Zalman Newfield holds a Ph.D. in sociology from NYU and is a lecturer for NJ-STEP, Rutgers University’s college program for New Jersey state prison inmates. He is currently working on two book projects, a memoir and a scholarly account of Hasidic exiters.
Zalman Newfield
By Zalman Newfield
-
Life The Unraveling Of My Hasidic Life
“Are you Jewish?” I would call out on street corners for hours as a Lubavitch teenager, asking passers-by, “Do you want to put on tefillin?” Now, some 25 years later, I can hardly relate to the teen standing on the corner in his black fedora hassling strangers. I thought of him recently when I was…
-
Community Ex-Haredim Cannot Save Liberal Judaism
The recent Netflix documentary One of Us — which depicts the lives and tribulations of three Jews who are attempting to or have already left Hasidic Judaism — has led several commentators to reflect on the subject of those who leave the ultra-Orthodox community. One commentator, Anshel Pfeffer, who believes that there is currently a…
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Books The Lakers were about to shock the NBA. But Shabbat had to end first.
-
Fast Forward As Greenpoint’s Jewish community grows, so does this shul’s Hebrew school
-
Fast Forward Prominent NYC rabbi urges congregants to vote against Zohran Mamdani in Shabbat sermon
-
Fast Forward Ro Khanna, Democratic critic of Israel, says he supports Zionism and the ‘right for Israel to exist’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism