The Frieda Vizel Podcast

Video link to this conversation: https://youtu.be/n8g9RwmGwF8Dan is a Jewish interpreter who immigrated from the Soviet Union. He believes his Soviet past taught him important lessons about recognizing when society takes a wrong turn. He reached out to me to share his story, and I invited him for an in-depth interview. We discussed his Soviet upbringing, his life journey, and his experiences as a Jewish interpreter. Dan has thoughtful criticisms of contemporary human rights organizations (alongside genuine appreciation for their work) and feels it's important to share his unique perspective.If you would like to get in touch with Dan, you can reach him here:pr.pleischner@gmail.comThis video focuses specifically on our discussion about Dan's work as a Jewish interpreter. You can watch our complete interview here:From a Soviet upbringing to Jewish identity | Dan’s storyhttps://youtu.be/Nmw9jZM2aYUBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/Nmw9jZM2aYUThe story of a Jew who grew up in the Soviet Union and learned little about his Judaism but some other hard lessons that would shape his life.Dan is a high-level interpreter and a thoughtful, intelligent man. He reached out to me after noticing how different his experience as a Soviet Jew was from mine. I grew up deeply engaged with my Jewishness, while he grew up almost entirely disconnected from it. Our conversation convinced me that Dan's story needed to be documented and shared, so I invited him onto my podcast. What I heard was remarkable: the horrors his family endured, the gripping archival material he inherited documenting his grandparents' ordeals, and his unique perspective from working inside contemporary human rights organizations and other governmental bodies. Dan believes the progressive mission, which he sees as well-intentioned, is nonetheless misguided and heading toward dangerous territory. He also reflects candidly on the antisemitism he's encountered in his work as a translator in a world increasingly hostile to Israel.If you would like to get in touch with Dan, you can write to him at: pr.pleischner@gmail.comWant more on Soviet Jewry?My interview with Anna Shternshishttps://youtu.be/hKN0_75EuqEMy interview with Igor Golyakhttps://youtu.be/E5_n3p3Oto0Leave a comment with your thoughts!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/4MPf67ftXMEJacob Kornbluh is a Hasidic reporter covering the Mamdani beat at a moment when Zohran Mamdani has become a lightning rod in Jewish communities. For many, Mamdani represents fear, anger, political anxiety, and deep uncertainty about where New York is headed. And in the middle of that storm is Kornbluh.Recently featured in The New York Times, Kornbluh occupies a complicated position. He reports on power while belonging to a community that often feels scrutinized by power. During COVID, some Hasidic critics accused him of “reporting on” the community to city officials. That tension hasn’t disappeared. If anything, it’s intensified.I went into this interview not knowing what to expect. As a Hasidic man speaking with me, and about issues that feel raw and personal. This conversation surprised me and left me with an invite to travel across the world to a wedding. You never know!You can follow Jacob Kornbluh here:📰 Reporter at The Forwardhttps://forward.com/author/jacob-kornbluh/🐦 Twitter / Xhttps://twitter.com/jacobkornbluh🗞 His recent feature in The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/nyregion/jacob-kornbluh-mamdani-hasidic-jewish-reporter.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1A.Lkpv.51t0435BwIlj&smid=url-shareAs always, I’m curious what you think. Please leave a comment!Frieda.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this full Pearl repost: https://youtu.be/Uo5mf0_1izYBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Link to video version of this conversation: https://youtu.be/2iPiYwftPygIn this interview, I speak with Miriam Vidal about her childhood growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and her eventual decision to leave the faith.As a Hasidic child growing up in Kiryas Joel, there was a strange building behind my house that we simply called “the church.” Every Saturday, rows of cars would pull up, and we kids would stand by the gate, watching and waving. Only years later, after I had left my own religious community, did I learn that this building was actually a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall.Miriam was one of the people attending services there.In this conversation, Miriam shares what it was like to grow up inside the Jehovah’s Witness community: the rules, the rhythms of daily life, the sense of belonging, and the limitations placed on childhood, education, and social life. We talk about her memories of the Kingdom Hall in Kiryas Joel, the wider culture of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and what it meant; emotionally and psychologicall... to leave such a structured religious world.This interview is also about what comes after leaving: identity, belief, grief, freedom, and the slow work of figuring out who you are when the framework you grew up in falls away.As someone deeply interested in religious