Ultra-Orthodox Dropouts - New Life for Jews in Germany

In recent years, Germany of all places has become a refuge for Jews who have left their ultra-Orthodox, strictly religious communities. Rabbi Akiva Weingarten helps them find their way into a new, secular life. 

Worldwide, more than 1.3 million Jews live in ultra-Orthodox communities. A kind of parallel world in which God's rules alone count. Every aspect of everyday life is clearly regulated: The women take care of the household and raising the children, the men devote their lives to the study of religion. According to estimates, ten percent of Jews in Israel alone leave their strictly religious community, and the trend is rising. Young adults in particular are fleeing, surprisingly to Germany. Akiva Weingarten grows up in a New York suburb, with the Satmarers, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect. In 2014, he makes a radical break. He leaves his wife and three children and starts a new life in Berlin. Without a family, without a credit card or a bank account - and without ever having learned a trade. In the meantime, a free community of former ultra-Orthodox has grown up around him, whom the rabbi helps with practical life and also theological questions. Dropouts Moshe Barnett and David Lamberger have been living together in a shared flat in Dresden for only a few months. They are not only looking for a new life, but also a new relationship with God.