Hey Jewish People! Keeping it Kosher, Black-Jewish Unity w/ Babka King Chris Caresnone

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Hey, Jewish people.

I remember thinking like, you know, am I going to die over talking about bobka?

We got to get you to a Shabbat.

Next time you're in town, you got to promise me you're coming over for Shabbat.

Love that.

I would rather be alive.

I'd rather you think that I suck and still be alive than not.

I feel like this is the black and white cookie the world needs right now.

Hey, Jewish people.

My guest today is all about putting smiles on people's faces, putting delicious food into his.

He's a rising star in the social media world with half a million followers who all tune in to be a part of the multicultural community he's building through his unique blend of humor, earnestness, and 11 secret herbs and spices.

He is the epitome of an ally who not only lifts up other communities, but stands up for them too, especially ours in this difficult time when fellowship means so much.

Started from the Bobka, now he's here.

Please welcome the Bobka king himself, Chris Cares.

What's up, brother?

A hell of an intro.

Thank you.

You know, I try.

I I try to do my best.

That was a good intro.

Thank you, man, for saying that.

Sure.

I think I feel like this is the black and white cookie the world needs right now.

Is that how it was started?

The black and white cookie.

What?

Like blacks and white people?

No.

Vanilla.

All right.

So, this is not going to be an ordinary episode of Being Jewish because I don't have just an ordinary guest here.

I got the Bobka King.

So, we're going to do a little Chris style food tasting as we go and I'm going to show you some of LA's most delicious Jewish foods.

I'm I'm an Angelino.

I'm born and raised.

Got a lot of pride for this city.

I think LA is the best food city in the world, you know.

I'm putting that down there, you know, because we we got there's a lot of places that'll fight with that.

I know.

But we got we got everything.

We have every ethnicity, every geographic representation.

Like everybody who's good comes here and makes their thing here.

So, you know, so we're going to start off uh and our intern Sasha and our EP Matthew are going to come on in with some delicious looking Bara plates.

Okay.

Okay, thanks y'all.

These are from our friends at Bara Spartic Pastries in Sherman Oaks, uh, Chef Uzi Wisman and Gal Ben Goya.

And, uh, we got two different kinds.

So, you're holding, you got, uh, the potato filling, which is like classic bara, and then they also do a a cheese and spinach, which is like the fan favorite.

These barcas uh came from a a Turkish pastry called a bere which means to twist and uh Turkish nomads spread them all over the Ottoman Empire.

So that's why you have people do their own version of this Asia, Middle East, North Africa and the Sphartic version burka is sort of a mix between the bar and an empanada.

So they like sort of filled it up and closed it out.

Less of the twist because I got that Spanish heritage and uh it's now like a staple of Israeli cuisine because all the different people who ended up in Israel are eating this thing.

So let's uh let's give it a taste.

Which one you starting with?

I'm going to go uh spinach.

Spinach.

Let's do it.

Hold on.

This is about to be an ASMR show.

All right.

You said the first one was potato.

Yeah, potato and brown butter.

Okay, that sounds fire.

So let's do this.

All right, I'm going to do this.

M.

That sauce is fire.

Wow.

I didn't think I was going to like this potato one as much as I did, but this is really good.

I think I might like it better.

Mhm.

That is delicious.

They're actually really good.

Bro, growing up at my Jewish my Jewish sleepaway camp, they would give us baras and they were terrible and I didn't want to eat them at all cuz they were gross.

Like these are so much flakier.

The filling is so good.

Like this is definitely the best I've ever had.

It actually really is good.

Like no joke.

What's that place called again?

Bara Sphartic Pastries.

Okay.

Out in the Valley.

Legit.

All right.

All right.

Hey, Baka King approve.

Y'all is good.

Yeah.

And I, like I said, I'll be honest, I like the potato one better.

They're both good.

So, how'd you get into this whole thing, this food game, the Baka King, all of that?

So, I do have to go back a little bit.

Yeah.

What started uh I heard a quote once.

Okay.

Don't create the content, be the content.

People connect to the authenticity.

That's like the number one thing they tell you to do.

That's like my whole thing, bro.

So, I've I've always just been kind of like showing my personality and things that I'm talking about, what I'm working on.

So, you can go back like if you went through my social media, you could tell what my focus in in life was.

Even in the podcast, like in the beginning it was just cuz and then it turned into entrepreneurship, then it turned into uh social anxiety like and it just I'm just be be the content, right?

One day randomly driving Door Dash.

Ah.

I stopped and I looked at my phone and I had a uh I said, "Hey, white people." And mind you, I've been around a ton of whites my whole life.

I grew up in a very white area.

And I said, "How long y'all going to hold out on the fact that apples and cheese is a good combination." So, I made this video and it did well.

And one thing about social media is when you find something that clicks, you attack that thing, that idea.

Mhm.

So then the comments actually gave me the content.

So they're like, "Oh, you think that's good?

Wait till you try this." So then I said, "Okay, I'll try that." Right.

And then I just kept doing those things.

Um then it was a lot of white people content in the beginning.

So then I just I said, "Well, let me switch it out.

What can I do?" And then I went to like Mexicans, right?

Because I live in a very predominately Mexican area now.

And I said, "Hey, Mexican people." And then that picked up steam.

And then I just did all these different cultures.

And I'll be honest, in the beginning I didn't want to feel like I was pandering.

So that was like I think the way to not feel like I'm pandering is to do all the cultures.

That's to do everybody.

Have fun with it and learn.

Again, be the content.

I think I've always said this, my perfect life would be to just travel the world, talk to cool people, and try cool [ __ ] And it it it got accomplished.

It was crazy.

They've always said that like that's that's what I want to do.

I had didn't make any Jewish content for like seven months.

There was no reason.

I just it didn't come top of mind until a buddy was like, "Dude, come to this place.

I think it's called Max and Beanie or something about House of Jewish Delhi." So, we went there and we had Creplla.

What's in this?

You got mozzal, you got crepl, you got actual chicken and I had that chocolate phosphate drink and it was it was a great time.

