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.”

