Best Alex Chizhik Podcasts (2025)

1
Religious Jews and Dishonesty: Tax Fraud, Zoning Violations, Downplaying Risk, and More, with Rabbi Jeremy Wieder (238) 1:03:12

1d ago1:03:12

1:03:12

The Torah is very clear that theft is forbidden; no one doubts that this is true. It is, accordingly, very disturbing that religious Jews as a community don’t seem to be more ethical in these matters than people who don’t see the Torah as their guide to life. I am not suggesting that Orthodox Jews are worse than anyone else in these matters; I cann…

1
The Ethics of Population Transfers & Prisoner Swaps, Defining "Innocent Civilians," and Other Urgent Ethical Dilemmas, with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody (237) 51:02

10d ago51:02

51:02

Ever since President Trump presented his plan (or his idea, as it’s unclear how planned out this really is) about resettling the Arab population of Gaza, the Jewish world has been in an uproar. Very loud voices on both sides of the issue have been talking not so much about its feasibility - many are extremely skeptical that this could ever come to …

1
When the Doctor Becomes the Patient: A Conversation with Dr. Avi Rockoff (236) 1:04:39

15d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

What is it like for a doctor, who has spent his life treating patients, to become a patient himself? That was the experience of Dr. Avi Rockoff when he learned that he had a very serious form of prostate cancer, and which he chronicles in his new book, When the Doctor Becomes the Patient. He was exposed to what he terms “the medical industrial comp…

1
History Repeating Itself: Diaspora-Israel Tensions in 200 BCE and 2025 CE, with Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich (235) 1:14:51

23d ago1:14:51

1:14:51

William Faulkner in Requiem for a Nun famously wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” I repeatedly thought of that line as I read Dr. Malka Simkovich’s recent book, Letters From Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity. In that book she investigates the relationship of Jews living in the Land of Israel and Jews who remained …

1
The Fragility of Jewish Existence Comes to Israel: Applying the Thought of Rabbi Sacks to a Post-October 7th Jewish World, with Dr. Tanya White (234) 1:10:44

1M ago1:10:44

1:10:44

I recorded this episode hours before the first three Israeli hostages were slated to be released, and as a ceasefire was just beginning to be implemented by Israel and Hamas. Many people have noted that while Hamas is parading throughout Gaza and claiming victory - which is an absurd inversion of reality - and while the vast majority of the world i…

1
The Ceasefire: What It Means, Who Benefits, and What Must Happen Next, with Dr. Matthew Levitt (Orthodox Conundrum Special Episode) 32:41

1M ago32:41

32:41

With the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal, Scott spoke to counterterrorism and intelligence expert Dr. Matthew Levitt to learn what the ceasefire entails, in what ways this falls short of Prime Minister Netanyahu's insistence upon total victory, how victory should be defined, why this ceasefire is happening now, whether Ha…

1
Do You Care Enough About Israel? (And Do Israelis Care Enough About You?) (233) 1:10:13

1M ago1:10:13

1:10:13

Do Jews outside of Israel care enough about Israel? This is a loaded and perhaps unfair question. How could anyone make that determination? Nevertheless, it’s something I’ve been grappling with for some time, and I decided to pose this question on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook. Many people commented, both on the group and in p…

1
Downplaying Sexual Abuse, and Writing to a Judge to Request Leniency: When Good Intentions Go Very, Very Wrong (232) 1:29:31

1M ago1:29:31

1:29:31

This episode of the Orthodox Conundrum discusses sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material. Listener discretion is advised. Sexual abuse is a problem everywhere, and the Orthodox community is no exception. While there unquestionably is more awareness of the problem today than there was in the past, there is still a long way to go before we can b…

1
“The Torah is Hospitalized and in Bandages” - The Thought of Rav Shagar on Chanukah, Israel, Religious Choice, and More (Special Chanukah Episode) 1:04:59

2M ago1:04:59

1:04:59

We live in times in which, I believe, we in the Orthodox world need to open ourselves to new ideas and new thinking that will help enhance our love and appreciation for God and His Torah. Maybe the best example of a contemporary thinker who has opened the doors of perception while remaining fully committed to Torah, halacha, the Jewish people and t…

1
Children Under the Radar: A Live Orthodox Conundrum Conversation (SPECIAL EPISODE) 1:10:31

2M ago1:10:31

1:10:31

An almost insidious problem that affects so many kids is being “under the radar”... that is, they’re generally ignored in school, camp, or other social settings by the teachers or group leaders because they’re doing “fine” - and I use that word advisedly. He or she is not the class genius, not the kid who asks questions, not the troublemaker, not t…