Right.

Those are hit and miss for me.

The halo.

Sometimes I think it's delicious.

Sometimes it's it depends how it's made.

You know, it's funny that we'll circle back, but people always tell me, "Does you like everything?" Because like, well, first of all, I was 417 pounds.

I like food.

When were you 417bs?

12 13 14 years ago.

Damn.

And lost 175 lbs.

Wow.

Um, so yes, I like a lot of food, right?

Clearly, you don't You probably like a lot of food if you get that heavy.

I know you're getting a lot of love from a lot of different people.

What kind of messages mean the most?

Believe it or not, the the Jewish ones, man, because I I guess I didn't realize the the effect because I'm like, I'm just trying popc organic.

Yeah.

And there's so many people from rabbis to famous people to the regular Joe Schmo who's like, "Dude, thank you." Like genuinely, no.

No, don't want anything.

I You know how many times I get I've never reached out to anybody before online?

I get that like 30 times a day now.

Wow.

And I literally only tried the food and said it was good.

I didn't say these people are better than those people.

I didn't say I like I just said this food is good.

Like I do all the cultures, right?

Sure.

And it's just kind of interesting that I did that and the Jewish culture was like we're going to we're going to ride with them because I only showed love to the food which means that what you guys are going through is clearly a thing.

Yeah, it'd be one thing if I was like, you know, pro pro- Israel and every that all I did was say, damn, the Barack are awesome, right?

And then I got that death threat.

And I'll be honest, I was a little like thrown back cuz I never got something like that.

Like a real one or just like No, no.

They they found my per not even my business address.

They found my personal email and sent some of the craziest things I've ever heard.

Damn.

I remember thinking like, am I am I going to you am I going to die over talking about Bobka?

Like seriously.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But then I thought I said, you know what, man?

This this is your double down moment.

I feel like like this is so my favorite quote in the history of reality is or my top two is the treasure you seek is inside the cave you're afraid to enter.

And so whenever I feel like a little fear, Yeah.

It's like that that seems like the that's the sign.

Yep.

You know.

Yeah.

I I I think of that in terms of like the hard thing to do is usually the right thing to do.

100%.

And so I was like, you know what?

I'm going to double down.

And my whole life, bro, my whole life since I was a kid, I've been that way.

I'm the kind of person who I feel like it's my like I used to bully the bullies in high school cuz I was for I was a big dude and you know, I was the prom king.

People liked me.

So like I would always I didn't bully people unless I saw you bullying someone like come mess with me and I was 400 lb.

No one was messing with me.

Yeah.

Sounds to me like you're a leader.

I mean, that's what that sounds like.

You know, when there's a space to be filled, you say, "Okay, I'm gonna go fill it." You know, my teachers used to always So, I was I was a class clown, right?

Used to used to class clown a lot and I'd be uh you know, my grandmother.

They like, "You know what, Chris is the class follows him.

If he's not being disruptive, then the class isn't being disruptive." I was the same way, man.

I used to get in trouble all the time cuz someone else would be doing something and I'd be like, "Why am I in trouble?" like you started this I and you're a kid.

I'm like I don't know what you're talking about but they feed off your energy when you're the leader and you know that's something you got to learn and I learned from a young age that you we can really have a powerful full effect on the people around us whether we know it or not and it's kind of like kind of reflects back to what's going on now cuz I don't feel like I'm doing anything.

People calling me a hero and what what do you mean a hero?

I'm just being Chris.

They don't I'm trying Bodka.

To me, it's not a hero thing to do.

And it's weird how it's become that, which makes me feel like it's that's why it's natural.

It don't even feel like I'm doing anything.

I go around and have conversations, try cool [ __ ] Yeah.

What do you think that says about the Jewish community and like how things are right now?

The fact that you eating bobka makes you a hero.

It is very interesting that I literally just tried their food and they took that as a culture to say like, "Thank you for not being a dick." Right.

Essentially, right?

And I and and listen, all the culture show me love, don't get me wrong, but it was overwhelmingly and a lot of times it's the since October 7th, it's been fear.

I'm scared to tell people I'm Jewish.

I'm like, damn.

And I'm sitting here, you got this black dude, not Jewish, who's just proudly like, "Yeah, the Bobka's dope." Who calls himself the Bobka king?

But to me, it wasn't like a scary thing.

I grew up in the Northshore, which is I I learned is one of the top five biggest Jewish populations in the country.

I was just there on Monday.

I was in Gleno.

Yep.

I know the area very well.

That's that stat.

You were you grew up in Wheeling?

Yeah.

But like Deerfield, Buffalo Grove, all that.

Yeah.

Very very Yep.

The one thing about Wheeling I would say is it was more diverse than a lot of the other schools.

I mean we had Indians, blacks, white, Mexican, Jew, like it it was it was out of all the neighboring schools, I felt like we were the one of the most mixed.

And and I'll be honest, man, how I thought about America, how I've always envisioned it from what I stories and books is it was a melting pot.

Yeah.

I thought that that's what the whole America thing was.

Like we're the giant melting pot.

Totally.

And it's kind of interesting that it seems like the half of the country is like, you know, it's kind of I'm like, damn, that's just not what I believe.

You go over to that side of the pot.

The golden rule, right?

Treat people how you want to be treated.

Like me, don't look at me for being a black dude.

Look at me for being Chris.

Am I cool or not?

And and I'm going to bet on me that you'll probably think I'm cool.

Yeah.

Right.

As long as you don't have preconceived notions about what you think, right?

Yeah.

So, that's the answer to that question.

And I know growing up you you had a difficult family situation.

Your mom died young.

How old were you?

Uh 14.

Okay.

So, not little, but not a little little young, but young.

But to be fair, my grandmother raised me little.

Yeah.

And uh your dad was not present.

0% 0%.

Is he Have you seen him since?

Don't even know his name.

Don't even know his name.

I would say that my upbringing was uh was tough when when you think about it from the perspective of like everyone else.

Now I look at it as the best thing has ever happened.

In what way?

Cuz it it gave me like resilience of life early, right?

