I was intrigued by an article in the New York Times about the New American Haggadah so I bought a copy.  I thought the name was a tad odd but then Apple called their third generation iPad the “New iPad” so maybe it’s en vogue to just name things by adding the word new in front of an obvious name. What do I know?

Before I even cracked the New American Haggadah open I had a basic idea of what to expect. The New American Haggadah is designed to be an avant garde hagaddah. It is artistic in an almost postmodern way, it is typographically pleasing, the commentary is meant to inspire American Jews, and it was not orthodox. The commentary was written by Jeffrey Goldberg, Lemony Snicket, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, and Nathaniel Deutsch. The translation was done by Nathan Englander. The hagaddah was edited by  Jonathan Safran Foer.

One of the things I was looking for in the New American Haggadah was whether it would be acceptable to orthodox Jews. Was there anything that would offend the orthodox Jewish adherence to halacha and general worldview? Another thing I wondered was if the commentary was any good without considering the blood pressure of orthodox Jews. The last thing I wanted to see about the New American Haggadah was if I would enjoy its presentation of the haggadah and Seder experience.

So on Shabbos afternoon I read through the whole thing. The New American Haggadah has three basic functions. There is the text of the haggadah in the original Hebrew plus a contemporary English translation. There is a running timeline of Jewish history with a focus on Passover, that is completely independent of the hagaddah and Passover narrative that runs through the haggadah. There is also a collection of essays and food for thought during the highlights of the haggadah. Throughout the haggadah, instructions and laws are outlined and they are accurate enough. The specific amounts of the portions is not precise. They are not wrong. They are just vague.

My impressions of the text and translation is overwhelmingly positive. The text is true to the orthodox Jewish tradition. This was reassuring. I didn’t know what to expect, but since the Seder has taken on many different iterations throughout modernity, I had a healthy concern that the text would be different than what I was used to. Fortunately, this is not an issue at all.

My next area of concern was the translation. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the translation as well. It is a combination of beautiful English, devotion to tradition, and appropriate modern adjustments. One novel translation was in the response to the Wicked Son. The New American Haggadah translates this section by saying (emphasis mine) “…And by divorcing himself from the community he denies our very essence. Moreover, you must blunt the bite of his words, by telling him…” This is not the exact translation that most orthodox Jews would use, but it is true to the text and insightful. A second example of a novel translation is found in “V’Hi She’amda”. The New American Haggadah adds a poetic nuance in “For it was not one alone who stood over us, a heel on our necks, bent on our annihilation…” I found that one to be a nice touch. One last thing that stuck out was the adjustment from the oft used “simple son” to the “artless son”. This is perhaps no better than “simple” but “simple” horribly simplistic as well. The New American Haggadah adds one section of text that I had not seen previously. At the time that we fill the “fifth cup” and open the door for Shfoch Chamascha, the New American Haggadah adds a couple of verses from Tanach about Elijah the Prophet. I had not seen that before. It offends me, but only slightly, because the idea that Elijah the Prophet visits us when we open the door for Shfoch Chamascha is of questionable vintage and certainly not universally held. All in all, the text and translations were outstanding.

The most problematic part of the New American Haggadah for orthodox Jews is the “timeline”. It is highly academic and may, at times, offend orthodox sensibilities. Further, its focus on secular Jewish accomplishments are of little to no value to most orthodox Jewish Seders. One would be hard pressed to actually find anything that would be called “kefira” in the timeline, but I can see it being a source of discomfort for many orthodox Jews. I liked most of it.

As for the commentary, it was a lot better than I expected. The gist of the commentary could best be described as a fresh, relevant commentary. It is heavy on take-away lessons that apply in 2012 and light on rabbinic interpretation. However the rabbis of the Talmud and beyond do make several appearances.

If I had to point to its biggest flaw, I would say that at times it is too irreverent of God. Orthodox Jews will cringe at a few of the essays because they paint a picture of God that is not completely in sync with the contemporary orthodox Jewish views of God and His role in the world.