1
It's Time for a Jewish Middle Earth: Cultivating Imagination in Torah Teaching with Olivia Friedman (231) 51:50

2M ago51:50

51:50

Is Jewish education too focused upon a rationalist and scientific worldview, such that we sometimes don’t leave enough room for the imagination? I think that this may be true for large segments of the Orthodox world, particularly among the Modern Orthodox population. While we dare not undermine the great advances that our scientific worldview has g…

1
Inviting God Into Partnership: Finding Resilience with Rachel Sharansky Danziger (230) 1:12:26

2M ago1:12:26

1:12:26

While the Jewish people, and all people of good will, continue to face deep uncertainty about what’s happening in Israel and around the world - as I record this on Sunday afternoon, we are just beginning to process the end of Assad’s rule in Syria and trying to figure out if it’s a net positive or negative for democratic countries in general and Is…

1
'Tis the Season to Spend Lavishly: Confronting the New Orthodox Materialism, with Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt and Professor Chaim Saiman (229) 1:21:20

3M ago1:21:20

1:21:20

"Anything is permitted, as long as it's for a mitzvah." Really? We live in a world where consumerism and materialism are not only dominant themes of everyday life, but also positive values in their own right. It’s disturbing that the Orthodox Jewish community is not at all immune to this influence; in fact, many sub-communities within the Orthodox …

1
Hope, Gratitude, and Faith in a Time of Anxiety, Pain, and Despair, with Dr. Erica Brown (228) 1:07:33

3M ago1:07:33

1:07:33

Every time I speak with Dr. Erica Brown, I come away enriched by her deep thinking and religious and emotional sensitivity. And this conversation, which delves into psychological and theological questions surrounding anxiety, hope, gratitude, and faith, may be our most memorable discussion yet. The Thanksgiving holiday takes place later this week i…

1
"Just Because It Didn't Happen, Doesn't Mean It Isn't True": Analyzing and Appreciating Aggadah with Gila Fine (227) 1:03:11

3M ago1:03:11

1:03:11

There was a time not long ago when aggadah - which, broadly speaking, refers to the non-legal passages in the Talmud - was largely ignored; students studying in yeshiva would run through these texts quickly, if at all, using almost all of their mental energy and time thinking through the halachic, or legal passages of the Gemara. While that was lik…

1
Chareidi Political Influence in Jewish Life, and Why It Truly Matters: A Conversation with Rabbi David Stav (226) 42:12

3M ago42:12

42:12

Over the past two weeks, there has been increasing conversation in Israel among the Religious Zionist community about the continued refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to consider enlisting in the Israeli army. Many of us have been discussing this issue for months or years; but it came to a head in the past couple of weeks largely because of the at…

1
Why Orthodox Jews Should Vote for Trump... Why Orthodox Jews Should Vote for Harris: Two Rabbis Make Their Best Pitch (225) 1:17:04

4M ago1:17:04

1:17:04

With the United States presidential election only hours away, I wanted to offer a supporter of each major presidential candidate the opportunity to explain why Jews in general, and Orthodox Jews in particular, would be better off supporting either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president. To that end, I invited two politically involved Orthodox …

1
The Biggest Desecration of God's Name (224) 1:14:51

4M ago1:14:51

1:14:51

Today I’m talking about something that I’ve spoken about before, repeatedly, both on this podcast and on my Substack, Orthodox Conundrum Commentary: the problem of a large number of Chareidi, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, who receive army exemptions, usually (though not always) because they’re learning in yeshivot. Why am I talking about this again? Have…

1
Biblical Criticism, Academic Bible Study, and Orthodox Judaism with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (CLASSIC EPISODE) 1:00:14

4M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

As we complete our seventh season of the Orthodox Conundrum, we're pleased to present a classic episode from three years ago, in which Professor Joshua Berman of Bar Ilan University discusses academic Bible study, Biblical criticism, and Orthodox Judaism. It was a very interesting episode, which raised crucial questions that Orthodox Jews need to c…

1
The Day That Never Ended... And What We Can Learn From It, with Rav Chayim Soloveichik (223) 48:53

4M ago48:53

48:53

"Today marks one year since one of the worst days of all of our lives, October 7th. I actually was unsure of how to record an appropriate episode; what, exactly, could I add to the conversation? What is there to say that hasn’t yet been said? And how can I relate it to the season in which we find ourselves, right in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Ki…

