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A groundbreaking ex-Hasidic memoir is now an opera
(New York Jewish Week) — As a Hasidic mom raising a family in Houston, Leah Lax had seven children ages 9 and under — including an infant, and a toddler with health issues, born just 11 months apart. When she found herself unexpectedly pregnant again, she realized she needed to have an abortion.
That scene — and the ensuing conflict with her husband, who viewed abortion as murder — is an emotional climax in “Uncovered: A Chamber Opera in One Act,” which is based on Lax’s acclaimed memoir, “Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home.” When the book was published in 2015, the New York Jewish Week called it “the first ex-Hasidic gay memoir.”
Produced by City Lyric Opera, it opens Wednesday at Manhattan’s HERE Arts Center, and runs through Saturday night.
Raised in a secular Jewish family, Lax connected with the Chabad Hasidic movement at age 16 and married a grad student when she was 19. Today, Lax, 66, still lives in Houston, but with her wife, with whom she has been partnered for 17 years. Her children — some of whom have remained religious and some who have not — are spread around the country. Lax has 13 grandchildren “and counting,” she says with audible delight.
Lax wrote the libretto for “Uncovered,” as she has for other operas; the music was composed by Lori Laitman. Lax’s next book, “Not From Here,” is based on a libretto she wrote for Houston Grand Opera for which she spent a year interviewing dozens of refugees and immigrants in the Texas city. It is slated for publication in summer 2023 by Pegasus Press. Interviewing those people led Lax to realize that she felt like an immigrant to her own life, she said.
Lax and I have known each other since I reviewed the book “Uncovered” shortly after publication.
This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
New York Jewish Week: What did your eighth pregnancy represent?
Leah Lax: It was the wakeup call of my life. Before that I was inured to everything except following what I was expected to do. Before that my body didn’t belong to me. It belonged to God, and what is God? Halacha [Jewish law] is the voice of God.
Then I realized that this pregnancy could kill me. My body was telling me something that nobody else was hearing, and I realized that I am the authority of my body. I decided to get an abortion. When I told my husband it sparked a huge crisis. He said “If you do, I will divorce you.” To soothe him, I said let’s ask a rav [a rabbi]. I knew I would do it anyway, but if a rav said yes I wouldn’t be out on the street or lose my children [in a divorce]. The rav spoke to my doctor, who said he thought I was at risk. The rav came back and said, “You have to do this thing and do not speak of it to anyone.” Today Christian values have taken over the abortion issue and it really is stomping on our freedom of religion. [Most Jewish sources do not consider that life begins at conception, and Jewish tradition allows room to prioritize the life of the mother when there is a danger to her physical or emotional health.]
I had the abortion, but it came between my husband and me. He grieved and would not speak of it. I was alone with my secret. But I was awake. I changed. That’s when I started writing. It set off a process that led me out the door.
You stayed in Houston, where you raised your family. What was it like to come out as gay and non-religious there?
I was having an affair with a woman. The whole community figured it out and erupted in gossip. I was followed. There’s a confrontation scene in the opera about it. I crossed town to be with my lover and didn’t come out formally until I moved out of the house and left the community. The community shunned me to the point where I began grocery shopping on Saturdays to avoid people. I had been the first- and third-grade teacher at their Chabad day school, and I lost those relationships. Now I’ve reconciled with many of them.
What impact did the publication of “Uncovered” have?
It caused tension with some of my religious kids. They were OK with our differences as long as it was private. Putting it in print, that radical freedom of speech was a departure for them. I really seek to heal that — we have, to some extent. Being an artist is an act of radical free speech. Artists are dangerous people. If I had it to do over again, I would talk it through with my children in advance. I didn’t know to prepare them for it, and I don’t know if it would have helped.
Writing it, I had to delve into memories and keep renewing that story. I became a person living both my past and present. It moved me forward. It led into the next project, “Not From Here: The Song of America,” this awareness of the past and how it forms us.
What do you want viewers to take away from “Uncovered” the opera?
I want my work to break down religious walls. I want people to find through this work that these issues that are looked as abstract by movements are personal and individual, whether it’s abortion, sexuality or religious choice. It is within us, or between us and God.
“Uncovered” runs at the HERE Arts Center, 145 Sixth Ave. Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 16-18, 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 19, 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 19, 8:30 p.m. $35. Get ticket information here.
