Jews have endured. You'd have to live under a rock to think that we have never experienced such atrocities like this before. Looking back only 100 years, one could get a sample of understanding as to where we Jews acquired our thick skin. Would you suspect that our strength comes fro...

On October 7th, 2023, on the festive holiday of Simchat Torah, Israel's southern border was infiltrated and attacked by the terrorist organization, Hamas. Celebrations were abruptly hindered and ceased by the deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians across the country. In a historically shocking development, the highest number of Jewish murders since the holocaust unfolded. Entire villages were t...