Noga Tarnopolsky

Special for USA TODAY

JERUSALEM — The strict life of ultra-Orthodox Jews is a mystery, even to secular Israelis who live here. That's because they usually keep their traditions behind closed doors.

Now, Naomi Miller has found a way to share her ultra-Orthodox lifestyle and establish a new source of income for her family: inviting tour groups to see what its like for a fee.

“My husband always wanted to have an open house," said Miller, 46, a British native who spoke no Hebrew when she immigrated here as an 18-year-old. "The idea grew on me gradually, with his encouragement.”

The Millers’ live in the central Jerusalem neighborhood of Mekor Baruch, where husbands wear Amish-style hats and long black coats, and wives are unlikely to leave their homes unaccompanied. Large street signs demand that women be dressed in modest attire.

Miller said her “community is misunderstood” by outsiders who stereotype women like her as being submissive and only producing babies — although the Millers have 12 children.

As a young couple, the Millers opened their home to anyone who wanted a hot meal and company for Friday night dinners, when Jews observe the Sabbath.

Now, with the support of a municipal initiative called Women and Tales in Jerusalem, jointly run with Israel’s Association of Community Centers and the Israeli Tourism Ministry, Miller has turned that gesture of hospitality into a business.

The initiative supports women establishing cottage industries that offer guests anything from a coffee in an Arab household to a cooking class in the “Yemenite Valley” in Jerusalem’s north to a full Sabbath spread in an ultra-Orthodox household for $30 to $150 per person.

Other ultra-Orthodox Jews often are uncomfortable with those who don't share their culture. But Miller, who helps women before and after childbirth, says she enjoys the prospect of interacting with people from different backgrounds.

Miller, who wears long skirts and covers her hair, explains how she manages a dozen children and 13 grandchildren while hosting large groups of visitors.

“What I always tell people is, ‘You don’t have 12 children in one day.' It is the same with guests. You start out with two or three or four, and eventually you can have 30 over and it’s no problem!”

The program for people like Miller opening their homes now provides jobs for about 60 women here.

The idea began six years ago with Orly Ben-Aharon, who is Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s adviser for women's advancement.

Ben-Aharon said she asked herself, “What does a tourist want?” Her answer: “A peek inside the lives of a local. Authenticity.”

Her friend Yael Kurlander, a private consultant on tourism initiatives, had just returned from China, and was fascinated by a visit to the home of an old man who lived in a traditional Beijing hutong cottage.

They thought doing something similar in Jerusalem “could help local women to make a living."

Her spotless and spacious apartment has a massive bookcase filled with leather-bound religious tomes and pictures of relatives and rabbis on the walls. Dozens of metal chairs and folding tables are kept for guests.

A few months ago, she hosted two groups of Chinese Christians, serving them a Sabbath meal that included homemade challah, a Jewish braided bread, and cholent, a traditional stew.

"People ask me if I’m afraid of the influence on my children from seeing non-Orthodox people here, but we feel that so long as it’s a happy home, we have nothing to fear," Miller said.