So I got to feel some [ __ ] early.

Yeah.

And you got through it.

You go, I can get through this.

100% of them.

Yeah.

There's nothing I as a matter of fact I always like so I do I do public speaking.

Yeah.

And a lot of times in my speech I always say like well think about it.

Think about every time you I'm ask you in your life every time you've ever been like oh no I'm I'm screwed.

Yeah.

You survived 100% of those.

Exactly.

And I know that for a fact because you're talking to me now.

Now that don't mean you didn't have to feel it a little bit like you don't feel life, right?

You had to sleep in your car for a little while.

Maybe you got arrested.

But you survived it.

So that gives me a lot of like ease going forward once I realize like damn I do I am like first of all humans in general are pretty overall resilient.

Yeah.

Like we're just a resilient species on this planet.

But then like personally damn I overcame a lot and you know so I got diagnosed right in 2021 with chronic lympositic leukemia.

So for three days all I hear is what?

L what?

like l what?

And and all I heard was the C word cancer, right?

Sure.

And so for three days, bro, and to me, this is actually the sauce, man.

This the sauce because in those three days when I thought I was dead 100%.

You know what I was not thinking about?

Money, right?

Fame, girls, clothes, none of that [ __ ] Not even family, honestly.

You know what I was really thinking about?

Just not being here.

like, damn, I'm not gonna I'm gonna miss this thing.

Yeah.

I'm gonna miss this thing called like life.

You like I don't know.

And I just And then when they were like the doctor's like, come on in.

I gotta tell you some stuff.

So this is during the co time.

So you couldn't have no one come in.

So my buddy Steve was on the was on the speaker phone.

Support with you.

I mean, you must be terrified.

Horrid, right?

Yeah.

So then he's like, "So I think I know what you got.

We don't have to do it by we don't have to do this.

We don't have to do that.

I think you have something called CLL.

I'm pretty for sure." I'm like, "Okay, what the hell is that?" Right?

And he's like, "It's a very slowm moving cancer of the blood." I'm like, "Okay, but you're gonna you're good.

We got all kind of medicine.

The medicine's dough and it's improving every six months." So I'm like, "Really?

Really?" He goes, "Yeah." I'm like, "So, so I said, "Clear cut.

Am I going to live?" He goes, "You're going to live." The feeling, bro, and I'll never forget.

So finally after I go downstairs, Steve is waiting in the car.

I'm like I'm like I'll never forget that feeling.

And we were like bro crying.

He's hugging me like you know he's he was also there when I lost my mom too.

That's why this guy's my Yeah.

He's your ride or die.

So he was next to me when I heard my mom died.

So then and then the hug, you know, you know how guys can get weird about hugs.

No man, he let me give him the whole energy and I for like 20 minutes and I'm sobbing and and he was there.

So he's always there.

He always shows up, you know, and to to circle back, I take that [ __ ] serious because of these kind of things.

So like if I if if you're in, you're in.

So like even like the Jewish community, y'all putting me we in.

We in now.

You know, y'all y'all showing me love.

I'm going to show it back.

All right.

That seems like a good place to take a little break, get a little more food.

Let's do it.

So I know you've had shawarma before.

Well, this is special.

This is unlike any schwarma you've had.

This is uh from our friends at Aviq in Studio City from Chef Aiad Yalin.

Uh this is Wagyu Schwarma.

Yeah, I think they use Australian Wagyu.

My bad.

Yeah, man.

So, a little background for those who don't know, schwarma.

It's another Turkish origin kind of food like the baras.

Uh comes from the Turkish word chirman, which means to turn cuz it's on that spin and that's how you make it.

You turn it around.

It's all over the Middle East.

You know, it's it's ironic because uh somebody followed me today and I follow him.

I think it's Kevin Hamilton, black Jewish guy.

He's like, "Dude, Kenny Hamilton.

He's been on this show." Kenny Kenny Kenny was my third guest from around here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, he hit me up and he goes, "Shout out to Kenny." Yeah.

Shout out to He goes, "Dude, trust me.

Go to this place." And I was like, "All right." Cuz I'm leaving in the morning.

I'm like, "All right, I" And I was like, "I got to go." He goes, "Trust me." He goes, "I'm a black Jew." Yeah.

What he says?

He goes, "Trust me.

Go there." And then it was just ironic that y'all brought it in.

So shout out to you, bro.

Hell yeah.

And they do it simple.

Like some schwarma of places, they're putting all kinds of stuff.

This is just tomato, parsley, onion, little tahini, that sesame sauce.

So it's like you you like letting the meat do the talking.

Exactly.

You got tahini on the side.

You got zoo on the side.

It's like a Yemen spicy sauce.

Okay.

So you can do a little dip in there.

But um you know, this looks crazy.

[Music] Yeah.

Insane.

The pa is so good, too.

Really soft pa.

Little messy, but it's W.

That's good.

It's almost always messy.

Holy.

So, that wagon.

You can taste that.

Yeah.

It's different.

Mhm.

It's like a thicker thicker cut of meat.

Wow.

Yeah.

All right.

I'm gonna get one more good bite.

No, take your time.

I'll start talking.

You can keep eating.

Your real name is Chris Campbell.

You become Chris Must laugh first.

Was that what you said?

Make laugh.

Make laugh.

Now you're Chris cares none.

Where' cares none come from?

I told you I was started off with comedy sketches, right?

So at the end of each video I would say cares none.

And that was like my way of saying regardless of what you feel about this joke, I made it carees none.

Right?

So it's essentially like a don't matter what you think.

It has evolved since then because now how I look at it is because it used to be like I don't care what people think but the more soularching I do.

I think it's obvious I care a lot.

I think I I make it known.

I think just my actions.

I used to be called sensitive as a kid and and albeit I I agree now.

Yeah.

Sensitive as an adult.

I heard a quote once that said, "The trick to life is to love everyone while not giving a damn what they think." And I've been trying to like live my life and aim for that.

Yeah.

And it's it's a you put yourself in a difficult game when you're on social media playing that game, right?

