Orange Socks Podcast Exploring Jewish Art and Creativity with Yitzchok Moully

Ami Kozak is a comedian, musician, impressionist, and host of the Ami's House podcast. In this episode of Orange Socks , Ami reflects on his journey from Berklee College of Music to Distant Cousins, stand-up comedy, and social media, while exploring what it means to build a creative life rooted in Jewish values. We discuss consistency, finding your audience, creating with purpose, and how October...

Alex Clare is an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter whose career has spanned chart-topping success, major record deals, and an unexpected journey into Torah observance. In this episode of Orange Socks , Alex reflects on discovering Shabbos while building a music career, the challenges of balancing authenticity with performance, and why he's always believed that the art should come bef...

Alex Clare is an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter whose career has spanned chart-topping success, major record deals, and an unexpected journey into Torah observance. In this episode of Orange Socks , Alex reflects on discovering Shabbos while building a music career, the challenges of balancing authenticity with performance, and why he's always believed that the art should come bef...

Aarah Aizman is an artist and longtime educator who believes creativity belongs to everyone—not only those who consider themselves “talented.” In this episode of Orange Socks, Aarah shares how her inventive father and beauty-seeking mother shaped the way she sees the world, how Hebrew calligraphy became part of her journey into Judaism, and why problems are not obstacles but invitations to create....

Yitzchok Pinkesz is an author, teacher, and founder of Kosher Astrology, where he helps people explore growth, self-awareness, and purpose through the lens of Jewish wisdom and astrology. In this episode of Orange Socks, we discuss what astrology is, where it appears in Jewish sources, and how it can be used as a tool for understanding personality, relationships, and life transitions. More than as...

Yehoshua November is an award-winning poet, professor, and one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary Jewish poetry. In this episode of Orange Socks , Yehoshua shares his journey from a traditional Jewish upbringing and a deep love of literature to discovering Chassidus as an adult and finding ways to bring those worlds together. We explore the role of poetry in capturing human experience...

Yosef Gillers is the founder of GrowTorah , a nonprofit helping Jewish students experience Torah through nature, gardening, and environmental education. Sitting beside the Elizabeth River instead of inside the studio, we explore Yosef’s lifelong connection to the outdoors, the creative roots of GrowTorah, and the deeper Torah ideas hidden inside seeds, soil, farming, and sustainability. From schoo...

Gershon Braun is a musician, mental health nurse, and breathwork practitioner whose creative journey lives at the intersection of music, healing, and inner work. In this episode of Orange Socks , Gershon reflects on growing up surrounded by music, playing alongside his father from a young age, and eventually finding his own voice — not just as a drummer, but as a songwriter sharing deeply personal...

Jared Bernstein opens this conversation with a raw spoken-word piece — a window into the inner world he’s spent a lifetime learning how to face, process, and express. From a childhood shaped by insecurity and silence to becoming a baal teshuva in his thirties, Jared shares how creativity became his way of making sense of everything — fear, identity, relationships, and his connection to G-d. Throug...

Shimon Cowen is a philosopher, rabbi, and founder of the Institute for Judaism and Civilization in Melbourne. Raised in a deeply intellectual home and trained in philosophy, his journey eventually led him into Torah learning and a lifelong exploration of the relationship between Judaism and culture. In this conversation, we discuss a question that sits at the center of his work: can there be truly...

Noa Lea Cohn is an art historian, curator, and cultural force behind Jerusalem’s Art Shelter Gallery — a contemporary Jewish social gallery housed inside a functioning bomb shelter. In this episode, we explore her mission to create space for Haredi artists within Israel’s broader art world, her academic research on visionary Jewish art, and how movements of spiritual return shape creative expressi...

Sheva Chaya is a glassblower, painter, and longtime Tzfat artist whose work bridges Torah, material, and meaning. In this conversation, we explore her journey from a Princeton painting class to building a life of art and family in the city of the Arizal. What began as personal self-expression evolved into something much larger — a commitment to creating work rooted in Klal Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael,...