Still, many of the essays portray excellent ideas written in excellent prose that will surely spur a discussion of the haggadah that is familiar to orthodox Jews. For example, speaking of being “chosen”, one essay proclaims “Chosenness can sometimes feel like loneliness; a burden. Perhaps it is for this reason, the haggadah reminds us that our chosenness is an expression of love and a source for rejoicing.” Sounds like something an orthodox rabbi would say. Commenting on our statement that “today we are slaves” the New American Haggadah asks the obvious question: But we are not slaves today? And answers that our impoverishment is our inability to do all the good that we want to do in our lives. If I told you that was from R’ Yisrael Salanter, you would believe me. But it is not. It is from the New American Haggadah. Another insight that sounds like a classic is the proposal that the plague that kills all the firstborns of Egypt is a “measure for measure” for the Egyptian decree to drown all the baby boys into the Nile. I am sure that others have said this as well. The point is that the commentary sometimes takes on the persona of the traditional orthodox Jewish commentators. There are other nice little “vorts” sprinkled throughout the commentary. Like the parallel between the hiding of the Afikomen and the hiding of Moshe as a baby that led to our salvation.

But there are two other kinds of commentary in the New American Haggadah that are bound to rankle some orthodox Jewish sensibilities. One is justified and the other might not be. There are a very small number of essays that may be objectively problematic. For example, one essay proposes that just like us, sometimes God forgets about people other than Himself. Ouch. But other than that, the irreverence and nonchalant tone about God and the Passover story are rarely objectively offensive, if at all.

The most common form of commentary in the New American Haggadah is an anathema to most orthodox Jewish Seders, I think. That is, an attempt to take the lessons of the Seder and apply them to society at large, particularly, with a Tikkun Olam flavor. Personally, I think orthodox Jews should not recoil at the mere mention of Tikkun Olam, but many do. For example, one essay remarks that Shifra and Puah are the first examples of “civil disobedience”. This is a great point and definitely something to think about. However, few orthodox Jews will find meaning in spending precious moments at the Seder talking about it. Another essay tells a great story about Palestinian prisoners eating matzah on Passover because that is what they were served and invites questions about prison, the Intifada, and Israel. One humorous comparison pits Elijah the Prophet against Santa Claus. Both “visit” homes but Santa is forced to go through the Chimney. We stand up and open the door for Elijah. Again, a great conversation starter, but not the kind of conversation that one would expect at an orthodox Jewish Seder. But then again, maybe it should be. Our Seders are so focused on the past and interpretations from the past. The New American Haggadah has some great ways to bring the discussion into 2012 and that might be a good thing for some orthodox Jewish Seders.

In general, the preference of orthodox Jews is to quote rabbis and Torah scholars at the Seder. But as Maimonides famously said,”Hear truth from whoever says it“, I see nothing wrong with including the thoughts and ideas of a few American Jews who are not rabbis or even orthodox.

My only real critique is that in an attempt to be cool and hip, the New American Haggadah makes you turn the book on its side to read the essays and on its other side to read the timeline. Maybe I just don’t get it. But it is odd and quite annoying. I don’t see how it enhances the experience.

The verdict is that the New American Haggadah is acceptable for orthodox Jews. It has some things to offer that will undoubtably improve your orthodox Jewish Seder. It has other things that will get ignored, but that may not be for the best. Some parts should be ignored, and that is okay too. I recommend the New American Haggadah for most orthodox Jewish readers. If you want to avoid the most problematic essay skip the one that starts “God. who supposedly knows everything,”. Otherwise, to my eyes, the rest of the New American Haggadah is completely safe. It may seem strange to discuss some of the things that are in the New American Haggadah, but that doesn’t mean it is wrong or a waste of time.

Buy the haggadah here: Amazon

Related posts:

1. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)
2. Book Review | Must a Jew Believe Anything?
3. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
4. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
5. Book Review | Unchosen

I read Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. It is unorthodox. It is a rejection. But I did not find it scandalous. Not at all.