Ever since I could remember, I have always felt like I should be on a stage.

Like, so even like in eighth grade or I think it was like the eighth grade talent show, like I I went up and I remember being like kind of terrified.

I did and I did it.

It was a great moment.

All the all the lights.

I loved it.

Right.

Uh and then life happens and I gained all the weight and then you you you get the jokes and all this kind of stuff.

And then I kind of uh started to like lose like confidence in in myself.

And then I came across something called uh exposure therapy.

Okay.

And it changed my life.

Bro, that means you're just doing the thing that you don't want to be doing.

The the treasure you seek is inside the cave you're afraid to enter.

Right.

I'm like, "Oh, it makes sense.

You got to feel it in order to do it.

But even before that, logically, so there's something called the spotlight effect.

And they studied this at Cornell University.

And this changed the game for me.

They studied this.

Okay.

So what it means is it's the tendency for people to overestimate how other people perceive them.

Oh yeah.

We we always think people are thinking about us.

No one's thinking about us.

Think about yourself.

You're always thinking about yourself.

Everybody's thinking about themselves.

Until somebody says that and it clicks.

It clicked.

I'm like, that's a good point, man.

We're all So we're all focused on everyone looking at us.

So how could you be how could you be looking at me when you know you think I'm looking at you right like logically.

Um so then what I did I said okay and now I don't know what I got to do.

So, I did the exposure therapy and I would literally and I it's all on on social media and this where I like first blew up blew up blew up doing like these uh I would wear like crazy wigs and like very funky wigs and I uh and I'd put mustard on my on my beard and mayonnaise like I would just do crazy stuff.

Googly eyes.

I would go to the pump on the gas tank and ask for like a $1.15 on pump one with googly eyes and the guy would be like are you being serious?

I'm like yep.

And what's the exercise there?

just like making a fool out of yourself.

Feel comfortable, right?

Being being doing uncomfortable stuff, right?

Cuz I'm an extreme guy.

So then what would happen is I would realize in the like I would be editing the clip and people would walk by then no one's looking.

You think they're looking.

No one they notice you exist.

They don't even know you exist.

They think they're going to their appointment.

You know that's what they're I'll give you another example.

I was sitting there uh one day this back when I was a big boy, big girl boy.

And I'm eating chicken wings at the Jewel Oasco.

Shout out to Jewel.

Great wings.

They got great wings.

They call them wings or something.

Really good.

And I'm sitting there parked on like my lunch break eating chicken, right?

Doing my thing, which is already just hilarious.

Black dude yourself.

No, no, this is back.

No, I was just eating for lunch.

And then a lady pulls next to me, right?

And I remember feeling like I don't want her to see me eating these wings.

I don't know why.

That was just the feeling I had.

So, like in hindsight, that's a it's crazy that like that my brain went there cuz like number one, human beings eat.

It's not weird, right?

But I felt like it was weird.

I feel like there's going to be a lot of people who really relate to that story.

Oh, I know for a fact people going to see because that's So, I kept putting myself in that idea, that thought.

I just keep doing that and then I I kept doing the cont and then I kind of overcame it.

Yeah.

I I you and I are similar in a lot of ways.

For me, it wasn't social anxiety.

It was ADHD.

And when I became I got diagnosed as an adult and like understanding what that meant for me unlocked all this stuff and I was able to start dealing with it in in a way that was I could work with it and use it to my advantage or understand where it wasn't working for me.

Give me an example.

So like uh here's here's a phrase that's really changed the way that I think about ADHD.

ADHD is not people who don't know how to pay attention.

It's people whose brains have a hard time choosing what to pay attention to.

So, like last night, I'm trying to work on the outline for this show and my wife watches TV to go to bed.

Next thing I know, I've been like watching Grey's Anatomy for an hour.

And because I like when it's on, I have a hard time doing both of them at the same time.

But when I now that but I know that about myself, so I can be like, "All right, I got to shut this off so that I can do this thing." Now, is that like a chemical thing in the brain or is that the way our the way we live in our lives on the phone?

No, no, it's a brain thing.

It's our our brains don't produce the same amount of dopamine.

So, we like uh our it's something about like searching for dopamine in in ways that the regular brain doesn't have to.

So, like your brain, if you're looking at something, even if it's boring, your brain is going to be releasing dopamine, which like rewards you for staying and paying attention to it.

My brain isn't giving that dopamine.

So, I'm not getting the chemical reward for being there.

So, I'm looking for something else that's got the the dopamine.

That actually that makes it makes sense.

I never knew that.

Mhm.

Wow.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, but then once I realized that is that curable?

It's not curable like you can't get rid of it, but you you can take different medicines that like affect different parts of it.

And then the big thing is like learning behavioral things.

It's mostly behavioral.

Like I know that if I don't if I'm doing something that's out of routine, I need to bring this package to UPS, which I don't do that every day.

If I don't leave it right by the door where I can see it, I'm never going to remember to bring it with me.

I have to see it on the cuz I'm going to forget.

All right, brother.

Your hat be dope.

That's a saying of yours.

It's the merch.

What does that mean to me?

I'd rather live in a world where everything feels awesome, right?

Some people are like, "Well, that's not realistic." This whole idea about being realistic and and that always kind of threw me for a loop and and I understand what you're saying.

But think about it.

If you would have asked some or told somebody 2,000 years ago, dude, one day you're going to have a thing in your pocket that you can talk to anyone real time across the world or on the moon.

They would have been like, dude, that's not realistic.

That's crazy, right?

Or you going to be able to get into this silver tube and fly anywhere within 15 hours back in 200 years ago.

They'd have been like, that's not realistic.

You you'll be able to drink water that doesn't kill you.

All kind of stuff, right?

All kind of stuff.

So it's like man, so to me I think about that when someone tells me like something you're not being realistic, which actually goes to my third favorite quote.

So this my we've done the first two.

Here's my third one.

Shout out to my grandma.

Let me tell you the story.

I was a sweet kid.

Very adorable.

