directed by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
I think that each one of us should have the right to be themselves, express themselves and believe in anything they wish as long as they don’t hurt anyone else with their actions. Let me repeat, as long as they don’t hurt anyone. And today I’d like to tell you about a documentary where we learn three stories of people who have been hurt by their religious community. We get to know Etty Ausch, Luzer Twersky and Ari Hershkowitz, all of whom used to be members of Hasidic community – incredibly orthodox Judaism believers. I wouldn’t like to share their stories in details as I think it’s best if you see the documentary yourselves, but generally speaking, all three are showing how toxic the relations between members of such community are, especially when one has doubts or is willing to leave. Even though all three stories are very much emotional, I find the story of Etty the most horrifying. The woman left the community and would like to take care of her children, but she simply cannot. Apparently, religious laws are respected way more than any other kinds of laws, so as long as Etty doesn’t agree to raise her children in the way Hasidic Jews would, she’s not allowed to raise them at all. In other words, the woman left the toxic environment and in order to stay in touch with her own children, she would have to continue the community practices, yet she’s excluded and highly disrespected by them. Or she may stay a free human being and perhaps never see her daughters and sons again. I can’t even express how angry I was watching this documentary because I could feel the helplessness of Etty, Luzer and Ari. Indeed, they have left the community, but, no matter what, they will always be somehow attached to it and maybe they will never experience peace in their life because of that. Absolutely horrifying. All I can say is that the documentary really hits hard and more people should see how religious beliefs, which should be each person’s individual and personal choice, become a tool to manipulate and mistreat other people. I really hope all ex-members of this and similar communities stay strong and find peace.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 