There is so much about this book that needs to be discussed. Let’s get a bit of insignificant criticism out of the way. For starters, I found the writing decent. Not excellent. It got better as the book progressed, but the early chapters were tedious in my opinion. The writing is over-descriptive to a fault. Too many sentences have too many adjectives and adverbs. The book doesn’t allow the reader any imagination. There’s no room for the reader to breath. It’s sensory overload. It’s almost like the author is trying too hard to prove herself as a good writer. Personally, I found it quite annoying.

The story is unremarkable. Shorter version of the book: Girl raised by her grandparents because her mother is a lesbian who left the community and her father is mentally ill has high anxiety and feels constrained by the limiting lifestyle of her community eventually leaves the community. It’s not a story we haven’t heard before nor is it a story we will not hear again.

The truth is that anyone with high anxiety will not have an easy time in any tight-knit, insular community. It’s not really that chasidic Judaism didn’t work for Deborah. It’s that her difficult childhood and personality didn’t work well in the high pressure society of chasidic Judaism. She probably would have been fine in a more moderate form of orthodox Judaism. Unfortunately for her, she was born into extreme circumstances.

Honestly, there was nothing “scandalous” in the book. (I will address the one scandal that has been manufactured at the end of this post). In other words, the book, fairly accurately describes the life of a chasidic girl in Williamsburg. It is insular. Education is placed at a minimum. Marriage is the goal of childhood, motherhood is the goal of adulthood. This is no scandalous. This is fact.

There are in fact, renegade renegade mikva attendants. There are libido charged teenage boys who are inappropriate toward girls (and other boys). There are stories of talking fish. People did burn their wigs. Secular books are frowned upon. Superstitions are rampant. People gossip. Especially about young married couples. There is abuse and it is covered up. There is prejudice against members of other chasidic sects and certainly against non-chasidic Jews, especially modern orthodox Jews and Sephardic Jews. Strange tales like eating pig will make you vomit are told. These are just the expected social conventions of the insular chasidic community. Nothing to see here.

But are these items an indictment of the entire chasidic community? Certainly not. Bad people and dumb ideas exist everywhere. The biggest gripe I have is simply the imaginary principle that there are no bad people or dumb ideas in the community. There are and knowing there are goes a long way to fixing those people and ideas.

The book brought me to tears twice. For a sap like me, that is not a good showing. Hush made me cry a ton of times. Even Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels moved me to tears a bunch of times. Unorthodox was not an emotional book. The only moments for me were the birth of her child and the when she and her son come to grips with the fact that the unhappy, broken, marriage is over. That’s it. The rest felt a bit detached and unremarkable.

But I like to find social commentary and universal lessons in this kind of book and I think there are some important issues the book raises.

Deborah’s personality is to question and to learn. In her community this is a dangerous trait. Her first step off the path was learning Talmud. That’s an innocent curiosity in most orthodox communities, even for a girl. But Deborah had to hide it. She couldn’t ask questions about what she had learned. With this her rebellion began.

Although Deborah relates to her grandmother as a rebel. I don’t think she realized how special her grandfather was. At least, what is recorded in the book paints Zaidy as a good guy. He avoids the Satmar politics. He is willing to read a newspaper after 9/11. He doesn’t believe in superstition and stories like the talking fish in New Square. He is also a bit of a rebel. In my eyes, Zaidy is a reasonable guy throughout most of the book. What’s unfortunate is one negative portrayal made its way onto the book jacket. But other than that incident, he seems to be a good guy. I think that his independence of allegiance and thought are worthy of praise and if more of his neighbors were like him, I think many issues in the insular community would be mitigated.

Her shortlived marriage leaves many unanswered questions. I would have liked more details. She says they fight. About what? The book doesn’t elaborate. She talks about their neighbors in Airmont. I am from Monsey, I know those people. I would have liked more about that period of her life. The life of what has become known as a “Tuna Beigel”. They dress somewhat chasidic but are much more liberated. Why didn’t that lifestyle work for Deborah? These are areas of the book that feel rushed and unfinished.

