The Orthonomics Podcast

In this episode, we continue our discussion of health, including some references to our recent survey of the community, with Dr. Sharon Galper Grossman. Dr. Grossman is a Harvard-trained physician (MD) with a Master of Public Health degree (MPH), a radiation oncologist, public-health scholar, and a Jewish law (halacha) scholar and educator, known for bridging modern medicine and Jewish ethics and halacha, especially on issues related to women's health and preventive measures. She previously served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grossman is deeply involved in advanced Jewish legal scholarship. She completed the Morot L'Halakha program at Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies, and she provides the observant Jewish community with expert medical knowledge uniquely melded with deep halachic knowledge and appreciation. She has written widely on these topics in such publications as Tradition, Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, and The Times of Israel. Click HERE to see Dr. Grossman's article in the OU Jewish Action Pesach Newsletter: "The Ozempic Seder: Navigating Weight-Loss Medicine on Pesach." For our recent report, "The Nishma Research / JOWMA Orthodox Jewish Community Health Needs Assessment Survey" – click HERE. For a related article in The Jewish Press, "How Healthy are Orthodox Jews?" – click HERE. Many articles by Dr. Grossman are available at The Times of Israel – click HERE. If you have any suggestions for our upcoming survey on "Gap Year Experiences and Impacts" please email them to us – click HERE.

In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Jennie Berkovich the results of our recent survey of over 1,100 Orthodox Jews, relating to their health concerns and issues. Dr. Berkovich is a board-certified pediatrician focused on improving access to care for children, while also educating communities about pediatric health. She is also the Director of Education of JOWMA – The Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association – the organization that collaborated with us on this study, and she authored substantial sections of the report, providing her medical reactions and advice on the health issues raised. Links: For the full report, "The Nishma Research / JOWMA Orthodox Jewish Community Health Needs Assessment Survey" – click HERE. For a related article in The Jewish Press, "How Healthy are Orthodox Jews?" – click HERE. To access the JOWMA website, click HERE. Note that the website has information on many resources available to healthcare providers and to the public. There are many pages in the report labeled as "Medical Observations & Recommendations – Prepared by JOWMA," and these were all prepared by Dr. Berkovich in connection with the most frequently mentioned health concerns. In our conversation, Dr. Berkovich mentioned the "Plant-Forward Diet," and this is explained in a bit of detail on pages 28-29 of the report. Dr. Berkovich mentioned JOWMA's forthcoming book, "The Jewish Woman's Health Handbook" (summer of 2026). If you want to be informed when the book is released, just send an email to [email protected], with "JOWMA Book" as the subject, and we'll send you an email when the book is released.

Harry Weller is extremely knowledgeable on the topic of how we as Jews can defend ourselves, be prepared for and able to respond to threats. In this episode we discuss the need for, and resources available for Jews to learn self-defense, preparedness, how to deal with potential threats, and even the topic of gun ownership. Harry Weller is a long-time Connecticut attorney who served for decades as a Senior Assistant State's Attorney in the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. He is known for his work as a prosecutor and appellate litigator, handling a wide range of criminal appeals on behalf of the state. He argued numerous cases in the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts, including high-profile criminal matters. He was a recipient of awards such as Prosecutor of the Year and the University of Connecticut School of Law's Public Service Award for his contributions to criminal justice. In addition, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at UConn Law School. Here is a LINK to the Legion Program, which Harry describes in this episode.

Rabbi Steven Greenberg is an Orthodox rabbi and author. Ordained at Yeshiva University, he has spent years teaching, writing, and speaking across the Jewish world about tradition, ethics, and religious change. Specifically, as co-founder of the group Eshel, he was one of the earliest voices calling for inclusion of LGBTQ individuals – gay people – within Orthodox Judaism. How do we do that? On the one hand, we must think deeply about how Torah speaks to this reality. At the same time, we must care for people living this reality right now. Rabbi Greenberg joins us to explore where Orthodoxy has been – and where it may be heading – on some of its most challenging and important questions. Here is a LINK to Eshel for more information. Or enter into your web browser: https://www.eshelonline.org/ If you have any comments on this episode, suggestions for future episodes, or just want to chat about research in the Jewish world, please email [email protected].

