• First Dutch OTD Memoir Published

    From the cover: “Dina-Perla grew up in Jewish orthodoxy and a suffocating reality, where nothing is what it seems. As a young girl, she fought for freedom and love, flees her parental home and decides never to return.” Dina-Perla Portnaar’s debut is called “Exodus uit de vuurtoren” (Exodus from the lighthouse” and can be purchased…

  • Recommended Article: Leaving is OK

    http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/leaving-is-okay/

  • Just a Casualty

    Just a Casualty

    Dear mom, If only you would be more concerned with my wellbeing and less concerned about religion You would still have me If only you would give me what I need And not what you want me to need If only if only…

  • We Are Not Lost

    We Are Not Lost

    by Aryeh Levine I’m tired of seeing rabbis bemoaning the existence of OTD kids as “the loss of so many children.” I just want to grab them by the shoulders, look them in the eye, and say: We are not lost. We are still here. We lost you. Before we ever had you, we lost…

  • OTD History: H. N. Bialik

    OTD History: H. N. Bialik

    Although not all of us learned about this during our education at Bais Yaakov or yeshiva, we are not the first generations to think and write about the experience of going off the derech. Of course dissent has always been a part of Jewish tradition, from Hillel and Shammai down to Spinoza. But the OTDers…

  • The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me at Wellesley

    The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me at Wellesley

    http://forward.com/opinion/379538/the-day-my-hasidic-father-visited-me-at-wellesley/  

  • Leah Vincent’s Life and Her Ability to Come Out the Other Side

    Leah Vincent’s Life and Her Ability to Come Out the Other Side

    Via Real Women Real Stories:

  • Living in Two Worlds

    People who are still living as an Orthodox Jew to the outside but on the inside have left Orthodox Judaism, have to deal with living in two worlds: the orthodox home / society / family on the one hand, and the personal beliefs and private actions of this person on the other hand. Dealing with…

  • Reasons Why People Go OTD

    There is a widespread misconception (based on Sanhedrin 63) that the only reason why people leave observance is to indulge in their desires. In general, we can say that there are plenty emotional and rational reasons why people leave Orthodox Judaism. Rational reasons include: Lack of belief in the notion of God Lack of belief in the authority…

  • Survey Reveals 46% of National Religious Israelis Leave The Faith

    Survey: Only 46% of Next Generation National Religious Israelis Keep the Faith

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