Shtark Tank

The three weeks are here. The time when we refocus on the fact that our lives are incomplete. There is a gaping hole in our ruchniyus, located at the holiest spot in the world. Har HaBayit. Some of us just think about the problem. Others are actually doing something about it. Rav Yehuda Levy is the latter. He has spent countless hours learning the sugya, written articles, taught classes, and spoke...

New beginnings are hard. Shtark Tank went live at Yeshiva University Israel in Beit Vagan, recording in front of a room full of YU summer interns spending their summer working in Israel. The theme: new beginnings and transitions, and what it actually takes to navigate them. Part 1 is a panel conversation with threeShtark Tank All-Stars, who have each made their own version of the leap from the bei...

Teddy Berman grew up in the Syrian community in Flatbush, went to college, worked in finance — and then got the itch. Almost ten years of learning later, he's back in the driver's seat, building a family in Yerushalayim and trying to figure out what comes next. In this bonus episode, Teddy reaches out with the questions a lot of guys have but don't always get to ask directly: How do I...

What happens when you have a good job, mentors you trust, and a clear path forward — and you walk away anyway? Shlomo Ashkanazy (Co-Director, WashU JLIC) and Ami Yunger (COO, Mizrachi Canada) both built careers in the Israeli tech world before pressing pause to go on shlichut in North America. Neither choice was obvious. Neither was painless. And neither of them regrets it — mostly. In this conver...

Ami Tobin was faced with a descision: He had a week full of 8 hour shifts, guarding an outpost in miluim. How was he going to use that time? Watch the NBA Finals? Or something more meaningful? He pulled out his notes. And by the end of that week, his sefer — Amech Dodi — was fully edited. Both Hebrew and English. That story is a window into who Ami Tobin is. A Beit Shemesh kid who grew up watching...

What does Hashem actually want from us, a life of total immersion in Torah, or engagement with the world? This is one of the oldest machlokos in Jewish thought. And Rav Rafi Dembovsky was torn. He struggled with the issues, and wrote a book with his findings. You can order it here . Episode Description Rafi was raised in Edgware. Educated at Hasmonean. Spent years all-in at Torah-only yeshivos and...

Ashi Taragin had every reason to stay in yeshiva. He grew up breathing Torah. His father is Rabbi Reuven Taragin. His mother is Rebbetzin Shani Taragin. He made a Siyum HaShas at his Bar Mitzvah. Yet he didnt choose a career in Chinuch. Today he's an ER doctor at Sharei Tzedek, a lawyer, a mohel, and a sofer. He's also the unofficial rav of the emergency room, fielding end-of-life shailos...

What does it take to build a serious Torah legacy while running a thriving dental practice in Manhattan? Reuven Mohl has spent the last decade doing exactly that — and the results are five published books, a growing body of scholarship, and a model for what it looks like to take your Torah life seriously without stepping away from the working world. In this episode, Reuven walks us through his upb...

A Shabbaton in Bnei Brak. Two rabbis. A machlokes I have been wrestling with ever since. One rav told a room full of 18-year-olds that they were living the climax of their lives. Another rav pushed back. Both left a mark. In this solo episode, I share the audio version of my most-responded-to piece of writing to date — a post that starts the process of distilling over 120 episodes of Shtark Tank i...

Moshe Isaacson is a marketing executive and go-to-market leader in the SaaS world — and one of the most passionate Tanach learners you'll ever meet. In this episode, Moshe makes the case for why Tanach is the most underrated limud in the Torah world, how his love for it was ignited on hikes through Eretz Yisrael, and why he wakes up at 4:30am to prepare the three weekly shiurim he gives to his...

Jon Medved has spent decades building Israel into a global technology powerhouse, helping fund hundreds of companies, bringing billions of dollars into the Israeli economy, and playing pivotal role in what eventually became the Startup Nation brand. Then he flatlined in a hospital for eight minutes. In this episode, Jon sits down with Yaakov Wolff to talk about growing up far from Judaism on the b...

This Yom HaZikaron, we sit with two fathers who lost their sons in the early months of the war. Eitan Morell shares the story of his son Maoz — a kid with ADHD and learning difficulties who walked into a yeshiva that didn't want him, refused to leave, and became the kind of soldier his unit looked up to. Eitan reflects on what it means to suddenly see your child's whole life in reverse — a...

Two years ago, we sat with Rav Asher Weiss and asked him some of the most fundamental questions a Ben Torah in the workforce can ask. I've returned to this shiur more than almost anything else we've put out — it's that dense with wisdom and direction. Since then, the show has grown a lot, and I wanted to make sure newer listeners got a chance to hear it. And if you've already heard...