D when you when you tried Bobka for the first time in that video, like you look like a child on Christmas morning.

Your face like lights up like a little.

That's what I thought when you were eating.

Yeah.

You know, at least I was told I was adorable.

So, I used to always say, "Man, I can't do that, man." Even if it wasn't bad, she'd be like, "Oh, go play with those kids." Like, I can't.

Like, go pick this up.

I can't.

And I guess I must have said I can't one too many times.

And my grandmother was pissed.

She goes, "You know what?

That's it." She gave me a pen, gave me a piece of paper, and she made me write 100 times.

I'm like, "Nine.

If you think you can't No, I wasn't nine.

probably like 12.

If you think you can't, say you can.

And I was pissed.

I was so mad.

I was so mad cuz as a child, I'm thinking, you're mad at me cuz I can't pick the box up.

You're mad.

I'm in trouble.

Not fair.

Right.

That's what I'm thinking.

And mind, mind you, she's my grandmother, not my mom.

Like, you're not even my mom.

Like, I I hit her cuz I was I was feeling it.

But she stayed strong.

Nope.

Don't care.

Right.

Finally, after calming me down and finishing it, she rewrote in her very nice penmanship, right?

And she put it on my wall for like the next eight years.

It was if you think you can't say you can't in my It was like the essence.

So even if even if I didn't see it, it's the essence in my room, right?

That's the energy of my room is you can accomplish it, right?

You know what?

I never had thought about it until that story came up about my grandmother making me write that.

And I'm like I had like this epiphany like oh it's my grandmother in that specific moment because you I don't think you can find anything online with me saying I can't do something right.

I despise that [ __ ] I like if if you were like as a matter of fact let's say we're sitting here and and we're talking about making social media content and you like oh I can't do that.

Like I my knee-jerk reaction to be like okay my filter goes in.

I got to help this person believe that he can.

And that's like my content like and that's just who I am.

I I can't help it.

Like I I'll be talk I'll be at a bar and like this guy just bombing with this girl, right?

Just totally doing everything wrong and I can't help myself to be like, "Dude, come here.

Let me I got you." And give him some game, right?

I just feel like it's my job and no one's told me to do that.

It just feels right.

And more often than not, no, sometimes it's not great.

Some people like, "Dude, I need your help." And I'm learning that, right?

M um and maybe I'm kind of moving the goalpost a little bit, but what I'm learning now about helping is to just be the lighthouse, right?

You shine the light and then the people who were ready to see the light, they'll come and if they crash, even though I was shining light, that's on them.

That's not on me.

And to me, I would have wanted to get those people, too.

But that causes suffering inside of me if I'm trying to put you on and I know it's a need, but you're not there yet.

Not right or wrong.

just your your journey and I used to like man you're not getting it and I would get frustrated.

So now I'm teaching myself still deal with it.

Sure.

Just be the lighthouse, bro.

Be the lighthouse.

Be the example, right?

And just and just trust that what does that mean?

I forget.

Radical trust, right?

Knowing that God's got you regardless, right?

You're where you're supposed to be.

And like man, I I'm writing a book on that right now actually um on on radical trust and energy currents.

But that's so true from my worldview is that dude just trust the moment because think about it from this perspective.

What's more important than right now?

That's all there is.

Literally.

Yeah.

The the the past don't even exist.

Yeah.

The future don't even exist.

You know what exists?

Right now.

And and that's where the sauce is.

and you start meditating and doing all that kind of stuff.

You start to And then when you think you're dead for three days, you realize, no, that really is a thing.

Yeah.

Because then I don't need nothing, right?

Because I'm already good.

I'm I'm good right now.

Let me ask you a question.

Yeah.

If I offered you no strings attached, do whatever you want.

Okay.

A million cash, taxfree, whatever you want.

Would that be cool and would you accept it?

Yeah, that sounds cool.

Obviously.

Yeah.

What if I said a hundred million?

Great.

Even better.

Now, what if there was a caveat?

Okay.

100 million.

You're good.

How about this?

A trillion.

Okay.

But you can't wake up tomorrow.

Would you take it?

Of course not.

Why not?

What good is the money if you're not allowed to use it?

So, what you're saying is your life as is today is priceless.

That's right.

And we forget that.

We be forgetting that [ ] We forget that [ ] Yeah.

And And I know because I'm like I I felt the like, no, it really is priceless.

Yeah.

Because when you think you're gone, that that feeling is like really a thing.

Yep.

And I and I lead with that now.

So like now now my social anxiety is gone because I'm like what what could you say?

Like even if you're like dude I couldn't stand Chris terrible podcast.

It still don't accept it.

It still does not negate the fact that I would rather be alive.

I'd rather you think that I sucked and still be alive than not.

All right, let's go into uh course three here.

We had the deso, we had the schwarma, and now we're going to have a little dessert.

We do.

Is it bobka?

Can you read this second word for me?

Khal.

Hey.

Okay.

You know now you know what the sounds are.

So, uh, the the little bow tie guy is called Kikh.

These are from Bees Bakery.

Also in the valley.

All three spots in the valley.

A lot of lot of Jews and Israelis up in the up in the valley here in LA.

Uh, been in LA since 1968.

So, the Kikh comes from the Yiddish word for kuken, which means cake and kick is like little cake.

And it's kind of like food.

Do you know the word shettle?

Like the the small Jewish village kind of food where it's just eggs, flour, and sugar.

So like real frugal.

It's like if you didn't have milk, you didn't have butter, you could still make this.

And uh and it's parv.

Do you know that word?

Yes.

Uh no meat.

No meat, no milk is par.

So then you can have it with whatever you're having.

So there's no milk, no butter actually in both of these.

So this is parv.

Uh, the second one is called Well, now just for fun, let's see how you say it.

It's not too hard.

The bottom one.

Oh, Mandel bread.

Close.

Mandle bread.

Oh, okay.

But a lot of people have told me to try this.

So, this will be the first time I've tried that for sure.

Oh, hell yeah.

Okay, so this is mandel bread, which comes from uh Wish I said that right.

Close.

