NEW YORK (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – A documentary detailing how a Montreal man went from being a drug dealer to a Lubavticher chosid has garnered nearly 350,000 views in a single week and has sparked hundreds of responses from those who felt their own connection to Judaism rekindled after seeing the film.
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The 54 minute long Orthodoxed features Berel Solomon sharing his life story, describing how he grew up in a completely secular Jewish home and fell prey to negative influences in high school after being introduced to marijuana by a classmate’s older brother.
Things snowballed from there, and Solomon went from using drugs to dealing, becoming a player in the nightclub event marketing scene after being beaten badly by a drug dealer. Despite living the high life, a sense of emptiness had Solomon starting a search for meaning in his life, a path that ultimately led him to discovering a purpose and beauty to Judaism that he never knew existed.
A real estate investor and owner of a video production company, the 33 year old Solomon decided to use his position as a LinkedIn influencer to show his more than 60,000 followers, many of whom knew nothing about Orthodox Judaism, what being observant is all about.
A live feed he did on Instagram last winter at approximately the same time that Netflix began promoting its upcoming My Unorthodox Life series resulted in a phone call from a member of one of the wealthiest non-Jewish families in Montreal.
“He told me that we had to turn my story into a movie and asked if I had any financial backers,” Solomon told VIN News. “I told him ‘I am talking to my backer right now,’ and he wrote me a check for $100,000 on the spot.”
While Solomon had originally contemplated hiring actors for his film, he discovered a box in his closet filled with footage from his younger years, prompting the decision to switch to a documentary format.
Given his connections and experience in the video business, Solomon assumed it would take 90 days at the most to put together the documentary, but the process took nearly a full year. One major bump in the road came when a key player in the production left Montreal for Florida when the project was nearly three quarters done.
“I have hundreds of contacts in the video production business and no one was able to take this on,” recalled Solomon. “I told Hashem ‘I am doing this for you. I am going to make my phone calls but ultimately this will come out when you want it.’”
Orthodoxed was released on YouTube on Chanukah, a time that Solomon considers fitting for his personal journey from darkness to light.
Since that time, Solomon said that he has heard from hundreds of people who have said that Orthodoxed inspired them to put on tefillin, keep Shabbos or light Shabbos candles for the first time in their lives. Among the many comments that appeared on YouTube was one from Sophie McLellan which read, “I’m a Christian, but I relate to you so much as I have went [sic] from a heroin addict sleeping on the streets every night to a righteous person, wife and mother, I feel sorry for people without God in their life. The hardest times make the greatest testimonies.”
A father of four, Solomon said that he never would have dreamed of sharing his life story in this way had Netflix been even handed in its depiction of Orthodox Jewry. He suggested that viewers of My Unorthodox Life spend an hour watching Orthodoxed to get a true picture of what Judaism is all about and offered eight words of advice to series star Julia Haart saying, “It’s not too late to come back home.”
Above all, Solomon hopes that Orthodoxed will instill Jewish pride in Jews of all stripes.
“If you are an observant Jew, this will give you an opportunity to appreciate what you have,” said Solomon. “If you are non-observant, Orthodoxed can give you a real glimpse of what Judaism is all about. If you are a Jew who is off the derech, I want you to see that you can come back and if you are a Jew who doesn’t even know what the derech is, this can show you the way.”
So amazing!
Well the good news is this anti orthodox Julia Haart is divorcing from her non jewish rich husband.
Thank you Berel your an inspiration!
I didnt judge I just started watching the film. I guess you have to live a life to fully understand that whch is being said.
Life is short and in many ways misunderstood. Thank G-d we can always redirect, recalibrate, and re configure.
While we are on this world for the period of time we are allocated it behooves us to keep on serching for those values that bring us happiness salvation and peace.
I congragulate this man for finding his happiness and peace.
Even if only 1 Jew put on tefillin once in his life because of the film, It was well worth the effort. Kudos to Berel.
He starts off the video blaming his problems about not being taught about G-d. There are students who have been taught about G-d who have fallen into not good ways too. Hope he sticks with being religious, even if he is exposed to people who may not be honest or may be abusive, etc.
I hate to be cynical here, but it sounds like it’s more about self and less about Hakodesh Boruch Hu and his Torah.
I wish him luck on his journey, not on his movie.
This is just a baal teshuva story and while Im happy for him is not exactly a healthy or model story and does not “strike back” at Netflix in any which way.
using a former druggie even if reformed is a page out of the liberal agenda of 2nd chances even if for violent criminals thats what led to the failed bail reform laws.