In a world desperate for spiritual content, Torah teachers are bringing those messages to the masses with a camera and a click

Rabbi Tovia Singer has over 100,000 subscribers who want hear how he helps Jews get out of the church and return to their Jewish faith. Rav Gav Friedman, who gives shiurim that get recorded and uploaded by others, says that “you don’t know where they’ll end up, but Hashem’s in charge.” Rabbi Uri Lati’s shiurim in Arabic reach sheikhs and imams in mosques across the Middle East. In Israel, where it’s become cool to be traditional, Sivan Rahav Meir’s channel is the first stop in Jewish identity.

In a world desperate for spiritual content, Torah teachers are bringing those messages to the masses with a camera and a click

Rav Gav Friedman

“I look at it like ‘Shelach lachmecha al pnei hamayim — Cast your bread upon the waters’”

Rabbi Gavriel Friedman, a.k.a. Rav Gav, grew up in New York and has spent the last two decades studying and teaching in various yeshivos throughout Jerusalem. He’s currently teaching at Aish HaTorah Jerusalem, and never fails to entertain, even as he lectures on Judaism, relationships, and growing through life in the best way.

When it all began

I didn’t actually ever start posting, because I don’t actually post anything besides my Daf Yomi shiur, which I teach and send out. Otherwise, I give shiurim that get recorded and uploaded by other people, via TorahAnytime, the Rosh Chodesh Project, and others. I don’t use social media, other than WhatsApp for my shiurim, and actually, I’m pretty against using it. But yes, a lot of my classes are out there in the big wide world, online.

How often I’m on

Daf Yomi is daily, but I don’t really know how often the rest gets posted.

My niche

Daf Yomi, hashkafah, daily mussar, and my classes in Aish HaTorah. Most of these are classes of about 45 minutes to an hour, but there are also the Daily Dose type of clips, which are just five minutes long.

My core audience

No clue. I would assume it’s mostly Jewish. I look at it like “Shelach lachmecha al pnei hamayim — Cast your bread upon the waters.” You don’t know where it will end up, but Hashem’s in charge.

The feedback I get

I was walking along Central Avenue in the Five Towns when a lady pushing her stroller with a phone propped in front of her did a double-take. She was watching my class on her phone and not expecting to see me in front of her.

The Rosh Chodesh project, which runs monthly videos in 400 schools, has generated tremendous feedback. Bochurim and young adults come over to me giving me the four-fingered Hearts-for-Hashem sign. Even rebbis and morahs have told me that the messages have changed their Shemoneh Esreh davening.

My followers

I was taken aback when Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein a”h greeted me with, “How are you, Rebbi?”

“Why are you saying that to me?” I asked.

“Because you’re Daf Yomi rebbi.”

I couldn’t believe it. I felt like, “Yeah, right.”

Then he said, “Beep. Turn the page.”

If you’re old enough to remember, that’s what the taped audio books used to say when you were reading a book along with the tape. And that’s what I say at the end of every single daf. I was shocked. Rabbi Wallerstein listening to my Daf shiur was completely unexpected.