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

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: partnerships@voicingchange.media Work with Soul Boom: business@soulboom.com Send Fan Creations, Questions, Comments: hello@soulboom.com 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

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Soul Boom is a series of intimate conversations hosted by Rainn Wilson exploring meaningful and inspiring topics that tickle the mind, heart and soul. Never too precious, yet unafraid to touch on the profound, Soul Boom digs into the core of the human experience: creativity, spirituality and psychology. Bringing to the conversation some of the most brilliant and heart-felt artists, thinkers and doers, Soul Boom guides the listener toward transformation on both a personal and societal level. Also, laughs.