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The post A groundbreaking ex-Hasidic memoir is now an opera appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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The Problem with ‘Business as Usual’ in Philanthropy
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Many of today’s non-profit humanitarian organizations — well-funded, well-staffed, and highly visible — aren’t built for crisis. Their models are too slow. Their structures are too rigid. Their priorities are often disconnected from the realities on the ground. Most critically, too many are consumed by internal processes and fundraising goals that make real-time agility almost impossible.
This isn’t a condemnation of every non-profit — many do vital work. But there’s a growing gap between donor intentions and impact. People give from their hearts, yet their money often fails to reach the people or places they hoped to help — or doesn’t arrive in time to make a difference.
That gap became painfully clear after October 7, when Israel faced a national trauma that shook the Jewish world. Innocent civilians were attacked, families torn apart, and a nation’s very existence threatened. In those first few hours and days, the need for immediate aid — medical gear, protective equipment, trauma support — was overwhelming. And yet, the legacy systems of philanthropy couldn’t keep pace with the urgency of the moment.
The Jewish world, and Israel specifically, cannot afford to depend solely on these legacy systems. Too many aid dollars disappear into operations distant from the field and too removed from the moment. At a time when donor fatigue is real and scrutiny of nonprofits is higher than ever, transparency and efficiency aren’t just ideals — they’re survival tools.
This is not a call to tear down the existing ecosystem of aid organizations. It’s a call to evolve it. Large institutional NGOs play an important role, especially in the long-term recovery and rebuilding processes. But they cannot be the only model. The future of humanitarian response must include leaner, more nimble, and more accountable organizations that treat urgency as a core operating principle, not a marketing term.
Two years ago, when we launched Israel Friends, it wasn’t the result of a lengthy strategic planning process or a carefully crafted brand vision. It was a reaction and a necessity. A response to an absolute crisis. Our guiding question was simple: What can we do that will matter right now?
We come from the world of supply chains and logistics, not traditional philanthropy. Before starting an NGO, we used those skills in the private sector, and later, during moments of crisis, to get personal protective equipment to hospitals during COVID-19 and deliver trauma kits to frontline medics during the invasion of Ukraine. Those experiences shaped our approach: keep overhead low, move fast, cut red tape, and deliver aid directly where it’s needed most, as quickly as possible.
After October 7, that meant getting gear, medical supplies, and protective equipment to soldiers on the front lines — not months later, not after a funding cycle or committee review — immediately. We even invested our own money into purchasing aid at the start, and didn’t expect or want anything in return. Today, those needs have shifted. Mental health has become one of the most urgent and overlooked aspects of recovery, and we’ve shifted with it. Flexibility and responsiveness aren’t just features of our model; they are the model.
Operating this way isn’t easy – it runs counter to the grain of much of the nonprofit world, where large infrastructure and high administrative costs are often seen as signs of sophistication rather than inefficiency. But when lives are on the line, we believe the opposite is true: the ability to act quickly, with minimal overhead and maximum impact, is the defining measure of success.
We didn’t plan to build a new non-profit. We built it because, at that moment, it felt like we had no other choice. But now, two years in, we see this is bigger than one crisis. It’s about changing how we think about aid altogether. The future of philanthropy depends on the willingness to act first and fundraise later — to measure success not by size, but by speed and impact.
The next time tragedy strikes — whether in Israel or somewhere else — we hope there are more organizations ready to act without delay, to deliver without waste, and to serve without ego. Because that’s what the moment demands. If October 7 taught us anything, it’s that bureaucracy saves no lives. Agility, compassion, and courage do.
Teddy Raskin and Jordan Fried are co-founders of Israel Friends, a grassroots organization founded in the aftermath of October 7th, which has raised tens of millions in direct aid with minimal overhead since its launch.
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Mamdani’s victory worries many Jewish leaders
דער אַרטיקל איז אַ פֿאַרקירצטער נוסח פֿונעם ענגלישן אַרטיקל, וואָס געפֿינט זיך דאָ.
ווען זאָכראַן מאַמדאַני, אַ שאַרפֿער קריטיקער פֿון ישׂראל, האָט דינסטיק געוווּנען די ווײַלן פֿאַר ניו־יאָרקער בירגער־מײַסטער, האָבן אַ צאָל ייִדישע פֿירער אויסגעדריקט זאָרג בעת אַנדערע האָבן רעאַגירט מיט באַגײַסטערונג און אָפּטימיזם.
