The Frieda Vizel Podcast

Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/vEkKjydfG3g

The Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel is an unusual community in the state of New York. It's all Hasidic, very insular. It is shaped around the Satmar Hasidic code of behavior which includes speaking Yiddish, strict gender roles, and insularity from secular society. The community is so gendered that growing up male versus growing up female are completely different experiences. I, as this channel host, have shared much about the female experience. However, there is little I know about the male experience. Through my network of people from Kiryas Joel, I recently got to know Shia Friedman - who is a rare example of someone from Kiryas Joel who is willing to talk on my channel on the record. We sat down to chat, primarily to understand his life as a male who grew up Hasidic. Obviously, Shia's story reflects only Shia's experience, but it can give us some insights just as my experience gives us some insight as well.

We talk about the school day of Hasidic boys, the relationship to teachers, the expectations of learning an extreme amount, the lack of English and secular education, attitudes towards women, marriage rituals, and stepping out of the box. I think there's a lot that's covered in this brief episode, and I so look forward to your thoughts. 

Shia's instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/shia__friedman/
My instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/friedavizel/

Check out some of my other videos on Kiryas Joel:

What it was like for me to grow up in Kiryas Joel
https://youtu.be/uHu_17N9GdE

My response to the Tyler Oliviera video on Kiryas Joel
https://youtu.be/ZlWRN4jo-CA

Interview with lawyer Michael Sussman on the early years of kiryas joel
https://youtu.be/jcz0xmkm10s

Interview with Fradel Neuman who comes from Kiryas Joel
https://youtu.be/HoTzWaF7dU8

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Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/vUhamjWR_vA

In this video, I provide a translation and analysis of a powerful Yiddish speech by the Grand Rabbi of the Satmar Hasidic sect, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum. He addresses what he describes as the "new Satan" threatening today's generation: Artificial Intelligence.

I offer a unique context as someone who grew up in the community. I share personal stories, including a poignant encounter at my son's opsherin, to illustrate the complex relationship between Hasidic leadership, tradition, and the relentless march of technology.

In this video, we explore:
-The Rabbi's Warning: How AI is viewed as a "mutation" of past technological temptations like computers and smartphones.
-The "Kosher Phone" Dilemma: Why even filtered devices are now seen as gateways to unsupervised access to the world.
-Cultural Preservation: The community's ingenious and sometimes desperate tactics for balancing modern necessity with spiritual isolation.
-A Personal Journey: I reflect on how the internet changed my own life and why I find the Rabbi’s cautionary stance more logical than many might expect.

Timestamps: 
00:00 Introduction: My background and the significance of the speech 
01:18 Personal story: Meeting Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum 
08:24 The Hasidic community’s "dance" with technology 
11:52 The Recording Begins: The "Flaming Speech" against the new Satan 
17:09 Why AI is seen as a mutating evil inclination 
21:05 The history of Hasidic solutions: Filters and bans 
25:22 The "woe to us" dilemma: Why the Rabbi chose to speak out 
30:25 How AI chatbots are accessed via kosher phone numbers 
33:50 My reflections: Is the Rabbi’s warning extreme or insightful?

Join the conversation: How do you think we should manage the influence of AI on children and vulnerable communities? Does the Hasidic approach offer any lessons for the secular world, or is it too extreme? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/mW6PTwWUVAU

Melissa Weisz grew up in Hasidic, Yiddish-speaking Boro Park and left the fold well before the OTD phenomenon became famous. I believe she left the fold before me, and I'm of the old timers now! I have been waiting for the opportunity to share her story with my viewers. Here, we finally get Melissa's story live. Please come if you would like to see this live and ask questions. It will also be available for view later.

Follow Melissa on her socials!
https://www.instagram.com/melissaweisz/
https://melissamalkyweisz.com/

Here is the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/j16Dlc5iRGo
Here's a trailer to this interview: https://youtube.com/shorts/oiWlef1AHVk?feature=share

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link: https://youtu.be/xBBW-b4yNfw

Gita got married, like many Hasidic Williamsburg girls did. In an arranged match, when she was not yet twenty. Her marriage lasted until death did them part. Decades together, seven children, forty grandchildren, and about as many great-grandchildren. What does it mean for a woman of such a traditional, pious world to lose her husband, the backbone of her life and family? Gita is a story of resilience, everlasting love, and the language to express it all through food. From her shabbos morning coffee on the porch, from where she watches young families, to her choice to have peanut butter bread for shabbos lunch, to her refusal to let her kids cook for her, she remains fiercely independent, deeply traditional, and eternally devoted to her family through food. In a world where tradition is lived through food, Gita shares her family tradition of eating Rakot Crumpli: packed potatoes. A Hungarian food of sliced potatoes and eggs, with heaps of "dairy goodies" - cottage cheese, sour cream, and lots of butter. 

Join Gita and me for a day in her home of cooking Rakot Crumpli and learning about her life and world as a widow in the Hasidic community. About her struggles with chronic illness and how she lives life fully despite her mobility issues and need to get around with a Rollator. Her resilience and love for life is inspiring, her fashionista side is envy-inducing. Most of all, she laughs and makes you laugh. She's alone but not lonely.

This is my second time with Gita. My first visit was an interview about her life story which you can watch here:

https://youtu.be/2saQ0LEwZXQ
~~ Filmed by me. How did I do? Do you prefer professional videography or more intimate home made filming?
~~ Edited by the wonderful Lee Kupac https://readymag.website/u3245558506/6471652/

I've interviewed the cooking influencer Lovina Zook:
https://youtu.be/GHF0lQS2CHs

Check out another story of an inspiring widow from Williamsburg, Tova Schiff:
https://youtu.be/O2eglqRL5n4

Check out Mr Klein's shop where you can buy Rakot Crumpli
https://youtube.com/shorts/KHnzQ5l674s?feature=share

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/LV99eySK-24

Fifteen years after their marriage was arranged, a couple reflects on their lives together. They met once for forty minutes and then got married a year later, without any contact during the engagement. Are they happily married? In hindsight, what do they take away from their way of having met? 

🔗 Follow Brachi and Avi on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brachif/
🔗 Brachi's Shabbos table decor business is here: https://hod-hadar.com/
🔗 Hod Hadar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hod_hadar_/

Did you enjoy this interview? Watch some of my others:
🌟 Eli's story: https://youtu.be/SggvtB586Gk
🌟 Pessy's story: https://youtu.be/7CBHWJwmAJI
🌟 Gita's story: https://youtu.be/xBBW-b4yNfw
🌟 Melissa Weisz's story: https://youtube.com/live/j16Dlc5iRGo
Edited by Lee Kupac / https://www.instagram.com/alice.kpc

As always, my interviews are available as podcasts wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for supporting my work!!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.