It’s Chanukah — the season of miracles.
But what about the “miracles” we’re watching unfold in our own lifetime… through technology?
In this special Chanukah episode, I’m joined by Mois Navon, also known as the “Mobileye Rabbi.” Mois has spent decades in high-tech and decades learning and teaching Torah — and in this conversation he helps us think clearly about innovation, awe, ethics, and where all of this may be heading.
In this episode we discuss:
Why Mois is called the “Mobileye Rabbi” (and how it started with lunch table conversations)
What Judaism actually says about innovation and building new technology
A powerful Torah framing: technology as a mandate to improve the world
The other side: limits, guardrails, and ethics (and why it matters more than ever)
Noach as the first engineer — and why the plow changed human history
Is new tech really a “miracle,” or just human creativity inside nature?
The dangers of modern tools (social media, AI, and more) — and the case for self-control
Are we living in unprecedented times?
The “Geulah” question: what do Torah sources suggest about a future of automation and abundance?
Practical advice for building the right “muscles” for the world our kids may grow up in
Links & resources:
Mois Navon’s website (500+ shiurim + source sheets): link here
Mois’s article on Judaism, technology, and ethics: link here
If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and leave a rating — it helps more people find Shtark Tank.
About Mois Navon
Mois Navon is one of the founding engineers of Mobileye, where he designed the EyeQ family of SoC (System On a Chip) – the chip powering the autonomous vehicle revolution. Mois is also an ordained rabbi who has published numerous articles on Jewish law and lore. Working at the intersection of Torah U’Madda, he received his PhD from the department of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University wherein his dissertation applies Jewish philosophy to address the ethical questions arising in the field of artificial intelligence. In this vein, he teaches a course on “Ethics in Artificial Intelligence” at Ben Gurion University. He is also a National Advisor to the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology on Artificial Intelligence Policy and Regulation in Israel.
What do you do when your day job feels empty — but you still need to show up, provide, and stay honest?
In this episode of Shtark Tank, I sit down with my cousin and friend Yoni Schwartz — Head of Data Science at Exponential and Head Producer of Living L’chaim. Yoni shares how he went from a corporate role that felt like “a complete lack of purpose” to leading 10 shows that have inspired and helped countless people. He is also the host of Spirit of the Song podcast, make sure to check it out!
We talk about meaning, ambition, family, and the real-life tradeoffs of building something big on top of a demanding day job.
In this conversation we cover:
What it feels like when work is steady… but meaningless
How Yoni first joined Living L’chaim and how the role grew over time
The ethics of balancing a primary job with major side projects
Startup life vs. corporate life — and what actually changed for him
How he manages two intense roles without a rigid system
The idea of intentionality as a survival tool for busy people
Setting boundaries after COVID blurred everything
Early morning learning as a realistic anchor for fathers with young kids
The impact Living L’chaim aims for — inspiration, mental health, and financial clarity
Cultivating a relationship with your Rebbi
Key takeaway:
You don’t need a perfect system to juggle a lot — but you do need honesty, priorities, and intentional choices you can live with.
If this episode resonated, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a 5-star rating. It helps more Bnei Torah in the workforce find these conversations.
Guest: Yoni Schwartz
Host: Yaakov Wolff
Aliyah isn’t just a flight and a moving truck.
It’s a total reset of how you think about parnassah, gashmiyus, bitachon, and what “quality of life” actually means.
In this episode, I sit down with Eli Freedman, founder of Cork & Cellar Wine Club, to talk about what it really takes to move to Israel and stay – spiritually, emotionally, and financially.
