''My Unorthodox Life'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

that premiered on July 14, 2021. The series centers on

Julia Haart Julia Haart (born April 11, 1971), previously known as Yulia Leibov, Julia Leibov, Talia Leibov, and Talia Hendler, is an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and author. She is the founder of Body by Julia, a body-positive, technologically ...

, the former CEO of a modeling agency and fashion company and a former

ultra-Orthodox Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Jew, as Haart and her family acculturate to their new non-religious lifestyle in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The second season premiered on December 2, 2022.

Plot

The nine-episode web series documents Haart and her children's decision to leave the Haredi Jewish community in

Monsey, New York Monsey (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by ...

, and pursue their passions for fashion and design. Haart claims that she had left Haredi Judaism over her discomfort with the community's strict religious observances and principles that she views as a form of "

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

". Haart is depicted in the show as completing an autobiographical work recounting her personal journey. Haart's memoir is titled, ''Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie''. The show features Haart's four children, Batsheva, Shlomo, Miriam, and Aron; her second husband, Italian entrepreneur Silvio Scaglia Haart; and her best friend and chief operating officer of Elite Model World, Robert Brotherton.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Reception

Critical response

Response to the documentary has been mixed, with some praising Haart's verve and love of freedom, and others condemning her for her distortion of orthodox Jewish values. Joseph Berger, writing for the New York Times, notes Haart's claims that women are simply looked at as "baby-making machines" or "second class citizens," and discouraged from going to college, while in reality most girls who went to Haart's Beis Yakov are encouraged to attend college. Yet Haart defended her claims by saying that she had spoken with other women in the Jewish community and they agreed with her. Writing for the ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

'', Joel Keller recommends the show, writing that it is "going to ride on Julia Haart's personality, and this force of nature has personality to spare," but that he found some of it "more 'reality-real' than 'real-real'. Jenny Singer, in '' Glamour'', called the series "wildly compelling", but wrote that while "Haart's anger at her upbringing is justifiable", Haart will "make life dangerous for Jewish people", by "making a reality show that depicts them as monsters". She further added that in her interaction with Orthodox women she doesn't see oppression, and that it may just be a matter of perspective. Irene Katz Connelly, in ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'', writes that the show is "full of clothing choices, but those who don't choose correctly get chastised", and notes that the show "barely touches on the intriguing logistics of Haart's fashion world ascent". Judy Berman also panned the show, writing in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' that "it's hard to tell which parts of the show have been massaged into ads for Elite, Batsheva's career as an influencer, or Julia's forthcoming memoir". In ''J.: The Jewish News of Northern California'', writer Esther D. Kustanowitz noted: "There's an interesting core story: Julia's goal to liberate and empower people in a way that she thinks allows them to be the most authentic and free versions of themselves...

aart Aart is a Dutch short form of the given name Arnout (English Arnold).Aart
at the

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...

''".

Response from Orthodox Jewish community

Articles published in

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

media outlets were heavily critical of the perceived anti-Orthodox premises of the show. Many women turned to social media to post pro-Orthodox stories using the hashtag #MyOrthodoxLife, and to express opposition to the show as distorting their position in the Orthodox community. Author Roberta Rosenthal Kwall wrote in ''

Jewish Journal ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by the nonprofit TRIBE Media Corp. It ...

'': "Most people outside of Orthodox communities do not understand that Orthodoxy in general is far from monolithic", and the show omits how "Orthodox women are often highly educated and professionally accomplished even in the world of Jewish law, long a male-dominated field". Writing a review in the ''

Washington Jewish Week ''Washington Jewish Week'' (''WJW'') is an independent community weekly newspaper whose logo reads, "Serving the nation's capital and the greater Washington Jewish community since 1930."

'', writer Andy Gottlieb stated that the show is vapid, and the characters are narcissistic. Rabbi Yair Hoffman, writing in the ''

Five Towns Jewish Times ''Five Towns Jewish Times'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Jewish communities of the Five Towns in southwestern Nassau County, New York, and the greater New York area, covering the area's large and growing Orthodox Jewish community. History Th ...

'', said that the show is "spewing a vicious form of hatred designed to cast observant Jewry in a hideously negative light".

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2021 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2020s American reality television series American English-language television shows Netflix original programming American religious television series Jewish American television series Television shows set in Manhattan