Page de couverture de The Frieda Vizel Podcast

The Frieda Vizel Podcast

The Frieda Vizel Podcast

Auteur(s): Frieda Vizel
Écouter gratuitement

À propos de cet audio

 Welcome to in-depth conversations on Hasidism, Judaism, NYC, culture, education, religion and more!

This podcast is hosted by popular Youtuber Frieda Vizel, who has been studying the Hasidic community for more than ten years.

This is the podcast version of the video conversations which are also published on Youtube. Please reach out with feedback.

Here's the youtube channel if you prefer to see the host and guests! :)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.Frieda Vizel Judaïsme Science Sciences sociales Spiritualité
Épisodes
  • From Berlin to Satmar Williamsburg | 95 year old Nelly Grussgott

    From Berlin to Satmar Williamsburg | 95 year old Nelly Grussgott
    Sep 21 2025
    Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/IdA3uHWGEtg

    In today’s video, I’m honored to share with you the remarkable story of Nelly Grussgott. This footage was originally filmed on August 12, 2020—long before I had a YouTube channel. It was part of a project by filmmaker Pearl Gluck, conducted for a documentary she was making with scholar Naomi Seidman about the Bais Yaakov girls' school movement. Naomi invited me to assist with the interview, and I was there in the room when it was recorded.

    From the moment I met Nelly, I was completely taken by her. Her life story is one of immense pain and breathtaking resilience—a testimony to survival, transformation, and spirit. Just days after the interview, Nelly made Aliya—she moved to Israel—at the age of 90. We stayed in touch, and I even interviewed her again via Zoom for this channel. But this original interview, which has always felt so precious to me, was never publicly shared until now. With the blessing of Pearl and Naomi, I’ve edited it down and am releasing it here to preserve her memory and her voice for posterity.

    As of today, Nelly Grussgott is 95 years old—bless her soul, may she live to 120.
    Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1930, Nelly witnessed Kristallnacht as a young child. Her early childhood was comfortable—charmed, even—growing up as an only child in a pampered, middle-class Orthodox Jewish home. Her parents were not German-born: her mother, from Czechoslovakia, moved to Berlin at 24 and became successful in the rags/textile business. Her father was Hungarian, and both were deeply religious. Due to the hostility towards Orthodox Jews in Berlin, they adapted to a modern Orthodox lifestyle.
    In 1937, Nelly’s father went to the United States to secure affidavits to bring his family to safety. He succeeded—but history intervened cruelly. While her father was still away, Nelly and her mother were forced out of their home and into an overcrowded apartment with five other Jewish families. One night, Nazi soldiers raided the apartment and took the men at gunpoint. Days later, ashes were returned to their wives in the mail.

    In a desperate move, Nelly’s father returned to Europe in 1938—traveling to Belgium to reunite the family. It proved to be a devastating mistake. Nelly and her mother, Czechoslovakian citizens, were able to emigrate to the U.S. at the very last moment, getting papers as I understand it in late 1939 but actually coming "in the last hour" in Frebruary 1940. But because her father was Hungarian, and the Hungarian quota was closed, he remained trapped in Europe. His letters continued for several years, growing more despondent until, in 1942, they stopped entirely.

    In 1995, the Red Cross confirmed the fate the family had long feared: Nelly’s father was deported to Majdanek, then to Sobibor in March 1943, where he was murdered, along with many relatives.

    Nelly’s mother eventually remarried in America, joining with a Satmar Hasid who had also survived great loss. She thrived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—especially enjoying her later years on Lee Avenue, surrounded by familiar faces and warm greetings. Nelly herself chose a different path, remaining Orthodox but not Hasidic, and went on to raise a mainstream Orthodox family.

    I’m deeply grateful to finally bring this interview to light. May Nelly’s story reach far and wide—and may we never forget.


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    42 min
  • Hasidic women fight to form a female EMS | Paula Eiselt

    Hasidic women fight to form a female EMS | Paula Eiselt
    Sep 14 2025
    Link to video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/QWLnKjrpcuA

    Join me for a fascinating conversation with documentary filmmaker Paula Eiselt, the Emmy-nominated, Peabody- and DuPont-Columbia award-winning director behind 93 Queen, Aftershock, and Under God.

    In this interview, we dive into her groundbreaking film 93 Queen, which tells the story of Hasidic women in Boro Park who founded their own all-female EMS service. In a community where Hatzalah, the all-male emergency response team, is seen as the crown jewel, this move sparked intense debate and resistance. Paula’s film goes far beyond the surface narrative of women breaking barriers—it offers an intimate, nuanced portrait of Hasidic women’s lives, struggles, and determination.

    We also talk about Paula’s creative journey, her upcoming film We Met at Grossinger’s (premiering in late 2025), and what it means to tell stories that sit at the intersection of tradition, change, and human complexity.

    📌 Explore further:
    Watch 93 Queen: https://amzn.to/45G6PgU
    Paula’s website: https://www.paulaeiselt.com/
    Paula on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pizelt/

    📌 Stay connected with me:
    YouTube: @FriedaVizel
    Instagram: instagram.com/friedavizel
    Twitter: twitter.com/FriedaVizel
    Website: friedavizel.com

    📌 Other videos you might be interested in:
    The Aguna Crisis: https://youtu.be/_H1hjrS2MLo
    She's blind in the Orthodox community: https://youtu.be/28lP8j8swA0
    Why I left Hasidic Education Activism: https://youtu.be/IRTvj1_4_14
    A non-Jewish teacher's testimony of teaching Hasidic boys: https://youtu.be/lR7UL9b_xNU


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    55 min
  • Are both sides condemned to kill each other forever? | Rabbi Mayer Schiller

    Are both sides condemned to kill each other forever? | Rabbi Mayer Schiller
    Sep 7 2025
    Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/WSYIhDbY0VY

    In this conversation, I speak with Rabbi Mayer Schiller, a Hasidic Jew based in Monsey, New York, known for his deep knowledge of the Hasidic community and his rare combination of freethinking, humanist, and unflinchingly critical views. We touched on big themes like Zionism, sectarian divides, and other hot-button topics.

    Outro Music selected by Rabbi Schiller Agudah Achas (feat. Yoel Blum)
    https://youtu.be/u6TuUxzx8ek?si=GKkJDKlpgD1t5cWo
    It's the verse ״ויעשו כולם אגודה אחת לעשות רצונך בלבב שלם from the High Holiday prayers. It's translated as "And they all formed one union to do your will with a whole heart." Very apt to my conversation with Rabbi Mayer Schiller!

    Join this channel to get early access to videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD2OaOinKRQMK4dclGOw4QA/join

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    1 h et 28 min
Pas encore de commentaire