Eli shares how he:
Went from Boston → Wall Street → Montreal → Beit Shemesh
Had zero interest in Aliyah… until COVID, a grandchild in Israel, and a breaking point in Canada
Sold his house and business with no Plan B so he couldn’t run back
Went through the “Eretz Yisrael car wash” – a painful but powerful reset of his gashmiyus and bitachon
Rebuilt his career from scratch, launching Cork & Cellar, a boutique Israeli wine club for U.S. customers
Found a real rav and kehillah after years of feeling disconnected
Built a serious morning learning seder and finished Shas multiple times while running a business
We also talk about:
Why you must come with a realistic parnassah plan – and still expect it to break
The mindset shift from “keeping up with the Joneses” to “being happy with less but living with more”
How living in Eretz Yisrael forces you to actually use your emunah and bitachon, not just talk about them
The balance between enjoying good wine and not turning gashmiyus into your ikar
About our guest:
Eli Freedman is the founder of Cork & Cellar Wine Club, connecting small Israeli wineries with wine lovers in the U.S., and helping boutique winemakers who would never make it to American shelves. He lives in Beit Shemesh with his family.
Check out https://www.corkandcellar.net/club
If this episode gave you chizuk or clarity about Aliyah and mindset,
please follow Shtark Tank, leave a rating, and share it with a friend who’s thinking about moving to Israel.
Is work a curse, a burden… or a gift from Hashem?
In this solo episode, we go into the Netziv on Parshas Bereishis and pull out five big career ideas for Bnei Torah in the workforce.
If this kind of Torah-first career talk speaks to you, share the episode, leave a comment on Spotify or Apple, or join the Shtark Tank WhatsApp chevra and keep the conversation going.
100th episode. World-class Torah educator. All your burning questions.
To mark our 100th episode, Rav Aryeh Lebowitz joins Shtark Tank for a wide-ranging Q&A on what it really means to be a Ben Torah in the workforce.
We talk about:
“You’re never going to be Rav Schachter… and that’s okay” – setting healthy goals in learning
Gadol biographies, ambition, and why you’re not supposed to be the Chafetz Chaim
How to grow in learning when you’re working full time and raising a family
Stress and guilt: when “I’m not learning enough” is healthy – and when it’s toxic
Who should go into chinuch and rabbanus… and who should not
Aliyah, parnassah, and the real math of teaching in Eretz Yisrael
Minyan, mincha at work, and missing davening for family
Phones, attention spans, and why Rav Aryeh deleted Twitter
It’s a packed, honest conversation with one of the most listened-to Torah teachers in the world – and a fitting way to celebrate 100 episodes of Shtark Tank.
If this episode helped you, the best “100th episode gift” you can give is simple: follow the show, leave a 5-star rating, and share it with one friend who’s trying to balance Torah, work, and family.
As we mark the yahrzeit of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, we’re remembering him through the eyes of two working Bnei Torah who knew him personally — not as a public icon, but as a mentor, a mensch, and a man of deep humility.
Joe Hyams spent his late teens on Rabbi Sacks security team. driving him to events across London and making sure he was safe. From the front seat, he saw the balance between majesty and modesty. “He carried himself with a regal sense of presence — yet he’d be the one holding the door open for you.” Joe describes the long, quiet drives before speeches, the relaxed warmth afterward, and how those moments shaped his own path in Torah, family, and career.
David Frei, a London lawyer and communal leader, became one of Rabbi Sacks’ trusted editors. He saw the scholar behind the sermons — “a brilliant writer and a brilliant orator,” who read a new book every night and took feedback with humility. David recalls those tense early-2000s years and how Rabbi Sacks emerged stronger, turning personal trials into a wider moral voice for faith and reason.
Together, their memories reveal a side of Rabbi Sacks rarely seen — deeply human, endlessly curious, and quietly transformative.
Select Quotes:
“He could speak to you without speaking. His smile was sharp love — piercing, serious, and full of warmth all at once.”
“He showed that Torah, integrity, and professional success aren’t separate worlds — they can and should live together.”
Last week’s episode hit a nerve.
Some listeners loved it. Others were really bothered by it.
So for the first time ever, we’re doing a feedback episode — bringing back Rav Yehuda Halpert to go deeper on the toughest questions you raised.
Is the culture of Big Law really compatible with Torah values?
What does it take to survive — or grow — spiritually in that world?
And how do we weigh ambition, family, and avodas Hashem when the hours never end?