1
Gavriel Bloom z"l: A Hero in a Land of Heroes (222) 49:19

5M ago49:19

49:19

Later this week we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Day of Remembrance, Yom HaZikaron. According to Chazal, Hashem (so to speak) remembers us on this day for the good… and we, too, should look at those people who set sterling examples for us over the past year, and try to learn from their deeply meaningful lives. One of those people …

1
Reorganizing the Letters of Reality: A Mystical and Chassidic Approach to Prayer, with Rabbi Dovid'l Weinberg (221) 1:08:11

5M ago1:08:11

1:08:11

One of the beautiful aspects of Torah Judaism is its insistence on eilu v’eilu divrei Elokim chayim - that two different and even potentially contradictory approaches can both represent the words of the living God. Opening our minds to differing ways of seeing Torah - that, in the words of many ancient texts, there are seventy facets to the Torah, …

1
How Does Prayer Work? A Rationalist Approach to Tefilah, or What Larry David Got Wrong (220) 1:09:33

5M ago1:09:33

1:09:33

We stand in the middle of the month of Elul, and are moving quickly towards Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - days largely spent in the synagogue in prayer. Throughout those days as well as the rest of the Ten Days of Repentance, we ask that God grant us a year of life, goodness, and peace. While we have so much to be thankful for, we may be forgiven …

1
"The Gamblification of Everything" - Gambling, Orthodox Jewish Adolescents, and the Big Problem That's Getting Worse (219) 51:04

5M ago51:04

51:04

Many people often talk about addiction and dependence; and in doing so, they may use those terms inexactly. When it comes to gambling, however, those words are, unfortunately, correct. Problem gambling is a growing problem in the United States - particularly online gambling, which has been growing exponentially since the Supreme Court decided, in 2…

1
Teaching Our Students to be Zionists Rather than "Pro-Israel": A Conversation with Dr. Noam Weissman (218) 1:02:47

6M ago1:02:47

1:02:47

Scott recorded this interview with Dr. Noam Weissman on Monday afternoon, the day after we learned about the terrible execution of six hostages soon before they were discovered by the IDF, presumably in order to make sure that they did not make it back home alive. And today, Hamas continued its psychological torture by saying that it will release v…

1
The Ongoing War, and a Potential Mental Health Crisis in Israel and the Diaspora (217) 1:18:09

6M ago1:18:09

1:18:09

This podcast is being released less than a day after the Israeli army preemptively struck thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, doing so just fifteen minutes before those launchers were supposed to fire hundreds of missiles into northern and central Israel. Thank God that as of now, Israel clearly won this exchange. We don’t know what…

1
Is Israel a Light Unto the Nations... And Should It Even Bother Trying? A Conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi (216) 55:31

6M ago55:31

55:31

The October 7th massacre, and the subsequent war against Hamas, other Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and Iran itself, have caused many people throughout the Jewish world to reconsider what Israel means to them, and what kind of society Israel should create. Many continually return to the idea that Israel should be a light unto the …

1
Tisha B'Av and Bad Theology: A New View of Megillat Eicha with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (CLASSIC EPISODE) 1:10:39

6M ago1:10:39

1:10:39

“What does Eichah have in common with climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, Holocaust deniers and those that claim that the 2020 presidential elections were stolen?” Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman sent this to Scott, who was intrigued and immediately invited him back onto this podcast to discuss what he meant. More than anything else, we need a way to rel…

1
Ikar HaDin, Chumra, and Minhag: The Phenomenon of Greater Stringency in the Orthodox World, with Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky (215) 59:37

7M ago59:37

59:37

Sometimes it’s called a move to the right. Other times it is seen as a rejection of lax religiosity. Some people think of it as an admirable commitment to serving God as best as possible. Others decry it as representing an unacceptable change from traditional Jewish practice. All these and more are reactions to the unquestionably real phenomenon of…

1
Arrests and Mob Violence at Sdei Teiman: What Happened, What It Means, and Why It Matters (BONUS EPISODE) 40:08

7M ago40:08

40:08

This is a rush-release bonus episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, to help us all get to the bottom of what happened yesterday at the military detention center at Sdei Teiman. We will learn what the nine arrested soldiers were accused of, the manner that they were arrested, and the reason for the protests of numerous right-wing members of Knesset. Wha…