In this episode we discuss the cost of Orthodox / frum life. What factors affect it, and how? We discuss overall finances (how many are doing OK; how many are not doing OK?); the impact of children's education costs; housing costs in Orthodox neighborhoods; kosher food prices; competitiveness and "showiness"; whether and how incomes are keeping up; is the Orthodox situation getting worse, including compared to the U.S. as a whole?; and, finally, to what extent are people holding up under cost pressures? My guest, David Sheril grew up Britain. His family became baalei teshuvah when he was nine years old. When David was eleven, his family made aliyah, and he moved to the US at age 22, in 2005. David attended Mir Yerushalayim and Ner Yisroel, he served as a Jewish high school rebbe for several year,; and then attended law school. He is currently General Counsel for a privately held real estate transactional, management, and lending company. David resides in Clifton, New Jersey, with his wife Miriam (formerly an officer at the Federal Reserve Bank and now Head of Product at an international fintech startup) and their three children. If you have any comments on this episode, suggestions for future episodes, or just want to chat about research in the Jewish world, please email [email protected]. Finally, our Orthodox Community Health Needs and Assessment Survey will be online through January 19, and here is a LINK to take the survey, if you are inclined to do so.

Audrey Lichter is a long-time Jewish educator and community leader, and the founding Executive Director of the Chai Mitzvah program. Audrey has worked in Jewish education for over 30 years, including as the founding principal of Yachad, the community high school in Greater Hartford, Connecticut. She has been active as a lay leader, received community awards, and has been involved locally and nationally in Jewish day school and educational initiatives. Her leadership background and deep experience in Jewish learning helped shape Chai Mitzvah into a program that emphasizes personal meaning and lifelong Jewish engagement. She and her son Simon are the producers of a biweekly lecture series on Zoom called Scholar's Circle that features eminent scholars on topics relating to Israel, antizionism and antisemitism and the Middle East. Lectures are free and open to the public and can be accessed through the ChaiMitzvah website. Chai Mitzvah offers a huge array of Jewish study opportunities, suited to men, women and teens across all of Judaism. The books by Scott Shay that Audrey mentions are: Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry (2007); In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism (2018); and Conspiracy U: A Case Study (2021). More information is available at Scottshay.com. Links to: The ChaiMitzvah Website The ChaiMitzvah Scholars Circle Section The Nishma Research Jewish Study Summary What people want to learn – 605 VERBATIM Responses

Miriam Moster has a PhD sociology, she is a Mellon Humanities Public Fellow and a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Her research explores Jewish communities, education, and the experiences of individuals navigating the boundaries of insular religious worlds. "Navigating the boundaries" means moving from one sector of Judaism and observance to another sector and lifestyle; and she has published widely on these topics. Her work is distinguished by an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on sociology, narrative, and cultural studies to better understand how people view and construct their own personal identity and how they fit into a community. In a wide-ranging conversation, we talk about adults who leave the observant community, the acceptance and value of research in the Haredi community, divorces and their impact on changes in religiosity and religious self-identification, Shabbat for singles, the greater acceptance and "mainstreaming" of therapy, and the dangers and cautions relating to therapy.

Thanks to the Halacha Headlines podcast and Dovid Lichtenstein for allowing us to share this important episode with the Orthonomics audience. Halacha Headlines is an excellent podcast, primarily aimed at the Yeshivish community but with important insights for all Orthodox Jews. It is available at all podcast platforms. For further information about the issues discussed, go to http://amudim.org. The Nishma Research Health Assessment Survey of the Orthodox community is available through January 18, 2026 at http://bit.ly/orthodox-health-2025. You may send feedback or questions to [email protected].

Harry Maryles is the author behind the blog Emes Ve-Emunah (which is now also released as a Substack publication). For many years he has written extensively and prolifically on issues of Halacha (Jewish law), hashkafa (Jewish philosophy), and contemporary matters affecting Orthodoxy. He does not shy away from sensitive or controversial issues, and his columns are just excellent. I've very much enjoyed reading his column and we have even interacted from time to time. He is a rabbi and holds a psychology degree, and also publishes essays and commentary for news-and-analysis outlets such as The Times of Israel. If you want to read his fascinating posts, here is a link to his BLOG, where he has been posting for many years, and here is a LINK to his new Substack, where you can subscribe to get his postings via email.

Elissa Felder is a: • Renowned speaker • Author of the book "From One Life to the Next Life" • The Coordinator of Core's Communities of Practice Elissa also mentioned Chai Mitzvah and the excellent Sourcebook and Materials they have prepared for follow-up discussion of the topics she raises.

