Shalom Tzvi Shore - Media Bio

Shalom Tzvi Shore is a former Orthodox rabbi, hypnotherapist, and mental health advocate whose journey from Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox elite to secular freedom offers a rare insider's perspective on religious extremism and recovery from complex trauma.

Raised in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City as the son of a high-ranking leader in a religious cult dedicated to recruiting secular Jews back to Orthodox Judaism, Shore spent 26 years immersed in one of the world's most intense religious environments.He attended the strictest schools, earned his rabbinical ordination, and seemed destined to lead the next generation of Orthodox outreach. Instead, he walked away from it all.

Now based in Hamilton, Ontario, Shore works as a hypnotherapist specializing in religious trauma and runs a practice focused on making mental health services more accessible. His memoir blends sardonic observations with unflinching honesty about leaving fundamentalism, navigating divorce and co-parenting across continents, and rebuilding identity from scratch.

He writes about topics many avoid: the specific mechanisms of religious control, the less-than-glamorous reality of healing, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and why "finding meaning" turned out to be vastly different than expected. Shore brings both lived experience and professional expertise to conversations about religious indoctrination, escaping high-control groups, trauma recovery, and the intersection of mental health and spirituality. His voice is unapologetically honest, often darkly funny, and refreshingly free of spiritual bypass.