Hi my name is Max Alperstein 

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I am a Jewish Latino Freshman at New York University. I was born in Guatemala and adopted by my incredible single mother, Janet Alperstein, at age 9 months. I grew up in New York City. 

 

Growing up in a tight-knit Jewish community, I have always cherished the values and traditions instilled in me from a young age. Yet, I often felt caught and torn between my American, Guatemalan, and Jewish identities. It was as if I belonged everywhere and nowhere at the same time, feeling pulled apart by the different cultures and places that shaped me. 

 

An easy way to articulate that is by saying I've lived in the “in-between.” Between cultures. Between identities. Between how people saw me and who I knew myself to be. I didn’t grow up fitting into neat boxes, and for a while, I thought that was a problem. But eventually, I realized it was my strength. My unofficial catchphrase growing up was “Wait you're Jewish?” Although yes, that was hard, I couldn't blame others who grew up in a society where Judaism fit into a singular narrative where there was no room for “others."  My story wasn’t broken. It was powerful. And it deserved to be told.

 

Over time, I realized that the key to navigating these complexities was to embrace them and find my voice within the chaos. This wasn't something I learned overnight; it took a lot of work, hardships, failures, and trying again.  I discovered that no one can fight for you like you can. Using my voice became my best tool for self-expression, which led me to create my first podcast, Fearless Interventions, an online podcast with my best friend Jacob Finkel. As high school came to an end, so to did Fearless Interventions.

 

I created The Chai Road: to tell stories like mine, which are messy, layered, and Jewish.

 

This podcast is about truth. It’s about pushing past the surface and talking honestly about what it means to be Jewish today, especially when you don’t fit the mold people expect. It’s about bridging divides between communities that rarely speak, challenging antisemitism wherever it hides, and holding space for the difficult topics. 

 

My goal is to bring on anyone brave enough to show up with their full story. I bring my heart, my heritage, and questions because in this podcast, the goal is that YOU, the listener, are learning alongside me. This show is my journey. And I’m inviting YOU to walk it with me.

 

If you’ve ever felt like an outsider, like your Jewishness didn’t “look right” to others both within and outside Judaism, or like you had to choose between parts of who you are or whether to show your Judaism in public or hide it out of fear of, I see you. I am you. And I built this space for us. 

 

Welcome to The Chai Road. Let’s talk.