מאַמדאַני, וואָס וועט ווערן דער ערשטער מוסולמענישער בירגער־מײַסטער פֿון ניו־יאָרק, האָט באַקומען 50.4% פֿון די שטימען. דער געוועזענער ניו־יאָרקער גובערנאַטאָר אַנדרו קואָמאָ, וואָס האָט קאַנדידירט אומאָפּהענגיק פֿון קיין פּאַרטיי, איז געקומען אויפֿן צווייטן אָרט מיט 41.6%. דער רעפּובליקאַנער קאַנדידאַט קורטיס סליוואַ האָט געקראָגן 7.1% פֿון די שטימען.
לויט די לעצטע אַנקעטעס דינסטיק בײַ נאַכט האָבן 60% ייִדישע וויילער געשטיצט קואָמאָ.
אַ צאָל ייִדישע כּלל־טוער האָבן אויסגעדריקט זאָרג וועגן דער צוקונפֿט פֿאַר ייִדן אין ניו־יאָרק איבער מאַמדאַניס מיינונגען וועגן ישׂראל. ער האָט למשל זיך אָפּגעזאָגט צו פֿאַרדאַמען די לאָזונג „זאָל די אינטיפֿאַדע זיך פֿאַרשפּרייטן איבער דער וועלט“ און האָט געוואָרנט אַז דער ישׂראלדיקער פּרעמיער בנימין נתניהו וועט אַרעסטירט ווערן אויב ער קומט קיין ניו־יאָרק. ער האָט אויך דערקלערט אַז ער אָנערקענט נישט ישׂראל ווי אַ ייִדישע מדינה.
דער פֿאַקט אַז מאַמדאַני איז נישט געווען גרייט אָפּצוּוואַרפֿן דאָס באַצייכענען די ישׂראל־מחלמה אין עזה ווי „אַ גענאָציד“, ווי אויך זײַן באַשלוס זיך נישט צו באַטייליקן אינעם יערלעכן ישׂראל־פּאַראַד, האָבן אַרויסגערופֿן כּעס בײַ אַ סך ייִדן אין דער שטאָט.
בעת זײַן נצחון־רעדע האָט מאַמדאני אָבער צוגעזאָגט אַז אונטער זײַן קאַדענץ וועט די שטאָט־רעגירונג „שטיצן די ייִדישע ניו־יאָרקער און וועט זיך נישט וואַקלען צו באַקעמפֿן די מכּה פֿון אַנטיסעמיטיזם.“
אַ צאָל ייִדישע וויילער, בפֿרט בײַם ייִנגערן דור, האָבן אָבער געשטיצט מאַמדאַני מיט באַגײַסטערונג. רעאַגירנדיק אויף זײַן צוזאָג צו באַקעמפֿן אַנטיסעמיטיזם, האָט דער שרײַבער מאיר לאַבין געשריבן אויף „עקס“: „דאָס איז בײַ מיר ווי מוזיק אין די אויערן. מזל־טובֿ, מעיאָר זאָכראַן מאַמדאַני!“
אַ טייל קאָמענטאַטאָרס האָבן ספּעקולירט אַז צוליב מאַמדאַניס נצחון וועלן אַ סך ייִדישע אײַנוווינער זיך אַרויסציִען פֿון ניו־יאָרק. ראַבײַ מאַרק שנייער, למשל, וואָס דינט ווי דער גײַסטיקער פֿירער פֿון דער האַמפּטאָן־שיל, אַן אָרטאָדאָקסישע סינאַגאַגע אין לאָנג־אײַלאַנד, האָט שוין געמאָלדן אַז ער האָט בדעה דאָרט צו גרינדן אַ ייִדישע טאָגשול — די ערשטע אין די האַמפּטאָנס.
„איך ריכט זיך אַז טויזנטער ייִדישע משפּחות וועלן פֿאַרלאָזן די שטאָט ניו־יאָרק און זיך אַריבערקלײַבן אין די העמפּטאָנס און דעם ראַיאָן פֿון סאָפֿאָלק־קאַונטי, כּדי צו אַנטלויפֿן פֿונעם אַנטיסעמיטישן קלימאַט פֿון מאַמדאַניס ניו־יאָרק,“ האָט שנייער געזאָגט.
The post Mamdani’s victory worries many Jewish leaders appeared first on The Forward.