You know, I was hoping you were going to say Mandel bread.

Shout out to my cousins, the Mandals, actually.

Take that one.

Uh, it comes from the Yiddish for Mandelro, which is almond bread.

So, it's like made with almond.

They're sort of like um Do you know what a kuuchi is?

No.

Like do you know biscotti in Italy?

It kind of looks like that.

So do you know what I learned?

I was just in Italy.

So biscotti just means like cookies in Italian.

Kuchi is actually like what we think biscotti are.

Really?

Yes.

And I didn't know that.

They were like do you want a kui?

I was like what are you talking about?

That's a biscotti.

So if I go to Italian say I want a biscotti.

They'll be like what what kind?

Which one?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So it's like a biscotti but a little softer.

It's why we got coffee with us cuz it's going to be good with the coffee.

They they bake it twice.

So it's like a little crispy.

Always have almond, but then sometimes they throw in like a cinnamon or a cranberry or whatever.

All kinds of funky things.

Like a biscott.

Like a biscott.

Like a biscott.

Yeah.

So, um, help yourself.

All right.

Okay.

You got the coffee, too.

You got the coffee and the branded mugs.

I know you like your coffee.

The folders.

No, we got intelligencia, man.

And you're a dipper with these.

I'm dipping.

All right.

Let's see.

It's even kind of It's like basci.

I would a little softer.

It is softer.

All right.

So Oh, these are light.

Mhm.

So, do you dip these or you eat these in You You can dip.

It's less dippy than like It doesn't automatic dip it.

Want to try it first right now?

Yeah.

Yeah, it'll work.

Oh, good.

Yeah.

I like that better than the than this Mondo.

Me, too.

I like the consistency.

Mhm.

It's like airy a little bit, but like not too airy.

All right.

You say it's not a great dipper though, huh?

No, no, no.

I think you can't.

It's like It's not um necessarily the natural dip, but it does work.

All right, let's see.

I see what you can, but it better to do it regular.

Yeah, I think it's better by itself.

This is like you would have this like uh a lot in synagogue at the end of like the Saturday Shabbat service.

You would have like a it's called a kdish.

It's like they do the blessing over the wine and there's like some snacks and whatever.

And this is where you might find a kickle these days.

You know, it's funny.

I've been invited to maybe like 4,000 Shabbat.

Like seriously, I have not been to one in your whole life.

I have been to a Passover though.

Wait, your whole life?

In a cedar?

Never been to one.

Never was invited.

If I didn't have to go to this wedding thing tonight, I would I would invite you to my house for Shabbat.

Like, we got to get you to a Shabbat.

Next time you're in town, you got to promise me you're coming over for Shabbat.

Love that.

Cuz Shabbat is like all about being present.

That's why I feel you'd really like it.

It's like you talk about preserving energy.

Shabbat is literally let's take a break from the week.

If you're if you're super observant, you're like you turn off the electricity, you turn you don't work, you turn everything off, and it's just about like slowing down, being together, making this day different from all the other days by chilling.

The way that a friend of mine uh spoke about it once, shout out to David Swissa, is it's making time holy.

And I I just love that way of thinking about it that like we're gonna appreciate this time in the present because we have to every week we have to make ourselves be present and and sanctify that time.

I feel it's right up your alley.

So I'm I'm going to talk about this from the non-Jewish perspective.

I'm not I'm a Gentile.

You know what I am?

I'm a Gentile.

That's right.

And um the whole idea I think all cultures should consider that practice.

Yeah.

Especially with the cell phone age.

Exactly.

Right.

Like, so you mean to tell and we all know this.

We all know, everyone on earth knows that we're all hooked on these things.

So to make it a priority, that's it.

Like, no, we're going to do that.

Everybody, I don't care Jewish or not.

Whether you like Jews or not, you could use that practice.

Yep.

So, I'm I'm all for I do.

You ever been to a float tank?

Yes.

Once.

Sensory deprivation.

It's like the same principle, but that's only But it's it's the same principle.

You unplug for an hour and I know how great I feel after unplugging for an hour.

So imagine unplugging every week for the day with your people with the people.

How could that not be great?

Exactly.

Where are you traveling to next?

What's next on your agenda?

Yeah, I'm going to Israel.

No way.

What can you tell me about that?

Yeah, so there's a there's a uh organization called Reality.

Yes, I know Reality.

Sure.

So they invited Are you going with like Storytellers?

Yeah, the entertainers and influencers section.

I just know me right now being in Israel is going to be one of the most like big energy shifts.

It just feels right.

Right.

It just feels like me being out there just feels right.

And the amount of DMs and comments, we need to get you to Israel.

Right.

Oh my god.

So psyched to see you there.

As for reality, but they were very ambiguous about exactly what it was, right?

So then we there was this mandatory Zoom call.

People who were there kind of talked to you about it.

And then I kind and I asked the question like like what are we doing here?

What is the are you you trying to tell me a story from one specific lens because and I'll say this publicly and I'll take what it is.

I am not the Jewish guy.

I am the humanity guy.

The Jewish people happen to rock with me heavy.

You see what I'm saying?

Totally.

I'm never going to pick a side again.

The side I'm picking is be versus humanity versus the aliens.

Yeah.

I'm picking alien or alien.

I'm sorry.

I'm thinking the aliens.

No, I'm going with it.

So that and I want to make that every interview I do, every podcast I do, any publications, I make that very clear.

It's about humanity.

Period.

It just so happens that it all worked out the way it's working.

And I'll show love all day, but I I'm not a side picker.

You don't need to be.

and and and no one's made me, but I just I just know like and maybe this is my own fears and stuff like optics and and doing this and then like if I make a Palestinian piece of content and and you know what, I'm going to say it publicly.

Let me I can ask you a question in good faith.

Yeah.

So my whole thing is like building bridges.

Yeah.

Even when it's uncomfortable.

I've made it very clear.

I say it in a lot of my captions.

If you rock with what I'm rocking with, you are you are at least a little bit okay with considering talking to someone who you might not like.

You're you're at least you might not be there, but let's see.

