The power of Yiddish children's stories to shape our world | Miriam Udel
Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/1y8ejrX4JosIn this episode, I talk with Miriam Udel, who teaches Yiddish language, literature, and culture at Emory University. Miriam has done something quite wonderful—she’s brought to life a wide range of Yiddish children’s stories, translating them into English and making them accessible again. These stories, written before and after the Holocaust, capture the worlds Jews once imagined for their children—worlds that were playful, moral, rebellious, sometimes heartbreakingly earnest.We talk about how children’s literature works as a cultural time capsule: how it reflects the values and anxieties of its moment, and how it teaches kids who they are supposed to be. It’s a conversation about language, identity, and the quieter ways a culture passes itself on.Miriam Udel is the Judith London Evans Director of the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of German Studies at Emory University. She holds an AB and PhD from Harvard, and was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2019 as part of its first Executive Ordination cohort.📚 Books by Miriam Udel:Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children’s Literaturehttps://amzn.to/4ovS0W3Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children’s Literaturehttps://amzn.to/476aGpFNever Better!: The Modern Jewish Picaresque (Michigan Studies in Comparative Jewish Cultures)https://amzn.to/47549LY🎥 Other videos mentioned:Why Only Girls? — Hasidic Boys and Envyhttps://youtu.be/MnFddZtaWdQA Hilf Faren Kind — The Hasidic Children’s Book Serieshttps://youtu.be/2DTIsRStE3sBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
--------
1:07:34
--------
1:07:34
The Get / My divorce 💔
Today's episode is a repost of my most personal video as I take a bit of time to recover from the months of my mother's illness.Link to video version of this post: https://youtu.be/GvLO9Vhid44?si=MdFJVuZnUvXPcudPI was 25 when my husband divorced me. I was so attached to him, yet so firm in my belief that it was also time to let him go. After he left our marital home, he asked me to quickly proceed with the get. A get is a religious divorce; a ceremony with many rituals.After I got home from the Get, I was very heartbroken. I sat down and wrote about my experience, talking to my husband directly, who had not spoken really to me during the entire ceremony. I needed to speak, to be heard, to have a perspective, to feel human. I was a single mother, young and alone, quite voiceless. I just sat at the computer and sobbed and wrote, and sobbed and wrote. I felt better afterward.I never for a moment regretted the divorce or reconsidered my leaving the Hasidic community. I think it was the path that was right for me. But I also don’t think my journey is over. I don’t know where this winding road will lead yet.I’ve raised my son on my own since the Get; happily, and with immense financial struggles. I moved on from the marriage, from the Get, from the intense youthful love. I healed, loved fiercely again, let go again, lived, and most of all, tried to stay true to myself while prioritizing my role as a mother. Now I’m ready for a new page.I look back at the long arc of life, and I’m grateful for the times I allowed myself to live with the hurt in order to live with what was my truth.Thanks for listening to my reading of The Get.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
--------
8:41
--------
8:41
Ex-Hasidic star Riki Rose faces her past in Williamsburg
Video version: https://youtu.be/1Vzxhb9kFOkRiki Rose grew up in the Hasidic community of Williamsburg, and in this video, she comes back for a visit. It’s a return that’s equal parts stressful, triggering, exciting, heartwarming, funny, joyous—and yes, delicious. We eat, we laugh, we talk honestly about what it means to come back after leaving, and we even ask the awkward questions (like: are we okay walking these streets in pants?).It’s a wide-ranging, soulful, and playful conversation with the brilliant singer Riki Rose.Follow Riki Rose:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@riki_roseInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/riki_rose/Website: https://rikirose.com/Watch more of Frieda and Riki:Full playlist of the Frieda & Riki collection: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhW2QoO54ycwpngXudOzA5as9MfS4Ss6ARiki shares her life story: https://youtu.be/jiE9cTn6Yi0?si=6kcd3WUinlc7WrVzA performance by Riki and her sister Mimi: https://youtube.com/shorts/-pZYDWdbvRIFollow me:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friedavizelInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/friedavizel/Website: https://friedavizel.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
--------
1:34:05
--------
1:34:05
Yom Kippur attack, antisemitism in the UK, more | Izzy Posen
Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/IfWm5mlQRwgWhen Jewish worshippers were attacked in the UK during Yom Kippur, it struck a nerve far beyond the synagogue walls. In this wide-ranging conversation, Izzy Posen and I explore the roots and realities of antisemitism in Britain today.Is immigration really to blame? How does Zionism complicate public attitudes toward Jews? And how has British antisemitism evolved—from old Christian tropes to new political ones?We also get deeply personal.Izzy, now two months away from his wedding, reflects on his own transformation—from a Hasidic yeshiva student to a secular thinker and translator. He shares a haunting poem he wrote after being reunited with his estranged family at his mother’s funeral, where he met his youngest sibling for the first time:It could’ve been at a picnic in the park.It was at the funeral.It could’ve been at a festive family dinner.It was in the house of mourning.It could’ve been at a family celebration.It was in the cemetery.It could’ve been with her at our head.It was at her coffin.It could’ve been sooner.It was too late.We talk politics, identity, affirmative action, the different faces of antisemitism experienced by religious and secular Jews, and how one man continues to seek meaning through language and love.Watch my previous interviews with Izzy:On his Hasidic upbringing and education: https://youtu.be/SeZL920Eae8Our live conversation: https://youtu.be/JpFVZj83wCwFollow Izzy’s work:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@izzyposen2092Blog: https://journeyerblog.wordpress.com/2023/09/05/the-family-reunion/Twitter: https://x.com/PosenIzzyIzzy also does beautiful Yiddish translation—he’s available for hire.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
--------
1:17:38
--------
1:17:38
Jews, magic, and the kosher arts | Dovy the Magician
Video link to this segment: https://youtu.be/87TYqw7aKbIStep into a world where sleight of hand meets Hasidic life. In this episode, I sit down with Dovy, a young magician from the Bobov community who has built a career performing in gender-segregated, kosher spaces. Our conversation opens a window into how Hasidic youth, without traditional pathways like college or conventional careers, find creative ways to carve out livelihoods within their own community.With Dovy, the story goes even deeper: is magic considered kosher entertainment—or dangerously close to the “dark arts”? What happens when a Hasidic man performs for women, and how does he navigate those boundaries? Between thought-provoking questions and a few dazzling tricks, this interview brings both laughter and insight into the ways tradition and innovation collide in Hasidic life. ✨ Find Dovy online:YouTube: youtube.com/@dovythemagicianInstagram: instagram.com/dovythemagicianMiniatures: Dovy’s Miniatures🎧 Audio-only podcast version of this interview:api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/67300158/download.mp3🌐 Connect with me:YouTube: youtube.com/@friedavizelInstagram: instagram.com/friedavizelWebsite: friedavizel.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
Welcome to in-depth conversations on Hasidism, Judaism, NYC, culture, education, religion and more!This podcast is hosted by popular Youtuber Frieda Vizel, who has been studying the Hasidic community for more than ten years.This is the podcast version of the video conversations which are also published on Youtube. Please reach out with feedback. Here's the youtube channel if you prefer to see the host and guests! :)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
Listen to The Frieda Vizel Podcast, The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
Ireland