In this follow-up:
Years 1–3: the “conveyor belt” and why control is limited
When to pivot — and how to choose a practice that protects Shabbos
The billable-hour trap and what it does to your mind
Can you ever “limit your hours” and still advance?
Real talk on money, promotions, and gam zu l’tovah
Shabbos at the firm: teamwork, gratitude, and derech eretz
Marbitz Torah without a title — from shiurim to writing
Harsh listener feedback: “For what are these costs worth paying?”
Hashkafic tension: excellence vs. moderation
Marriage, parenting, and faith when energy and time are scarce
If you appreciate these kinds of raw, honest conversations, follow Shtark Tank and leave a 5-star review — it helps others find the show and keeps these dialogues going.
You don’t have to love your job—but you can’t hate it.
Rabbi Yehuda Halpert (shul rabbi, Big Law attorney, author) joins Shtark Tank to talk straight about Torah life inside a 90-hour week, setting real standards, and why reassessing is different than slipping.
What You'll Hear
How a Ben Torah can thrive in Big Law without losing the plot
“Slipping vs. reassessing” — setting honest standards after yeshiva
The Mincha hack that anchors your day (and your network)
Peer pressure at the office: values, money, and role models
Balancing a Shabbos-only pulpit with a full-time firm role
Lessons from COVID that helped after Oct 7
Career calling vs. community calling: picking your tafkid
Guest Bio
Rabbi Yehuda Halpert — shul rabbi in Teaneck, Big Law lawyer, and author of Speaking to an Empty Shul: Timeless Lessons from Unprecedented Times.
Quick Takeaways
Build a system that works with your schedule
Guard your company — work with good people
Use Mincha as a daily reset and natural networking moment
Review your standards every 6–12 months; adjust with intent
Did you enjoy this episode?
Follow Shtark Tank on Spotify and rate the show (it really helps).
Share this episode with a friend
Join the Shtark Tank WhatsApp group for episode drops and Q&A (link in show notes).
With tremendous historical events unfolding, I couldn’t record a regular episode.
This moment demanded more than another interview, it called for guidance and clarity.
What does this new chapter in our history mean?
What is our role right now?
How do we balance the whirlwind of emotions — gratitude, pain, pride, and confusion — that we’re all feeling?
I was grateful that Rav Moshe Taragin agreed to join me once again to help unpack these questions.
There’s truly no one who combines such deep Torah knowledge with historical awareness and a living connection to Am Yisrael.
Together, we explore how to:
Hold joy and grief at the same time
Express real hakaras hatov — to Hashem, to soldiers, to each other
See the hand of Hashem in political and military reality
Understand what this nes demands of us
A special, timely conversation for anyone trying to make sense of this historic moment.
Click Here to order Rav Taragins book 'Dark Clouds Above, Faith Below' about the events of October 7th and the ensuing war.
As we prepare for Yom Kippur, we speak with Joseph Gitler about his son-in-law, David Schwartz HY”D—a ben Torah, law student, and IDF reservist in Handasah Kravit (combat engineering) who fell in Khan Younis on January 8, 2024 alongside his chavrusa Yakir Hexter HY”D.
Joseph shares how David wove together strong learning with real-world duty, his years in Gush Etzion, his time at Reichman University law school, his gift for connecting across communities, and what it means to mourn while still choosing life and responsibility. We also hear about ongoing projects in David’s memory and the weekly Divrei Torah initiative that now reaches thousands.
Links
Highlights
Ben Torah in the world: David’s learning (Kli Yakar chavrusas, steady seder) and his drive to serve—both in the IDF and potentially in public service.
Bridging worlds: Deep ties across communities (yeshiva, Chassidus, secular campus). Seeking dialogue without blurring values.
Reichman law school: Culture shock, principled debate during the judicial protests, and the value of hearing people who think differently.
Army service: Training, multiple rotations in Gaza with Tzanhanim commandos; pride in the unit’s work despite the dangers.
January 8, 2024: The incident in Khan Younis; community and family response; what shiva looked like for parents of the almanah.