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The World’s Moral Collapse and Israel’s Light
IsraAID doctor providing primary-care services following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, 2017. Photo: IsraAid.
Our foundation, Time To Stand Up For Israel, usually focuses on one central mission; defending Israel and her people. But today, silence itself demands confrontation. What we are witnessing is not just bias. It is moral collapse.
For years, Israel has been the preferred target of global outrage. Protesters flood the streets, campuses erupt, flags burn, and Jewish students are harassed, all under the banner of “justice.”
Yet when Israel defends her citizens from Hamas terrorists who use civilians as human shields, the same “humanitarians” cry “genocide.” When Hamas fires rockets from hospitals, Israel is condemned. When Israel warns civilians before a strike, she’s labeled “apartheid.”
Meanwhile, true genocides unfold across Africa — and the world looks away.
The Forgotten Genocide in Sudan
While the anti-Israel mob marches, the people of Sudan are enduring what the US State Department now officially calls genocide.
Since war broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), tens of thousands have been killed. The RSF, descendants of the infamous Janjaweed militias, have unleashed another wave of ethnic cleansing.
Entire villages are wiped out. Non-Arab populations like the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa are slaughtered, starved, and driven into exile. Over 12 million people are displaced; 24 million face acute hunger. The United Nations and Human Rights Watch have confirmed systematic killings, mass rapes, and forced starvation.
Yet … silence.
No protests in London or Paris. No hashtags, no celebrity outrage, no “Free Sudan” campaigns. Because Sudan doesn’t fit neatly into a political narrative. There are no Jews to blame, and no headlines to weaponize.
The West’s Selective Outrage
Let’s be honest: this isn’t ignorance. It’s selective morality.
Those who rage at Israel while ignoring Sudan’s genocide are not defenders of human rights, they are performers of outrage. They cry for Gaza but say nothing for Nigeria’s Christians or Burkina Faso’s villagers, where Islamist militants have turned the region into mass graves.
In Nigeria, terror groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP murder thousands every year. Up to 7,000 Christians are executed annually, often burned alive for refusing to renounce their faith. According to Open Doors, 70% of all Christians killed for their faith worldwide die in Nigeria.
In Burkina Faso, jihadist militias raid villages, destroy churches, and kill entire congregations.
And the world’s response? Silence. No marches. No petitions. No “Boycott Burkina Faso” movements.
Apparently, African lives don’t trend.
Israel: The Light They Refuse to See
While others stay silent, Israel acts.
Israel, the country accused of “genocide,” has spent decades saving lives across Africa through humanitarian innovation, aid, and technology.
- IsraAID, founded in 2001, operates in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and South Sudan, providing clean water, education, and health care. In Malawi, over 70% of local water leaders trained by IsraAID are women, a quiet revolution in empowerment.
- Innovation Africa, led by Sivan Ya’ari, brings Israeli solar and water technology to over 10 African nations, transforming villages once ravaged by drought into thriving communities.
- Fair Planet introduces high-quality Israeli seeds to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, multiplying harvests fivefold and improving food security.
- MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development, has worked in 43 African countries over six decades, training doctors, engineers, and educators — the very essence of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.
This is Israel’s quiet legacy: while others accuse, she acts.
Light vs. Darkness
The contrast could not be clearer.
Israel, endlessly vilified, sends doctors to Africa, engineers to the desert, and water to drought-stricken communities.
Her enemies send rockets, propaganda, and death.
Israel does not just defend herself, she lifts others. And that, perhaps, is why so many cannot stand her.
The Truth of History
We stand with Israel because she stands with humanity.
When hospitals collapse in Gaza, it’s because Hamas hides weapons beneath them. When hospitals collapse in Sudan, it’s because the world doesn’t care enough to help. There is a difference between a nation defending itself and militias exterminating a people.
The Jewish people know what it means to be hunted, demonized, and abandoned. That is why Israel helps, not because it is popular, but because it is right.
You cannot call yourself “pro-human rights” while demonizing the only democracy in the Middle East that actually saves lives abroad.
You cannot claim to oppose genocide and ignore Sudan.
You cannot claim to love peace while hating Israel.
Because in a world collapsing under moral hypocrisy, Israel remains a light unto the nations and those who curse her are standing on the wrong side of history.
Sabine Sterk is CEO of Time To Stand Up For Israel.