subcultures, exit narratives, and the sociology of faith, this conversation felt especially meaningful.... almost like closing a loop that began when I was a child in my Shabbos dress, waving at strangers I didn’t yet understand.Topics we cover include:-Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness-Family life, schooling, holidays, and missionizing-The Kingdom Hall in Kiryas Joel and Miriam’s memories of it-Community, ritual, and belonging-Leaving a high-control religious environment-The emotional and psychological impact of exiting-Spiritual life and identity after leaving-Reflections on religion, culture, and comparison with other faith communitiesWant more?Watch my video about the Jehovah's Witness Church in Kiryas Joelhttps://youtu.be/naUJMITJ5sYWatch my interview with Martha Ross, who left the Amish:https://youtu.be/teadpfXWCO4My own recounting of what it's like to grow up in Kiryas Joelhttps://youtu.be/uHu_17N9GdEThe story of Anna Shternshis:https://youtu.be/hKN0_75EuqEStay tuned for more stories of subcultures and religious groups.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version: https://youtu.be/MyGxlBywfAcBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/css7bPGITTEThis video is le’ilui nishmas (dedicated to the souls) of the dear people lost at Bondi Beach, and dedicated to their loving families in mourning. May the families find moments of light in these unbearably hard days. My heart is with them.In this conversation, I speak with Sydney resident Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt, who shares his oral history of the Chanukah 2025 attack in Sydney, an event his family lived through and one in which his daughter’s life was miraculously saved.Rabbi Eichenblatt speaks not only about fear and shock, but about what came after. He recalls the night following the attack, sitting at home with his family, shaken and uncertain, and consciously turning toward faith rather than retreat. Drawing deeply on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he describes an approach rooted in responsibility, hope, and the idea of being a messenger to spread light, especially after darkness.This is a testimony shaped by loss and danger, but also by profound optimism, a belief that light is not passive and that faith asks something active of us, even in the most fragile moments.Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mindfulrabbi/Video from the day of the attack:https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSR06KeEg2i/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version here: https://youtu.be/F9xzvdkMXMILet me read to you some Yiddish from 1977 and unpack the values and worldview of the Hasidic young girls through the moral lessons presented in this book. See how they were introduced to social values of obedience, kindness, respect to the elders, safety, trust in each other, modesty, and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/RK7_--5f0TcWhat happens when intimacy is expected before it’s understood?The Wedding Night is a striking and deeply intimate documentary by Orthodox filmmaker Rachel Elitzur. It explores a rarely discussed reality inside ultra-Orthodox Jewish life: couples who marry after only a handful of supervised dates, then face the expectation of consummating their marriage on the wedding night.The film grows out of Elitzur’s own traumatic wedding-night experience, which led her to seek out others with similar stories. Many participants felt unable to appear on camera, so their voices are heard anonymously, paired with carefully staged reenactments performed by actors. A very unusual method of storytelling. In the shorter version published in the New York Times in December 2025, the actors were totally removed.📰 Here is a shorter version of this story appeared in The New York Times:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/opinion/ultra-orthodox-jewish-wedding-night.html🎥 Here is the full extended documentary The Wedding Night can be watched here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lOnex1o5h8&t=5s🎬 Instagram link to filmmaker: Rachel Elitzurhttps://www.instagram.com/elitzurachel/This film connects to broader conversations I’ve explored on this channel about sex, intimacy, silence, and expectation in Orthodox and Hasidic communities:• How Hasidic teens learn about sexhttps://youtu.be/Gk917OpgS_Q• My own painful experience leaving an arranged marriagehttps://youtu.be/GvLO9Vhid44• An intimacy coach shares delicate, rarely voiced perspectiveshttps://youtu.be/AUdw8W71Gv8• Pearl, a Hasidic woman, speaks about her own and her children’s matchmaker marriageshttps://youtu.be/yQ_GgbC9RD4Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/naUJMITJ5sYThe article is here: https://friedavizel.com/2014/06/06/a-church-in-kiryas-joelBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/ClAU6WJfj8UOne of my earliest video and, in my view, an important one to repost at this time. Forgive the repost. Lots of new content coming soon.