Get ready for Pesach with a mega collection of divrei torah, from Bnei Torah in the workforce. You will hear from Rav Yakov Danishefsky, Rav Jonathan Livi,Rav Max Berger, Zak Lenik, Mark Tobin Dr. Mordy Goldenberg and Yoel Van Messel. At the end, you will hear some ideas of mine which I shared on The Greatest Parasha podcast, hosted by Raymond Ashkenazie and Emma Dayan A big thank you to Shlomo Pr...

What happens when Torah, growth, and mental health start pulling against each other instead of working together? In this episode of Shtark Tank , Yaakov Wolff speaks with Dr. Dan Jacobson — psychologist, musmach, co-author of Flipping Out , and author of Light in the Darkness — about stress, anxiety, yeshiva pressure, and the long-term impact they can have on our Avodat Hashem. To recieve a free c...

Dov Adler is an audit partner who has in intereresting relationship with auditing. In this episode, Dov Adler shares a refreshingly honest take on work, fulfillment, and responsibility. We talk about growing up in a rabbi’s home, choosing accounting over rabbanus, wearing a kippah in corporate America, and building a career that is meaningful not because every task is enjoyable, but because of the...

How do Bnei Torah apply skills from the workforce to serve non-profit organizations? In this episode, Yaakov Wolff speaks with Allen Pfeiffer and Hillel Scheinfeld two successful professionals who bring their strengths into the world of tzedakah and nonprofits. They discuss why donors should think more seriously about where their money goes, why nonprofits need more transparency and accountability...

This is a special Purim bonus episode—a raw and honest conversation meant to warn and wake people up. In this episode, our guest shares his personal story—how gambling started young, how “just for fun” escalated over years, and how legalization + apps turned it into something 24/7, always within reach. If you need help, contact Amudim now. Crisis hotline can be reached at 646-517-0222, or from isr...

We’re coming up on the 40th yahrzeit of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein , and this episode is a guided tour through Rav Moshe’s Torah on the questions every Ben Torah eventually faces: How do I build a life where Torah stays central… while I’m working, providing, and living in the real world? Our guest, Rabbi Moshe Kurtz (rabbi, podcaster, and serious Rav Moshe researcher), just released a new sefer: Me&#39...

What if the most “frum” thing you can do at work… is simply doing your job well? In this episode, I’m joined by Rav Dovid Gottlieb for a sharp, practical conversation built around a powerful piece from Rav Shlomo Wolbe (Alei Shur) —with guidance that every working Ben Torah needs. (The short chapter can be found in Alei Shur vol. I pp. 269-271) Soon after, we take these ideas into one of the hotte...

In this episode, I sit down with Yossi (Joseph) Landes —President and co-founder of Nerdio (a unicorn), and a 23-year veteran of Microsoft. But this conversation isn’t mainly about startups. It’s about growing in Gemara when you don’t see yourself as “the best learner,” and building a life where Torah stays at the center—through airports, moves abroad, pressure, and big responsibility. We talk abo...

Super Bowl week is here, and as Bnei Torah, we can't avoid asking a hard question: what is sports doing to our time, our headspace, and our Avodas Hashem? In this episode of Shtark Tank, I sit down with Rav Moshe Benovitz (Director of NCSY Kollel) for a real, nuanced conversation about loving sports without losing yourself in it—including the famous story of a Super Bowl night in Yeshivat Kere...

For Parashat Beshalach / Shabbat Shirah , we’re pulling a fan-favorite from the archives: a wide-ranging conversation with Jewish music legend Abie Rotenberg — songwriter of classics like Acheinu , Mama Rochel , and Na’ar Hayiti . But this episode isn’t only about music. A.B. shares how building a serious career in business gave him something rare in the music world: freedom . Freedom to write at...

Is it possible to grow in Torah and business at the same time? Last week, I sat down with Moe Mernick, Ben Lang, and Michael Bloch to talk it through — live, in front of an energetic crowd of 50+ growth-oriented leaders , at the offices of DLA Piper Israel in Tel Aviv . The “excuse” for the gathering was Moe’s new book, Conversations with Jewish Business Leaders — and the conversation went way bey...

In this Shovavim special, I sat down with marriage coach Aaron Zakowski for a direct and practical conversation about what it really means to be a Jewish husband and father in today’s world. We talk about: Why emotional safety matters as much as financial stability The mistake many men make when they try to “fix” instead of listen How long work hours affect marriage—and what actually helps Why you...