This podcast is a recording of the pieces on Neshamas.com, a site for anonymous Jewish writing. Each piece is done by a voice actor who has generously volunteered his or her time to this project. Our goal? To give voice to the people who feel they do not have one. We do it on our site, and now we're doing it with actual voices. About Neshamas: Neshamas was created because of a need we, the creators of Hevria, saw in the Jewish community: to share what’s deep, down in our souls without the added pressure of putting our names behind the work. For reasons that vary, from communal pressure to internal shame, publicly published pieces about subjects like abuse, conversion, identity, and more can be incredibly intimidating, even dangerous. But the value of sharing our souls, our true selves, is incalculable, and essential to the process of inner growth and acceptance. And so we created Neshamas, a place where any Jewish person can share their souls absolutely anonymously. In writing, art, or any other form. There will be no judgments here. No determinations of quality of work, or whether you “deserve” to share what your soul is dying to express. You are automatically accepted just by being here, whether you’re a reader, a sharer, or both. Everyone here is judged as a neshama, in other words. A soul, not a body. Valuable simply for existing. Names do not matter here. Only souls.
"When you fall in love with an ex hassid You need to know that their kisses are unadulterated by the media world That all they know is to feel in the ...
"I’m your neighbor, your friend’s sister, your daughter-in-law, your daughter, your mother, your wife. Maybe I’m you. I’m willing to bet there’s a lot...
"I woke up in the middle of the night, naked. I did not remember going to sleep like this. And then I found telltale signs: the scrunched sheets, the ...
"To my abuser, What can I say to you, who has taken so much from me? Where do I start when it has taken me thirty years to finally acknowledge what yo...
"I started coming out when I was about 15. I wasn’t even sure what I was coming out as. I knew I liked men, but I also knew I liked girls. Or I kinda ...
"“Oh no, she can’t go anywhere else. We can’t transfer her anywhere else. State mental hospitals are the end of the line for adolescents. She’ll stay ...
Voice acted by Elie Benhiyoun. Written by an anonymous writer. "Most of you know my father. You know him as that happy, warm and welcoming Shaliach. A...
"I never thought being overweight would be the biggest blessing in my life. I never thought I’d be able to pull this off. I never thought I’d be telli...