My favorite part of the book was the twist of fate that began with a visit to a Kabbalist. He told Deborah that her number was “nine”. On 9/9/9 just after midnight, Deborah had a life-changing motor vehicle accident. She says that the Kabbalist was right. Her number was nine. Somehow, I don’t think that is what the Kabbalist had in mind. But it’s poetic justice that his words were used by Deborah to rationalize her departure from the community.

The overall “lesson” of the book, if there is one, is that her whole life, as a good Chasidic girl, Deborah was taught to trust her intellect over her impulse. She was supposed to use her knowledge of Jewish law and thought to guide her and not allow her emotions and passions. Her freedom came when she put her impulse ahead of her intellect. Judaism is really all about placing one’s intellect above their impulse. Everyone from Maimonides to Luzzato talks about this. The trick is to channel one’s impulse into positive, creative, useful activity. One is not required to suppress everything about one’s self. Rather, one is supposed to use the intellect to guide one’s passions and creativity. The goal is to use one’s personality to improve the world.

More balanced, moderate forms of orthodox Judaism provide a better framework for avoiding this damaging problem. Most careers and opportunities are available to orthodox Jews. There are a few exceptions. Perhaps it would be useful for the more moderate versions of orthodox Judaism to focus on this aspect of Judaism. Even better, if the more insular versions of orthodox Judaism like the chasidic sects mentioned in Unorthodox or the new insular communities in the non-chasidic world would allow these doors to be opened for their communities.

There is somewhat of a happy ending to the book, even for religious, orthodox Jews. Feldman says that she is still proud to be a Jew. In a different sense than before, but still, she is not a “self hating Jew” as some have claimed. This is a positive development in light of her difficulties with her community,

To close, allow me to address what has become the biggest controversy over this book: The murder cover-up.

Feldman tells the story of her brother-in-law calling their home and telling them that a heinous murder had just occurred in Kiryas Joel. He was personally there as a Hatzalah member and he claimed that there was a cover-up of the murder.

In the book, the story is told as a rumor. The book makes no claim as to whether or not there was a murder. The only claim being made is that this is what she was told. The point of the story is to illustrate that no one would have a hard time believing that a murder was covered up. As a reader, I am deeply troubled that a rumor like this is even possible. But I did not ever think that Feldman was reporting on something with facts to back it up. This was a record of a conversation that she recalled. The issues that remain are not whether or not there was a murder. It is a much more basic issue. Whether or not a murder could or would be covered up. I don’t think anyone would find this impossible, what with all the cover-ups of sex abuse, domestic abuse, fraud and corruption. That is the real issue. Whether or not she should have investigated and looked at police reports is irrelevant in my opinion. I don’t think Feldman thought that including this anecdote in the book would be as scandalous as it has become. I would have preferred if the she had made it clearer that the episode was rumor. But that is how I took it.

In my opinion, Unorthodox is a good book. Some are calling it a chillul Hashem. I find this ironic. Here is a woman who left the community. She tells her story. The story seems entirely plausible. But because she left it is chillul Hashem. Yet, when people who stay in the communirty commit crimes, acts of violence, are unseemly for other reasons, that is not a chillul Hashem. Quite the double standard if you ask me. All communities have what I call “abhorrent beliefs”. Is it a chillul Hashem when our abhorrent beliefs or practices are exposed truthfully? That’s a hard question to answer.  More important is the challenge of dealing with them in a modern world. This will be addressed in a future post. Maybe even tomorrow. (Update: Posted - What to Do About Abhorrent Beliefs in Religions?).

Should you read Unorthodox? It’s interesting enough. Deborah’s story is unique enough to hold your interest. The inside information about the insular communities of Williamsburg and beyond is worth your time. If you are looking for high drama and massive scandals look elsewhere. It’s “good reading”. Not “can’t miss reading”.

Recommended for adults only.

Click here to purchase from Amazon: Unorthodox

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Hush
2. Book Review | Unchosen
3. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
4. Book Review | Must a Jew Believe Anything?
5. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading

Menachem Kellner is a scholar par excellence. I enjoy his books, and other writings very much. One book that I particularly enjoyed was the provocatively titled: Must a Jew Believe Anything?

