My Unorthodox Life on Netflix

[Anonymous]

The visit to Monsey was interesting. It seems like a different world than NYC. t reminded me of a conservative catholic community near my Midwestern hometown.

[Anonymous]

Julia is not from a Hasidic community and did not attend Hasidic schools. Not all Othodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews are Hasidic. For example, Lakewood NJ has a huge non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community. There is a Hasidic presence there too, but a relatively much smaller one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Julia is not from a Hasidic community and did not attend Hasidic schools. Not all Othodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews are Hasidic. For example, Lakewood NJ has a huge non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community. There is a Hasidic presence there too, but a relatively much smaller one.

No one said she was Hasidic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julia is not from a Hasidic community and did not attend Hasidic schools. Not all Othodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews are Hasidic. For example, Lakewood NJ has a huge non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community. There is a Hasidic presence there too, but a relatively much smaller one.

No one said she was Hasidic

No one on the show said that. But in this thread at least one or two people seem to think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julia is not from a Hasidic community and did not attend Hasidic schools. Not all Othodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews are Hasidic. For example, Lakewood NJ has a huge non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community. There is a Hasidic presence there too, but a relatively much smaller one.

No one said she was Hasidic

No one on the show said that. But in this thread at least one or two people seem to think so.

Sorry, I mentioned that. As an outsider looking in, I am not nuanced enough to understand the differences between Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox or how it makes a difference in terms of Julia's lived experience. My perception is the role and expectations of women seem to be similar in both communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julia is not from a Hasidic community and did not attend Hasidic schools. Not all Othodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews are Hasidic. For example, Lakewood NJ has a huge non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox community. There is a Hasidic presence there too, but a relatively much smaller one.

No one said she was Hasidic

No one on the show said that. But in this thread at least one or two people seem to think so.

Sorry, I mentioned that. As an outsider looking in, I am not nuanced enough to understand the differences between Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox or how it makes a difference in terms of Julia's lived experience. My perception is the role and expectations of women seem to be similar in both communities.

The community she describes (Hasidic) and the lifestyle she descibes on the show (and the one many of the people on this thread are describing) is much more insular than the one she lives. In the communities she lived in, many women are professionals, women are educated, get professional degrees, work out of the house, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm an ultra orthodox woman. I was debating responding but I'll give it a shot
The issue most of my friends have isn't that Julia is making up things that never happen. There are plenty of sources for the hell boiling water (not acid) modesty punishment and yes, well, wait til you find out what fundamentalist Muslims and Christians believe.

The problem is we know her. We grew up with her. She did not come from a community like the one she describes. It's like the Nigerian prime minister coming to Harvard and speaking about his difficult life in inner city Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Pp. I'm actually from a no movies or secular books background, yet went to college and moved to the left and am still very much a part of the community. I love dressing modestly and being a wife and mother and I'm glad my community values and respects my roles. I also work out of the home, but I consider that a secondary role.

I think raising kids to believe in God and that their actions are important is a good way to raise healthy kids. My boys bake and my girls can fix things, but they have unique spiritual roles they are proud of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an ultra orthodox woman. I was debating responding but I'll give it a shot
The issue most of my friends have isn't that Julia is making up things that never happen. There are plenty of sources for the hell boiling water (not acid) modesty punishment and yes, well, wait til you find out what fundamentalist Muslims and Christians believe.

The problem is we know her. We grew up with her. She did not come from a community like the one she describes. It's like the Nigerian prime minister coming to Harvard and speaking about his difficult life in inner city Chicago.

If you haven't already, please do an AMA.

[Anonymous]

I'll answer here to the best of my ability. Pp who actually grew up with no movies or secular books and is annoyed and slightly amused by Julia (we knew her as Talia Leibov)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll answer here to the best of my ability. Pp who actually grew up with no movies or secular books and is annoyed and slightly amused by Julia (we knew her as Talia Leibov)

thanks! What do you think about her saying that women in the community are only seen as baby makers. Did you feel this way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll answer here to the best of my ability. Pp who actually grew up with no movies or secular books and is annoyed and slightly amused by Julia (we knew her as Talia Leibov)

thanks! What do you think about her saying that women in the community are only seen as baby makers. Did you feel this way?

It's the equivalent of saying women in the secular world are only valued for their sex appeal. Of course it's not true, but there's some truth to it.

I would phrase it more like this: there is a lot of respect for the value of having a family. So having kids is an important job, and most orthodox women view it as very important - it is extremely difficult for infertile or unmarried oldee women to feel part of the community. But working is also important.

I consider having kids and raising them to serve God and do good things and contribute to the world my most important job in life. I love doing it even though it is really really hard sometimes. I guess you could call me a baby maker but that would be like calling a lawyer a paper maker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll answer here to the best of my ability. Pp who actually grew up with no movies or secular books and is annoyed and slightly amused by Julia (we knew her as Talia Leibov)

What parts of her story or struggles do you feel she is misrepresenting? How would you describe Julia’s personality during the time she was practicing Ultra Orthodox?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll answer here to the best of my ability. Pp who actually grew up with no movies or secular books and is annoyed and slightly amused by Julia (we knew her as Talia Leibov)

What parts of her story or struggles do you feel she is misrepresenting? How would you describe Julia’s personality during the time she was practicing Ultra Orthodox?

I did not know her well as I am from a much stricter community (that she is pretending to be from). She went to a very academic high school which was probably the equivalent of a dcum private school education. She was well known and liked and considered talented and successful.

I haven't watched the show but based on reading about it it sounds like narcissism /borderline to me. She did like attention even when she was religious.

[Anonymous]

Do you feel that shows like this are harmful to your community and can feed into antisemitism?