National resilience: “The whole country has PTSD.” Practical takeaways: watch your friends and kids; speak up when you see someone struggling; get help involved.
Living memory: A sefer of David’s Torah (written in yeshiva), a growing weekly parsha sheet in Hebrew and English, shul/Beit Midrash renovations, and a loans fund for farmers and soldiers—projects that carry his light forward.
During Elul last year, we had one of our most powerful episodes. We spoke with Rav Moshe Taragin about Teshuva, spiritual growth and the Yamim Noraim experience.
Whether or not you listened the first time around, its worthwhile to revisit as we prepare for the Yamim Noraim.
How do we define success as Bnei Torah in the workforce?
I asked Rav Dovid Lichtenstein, who is a talmid chochom and real estate executive. We spoke about defining success in learning, at work, and in our relationship with technology.
Rav Dovid's ideas are firmly grounded in Torah sources, but are also extremely practical.
Moshe Chaim started out as a successful Kollel yungerman. But soon after he transitioned to the workforce, he found himself in a therapists office, as his professional struggles had already started to spill over in to his marriage, emotional health, and other areas.
This true story (with names changed) is the case study that Rabbi Dr. Yosef Sokol uses to introduce his book 'Becoming Godly'. The book combines Machshava from the Ramchal and others, along with psycholgy, to give a framework for religous growth.
We spoke about having a healthy relationship with the past, as a neccesssary condition for building a better future. We also spoke about finding meaning at work, the role of labels, and some practical tips ahead of the Yamim Noraim.
Please help us grow the show by leaving a 5-star review and hitting the subscribe button. Thanks!
Guest Bio
Rabbi Dr. Yosef Sokol (credentials) is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor at Touro University, and VA research scientist specializing in suicide prevention and recovery. He developed Continuous Identity Cognitive Therapy (CI-CT), an innovative approach that supports healing and recovery from suicide attempts and ideation. He has numerous peer reviewed publications and leads major research grants from the VA and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Sokol earned his PhD from Hofstra University, received semichah from Yeshivas Bais Yosef Novardok, and is the author of Becoming Godly: Integrating Torah and Psychology to Guide Us in Emulating Hashem. He is dedicated to bringing recovery-oriented, identity-focused approaches to healing individuals struggling with suicide.
It’s Elul, a time to prepare for the Yamim Noraim with the theme of Defining Success.
When we take stock of our lives with a cheshbon hanefesh, we’re really asking: Where am I now—and where should I be?
That’s the core question of this series: how to define success as a Ben Torah in the workplace. Many of our rabbeim push us toward ambitious goals in learning, but how do we balance those ideals with the blessed responsibilities of work, family, and community?
This week’s guest is Rav Simi Lerner. Rav Simi is an educator in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a passionate Hirschian thinker, and—on the side—an electrician in Beit Shemesh. We discuss how Rav Hirsch’s idea of Torah im Derech Eretz and other foundational principles can help us shape a grounded, realistic, and meaningful definition of success.
🎧 Before you listen: please take 10 seconds to help us grow by leaving a 5-star review and hitting subscribe. Thank you!
References
It’s Elul, and we’re focusing on Defining Success as Bnei Torah in the workplace. What does real success look like? Is it possible to set goals that are both ambitious and compassionate?
This week, we sit down with Rav Shimon Isaacson, Rosh Yeshiva of Mevaseret. Before entering the world of Torah and chinuch, Rav Isaacson worked in Big Law in New York City. Many assume he left that life to escape its spiritual emptiness — but the truth is much more surprising.
Summary
In this episode, I sat down with Rav Shimon Isaacson, Rosh Yeshiva of Mevaseret, to trace his remarkable journey from Big Law associate to respected mechanech and community leader in Israel. Rav Isaacson shares how his wife’s passion for Aliyah shaped their family’s path, how he balanced intense Torah learning with a demanding legal career, and how an unusual arrangement of “lawyer in the summer, learner in the year” gave him the springboard into full-time chinuch.
