35: Deborah Feldman: ‘Real’ Esty from Unorthodox on Netflix

Have you watched Unorthodox on Netflix yet? It’s a highly moving drama, brilliantly portrayed in English, German - and Yiddish.

It’s the story of a pregnant teenager fleeing her ultra-orthodox Jewish community in New York for a new and uncharted life in Berlin.

The series heroine, Esty Shapiro, played by Shira Haas (pictured with Deborah) is fictitious - but the story largely isn't. It's considerably the real-life story of Deborah Feldman, who now lives in the German capita having grown up in Brooklyn in a Satmar community.

Deborah's book is the story of her own exodus from Williamsburg and I tracked her down to her Berlin home, which was easier than normal during lockdown!

It's an intense interview covering many topics, including the role of women in orthodox communities, how the current Jewish generation deal with the trauma of the Holocaust, the future of Zionism and just how many Chasidim(religious Jews) have taken Esty and Deborah's route out. It’s “thousands and now it’s become a movement”, says Deborah.

LISTEN to this powerful, thought-provoking interview with the real Esty Shapiro, Deborah Feldman.

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