MARCH 31 • 2022 | 29

by setting the record straight.
Many of their videos just put a
Jewish spin on viral TikTok dances and
memes. For example, they remade the
famous Island Boys video substituting
the lyrics with “I’m a Menorah Boy.
”
Like other popular Jewish TikTok
users, @JewCrazy has had Jewish- and
Israel-related videos censored on the
app and has even been banned for
several weeks. The pair does not do
anything more obscene or offensive
than many other accounts on TikTok,
but they have been targeted for their
Jewish content.

THE JEWISH HOME
(@REALMELINDASTRAUSS2.0)
Despite being kicked off the TikTok
platform several times for no apparent
reason, Melinda Strauss continues to
build her following by offering prac-
tical Jewish advice. As her website
explains, “Melinda Strauss rose to fame
with her Kosher Food Blog … Over
the years, she has become a health
coach, podcaster, influencer, confer-
ence organizer, business coach and
amassed an impressive TikTok follow-
ing where she shares the nuances of life as
an Orthodox Jew.
”
Her TikTok channel is essentially
answering viewers’ questions about all
things Jewish. In recent videos, Strauss has
discussed how Jews repent, how to get the
home ready for Shabbat and what Type 1
diabetics should do on a fast day.
She’s dispelled the myth that kosher food
is healthier, shown how to find kosher food
at a farmer’s market and, of course, how to
braid a challah. One of her most popular
videos is showing her son, who has diabe-
tes, putting on tefillin after his bar mitzvah
(a proud Mom moment).

TALMUD TIKTOK
(@MIRIAMANZOVIN)
Miriam Anzovin has been spreading
Talmudic teachings to the world thanks
to her popular TikTok account. Anzovin
began the new cycle of Daf Yomi before the
COVID pandemic started in January 2020,
and she’s amassed a whole following of stu-
dents who start their day with her TikTok
channel. She opens each video with her

motto, “Shalom, Friends!”
Anzovin is certainly not what most peo-
ple think of when they think of a Talmud
scholar, but her modern, creative way of
teaching the daily page of Talmud (known
as Daf Yomi) has caught on and helped a
whole new generation of Talmud students
fall in love with the ancient Jewish learning
process.
Anzovin’s approach is to bring the some-
times bizarre stories of the Talmud to life by
adapting them to 21st-century language,
full of analogies and references to pop
culture. The way she makes the ancient
Talmud (written in Aramaic) accessible
to the modern student is akin to retelling
Shakespeare as a high school love drama set
in the current period.

JEWISH JOKES
(@SALVADORLITVAK)
There’s a certain skill involved in telling
Jewish jokes well. Salvador Litvak has that
skill. The Chilean-born filmmaker and
social media influencer in his mid-50s has a
wonderful cadence to telling age-old Jewish

jokes. Known as the Accidental
Talmudist, Litvak has close to
40,000 followers and a quarter of a
million likes.
While some of the 72 greatest
jokes of all time that he tells will
undoubtedly be familiar to most,
you’ll still chuckle with Litvak’s
delivery. He often makes him-
self laugh after telling the joke. A
longtime Jewish educator, Litvak
peppers some Jewish teachings into
each video, often explaining Jewish
concepts that non-Jewish viewers
might find confusing.

CHALLAH TIME
(@CHALLAHPRINCE)
Baking and braiding challah
became a very popular activity
during the COVID pandemic. In
fact, at the beginning of the quar-
antine period, it became impos-
sible to buy yeast at the grocery
store because everyone seemed to
be staying home and baking.
Idan Chabasov has taken the
lead as the most popular challah
baking artist of TikTok. His tens
of thousands of followers learn to bake the
most creative challah breads and rolls by
watching his TikTok channel. A Sephardic
Jew with roots in Turkey and Uzbekistan,
Chabasov says that he didn’t grow up
watching his mother braid challah dough.
He considers himself an artist who didn’t
have much of a connection to Judaism.
That was until he was in Germany and
was seeking out Shabbat dinners. As a
guest at these meals, he began baking
challah and, then during the COVID lock-
down, he would watch YouTube videos
for challah-braiding tricks. After creating
an Instagram account to show off his
heart-shaped challah creations, Chabasov
discovered how many others were equally
passionate about new ways to shape tra-
ditional bread. His artistic challah baking
creations have provided him with a huge
global following and brought him closer to
his Jewish roots.

Rabbi Jason Miller is a local educator and entrepre-

neur. He is the president of Access Technology in West

Bloomfield. He also officiates bar and bat mitzvahs

around the country (mitzvahrabbi.com).

Talmud

“THE APP HAS GIVEN RISE
TO A NEW CROP OF JEWISH
PERSONALITIES WHO ARE
PROFITING FROM CREATING
POPULAR CONTENT FOR THE
JEWISH COMMUNITY.”