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version here: https://youtu.be/ZlWRN4jo-CA As someone who grew up in Kiryas Joel and left the fold, I have a lot to say on this Hasidic village. There's good and bad. There are issues, and yes there are valid criticisms on its relationship to the welfare system, although this doesn't take away from the facts: that this is a community where the vast majority of men are gainfully employed and work incredibly hard. The stereotypes of this community as "welfare queens" whose men study torah and don't work is so damaging and not true.  @TylerOliveira 's recent video will so deeply reinforce these misconceptions. I've done a video where I went through the phone book and showed the extensive numbers of businesses Hasidim are into. It's so sad that his platform will create so much misrepresentation.This is my first take reaction to his video. Please forgive my early morning rants and rambles. I am watching it raw with you. I find it quite upsetting and ignorant. I hope my deep feelings that this community is complicated, imperfect, should be criticized but is also often misrepresented comes through. This is long - well Tyler's video is long.Please watch some of my other videos, especially my video on how Hasidim earn a living.https://youtu.be/UXXOGYqbK5oWhat it was like for me to grow up in Kiryas Joelhttps://youtu.be/uHu_17N9GdEMy interview with Fradel Newman, lifetime resident of Kiryas Joelhttps://youtu.be/HoTzWaF7dU8Interview with civil rights lawyer Michael Sussman, who can really speak for some of the dark sidehttps://youtu.be/jcz0xmkm10sBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/qUDGHnwTUPwFollow along with the pdf of the story here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JCIYkr489nAvNDZQapUJ9UzTdmeCpt-8/view?usp=sharing Let me read to you some Yiddish from 1977 and unpack the values and worldview of the Hasidic young girls through the moral lessons presented in this book. See how they were introduced to social values of obedience, kindness, respect to the elders, safety, trust in each other, modesty, and more. Please let me know what you think I missed.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/jcz0xmkm10sThe Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel’s early days in the 1970s and 80s were anything but quiet. They were marked by infighting, lawsuits, dissidents, and a legal battle so consequential it’s still taught in American law schools today.In this interview, I speak with lawyer Michael Sussman, the man who came to represent some of Kiryas Joel’s most outspoken internal critics during its formative years. Though he was neither Hasidic nor Orthodox, Sussman became deeply entangled in the village’s internal struggles—so much so that, to many of us growing up there, his name became part of the folklore. There was even a dissident synagogue nicknamed the Sussman Shul.This conversation explores the early legal wars that shaped Kiryas Joel: battles over governance, power, dissent, and most famously, the creation of a public school for children with special needs. That case—Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet—went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and sits at the uneasy intersection of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.I also approach this story personally. Kiryas Joel is where I grew up and spent 25 formative years of my life. I married at 18, became a mother to my son Seth shortly after, and absorbed these conflicts as background noise to childhood—names, sides, “politics” that hovered at the edges of daily life. As an adult, I’ve returned to this history with new questions and a deeper curiosity about how insular religious subcultures navigate American law.This interview is part of a broader attempt to document the oral histories of Kiryas Joel’s early years. I have made repeated efforts to reach figures from the other side of these disputes to record their recollections as well, but so far without success. That invitation remains open.If you want to go deeper into this story, here are essential resources:Book — American Shtetlhttps://amzn.to/49Lmz5zDocumentary — City of Joelhttps://amzn.to/4soIDKCArchival footage collected by dissident Joseph Waldman:https://www.youtube.com/@thekingofaronWebsite for Michael Sussman:https://www.sussman.law/This is a story about Kiryas Joel, but it’s also a story about America: about pluralism, law, dissent, and the price of making space for radically different ways of life under one constitutional roof.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/koTlTNYXoxIThis video is the extended sit-down conversation from my visit with the Bukharyan Jewish community in Forest Hills, Queens. In this segment, Abe Fuzaylov and his mother-in-law Mazal slow things down and tell their stories—about family, memory, food, and what it means to carry a Central Asian Jewish heritage into New York.Bukharyan Jews once lived for centuries in relative isolation in Central Asia. Today, very few remain there, but the culture is alive and evolving in new places. New York is one of them.In the broader visit, I toured the neighborhood with Abe from @BukharianBites, visited the restaurant Nadezhda in Queens, and cooked a Chanukah treat called Hushquiliq with Mazal. This video focuses on the conversation itself—the personal history behind the food.