What does it take to be a woman with a loud voice in a world that keeps telling you to be quiet? In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt — journalist, rebbetzin, and co-founder of the Altneu Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side — for a conversation about ambition, authenticity, and what it really means to lead.
Avital’s path has been anything but conventional. A Russian-born writer who published her first viral essay at 20, landed bylines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vogue, and Foreign Policy, and spent years as a features editor and news editor before pivoting to co-build one of New York City’s fastest-growing Orthodox synagogues — all while navigating the deeply complex terrain of being a bold female voice in the frum community.
This episode is about far more than one woman’s story. It’s a frank, urgent conversation about the cost of conformity, the crisis of female spiritual leadership in Orthodox communities, and why, if we don’t change, we’re going to lose an entire generation of women.
Timestamps:
- 2:39 — Avital’s background: growing up Russian-speaking, a literary home, and big dreams
- 5:34 — The power of teachers and mentors in igniting ambition
- 6:37 — Being told her drive for ambition was a “yetzer hara” — and going for it anyway
- 9:07 — Writing for Haaretz, personal essays, and finding her voice as a religious woman
- 11:36 — The Forward years: breaking stories on the Orthodox community and navigating controversy
- 12:52 — Going viral before going viral was a thing; the tznius essay at age 20
- 17:41 — Writing about her dating life and using authenticity as a filter
- 20:28 — Freelancing and hitting her byline bucket list: NYT, The Atlantic, Vogue, and more
- 21:08 — The reality of gatekeeping in journalism and being relentless despite rejection
- 22:07 — “Winners always find a way to win”
- 22:22 — Meeting her husband: the story, the promise she broke, and the NYT essay that brought them back together
- 26:32 — Writing a book: 700 words a day and the unglamorous daily discipline
- 29:13 — Why the digital world has flattened us — and why that’s dangerous
- 30:01 — On shidduchim, being yourself, and differentiation in dating
- 31:37 — “It’s gonna be really hard to build leaders — especially women — who aren’t bold enough to be authentic”
- 31:45 — Building genuine belonging vs. conformity in frum community life
- 35:30 — The controversy and the courage: hate mail, threats, and choosing truth anyway
- 36:09 — Post-October 7th: a shift in priorities and the luxury of community criticism
- 36:49 — How the Altneue Synagogue was born — out of crisis, pregnancy, and 40 people in a living room
- 38:27 — The convergence: how Avital’s journalism career and community building came together
- 42:32 — From a living room minyan to 600 people and the Pierre Ballroom
- 45:28 — October 7th and the surge of young Jews searching for connection
- 46:23 — Building real commitment: charging membership before they had a building
- 47:33 — The shul as a product: finding the gap and doubling down on differentiation
- 51:37 — “When you engage the women, you engage the whole family”
- 51:40 — “We felt the hand of God in this” — 722 member families and counting
- 59:30 — “There should be leadership on both sides of the mechitza” — Avital’s defining statement
- 1:02:03 — Women spiritually checking out vs. going “woke” — what Avital is actually worried about
- 1:05:08 — Materialism as the symptom of women with no inner spiritual life
- 1:08:14 — Halacha vs. Masorah: having the honest conversation
- 1:12:14 — “If we don’t change, we’re going to lose” — what senior Rabbonim are actually saying
- 1:15:09 — “We are so afraid of female voices” — the media we consume and the messages it sends
- 1:18:45 — The JWE’s mission and why this podcast exists
- 1:19:25 — Modeling: the text from a young woman that Avital saved
- 1:20:10 — Blurred girls’ faces in magazine ads and the message sent to young women
- 1:37:39 — Fast Five: controversial thing she’s ever done, her superpower, and her final message
About the Guest: Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt
Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt is a journalist, rebbetzin, and community builder based in Manhattan. A daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, she grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey, in a deeply literary home, and knew from childhood that she wanted to be a writer. She studied at Stern College for Women (Yeshiva University) and went on to build a distinguished career in journalism, with bylines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vogue, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Glamour, Haaretz, and The Forward, where she served as features editor. She later served as news editor at The Real Deal, covering New York City politics and real estate.
Avital is also the co-founder of the Altneu Synagogue, an Orthodox congregation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which she built alongside her husband, Rabbi Benji Goldschmidt. What began in 2020 as a living room minyan of 40 people has grown into a community of 722 member families — known for its intellectual rigor, inclusive spirit, and vibrant women’s section. The shul has become a model for engaged, differentiated community building in the modern Orthodox world.
A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Avital is currently at work on her first book. She is passionate about female leadership in the frum community, the importance of authenticity, and helping women reconnect to a rich inner spiritual life.
This episode was made possible by our friends at *Roth & Co., innovators in accounting and business advisory. We are grateful for their continued partnership in making these conversations possible.*