You might have wondered: do Hasidic Jews get shunned if they leave the faith? Does their family sit "shiva" for them -- meaning, does their Hasidic family consider them as if they are dead, and perform the rituals of mourning?

In this long-form interview, I talk to Zalman Newfield. Zalman is a professor, researcher, and fellow exiter from Hasidism. For his research, he set out to answer the above questions and many others. Zalman interviewed 74 people who left the fold and his findings tell a complex, yet universal, story. He published his findings in his wonderful book 'Degrees of Separation - Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism'. In our talk, we cover many topics about the relationship with the community while leaving: from the challenges of maintaining a relationship with family in the community, to custody battles, to ways of holding on to parts of the past that are valuable.

Zalman's work can be found on his website at https://zalmannewfield.com/ and you can buy his book on Amazon or directly from the publisher here: https://tupress.temple.edu/...

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