OneTable Philadelphia Field Manager, Chaim Levin, Featured in NYTimes Documentary

OneTable’s Philadelphia Field Manager, Chaim Levin, is the subject of a New York Times op-doc about his experience coming to terms with his queer identity, despite the harmful messaging he received about homosexuality through his ultra-orthodox upbringing. 

In the documentary, Chaim shares the deeply traumatic and emotional struggle he faced as a young adult – from recognizing his feelings, undergoing conversion therapy, and ultimately finding community, healing, and a path forward as his authentic self with the support of Jewish Queer Youth (JQY) and Footsteps.

In Chaim’s own words, “My journey with my Judaism has been a complicated one. When the opportunity to work at OneTable arose, I thought about it for a while and realized that this was the perfect opportunity to fill a certain void I have felt for a long time. Being Jewish has and always will be part of my identity, but my journey away from the community I grew up in has been at times difficult and lonely. 

Working at OneTable has given me the opportunity to reconnect with and appreciate the things about my identity that I previously overlooked. I am hopeful that during my time at OneTable I will be able to help others in the ex-orthodox community like myself reconnect with the joy that can be found in Shabbat on their own terms.”

OneTable prides itself as being a safe space for all Jewish young adults to connect with Judaism on their own terms and to find and build community around Shabbat dinner. Chaim, we are so grateful you found your way to us, and we can’t wait to see who else you bring to the table. 

Watch the NYTimes documentary here. 

*Please be advised the documentary contains mentions of sexual abuse.

About OneTable

OneTable empowers people who don’t yet have a consistent Shabbat dinner practice to build one that feels authentic, sustainable, and valuable. OneTable is a national nonprofit funded to support people (21-39ish) looking to find and share this powerful experience. We envision a whole generation of slowing down, joining together, unplugging from the week, creating intention in their lives, and building meaningful communities. onetable.org

OneTable empowers people who don’t yet have a consistent Shabbat dinner practice to build one that feels authentic, sustainable, and valuable. The OneTable community is funded to support people (21-39ish), not in undergraduate studies, and without an existing weekly Shabbat practice, looking to find and share this powerful experience.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *