Ever Since the 18th Century, the Haskala Movement has paved the way for those who had grown up in the ultra-orthodox community5, and left, to pursue a different way of life, one which integrated more than just the bible. One which studied all the ways of thought of its time, and sought to integrate into general society and its teachings.
As a result, the mainstream Judaism, had become divided, and the rabbis, worried for their flock’s losing their religious way of life, worked harder to differentiate themselves from those who threw away the yoke of the commandments, thus naming themselves the “orthodox”, or “Charedi” movement6.
Over the years, the Charedi movement had developed, and taken a turn after the second world war, when many of the orthodox community had been killed by the Nazis, and of those remaining, many had trouble continuing to believe in God, after so many Jews were killed. However, those who did remain, followed by their leaders, had moved to Israel and the United states, and grown within a bit over a half a century, to a roughly estimated 1.8 million people, mainly situated in Israel, Western Europe, and North America1. In this new dynamic, the community had attached themselves even stronger to its traditions, and forming an insular community, where secular education is mostly frowned upon, traditional garb from the pre-war era is maintained, and interaction with the outside community is minimal.
However, with the ushering in of the 21st century, and with it the World Wide Web, many youth of the new century have been exposed to the outside world, and thus, the numbers of those leaving the Orthodox community have risen. A sister organization of Forward in New York, called Footsteps, claims to have served over 1,300 people since 200310. Here in Montreal, we have an active membership of 80+ people, with many more who come on occasion, yet don’t directly use Forward’s resources.
As modern technology becomes more and more accessible with smart phones and wi-fi, we expect a surge of many more coming to knock on our doors, and ever since our foundation in 2014, we have been constantly growing.