Learning Times Tables at 23

When people come to GesherEU, they often have very little secular education. We find out how the charity and its partners help members to achieve their potential. Most children in the UK learn their times tables when they are seven. But GesherEU member Pini, now 23, has only just learned them. That’s because, like many […]

How I Escaped from a Golden Prison

Moishy* name changed* is 28. He left the Hasidic community three years ago. “Growing up in Stamford Hill, I used to see non-Jews walking through, in their jeans and t-shirts, or riding on their bicycles by the River Lea. For me, they represented something grounded and real – something I was very attracted to. My […]

“It’s always worse than you realised” – Review of Unorthodox

My perspective is as a woman who grew up and lived in a similar Chasidic community for the first forty years of my life, who was driven out of the community for going against their rules, and whose relationship with my five children was destroyed as a result. I thought the Netflix series Unorthodox was […]

Tonight I had an unusual experience …

Tonight I had an unusual experience. I went to the theatre to watch Fiddler on the Roof. For me going to the theatre is not unusual. I have been to the theatre before. I have been OTD for over 7 years now – going to the West End and enjoying a night out is not […]

On the Eve of Making Aliyah

A Letter to the GesherEU Community Thank you so much for all your kind and heart warming wishes and for your lovely gift. I feel very emotional at this time and apologise for the long letter that I am writing to you. I just want to thank you for being such a crucial part of […]

Healthy Relationship Workshops

I recently attended the Healthy Relationship Workshops that GesherEU ran. Having been OTD all my life on the inside has affected how I develop relationships, friendships and love.  Additionally, transitioning into a world where I belong has been a soul defining time for me. It has however been difficult to recalibrate and fine tune my […]

The Mathematician’s Story.

That probably would have been the first word I used to describe myself only two or three years ago. Isolated, because the people I spent most of my time with were fully immersed in a culture I was just beginning to discover. Isolated, because the people I had grown up with understood me so little, […]

Heading On The Derech….

As a woman who is going along the journey of leaving it all behind to a ‘better life’ or better yet the real ‘Gan Eden’ together with my beautiful children I would like to share with my readers some of my insights I have gotten as we cross the ‘bridge’ and  ’go off the derech’ […]