It's something you want.

You're aspirationally there at least.

Yes.

That Yeah.

That you like, I just want this stuff to this.

Right.

And and and obviously I understand what's going on with the conflict, right?

It's it's big as hell, right?

So, I also care about my Jewish community, but I also care about the Palestinians, too.

Sure.

And and it's funny because a lot of my DMs and Jewish people are saying, "Chris, we don't want that.

We want like good like we we don't want all this." Right.

And I I get that a lot.

So, I'm like, "Okay, I know personally from what I'm hearing like we we don't all this stuff you see on TV, that's not how I feel.

I get a lot of that." Yeah.

So, here's my question to you.

How would you feel knowing what you know of me and my content strategy if I had wore if I did like a a bobka and I'm like same thing but I'm wearing a hat with a Palestinian flag.

How would that make you feel?

Interesting.

That's a tricky question.

If the video would be exactly the same.

Yep.

I wouldn't even mention I wouldn't even mention the flag at all.

It would just be in there.

I mean it would certainly color the way I would receive the video.

I knowing what you know of me though.

Yeah.

I mean, I would have a I would have questions and I'd want to be like, "Can you ask me those questions now?" Yeah.

I'd be like, "Are you from Palestine?

Is that why I rock?

Are you trying to make a statement in this video?" I mean, it'd be the same reason why I'd wear the Israeli one.

I wear an Israel flag in all my content, too.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm not I'm not scared to to show love to the Jewish culture.

I'm also not scared to show It'd be It'd be one thing if you were wearing an Israeli flag and eating a Palestinian food with no explanation and no context.

I would like to talk to the people that I don't rock with.

Like I'd be willing to talk to someone who hates black people just because.

And I would listen, I'mma protect myself.

Don't get me wrong.

I'm not going to put myself in harm's way.

Like I'll be I'm intelligent, but like if we can get in a situation where I could talk to you in a good faith conversation without like the I'm not trying to dunk on you.

Let's talk, man.

Let's So I actually want to say this publicly.

Hit it.

The Jewish plight and the the black plight.

A lot of similarities.

Oh, hell yeah.

That's I mean, we know that.

That's I gotta get you looped into this stuff, man.

This is I I spent a lot of time working on bringing our two communities together cuz we got so much in common.

Not just on that level, but like historically, what we've been through, what we've built together in this country.

I just think that that's a space that uh I feel like I didn't hear a lot about that before I got into this space kind of, but I feel like I should I'd be a good person to start bringing that thing up.

Yep.

Just be nice to people and then guess what?

The world tends to show you good I'm proving it.

I'm proving it as we speak right now.

Show put the good energy out there and good energy comes back.

Yeah.

But if you're constantly looking for some [ __ ] you're going to see it, too.

So, I don't know.

I just feel like that's kind of also my thing is to teach that energy.

The truth behind it is I'm trying to find new ways to to build bridges and and tear down invisible walls because at the end of the day, you know what I've noticed?

I've going to all these different cultures restaurant.

It's the same stuff.

It's people eating with their family, working to provide for their family, good food.

Food's pretty much a protein, a veggie, and an apparatus, right?

You either got the pasta, the tortilla, the you know, it's this it's it's the sense it's the vessel.

Yeah.

We all got our little spices on it for the most part.

Yeah.

You know, but for the most part, it's what it is.

It's the same thing.

I think we're so much more aligned than than what we think.

And that's my job.

And yes, I'm I've been the food guy and I love food.

So, um, but I do think my thing is much bigger than food.

I just know that food for me was a good entry point into what I really want to do, which is transformation.

Well, I'm definitely here to support you in that for sure because we need it.

Here's a stat that I learned with Miriam, actually.

Um, he asked he asked me like, "How many Jewish people do you think there are on Earth?" This is always fun to ask.

And I'm like, "I don't know, some crazy number, right?

100 million." Like a I said this and then he was like, "Bro, like 15 million." And then he showed me a clip on online where people this guy went around and asked people and these numbers built it was always a crazy number.

And I'm like, "Oh, so then you wonder why." Of course, you're going to be a little bit more uh Yeah.

Like, we're close to not being, you know what I'm saying?

I I understand the sentiment.

Of course, we stick together.

There's not that many of us.

Why would you not?

I Every other culture does it, right?

You just get mad at y'all for doing it.

So, it's like, okay, I'm I'm I'm Listen, and I'm I'm willing to say things that are uncomfortable cuz I'm willing to go inside that cave than most of us are not.

So, and if I'm willing to I even in the beginning with the hey, fill in the blank people.

Yeah.

Like if if I'm like in public and I'm making a video, I would feel kind of weird, right?

Because I know that if you don't know, right?

Like and people have, you know, DM'd me.

Don't say that.

You shouldn't say, "Hey, white people." But then when you think about it logically, what's what's wrong?

Or do you not classify as white?

Right.

I mean, it's it's what you are if you're, you know, it's preconceived notions of what you think is going to come after that statement.

Right.

So, anyone who watches my content after the hook, which is I understand life, it's a hook.

That's why it's called a hook.

Yeah.

Oh, anybody with half a brain like Okay.

No, no, he's doing a thing.

Yeah, it's a thing and it's working.

Yeah.

All right.

So, we're going to bring it on home here.

We're getting to the end.

Usually what I do, I end the show with a lightning round, but I'm going to do something a little special with you cuz we got a we got a special guy here.

So, I I made up a little game here.

The game is called house it, taste it, or toss it.

Okay.

I'm going to give you three things.

In the food world, you say if you would house it, just taste it, or toss it.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

House it, taste it, toss it.

I would toss lunch.

Yep.

I would taste breakfast and then I would house dinner.

We're We're alive on that, my friend.

All right.

Kala, plain raisin, chocolate chip.

Raisin I would toss it.

Yep.

Plain I would taste and chocolate I would house.

Okay.

I I would flip the the chocolate but Oh, raisin's gone always.

Um All right.

Handtosh.

I know you've tried homatash, right?

Okay.