Esther Eisner is the founder of AfterForever.org, an online support community for Jewish divorcees. As a divorcee herself, Esther has experienced firsthand some of the challenges of rebuilding – both one's home and ones' self – post-divorce. She started After Forever to help others get back on their feet and to assist in navigating the path to starting over. This is the fourth and final episode of a series dealing wih divorce in the Orthodox Jewish community. See also episode 37 (an overview of the survey findings), episode 39 (conversation with Rabbi Weissmann, director of the Beth Din of America), and episode 40 (conversation with Attorney Deborah Chames, whose broad practice includes family law and divorce issues in the Orthodox community). Here are links to: The Survey of Orthodox Jewish Family Life, Marriage & Divorce. A Summary of the report. The AfterForever.org site offering support to divorcees. If you would like to receive our upcoming Health Survey, just send an email to [email protected].

David Wolpaw reacts to the top health issues that Orthodox Jews recently told us are most important to them, including how their priorities compare with those of the general population. We also have a wide-ranging conversation covering such topics as attitudes toward vaccines, trust in medical authority and government, social media, Israel, and a little bit of politics.

Rocky Bochner is a data analyst and behavioral neuroscientist … and also both a certified personal trainer and a certified nutrition coach in the New York City Orthodox community. It is the latter – exercise and diet – that bring him to this program, in connection with our upcoming health survey. While his practice – RockFitnessNYC.com – provides personal training and classes for men, the issues we discuss apply to all adults in the Orthodox community. Additionally, he trains couples, prepares workouts for women, and can offers recommendations for female one-on-one trainers.

This episode continues our series on divorce, with our guest Deborah Chames, a highly respected partner at a Miami law firm. Deborah represents family law clients at Kluger, Kaplan, a Southeast Florida firm with clients nationwide. She handles high-net-worth divorces and high-conflict divorces. Guided by 42 years of experience, Chames crafts a strategy that advocates for clients while remaining sensitive. She is the first and only woman on the board of Yeshiva Toras Chaim, the largest Orthodox day school in the South. Her daughter, Melissa, also practices family law at Kluger, Kaplan. Chames works pro bono with the legal services committee of the Orthodox Union. In addition to providing solid advice to those contemplating or pursuing divorce, we discuss trends in Orthodox divorce, what she sees first-hand as the major causes, and she suggests some approaches that could reduce the problems and help young people transition into marriage. Links: Deborah's bio and contact information The Nishma Research 2025 divorce survey, some of which is discussed in this episode.

We did a recent divorce survey and discussed the findings in episode 37. This episode is the first of several follow-ups on that topic. The Beth Din of America serves as a national rabbinical court, affiliated with the Rabbinical Council of America and the Orthodox Union. It addresses a broad spectrum of issues and is likely the busiest beth din in the country. (This here are many in the US and experiences vary among them.) Rabbi Shlomo Weissmann is both a rabbi and a lawyer, having received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University and graduated from Columbia Law School. He oversees BDA operations and also serves as an arbitrator (dayan) and mediator in both civil and religious matters. He frequently write, speaks and teaches on how Jewish law intersects with contemporary secular law. Under his direction, the Beth Din has promoted the use and administration of the halakhic prenuptial agreement viewed as an effective solution to the agunah problem by preventing cases of divorce refusal. Links: • The BDA and information about the halachic prenup. • The Nishma Research 2023 Jewish Community Profile (See pages 36-38, which discuss the divorce process) • Article "Beyond the Get: Why More Divorcing Couples Are Turning to the Beth Din of America," Jewish Link, July 24, 2025.

Dr. Berel Leib (Zachary) Epstein lives in Baltimore with his wife and children. He learns at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel. He also is a theoretical physicist and a Senior Staff Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he engages in advanced research aimed at supporting the United States' technological edge in defense applications. He came to my attention when I received an email from Mosaica Press about his new book "Emunah and Physics: A Jewish Resolve." Mosaica Press writes: "The age of the earth. Archaeological evidence. The nature of miracles. These questions have often been either sidestepped or answered in ways that satisfy neither the scientific mind nor the believing soul. 'Emunah and Physics' does something rare: it takes these questions seriously, without flinching—and without losing the integrity of either science or Torah. "Dr. Epstein explores the blurred and often misunderstood boundaries between what we know, what we believe, and what we are still discovering. This book is not about proving Torah with science, nor is it about bending Torah to fit scientific models. It's about thinking clearly, with humility and depth, and seeing how the two worlds can not only coexist but deeply illuminate each other." Here is a LINK to information about this book.