The conversation dives into big life questions: What makes for a successful decision-making process? How can a Ben Torah thrive in the workforce? What does passion in Avodas Hashem look like? Rav Isaacson also reflects on 30 years of Aliyah, the role of rebbeim as life guides, the value of combining Torah greatness with real-world experience, and how yeshiva can prepare talmidim for decades of growth ahead.
This is the third and final week of our Summer Listening Series, where I share some of the podcasts I enjoy on my commute. Next week, we’ll be back with a brand new episode—stay tuned.
This week’s pick is from Shu"t First, Ask Questions Later, hosted by Rabbi Moshe Kurtz. This podcast truly takes advantage of the medium—bringing together voices from across the Jewish world to learn Torah in conversation.
The featured episode is especially relevant to Shtark Tank listeners, as Rabbi Kurtz is joined by Mr. Gedalia Wielgus, a lawyer and talmid chacham, for a thought-provoking discussion about a wild case of Yibum.
Check out Shtarktank.org for exclusive written articles!
While we’re on our bein hazmanim break and gearing up for some exciting episodes in Elul, I wanted to share a podcast I’ve been enjoying on my commute.
This week’s recommendation is a thought-provoking episode of the Iyun Podcast, hosted by Rabbi Ari Koretsky — in my opinion, one of the best podcast hosts out there. Each episode takes a deep, nuanced look at issues like the Charedi draft and other pressing topics.
In this episode, Does the Torah Protect?, Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Lifshitz offers a fresh and engaging perspective. The conversation ties closely to themes we explore on Shtark Tank, especially the relationship between the Beis Midrash and the outside world.
Give it a listen — I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
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Over this Bein Hazmanim, I will be sharing some of the the podcasts which I have been listening to lately. This is from the Shtark Tank archives, one of our very early episodes, with Marc Lesnick.
In 2004, Rav Ari Katz moved with his family to Gush Katif, to serve as Rosh Yeshiva of a local high school. Just over a year later, soldiers knocked on his door and told him to leave.
In this 9 Days special episode, Rav Katz shares:
What drew him to Gush Katif despite knowing the threats
The beauty, unity, and spiritual strength of the community
His firsthand account of the expulsion—including “the longest day of his life”
How he and his community coped with the trauma, picked themselves up, and started again
Why he believes October 7th began in the summer of 2005
Modern Day Churban?
As we approach Tisha B’Av, the day we mourn our exiles and national losses, this story feels especially relevant. Because Gush Katif was not ancient history—its a kind of modern Churban, including the destruction of entire communities, shuls and schools.
And yet, its a very complicated story. The 'disengagement' was the product of a Jewish government, and a Jewish army comprised of Jewish soldiers. The residents were not sent in to actual exile, they moved in to other parts of a flourishing and successful State of Israel. Rav Katz doesn't shy away from these complexities.
Pain and Hope
We spoke about pain and trauma, but we also spoke about resilience. After the final Mincha minyan, David Chatuel addressed the community. A year earlier, his preganant wife and all four of his children were murdered by terrorists. He got up and said "When tragedy strikes, you can crawl under your blanket—or you can get up and live."
Guest Bio
Rav Ari Katz is the Director of Sderot Hesder Yeshiva
For More
Make sure to sign up for exclusive written content at ShtarkTank.org
For more on the Gush Katif Heritage Center click here
For more on Sderot Hesder Yeshiva click here
Yaakov Ehrenkranz grew up in Memphis, learned in KBY and the Mir, got smicha from YU—and today helps dozens of families navigate the financial realities of life in Israel. In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover his personal journey from the American South to Ramot Beit Shemesh, and his professional journey from options trading to financial advising.
Check out ShtarkTank.org and subscribe for exclucive written content! This week will feature one listeners Aliyah journey.
We talk about:
Why real estate is the #1 financial challenge facing Olim
What Americans get wrong about “affording Aliyah”
How Israeli society creates more meaning—and more happiness
The role of values in long-term financial planning
Balancing money and shalom bayis
And much more—including lessons from Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine zt"l, the economics professor and Talmid Chacham who shaped his thinking early on.