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 mark@nishmaresearch.dom.

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 mark@nishmaresearch.com.

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 mark@nishmaresearch.com.

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.