Judaism · Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

Heretic in the House

by Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

America has a fascination with Hasidic Jews; they show up frequently in memoirs, in newspapers, and even on Netflix. But these popular depictions don’t tell the whole story; they just tell the story the public wants to hear. What they hide is a complicated dance between Orthodox Judaism and those who leave the community, and a web of stereotypes that trap Hassidim, rebels, and the public alike. In this limited four-part series, Professor Naomi Seidman takes us on a deeply moving journey with believers and heretics alike to uncover their hidden stories. Heretic in the House is a podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. It's written by Naomi Seidman and produced by M. Louis Gordon. David Zvi Kalman is our senior producer. It is mixed by Cory Choy at Silver Sound NYC with theme music from Luke Allen.

Latest episodes

Showing 6 · updated from the feed

BONUS: The Path to Heretic in the House

Here's a conversation from a different podcast by the Shalom Hartman Institute called Identity/Crisis, Hosted by Yehuda Kurtzer. In this episode, he interviews Naomi Seid

Dec 22 2022
52 min

Episode 4: "You're So Brave"

The crucial moment in so many stories about leaving the Orthodox community is the decision itself, which is frequently portrayed as a painful and heroic act, one that req

Dec 21 2022
39 min

Episode 3: Nebekh

The secular world has a narrative about what it means to leave Orthodox Judaism. The Orthodox world has a narrative, too, one that treats those who leave as pitiful peopl

Dec 13 2022
40 min

Episode 2: Shunning

There’s a widespread notion that people who leave Orthodox communities are typically shunned, completely cut off from their families. Even those who leave Orthodox commun

Nov 29 2022
44 min

Episode 1: Telling the Tale

One of the deep ironies of leaving Orthodox Judaism is that people ask you to tell the story of your exit over and over again. Some people who left even make their living

Nov 21 2022
28 min

Introducing: Heretic in the House

Nov 9 2022
1 min