Rosa Katzenelson is an Argentine-born Jewish artist whose vibrant, textured paintings explore soul, exile, unity, and transformation. In this episode of Orange Socks , we sit inside Rosa’s studio and talk about her journey from psychology and filmmaking in Buenos Aires to becoming a baalat teshuva and finding her voice through paint. She shares the impact of a confrontational art mentor who pushed...

Shimon Cowen is a philosopher, rabbi, and founder of the Institute for Judaism and Civilization in Melbourne. Raised in a deeply intellectual home and trained in philosophy, his journey eventually led him into Torah learning and a lifelong exploration of the relationship between Judaism and culture. In this conversation, we discuss a question that sits at the center of his work: can there be truly...

Sara Trappler Spielman is a journalist with a deep commitment to telling Jewish stories from the inside out. In this episode of Orange Socks , Sara reflects on her path as a writer — from early journaling and poetry to breaking into Jewish journalism and becoming a trusted voice covering Jewish artists, filmmakers, and creatives across the world. She shares what it means to report with integrity,...

Reuven Flamer is a longtime creative thinker whose journey weaves together Chassidus, film, food, and an unshakable refusal to live by rote. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Flamer reflects on growing up in the countercultural 60s, searching for meaning through experimentation, and eventually being pulled—“kicking and screaming”—into Chabad. He shares how creativity survived ejecting, deto...

Rabbi Avraham “Rabbi Raps” Rapoport is a Chabad rabbi, content creator, and community builder who brings warmth, honesty, and creativity to the way he shows up online and offline. In this episode of Orange Socks , Rabbi Raps reflects on growing up in Atlantic City, early instincts for video and storytelling, and the inner tension between fitting the expected “rabbi box” and showing up as his full,...

Tali Yess is a musician, producer, and arranger whose creative journey began in childhood and evolved through performance, production, and personal reinvention. In this episode of Orange Socks , Tali reflects on growing up immersed in music, navigating creativity alongside social anxiety, and learning the difference between making music for validation versus making music that feels true. He speaks...

Moshe Wigder is a real estate agent who unexpectedly became one of the most recognizable Jewish faces on social media — and in this episode, he sits down as a friend, not a brand. Recorded in a space filled with personal and communal history, Moshe shares how he went from shy, hesitant selfie videos to building a massive online following, all while staying visibly Jewish and deeply grounded. Toget...

Keren Gordon is a painter whose work is rooted in positivity, Jewish spirituality, and the quiet intensity of lived experience. In this conversation, Karen shares how creativity has been a lifelong companion — encouraged early on, paused during years of motherhood, and eventually rediscovered through watercolor and later oils. She reflects on walking away from formal art education, choosing experi...

Yisroel Arye Gootblatt is a musician and educator whose life bridges creativity, Chassidus, and the search for authentic expression. He shares how music shaped him from childhood, how becoming frum challenged his artistic voice, and how learning Chassidus helped him reclaim music as a deeply spiritual language. From teaching himself multiple instruments to building Sound Heights Studio in Crown He...

Michael Shapiro has spent more than thirty years immersed in the world of ketubot — the art, the history, and the stories behind them. As the founder of Ketubah.com, he has worked closely with both established and emerging artists, helping shape the evolution of contemporary ketubah design while staying grounded in the tradition that makes the ketubah such a meaningful part of Jewish life. In our...

Rabbi Yossi Paltiel explores Torah and Chassidus sharing their profound perspective on creativity. Known for his wide knowledge and lessons on Chassidus, Rabbi Paltiel explores how art can be a powerful way to connect with God and impact the world around us. Together with Yitzchok Moully, they discuss the balance between staying true to Jewish values and embracing creative freedom, the role of ima...

Adar Darnov is a graphic designer, illustrator, and fine artist whose work bridges Jewish identity, storytelling, and design. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Adar has built a creative career that moves fluidly between freelance illustration and his role as senior graphic designer for the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. Drawing inspiration from his rabbinic home—his f...

Taryn Treisman is a multidisciplinary artist, painter, and designer based in Ra’anana, Israel, whose work overflows with color, love, and joy. Born in Johannesburg and having made aliyah just four years ago, Taryn’s journey from South Africa to Israel is filled with courage, faith, and transformation. She shares how surviving the 2004 tsunami reshaped her life, inspired her art, and deepened her r...