Frieda Vizel - Hasidic Brooklyn and Beyond

Video version of this posting: https://youtu.be/Gk917OpgS_QIt is the tradition that before a Hasidic young man gets married, he attends a private session with an older rabbi who guides him in matters of sex and intimacy. Since sex is not a topic openly discussed in this society as it is considered immodest, this one lesson is potentially the first time the young groom learns about sex and the opposite gender. That one lesson could be beautiful, painful, shocking, exhilarating, and so many other things.Since I myself went through this on the female side, I have first hand experience of how complicated and intense this session can be. A few years ago a young engaged man recorded his pre-marital session and it was circulated in the underground Hasidic world. I first found it painful to listen to, and later I came to see it as quite gorgeous, human, complex, worthy of dissemination.To keep everyone's identity private, I am not publishing the original audio, which is in Yiddish. However, I did translate the whole thing to English for my blog, and in this video I'll read to you most of that translation. I'm leaving out the very graphic sexual bits as I didn't think they were necessary. If you are interested in reading it (and probably you are, you are human! :)feel free to check out my blog post here: https://friedavizel.com/2022/03/27/transcript-of-a-hasidic-grooms-wedding-lesson/Please also check out my interview with intimacy coach Peggy Greenfield for more conversation on this very delicate topic. https://youtu.be/AUdw8W71Gv8

Video version here: https://youtu.be/AUdw8W71Gv8*Sensitive content warning. This conversation contains adult themes.*Peggy Greenfield is a certified relationship and intimacy coach who grew up in the Satmar Hasidic community of Williamsburg, and now serves this population. Peggy is not in the community herself anymore, which gives her a unique vantage point from which to tackle challenges of sex and imtimacy, topics that are difficult and complicated anywhere, but which pose a unique challenge in a community of so many rules restricting sex and the body. Peggy is outside of the community's conventions, but she has a deep appreciation for it. She therefore is able to candidly and empathetically provide support and guidance and here, to talk openly for this interview. I understand that many people feel that this topic should not be discussed publicly, but after much deliberation, I decided that the right course of action is to release this interview. I welcome your thoughts in the comments. Please check out Peggy on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/pegreenfeld/Please subscribe, like, comment and share for more humanizing sensitive conversations on Jewish topics.

Video link: https://youtu.be/Ovl9HbcTuUIThis is a discussion about the documentary 'City of Joel', with the filmmaker Jesse Sweet. It's a documentary about a turf war in the insular Hasidic Village of Kiryas Joel. Kiryas Joel is a Satmar village in Orange County New York, and it's where I lived for the first twenty-five years of my life. The documentary includes amazing footage of the village I grew up in, with shots of several very close male contacts. It was a fun experience to watch it and to discuss the film with the filmmaker.Click here for the City of Joel documentary: https://amzn.to/4fsl5NSAnd here is Jesse's latest project, Nature of the Crime: https://www.docnyc.net/film/nature-of-the-crime/Please consider supporting my work by making a tax-deductible donation through Fractured Atlas fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/frieda-vizel-brooklyn-youtube-channel or sending a contribution via Paypal: paypal.com/paypalme/friedavizel This helps me to continue to bring to you more Jewish content, which requires a considerable investment on my part.

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/vbwZcttuNOQMiriam Anzovin is a Jewish content creator who does videos about the Talmud, Jewish lore reactions and even holiday themed makeup tutorials. She is a warm, funny and witty Jewish woman and I find a friend in her in the content creation journey. Join me for a discussion with the wonderful Miriam about her background, about her relationship to her orthodox mother, about her creative process, about trolls and the Talmud and so much more.Follow Miriam on a bunch of platforms!Youtube  @MiriamAnzovin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miriamanzovin/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UCAM7ylcgdb_dkvvrnEmLp0wTwitter: https://x.com/AnzovinaWebsite: https://www.miriamanzovin.com/