Shalom, Kavarim, Banot, and welcome to another very special episode of the world's number one Jewish podcast.

I have to ask for a small favor.

As an independent show, we don't have a massive marketing machine behind us.

Our growth is purely organic, fueled by dedicated viewers and listeners like you.

So if you would be so kind, please take 30 seconds,

head over to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, find this show, and leave me a five-star rating and a short

written review. I love seeing all of your thoughtful and generous feedback. Some of it has even

made it onto the show and may again. And as of this recording,

we are just eight ratings away from hitting 500 on Apple. Crossing that threshold would be a huge

milestone for us. It's a small mitzv on your part, but it really is the fuel that allows us to

keep these amazing conversations going. So thank you in advance. Unless you don't leave

a rating, in which case you're a butt head. Most of the time when I do these, I offer

you some conclusion I've drawn or an observation I've made for you to consider. Today, I come

to you with a question. Is there such a thing as too much freedom? Let's back up. I recently had the unique

opportunity to visit Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, which for those of you who have never

heard that combination of sounds before, is the name of a country, west of the Caspian Sea,

east of Turkey and Georgia, north of Iran, south of Russia,

and the world's only country to border them both.

It sits on the axis of old and new, east and west, which is one of the most defining features of its culture.

After a tumultuous history being tossed around by the Persians, Turks, and Russians,

Azerbaijan has been independent since the fall of the USSR in 91. So the modern version is really only like 35 years old.

And blessed with plenty of oil and gas, it is both young and rich. So Baku really has a new money kind of vibe.

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