Living within the Haredi community

Ambiguity (בהסתורה} is a new TV series created by Yossi Madmoni about people living within the Haredi community who are conflicted about their faith and their lifestyle. I had a chance to see the first two episodes which were premiered at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival, which took place at the Jerusalem Cinematheque last week.

You might be surprised to learn that there is a Haredi movement, albeit small, of those who are living with a complicated inner battle about their lifestyle.  On the one hand, they are driven to live a freer life, on the other, they are deeply bound or even chained to the ultra-Orthodox community for a variety of personal reasons. This TV series delves deeply into the lives of fictional characters who are living as part of this movement.

In the first episode, Rochele is unhappy about a shidduch (arranged marriage) that is planned for her.  It is during the covid pandemic and there are apartments in the Haredi community which are setup for either men or women to be quarantined.  Rochele is invited to such an apartment where a group of about 20 haredim who call themselves “Marranos” (hidden Jews) are living, under cover of such a quarantined apartment.  She has to deal with many new things – forbidden foods, more revealing dress, attraction to a young man, an overture from a lesbian – all things which are providing great temptations and great confusion.

In the second episode, Sarah, who is older than Rochele and was her teacher in the midrasha (institute of study for religious Jewish women), has to deal with her owns issues and problems, especially issues within her marriage. 

During the discussion following the screening, someone in the audience asked if this series is based on a real phenomenon within the Haredi community.  A young woman raised her hand and said she would like to answer that question.  She proceeded to tell the audience that she herself usually wears a wig and lives in the Haredi community because she is afraid to break away for fear of losing her children. Moreover, she added that she is part of a community of about 300 persons such as herself who live within this gray area, not sure where they belong, and living a lie.

In the discussion, another person asked if all the roles are played by secular actors and if that makes for a difficult issue in the creation of the series.  I was troubled by Yossi Madmoni’s response.  He quipped that American actors can play aliens and no one would question that! This didn’t seem to me to be a fair parallel.  Do we really look at Haredim as aliens from outer space? 

Perhaps this TV series will open our eyes to the complexities of living in that community and will help us to understand that not all Haredim are the same, their clothes notwithstanding.

I strongly recommend this series – it is quite compelling, with good acting and a great script which deals with serious issues.  It will be broadcast on KAN-TV during the early months of 2026.  Watch for it!