🔗 Follow Abe on Instagram: Bukharian Biteshttps://www.instagram.com/bukharianbites/🔗 Abe on Substackhttps://substack.com/@bukharianbites🔗 Abe on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@UCtWCGTdaMOF2eDiSJOXZ7yA➡️ The short vlog about my trip to Queens to explore this community:https://youtu.be/m2NT3r7rs20➡️ My earlier video on Bukharyan Jewish tandoori bread baked in a clay oven:https://youtu.be/UH3PnRYYquM?si=wZmb88p-6u9WHcLbBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video version here:https://youtu.be/1j7yKcjT4K8Follow Avrum's wonderful podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/@avrumrosensweigshowFollow Frieda on Youtube here:https://www.youtube.com/friedavizelbrooklynBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/bY7w9icDKgULeah Forster is, as they say in the Hasidic community, “one in a million.” She’s funny, she sings, she’s creative, and she’s been on a spiritual journey for years. She’s an out lesbian woman from the Hasidic community who is now in no box, under no one’s label. She has one daughter. Over the last year, her daughter has been battling a terrible tumor.Leah agreed to sit down with me to talk about her experience. In true Leah fashion, the conversation didn’t go where I expected, and we had a long, winding talk about all sorts of things, including illness, suffering, and faith. But many other things as well. My takeaway was that it’s often hard to talk about difficult things while they are happening. I pray for Leah’s daughter’s complete recovery, as well as for my mother’s. My mother has been doing so much better, and I thank you all so much for the prayers. Please pray for Leah’s daughter’s continued recovery. Please check out more of Leah!She has a new book out: https://amzn.to/4pEJYuGFind her on Instagram (she’s back!): https://www.instagram.com/leahforster/My previous interview with Leah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQgG_Pzxazg&tMy first interview with Leah: https://youtu.be/92nDFiyfVU8 I love talking to comedians, and I’ve interviewed quite a few others, including Danielle Jacobs, Riki Rose, Modi Rosenfeld, Antonia Lassar, and of course, Leah! Please check them out here: https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/PLhW2QoO54ycxK9b4GLY9oGn38tXRPT0vQ/videosThanks so much to all of you for brightening and lightening dark days.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

video link: https://youtube.com/live/OjxrGU4AjbcBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link: https://youtube.com/live/8IEgx00P7OEA livestream about the NYT op doc about the Wedding Night for Orthodox Jewish couples. Watch the opdoc here:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/opinion/ultra-orthodox-jewish-wedding-night.htmlBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Link to video of this interview: https://youtu.be/qMKonpTHj24A candid discussion about Orthodox Judaism and its views on abortion, infertility and loss of unborn life.This discussion is Part 2 of a two-part interview. WATCH PART 1 HERE: https://youtu.be/jjk5K5Rp6e4In this episode, we explore reproductive halacha: Jewish legal thought on abortion, infertility, contraception, gender identity, sexual norms, and the wider landscape of ethical questions around them. The aim is a thoughtful, free-flowing conversation that makes room for nuance, real history, and lived experience. Rabbi Katz grew up in Hasidic Williamsburg and later left Hasidism while remaining within the Orthodox world. He has served as Senior Rabbi of the Prospect Heights Shul and is currently Chair of the Talmud Department at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Throughout his career, he has engaged with what he calls “cutting-edge issues” inside halachic discourse — including gender, sexual abuse, and other areas of communal tension. Many viewers also know his mother, Gita Katz, the sharp, unforgettable Hasidic woman featured in several of my videos. Rabbi Katz is her eldest, once considered a standout student in the Williamsburg community before charting his own path. Today he brings a rare mix of insider knowledge, rigorous training, and a willingness to tackle difficult conversations publicly. He also maintains an active presence on Facebook, where he moderates discussions that often get very heated.Rabbi Katz’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ysoscher.katzIf this conversation resonates, you may also enjoy these related interviews:Related Videos: Part 1 with Rabbi Katz https://youtu.be/jjk5K5Rp6e4 -My earlier interview with Rabbi Katz on the Satmar Rebbe: https://youtu.be/8oVcC5z24c4The book I mentioned is 'I am Forbidden' by Anouk Markovits: https://amzn.to/49lfr09A Hasidic woman’s views on women’s issues — my interview with Pearl (and yes… Pearl is Gita’s close friend!) https://youtu.be/IaqonzHozVMA note of thanks: Many thanks to all of you who are able to support this channel. If you do end-of-year giving, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help cover the cost of producing these videos. Many episodes cost far more to edit than YouTube pays in ad revenue, and the channel only continues because of the generosity of its viewers. Donate here: https://shorturl.at/WqXnLBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.