Filling chocolate, apricot, berry.

What berry?

Good question.

I couldn't decide.

I was like, [ __ ] do I say strawberry or raspberry?

So, I'm just going to say berry.

So, dealer's choice.

All right.

Uh, apricot.

Number I'm houseing the apricot.

Oh, interesting.

House like even rugalash.

My my favorite have been the apricot, huh?

Has been my favorite of all those.

Berry might be the toss.

Chocolate would be the the taste.

No, you know what?

I'd probably toss chocolate now that I think about in the hamage.

Okay.

In homage and then I'd probably keep the beer.

I think in the hamatage I think I like the the fruier ones.

Okay.

Or the poppy seed, which shockingly I like.

Yeah, I kind of like that.

Corn beef, pastrami, and roast beef.

That's brutal.

Uh roast beef I would house.

Oh, pastrami I would house.

You just housing all of them?

I actually would house all of them.

There you go.

Triple deck sandwich.

I would throw away the roast beef.

Yeah.

House the pastrami.

Taste the corn beef.

Correct answer.

Um, babka, rugal, and sufani.

Oh, we already know.

Okay.

Even if it wasn't you, I would never say about saying boka.

Okay.

Uh, which is actually funny cuz kosh.

What's that?

I love when I know more Jewish stuff.

Kush.

Co k cocash cake.

I don't know it.

It's like a bobcat on steroids and it's like less bread.

All ridiculous.

Is it as like wet as good bobka?

Wetter.

More wet.

You've been gatekeeping the cocish for me.

All right.

Uh, wheat bread, rye bread, pumpern nickel.

Wheat I would throw away.

Rye I would house pumpern nickel I would taste.

Nice.

I could probably house pumpern nickel from Cheesecake Factory.

Okay.

I don't I think I got a little tipicular I got a tip for y'all.

I used to work at Cheesecake Factory.

Okay.

When you go to Cheesecake Factory and you get you get the bread with the the butter.

Yeah.

Ask for the recycled butter.

What does that even mean?

It's the butter that like so it's not like it's already softer.

Yes.

That's a little key little trick.

Cuz if I liked you, I'd be like, I got you.

That's and I would get you the good stuff.

That's a bonus for everybody who stays through the episode.

You got that.

They keeping the butter.

There you go.

This was meant to be an opinion thing, but you're also acing it.

Just Just so you know.

Um, coming up right after this airs is a holiday called Shàuote.

Have you heard about this one?

I just made a video.

They went crazy about it.

About Shàuote.

About a delicious bob Bobka cheesecake from a place called Shout out to Lilac and Cream.

Y'all look at this and tell me it doesn't look insane.

Oo, wait.

Wait.

It's a bobka cheesecake or a cheesecake bobka.

Bottom layer bobka.

And they like found a way like to make like little swirls at the bottom.

Cheesecake and then like some crazy f ridiculous.

The video went crazy.

They sold out overnight.

You know how many non-Jewish people hit me up like, "Bro, I got to have that." Yeah.

Sounds like the most delicious thing.

No matter who you are, that's that's a perfect and and I real and I learned because of the holiday, that's why it's a big thing.

Okay.

So, for those of you who don't know, Shàuote is uh it means weeks in in Hebrew because it's like at the end of these these weeks.

It's this harvest festival tied to the agricultural season in Israel.

Uh is it going to do with like the end of Passover or something?

Yeah.

So, you count from Passover these seven weeks to this date, which also it basically it's like the birthday of the Jewish people.

It's like remembering the day when the Jews and God were at Mount Si and God like made the covenant with the Jewish people.

And uh there's a lot of different customs of why you eat dairy.

It's like not a law.

It's a custom thing because they were like innocent as newborns when they got this new thing and newborns drink milk or they were there was too much work to do butchering and eating meat so they just like only ate dairy.

Is that like a lot of the kosher laws and stuff based on like older rules back then where it was like not safe to do certain things?

Yes, that's part of some of those too for sure.

Like that's some of why you don't eat like the like the shellfish.

They're like bottom feeders.

They were just like gross fish.

Yeah.

Not now is considered a delicacy to a lot of the world.

Interest.

Yeah.

Which is why I don't keep kosher.

Um but uh so here's the shaveote trio.

Blinces cougall and cheesecake.

Cougall I'd probably house.

Believe it or not, somebody just asked me in something I did this week like what's your favorite Jewish food?

And I said my mom's cheese cougall.

Yeah.

I I would say I would house that.

Um what were the other two again?

Cheesecake and blintes.

I would probably taste the cheesecake.

Yeah.

and throw away the blindes.

But I bl you know what I learned today about blindes is that you know so it's a crepe basically rolled up around cheese or whatever and it's rolled to resemble a tora scroll.

Really?

Yeah, that's what I learned today.

The more you know I was researching for this.

All right, last one.

Different from the game, but we ask it of all of our guests.

Kala, do you rip it or do you slice it?

I've done both, but if you ask me what I prefer.

Yeah.

What feels right.

ever since I did the hala judging competition.

So like I just Sounds like a great time.

That's hilarious.

And and then they were like, "No, just literally grab it." So I think I'm a grabber now.

Now you're a ripper.

Yeah, I'm a ripper now.

For sure.

All right.

For sure.

My man Chris, thank you so much.

I appreciate this, man.

I had a good time.

Oh, good.

I'm glad this conversation.

I like you, man.

I like you, too.

We'll do it again.

We'll do it again around the Shabbat table.

Hey, you said it all.

You got it publicly in there.

We got to do it.

All right, brother.

Mark it.

That was delicious.

Thanks to our friend Chris.

Follow his adventures, Chrisnan on IG and Tik Tok.

Another big thank you to our friends at Bara Spartic Pastries and Aviq.

We'll have more info on them in the show notes for sure.

To those who celebrate Shave, happy week's holiday.

Hope you all get some good allnight Torah study.

Let me know what you learned.

All right, I'm stuffed.

Roll me out of here.

I'll see you all for the next scrumptious episode of Being Jewish with me, Jonah Platt.