Max Weinstein

I am an Ashkenazi Jew, my mother is Polish/Russian/Austrian/Ukranian and my father is Russian/Ukrainian.  My grandmother's grandfather was a rabbi in Mariupol (in Ukraine).  Both sides of my family emigrated to America to escape the pogroms.  I was raised in a Conservative Jewish household, I was bar-mitzvahed, was involved with BBYO and went on Birthright Israel.  My family is now becoming more Reform but I have become increasingly more religious.  I went to Camp Nageela in the Catskills, an Orthodox camp, for 10 years.  I'm involved with Hillel on campus and also JLA out of Boro Park.

There's an interesting story whereby my family was saved by the Japanese Empire.  My grandmother's mother was a child, on a train in Russia during the war and a Russian soldier discovered that she was Jewish and wanted to kill her.  A Japanese soldier, also on the train, realized what was going on and threatened to kill the train conductor if they would throw the child off the train.

"But this is a Jew," said the Russian soldier, as if to say, "there is nothing wrong with killing her."

The Japanese soldier said, "but that's a kid."

My grandmother's mother's life was spared.  I wouldn't have existed were it not for that Japanese soldier.

I heard about The Podcast Fellowship through Shea Tabi of Boro Park.  I met him when I was going to LIU Brooklyn before I transferred colleges.  He has an organization called JLA, and he was in the know about TPF, which educates Jews on a weekly basis about miscellaneous topics.  I was interested in studying more Torah, and it's kinda cool to be tossed $15 here and there, so that was very rewarding.

My reaction to the $15 was, "Holy cow, that's awesome!"  I was shocked to be in such a situation and I thought, "there's nobody who does it like the Jews, who really encourage education."   That spoke to me deeply.

As a college student it's very very exciting to hear that you're going to get money.  I would be lying if I said that wasn't (my) motivation.

I would have loved to do The Podcast Fellowship without the $15, but (with the stipend) I'm much more likely to stick to it.  Meaning, I imagine I would have done it once or twice in good faith.  Money is a good reoccurring pull.  With my family being Reform, there's no pressure for me to learn Torah and I have a very busy college schedule.  But it's very nice to know that the Jewish community is so enthusiastic about me learning personally that this is what they offer me.

My mentor is Rabbi Yossi Korngold (Director of IGNITE Outreach of Long Island).  I think he's a PHENOMENAL rabbi.  PHENOMENAL. Even though I was offered 15 bucks, I was a little nervous at first.  I didn't know what the subject matter would be.  After listening to the podcasts, I realized that they're very entertaining.  They're a very diverse set of topics.

But even then, listening to someone on a podcast is very different than having someone very educated and friendly break these things down in a way that's very user-friendly.  Rabbi Korngold helps me understand these podcasts in a much more thorough manner.  He's very compelling.  He's a very good speaker.  Even if you didn't understand what he was saying you'd be interested in what he was saying just because of his energy.  He's such a well-presented individual.  I've had the privilege of meeting with him a ton, and every single time he's very warm, very welcoming, very endearing and personable.  That promotes a very safe, welcoming and warm environment for someone who may be less familiar with Jewish studies.

Overall, an 11 out of 10; just a really well-done process.

I don't have a personal favorite podcast; I think they're all very different.  But I will say that it's cool that you guys have Nissim Black on a podcast.  That's a very innovative and cool pull for people who are less familiar with traditional Torah study.

Again, more than the podcasts themselves, the big highlight for me is the discussion with Rabbi Yossi.  I listen to a lot of podcasts that aren't Jewish.  It's very different when I don't have someone to discuss the topics with.  It doesn't matter how passionate and interesting the podcaster is, it's very different to engage in a full-throttle conversation.

In multiple ways.  For starters, it's hearing different perspectives.  It's like a personalized speaker presentation from my own bedroom.  I've learned so much in such a short time period.  I see the lessons that I'm taught in the podcast daily if I actively seek them out.  Especially the ideas of mysticism and that holy people are able to experience miracles.

And once again, the $15 stipend is a huge part of it.  It shows me how motivated the community of Jews is behind me and support me.  They don't even know me!  But they love me!  And they want me to feel accepted and understood and welcomed, and how do you even put a value to that?  There is such a special bond between the Jewish people and I.  I'm very grateful.

Rabbi Yossi Korngold told me a very interesting quote that changed my life within Judaism.  When I told him I'm not really an observant Jew but I'm interested in keeping a few things, like saying Modeh Ani and Sh'ma and Kiddush on Shabbos, he said,

"OK, those are great things!  Let's say someone found a diamond necklace on the side of the road and took it to pawn shop.  The owners of the pawn shop say, 'The diamonds are real.  The only problem is that there are settings for 75 diamonds and 10 of them are missing.  Do you want us to throw it out?'  You would think to yourself, 'What, are you crazy?  You want to throw out a diamond necklace?  There are 65 diamonds on there, why would you throw it out?'"

Rabbi Yossi equated the diamonds to mitzvot and said that if you do some mitzvot, it's better than none, and each one is like a diamond.  So since I started TPF I say Modeh Ani every morning, I have it written on my wall, in my dorm room, in my mom's house and my dad's house (because my parents are separated).  Same with Sh'ma.  I have a Kiddush cup which I didn't take to the mikveh but did take to the ocean, I occasionally do Kiddush with my yarmulke.  But mainly Modeh Ani and Sh'ma--praying every single day, and it's because of the Fellowship.  I feel very connected to G-d and I think I understand life just a little bit better because of this, overall.  How could you not?

"The Podcast Fellowship opens your eyes to a well, even within the four walls of your room.  One that is not limited to what there is in your room, but to what there is in the world and universe.  Hashem allows you to look, see and feel through these podcasts in a way that someone like myself would not be able to easily access (otherwise).  Each mitzvah is a diamond.  Try to focus on these diamonds to the best of your ability.  Continue to collect and garner their shine."