1
Can the Glass Ceiling Be Broken? Women's Leadership and Its Limits, with Joanne Greenaway (214) 54:39

7M ago54:39

54:39

One of the most difficult issues facing Modern or Centrist Orthodox Jews today is the question of how to increase and encourage the participation of more women in leadership roles, while also working within the halachic parameters that set limits on how extensive those leadership roles are allowed to be. When we add two thousand years of socializat…

1
When Reverence Becomes Pseudo-Idolatry: The Phenomenon of Gadol Worship, with Rav Yitzchak Shurin (213) 1:03:41

7M ago1:03:41

1:03:41

For the past two thousand years, Torah observant Jews have acknowledged that our greatest scholars deserve respect, and have an extraordinarily deep and broad understanding of the vast sea of the Torah sheba’al peh, the Oral Law. In recent times, however, proper respect for talmidei chachamim has often morphed into a pseudo-idolatry of gedolim, whe…

1
Nepotism, Greed, Power, and Politics: The Tragic Self-Inflicted Fate of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (212) 1:04:40

7M ago1:04:40

1:04:40

68 years ago, Rav Soloveitchik zt'l identified the timidity of Orthodox Jews as representing a failure to respond to the miracle of renewed Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Today, tragically, we seem to have the opposite problem. In 2024, Israel has a religious establishment which has completely lost its sense of shame, and is not only inv…

1
"Our Faith is in the Question": Teaching Emunah to Our Children, Our Students, and Ourselves, with Rabbi David Aaron (211) 1:13:46

8M ago1:13:46

1:13:46

This podcast is dedicated לעילוי נשמת אלעזר בן ישראל, a man who accepted the vicissitudes of life with a simple and pure faith. What does it mean to believe in God? This question is absolutely fundamental to Jewish life and living - yet many people feel uncomfortable discussing God at all. In our educational institutions, we often have a broad curr…

1
"The Vast Unconscious of the Jewish People": Learning How (and Why) to Learn Midrash with Simi Peters (210) 1:09:32

8M ago1:09:32

1:09:32

When you learn Torah, do you consider yourself to be in dialogue with Chazal? According to Scott's guest, Simi Peters, a key element of learning midrash aggadah is being able to become participants in a conversation that began thousands of years ago and continues today. But in order to do so, we need to become students of midrash: learning how to a…

1
Hareidi Messaging in Modern Orthodox Institutions: Are You Aware of What Your Children Are Being Taught? With Rabbi Yitzchak Blau (209) 1:22:10

8M ago1:22:10

1:22:10

Schools which identify with the Modern Orthodox world and espouse a Centrist Orthodox hashkafa, nevertheless will sometimes hire teachers who profess a Hareidi worldview. In some ways, this is a welcome development; breaking down the barriers that separate our various communities is generally a good thing, and we should be pleased when we discern a…

1
"A Theology of Distraction": Exploring the Conundrums of Kohelet with Dr. Erica Brown (Originally released on September 26, 2023) 1:07:26

8M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

(This episode was originally released on Septetmber 26th, 2023, but its message is perhaps even more relevant now, after October 7th and its aftermath, than before. Scott will be back with a new episode next week.) Megilat Kohelet is one of the most difficult books in Tanach: it jumps back and forth between conflicting assumptions, it lacks any obv…

1
The Revolution in Women's Torah Learning: What We've Achieved, What Still Needs to Happen (208) 51:33

8M ago51:33

51:33

We’re approaching the holiday of Shavuot, when we celebrate and commemorate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Rambam explains that our belief in Torah and in Moshe is predicated upon the fact that all of us were present at Sinai, where we together heard God talking to Moshe. And we have a longstanding tradition as well that God did not st…

1
Does the IDF Care Enough About the Safety of Its Soldiers? (207) 55:05

9M ago55:05

55:05

Is the Israeli army taking care of its soldiers? That’s a question with a potentially painful answer. Daniel Mael has helped donate over 13,000 helmets to IDF soldiers, along with thousands of vests and other equipment - and he argues that the army’s behavior in procuring equipment has been nothing less than scandalous. In fact, he claims, the Isra…

1
Kids Going "Off the Derech": Reasons, Reactions, and Responses, with Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson (206) 1:21:18

9M ago1:21:18

1:21:18

Just as many young people who are not religious become Orthodox, so do many young Orthodox Jews leave Orthodox practice behind. Colloquially, this is often called being “off the derech” - that is, off “the” way of traditional Torah practice. The phenomenon of Orthodox Jews becoming less classically religious is real, and it’s important to think abo…

