22 | DECEMBER 24 • 2020 

R

abbi Yoni Dahlen of 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
has gone viral on the social 
media platform TikTok for a video 
in which he shows how to light a 
chanukiah. The video had nearly 
100,000 views as of press time.
Using the username “Motor City 
Rabbi” on the popular video plat-
form, Dahlen uses the service to 
teach Jewish rituals to the general 
public. Other videos of Dahlen’s on 
the platform include a tutorial of 
how to put one’s mezuzah up, how 
to put a tallit on, how to wrap tefil-
lin on the arm and put tefillin shel 
rosh on the head, and how to light 
Shabbat candles.
Dahlen also has a SoundCloud 
account, which primarily consists 
of prayers and songs recorded by 
Dahlen, and a YouTube account, 
which consists of similar TikTok 
content and a long-form Jewish 
interview series called “3 Opinions”
.
Dahlen’s rabbinical social media 
journey began with him trying to 
work on the idea of “empowerment” 
since the pandemic started, of get-
ting people to own and feel com-
fortable with their Judaism through 
Jewish rituals. 
“I think there’s an unfair pressure 
in Judaism that basically assumes 
everyone should know how to do 
everything,
” Dahlen said. “So, one 
of the things I’ve been working on 
is this idea of ‘how-to’ Judaism in 
a judgment-free setting, and really 
encouraging people to ask ques-
tions.
”
Dahlen began with the idea 
of “How 2 Jew” — a video series 
explaining Jewish rituals and educa-
tion in “2” minutes or less. 
When Dahlen started to spread 
to other platforms such as TikTok 
and Instagram, he was then limited 
to one minute for the videos. That 
didn’t stop Dahlen; he just had to 
adapt creatively, something he had 
already done because of the pan-
demic. 

Dahlen has been shocked at the 
viewership the video has gotten 
since uploading it. He usually gets 
40-50 views when putting the vid-
eos in weekly emails to the congre-
gation and maybe 100-200 views 
when posting them on Facebook. 
When Dahlen started posting on 
TikTok, he became amazed at how 
the algorithm worked, with way 
more people watching and those 
viewers being “genuinely interested,
” 
the rabbi said.
“What’s more amazing to me 
than the 100k views is the incredible 
amount of positive, kind comments, 
especially from a lot of non-Jews 
who say, ‘This is so great. I’ve always 
wanted to know this … This helps 
me with talking with my Jewish 
friends and I feel like I’m a little 
more educated now,
’” Dahlen said. 
Dahlen believes social media is 
a great tool to promote Judaism 
among younger generations, who 
may not seek out answers otherwise. 
“I don’t think there’s enough data 
yet to see if it actually creates mem-
bership engagement or increased 
membership or anything like that, 
but it’s definitely something to at 
least get information out,
” Dahlen 
said. 
“That’s my primary goal right 
now, to let people who otherwise 
might be too afraid or embarrassed 
to ask or not sure what to do, to 
have those resources without feeling 
any kind of judgment or insecurity 
or anything like that.
” 
Dahlen intends to continue these 
videos after the pandemic is over 
and is more than willing to make 
a video about any Jewish ritual or 
topic people are interested in learn-
ing about. 
 “I was trying to do it even before 
the pandemic started,
” Dahlen said. 
“But now, the pandemic has made 
me really home in on what’s work-
ing and what’s effective, and I think 
that’s helpful and something I know 
we can carry forward.
” 

The video has been viewed 
nearly 100,000 times. 

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Local Rabbi 
Goes Viral 
on TikTok

IN 
THED
JEWS

SCREENSHOT

