Do Jews Believe in Souls? Ari Shaffir’s Crisis of Faith

Soul Boom

Rainn Wilson

Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.8 • 610 Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Comedian Ari Shaffir (America's Sweetheart, JEW) joins Rainn Wilson for an unfiltered conversation about faith, comedy, and mental health. Known for his no-holds-barred stand-up, Ari shares his journey from being an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva student to an outspoken atheist. They dive into his personal battle with depression, how psychedelics shifted his perspective on existence, and why he believes the concept of a soul is a mystery. Plus, Rainn and Ari debate whether religion is a force for good—or just another human-made construct. Ari hosts The Skeptic Tank podcast and his latest Netflix special America’s Sweetheart tackles taboo topics with his signature irreverence, following up his previous special YouTube special 'JEW,' which explored his Orthodox upbringing and departure from faith. Thank you to our sponsors! Calm (40% OFF a Premium Subscription!): https://calm.com/soulboom MERCH OUT NOW! https://soulboomstore.myshopify.com/ God-Shaped Hole Mug: https://bit.ly/GodShapedHoleMug Sign up for our newsletter! https://soulboom.substack.com SUBSCRIBE to Soul Boom!! https://bit.ly/Subscribe2SoulBoom Watch our Clips: https://bit.ly/SoulBoomCLIPS Watch WISDOM DUMP: https://bit.ly/WISDOMDUMP Follow us! Instagram: http://instagram.com/soulboom TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@soulboom Sponsor Soul Boom: [email protected] Work with Soul Boom: [email protected] Send Fan Creations, Questions, Comments: [email protected] Produced by: Kartik Chainani Executive Produced by: Ford Bowers, Samah Tokmachi Companion Arts Production Supervisor: Mike O'Brien Voicing Change Media Theme Music by: Marcos Moscat

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Soul Boo.
0:04.0	It's nothing.
0:05.0	There is no soul.
0:07.0	But that's the only part of you that keeps you alive.
0:10.0	You can bring a car back to life, but you can't bring a body back.
0:15.0	What is that thing that makes an actual life?
0:20.0	Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
0:21.6	I don't know.
0:22.6	It's a good question.
0:24.6	You're not sounding very atheistic right now.
0:26.6	It's not atheism.
0:28.6	I want to make a new word.
0:31.6	Maybe you can help.
0:32.6	Okay.
0:33.6	Your dad is a Holocaust survivor, as is your grandfather.
0:40.8	I was looking back at a thousands-year-old religion,
0:43.4	and then it was like, oh, maybe I don't believe in any of this.
0:46.8	That religious aria is way gone. Hey there, it's me, Rain Wilson, and I want to dig into the human experience.
0:58.8	I want to have conversations about a spiritual revolution.
1:02.2	Let's get deep with our favorite thinkers, friends, and entertainers about life, meaning, and idiocy.
1:09.2	Welcome to the Soul Boom podcast.
1:16.8	Explain the shirt here.
	...

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