1
Tzniut, Integrity, and Leadership: Reframing the Concept of Tzniut, with Rabbi Moshe Simkovich (205) 1:01:33

9M ago1:01:33

1:01:33

Any discussion surrounding tzniut (loosely - and, perhaps incorrectly - translated as “modesty") is inevitably fraught with challenges and difficulty. Indeed, there are few topics in Orthodoxy that are as triggering to so many people. Rabbi Moshe Simkovich offers a traditional yet unique approach to tzniut, and he attempts to redefine the concept a…

1
Shattering a Religious Monopoly Versus Ideological Conformity: The Challenges Facing Religious Zionism Today (204) 1:05:25

9M ago1:05:25

1:05:25

In his classic work Kol Dodi Dofek, Rav Soloveitchik asserts that God’s gift of the State of Israel demands a response. God wants a dialogue where we answer his generosity by using His gifts to make Him present in the world. The major challenge for Religious Zionism, then, is to decide, as best as we can, what that response should be. Does it mean …

1
Remembering My Dad (203) 36:50

10M ago36:50

36:50

It’s the little things that hit hardest. The big moments when I expect to be emotional have generally felt unremarkable; I seem to have experienced them with relative ease. The surprises come when I’m taking a walk, talking about a silly childhood memory, or seeing an old friend. Above all, I’ve learned that my emotions are often hidden - from myse…

1
The Dangers of a Living Prophetic Judaism: Rabbi Yosef Blau Responds to Rabbi Alex Israel (BONUS EPISODE) 46:38

10M ago46:38

46:38

In episode 201, Rabbi Alex Israel, citing Rav Kook, asked whether nowadays we need to add a greater prophetic element to Judaism, alongside our continued commitment to halacha. Perhaps today we need a new infusion of prophecy - both in terms of its spiritual content, as well as through a renewed emphasis on Torah values that may sometimes be lost i…

1
How Much of the Exodus Story is Historical - and Does It Actually Matter? A Conversation with Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum (202) 1:01:06

10M ago1:01:06

1:01:06

Did the Exodus from Egypt happen exactly as the Torah describes? How should we contend with archeological evidence that seems to indicate that certain aspects of the Torah's narrative don't make sense? And, for that matter, how can we contend with similar questions that surround other historical Biblical narratives? Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum, Dean of…

1
Creating a Living Prophetic Judaism for the 21st Century, with Rabbi Alex Israel (201) 1:08:33

11M ago1:08:33

1:08:33

For over two millennia, the Jewish People has lived in a world largely defined by Jewish law, or halacha. While the Tanach is filled with what might be called prophetic Judaism - a Judaism, that is, which is dominated by those who spoke in the name of God - the Judaism that emerged during the era of the Second Temple and thereafter placed a greater…

1
Hollywood, Antisemitic Tropes, and Anti-Orthodox Messaging: A Conversation with Allison Josephs (200) 54:36

11M ago54:36

54:36

Jews control Hollywood - or so everyone seems to believe, for better and very often for worse. And it’s true that there are many Jewish people who work in the entertainment industry. But this fact is quite distinct from the question of how Jews are typically portrayed in movies and TV shows - and in that realm, there are serious problems, both rega…

1
Bitcoin crashes by $10,000 but we're happy! 51:31

11M ago51:31

51:31

Summary In this episode, Alex and Shimon discuss Bitcoin's power law and its implications for the future of the cryptocurrency. They explain the concept of power law and how it differs from previous models of Bitcoin's price. They also draw parallels between power law in nature and Bitcoin's price corridor. The hosts highlight the significance of t…

1
The Present and Future of Religious Zionism (Part Two): More on the Palestinian Future, Military Service, Culture Wars, Political Direction, and More (199) 1:20:18

11M ago1:20:18

1:20:18

Last week’s episode of the Orthodox Conundrum was supposed to be a wide-ranging conversation about the present and future of Religious Zionism, including a discussion of our relationship with the Palestinian population in Yehuda v’Shomron and Gaza. As it turns out, Scott and his guests, Daniel Goldman and Rabbi Elie Mischel, ended up spending the e…

1
The Present and Future of Religious Zionism (Part One): Settlements, a Palestinian State, Tanach as History or as Prophecy for Today, and More (198) 1:02:21

12M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

In some recent episodes of this podcast, Scott and his guests have discussed numerous issues relevant to the Religious Zionist world, including some of the ways that Religious Zionism differs from Modern Orthodoxy. But Religious Zionism is not a monolith; there are many different paths within Religious Zionism, and the differences between these pat…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Alex Chizhik Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide

zproxy.org