Nechuma Schweitzer had an upbringing that didn’t quite serve her. She grew up in a Hasidic community and something about it didn’t feel right. She didn’t connect to what she was learning and didn’t feel comfortable asking questions to get answers that might change that. She didn’t even want to get married or have children […]
Important change is happening in the Belzer Hasidic community. Unfortunately, when someone decides not to remain religious anymore, they can be cut off from their family and the community they grew up in, which often, is all they know. This doesn’t always happen, but it exists, and it is now being both publicly addressed and […]
I am a husband and father living in Lakewood, New Jersey. On the surface, I look like I live a standard religious life, but underneath, I’m on a deep journey of spiritual growth, pain and reconnection — thanks to Makom. Makom is helping me in a way I could never have imagined. I grew up in […]
It is early Shabbos morning. I’m relaxing on the couch with my ritual morning coffee, inhaling the steam, wrapping myself in the serenity of Shabbos. My siddur rests on my lap, awaiting my sacred time spent with God. Honestly, I carry God with me all the time, sometimes consciously and other times unconsciously. Sometimes I […]
Eli Verschleiser, chairman and co-founder of the Our Place centers which combat abuse, trauma and addiction in Orthodox Jewish communities, considers himself an honorary Our Place member and thinks he always will be. Originally from Lakewood, New Jersey, his family was one of the first few hundred families who settled there. He had some trouble […]
This class was originally given to the members of Makom, a branch of Jew in the City which helps disenfranchised charedi Jews find their place in Orthodoxy. Fayga Leah Landau is a beloved Satmar Chasidic teacher mentor who has spoken for Makom on numerous occasions.
