Dear JITC- I have been privately not religious anymore for over a year and a half now. I don’t keep Shabbos or kosher privately, and I stopped keeping both publicly when I’m away from home or no one is around. This was never really my intention, but life happened in many painful ways. I used […]
When I reached out to Makom several years ago, I was in a severe spiritual crisis. I grew up in a Hasidic household and also had my share of abuse which included emotional, sexual and religious abuse. I so badly felt a need to belong but never had that feeling. My father abandoned me and […]
Makom makes observant Judaism a positive experience for Jews who grew up with negative Jewish experiences, by showing our members a range of frum communities and allowing them to ask questions in a loving, non-judgmental environment. Help us make Judaism beautiful for many more. It is our annual campaign right now, and we need your […]
“Did you hear that The Oprah Magazine covered Footsteps?” a text message from a friend read. (Um, no. I had no idea Oprah even had a magazine.) I quickly scour Google to find the piece and realize I have seen O on the newsstands but never saw this site before. “Are you going to respond […]
One of Us In November of 2017, my wife and I watched the movie “One of Us.” The Netflix documentary highlighted the stories of four people who were trying to leave the insular hasidic communities in the New York area and joined the Footsteps organization. The stories were touching, saddening, and confusing. The images I […]
This past Friday night I did something I haven’t done in twenty years. I drove a car on Shabbos. Wait, wait – it’s not what you think. I had an infection in my arm that my doctor told me to watch closely. He gave me an antibiotic to treat it. If it got worse he said […]
