Test Your Knowledge of the Hasidic Jewish Community

Interview with Suri Braun: From Non-Religious to Hasidic Jew

• Suri Braun grew up in a rural area in the Netherlands with a very loving mother and a strict father.

• Her mother's grandmother was Jewish, but her mother did not follow the Jewish religion due to discrimination.

• Suri and her siblings were of color, and their great-grandmother favored their lighter-skinned cousins.

• Suri did not attend Hasidic schools and did not want people to know she was Jewish as a child.

• When Suri was 18, she moved to New York and fell in love with the city.

• Suri saw a Jewish man on the train and followed him to ask for guidance on learning more about Judaism.

• The man, a rabbi, asked Suri about her Jewish background and gave her his number to look into resources for her.

• Suri received a call from the rabbi shortly after and began learning about Judaism.

• Suri eventually became a Hasidic Jew and wrote a book about her journey.

• The episode is in memory of Bin Yakush Lima, Miriam Sarah as Yakov Moshe, and Simple David Benavamosha.

• The podcast features advertisements for the Simpler Time Revolution and a Torah learning campaign.

• The podcast host, Yakov Langer, is always looking for inspiring Jews around the world.From Non-Religious to Hasidic: A Journey of Belonging

• The narrator, a non-religious woman from Holland, moves to New York City and is approached by a rabbi at a train station who recommends an organization for beginners to learn more about Judaism.

• She starts attending events and services at this organization and begins to feel a sense of belonging in the young, modern, and outspoken community of Jews.

• Through her work at the organization, she starts to learn more about Judaism and becomes more religious.

• She also meets a friend who introduces her to her Hasidic family in Brooklyn and feels an instant sense of home and belonging.

• Despite feeling uncomfortable at first, she attends a wedding in Williamsburg and is initially questioned by women at the event until she reveals that she is Jewish, after which she is fully accepted.

• She befriends a woman who suggests she visit a different Hasidic community in Monroe, New York, and she becomes more interested in Hasidic Judaism.

• She becomes close with a machetiach who oversees the kitchen at events she caters and takes walks with him, but has no intention of dating him.

• He invites her to a wedding in Williamsburg and encourages her to attend despite not receiving an invitation.

• At the wedding, she feels accepted and is even approached by women to dance with her.

• She becomes fully absorbed in the Hasidic community after moving to Brooklyn and feels out of place in her previous Modern Orthodox community.

• She considers different sects of Orthodoxy but ultimately finds a sense of belonging in the Hasidic community due to her Yiddish background and upbringing.

• She acknowledges that she sits in different communities in terms of her upbringing of her children and speaking Yiddish.A Hasidic Woman of Color Talks About Her Identity and Challenges

• The woman identifies as Hasidic, but does not like to label herself as belonging to a specific Hasidic dynasty.

• She prefers to dress according to her age and feels that some younger women dress too old.

• She faced challenges when trying to enroll her children in Jewish schools due to not having a traditional background and being from Holland.

• Her great-grandmother was from the Bells Hasidic dynasty, but she does not necessarily consider herself part of that community.

• She has three children, all boys, and went through a divorce.

• Her ex-husband was not from a religious background and became Hasidic to marry her, but eventually pulled back from religion.

• Her mother and siblings had mixed reactions to her becoming Hasidic.

• She feels that her identity as a Hasidic person of color sometimes leads to curiosity and stares from others.

• She is currently looking to get married but is using Jewish matchmakers rather than dating apps.

• She wants to make sure that she finds a suitable partner and is cautious due to having children.

• She faces challenges as a minority within a minority and sometimes feels like she does not fit in.

• She believes that being different is challenging, but ultimately it is up to the individual to allow negative opinions to affect them.Interview with a Hasidic Jewish Mother

• The interviewee is a Hasidic Jewish mother living in Brooklyn, NY.

• She has faced questions about her race and ethnicity from both children and adults.

• Despite facing these questions, she remains positive and focuses on the positivity of the children she interacts with.

• She values being true to herself and her mission in life, and encourages her children to do the same.

• Her oldest son is particularly curious about the meaning behind Jewish traditions and asks questions to understand them better.

• If she could spend an hour with someone from history, she would choose Rachel from the Bible.

• The interviewee's great-grandmother's last words to her had a profound impact on her life and helped her understand her identity as a Hasidic Jew.

• The best advice she ever received was from her mother, to stay true to herself.

• The worst advice she received was to not get too close to the Hasidic community because they are racist.

• She wants people to know that Hasidic Jews are individuals and not all the same, and to be open-minded and not believe everything they hear or read.

• The interviewee has written a book about her experiences, which is selling well and can be purchased through a link in the show notes.

• The interview touches on themes of identity, resilience, and the importance of staying true to oneself.