The book is not really about what the title implies. Instead, the book is an analysis of required beliefs in Judaism. It is an excellent book and a joy to read. I heartily recommend the book to anyone interested in the evolution of fundamental beliefs in Judaism.

One important issue that is thoroughly discussed is the importance the Sages of the Mishna and Talmud placed on actions while placing less importance on faith or beliefs. This is true. But the significance of this fact is debatable. That is because faith or belief in a deity was a basic assumption of life in the era in which the Sages lived. One had to be insane to be an atheist 2000 years ago. How would one even begin to explain the world in which they lived. However, today one can certainly be sane and deny the existence of God. In fact, some might argue that the tables have turned and belief in God is the less sane position. After all, there is no scientific proof of an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator. So, while I enjoyed the discussion in the book about actions having more meaning than beliefs in the eyes of the Sages, how well that transfers to modern times is another discussion entirely.

Another core point of the book is that in adopted the 13 Fundamental Beliefs of Maimonides there is an odd irony. On the one hand, Maimonides the Rationalist lost. By this I mean that Judaism today is mostly not the Judaism of Maimonides. Today’s Judaism is dominated by metaphysics, mysticism, and Zohar-centric Kabbalah. The Judaism of Maimonides functioned without  these elements. (For a thorough analysis and discussion of this point see Kellner’s book: Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism.) So Maimonides lost. He tried to establish a Judaism free from these non-essential elements but he failed. The public rejected his approach.

On the other hand, the public embraced the revolutionary suggestion of Maimonides that there are 13 fundamental beliefs and what those beliefs actually entail. There were other fundamental belief systems proposed by others and Judaism may have got along just fine without a formal expression of fundamental beliefs.

Yet, here we are today. The public has rejected rationalism and embraced fundamental beliefs. Isn’t it ironic?

The final part of Must a Jew Believe Anything? is a polemic. Kellner argues that it should be okay to relegate the 13 Fundamental Beliefs for the sake of Jewish Unity. His proposal is based on the assumption that Orthodox Jewish rabbis and non-rabbis avoid working with non-orthodox rabbis and non-rabbis. There is no conversation or joint agenda in which orthodox and non-orthodox Jews  participate. Further, Kellner assumes that this plain fact is because of the halachic prohibition that proscribes a believer from engaging with a heretic. The logic follows that since by the lights of the 13 Fundamental Principles there is a presumption that non-orthodox Jews are technically heretics. Hence, it is forbidden to engage them. This, according to Kellner is the reason there is no communication between orthodox and non-orthodox Jews. Kellner then argues that for the sake of unity, continuity, and peace we should discard with a highly literal usage of Maimonides fundamental beliefs and open the lines of communication with non-orthodox Jews.

One might suspect that I would agree with Kellner on this matter. In principle I do. I wrote about it here: There is No Tent. I think we should increase communication and interaction with all Jews. But I don’t agree with Kellner’s logic here. Not at all.

The reason there is little interaction between orthodox and non-orthodox Jews has very little to do with halacha. It has a lot to do with social concerns. The orthodox establishment is more concerned with their children and keeping their children orthodox than the nitty-gritty of whether or not it is permissible to engage with the non-orthodox. In other words, the real reason there is little interaction between the groups is because the orthodox are concerned about the influence that non-orthodox will have over their children or even themselves. It is a matter of insulation and isolation, not a matter of halacha.

And so, it makes little difference to the orthodox Jew that fundamentals of faith are a novel introduction by Maimonides or that there are other codes of faith that could be acceptable. What does matter is that access to a world of Judaism that does not follow the chain of halacha that is followed by orthodox Jews could “corrupt” orthodox Jews and they may jump ship. It is merely circling the wagons. It is not a halachic decision.

Therefore, Kellner’s ambitious and admirable suggestion is a non-starter. Unless the orthodox Jewish community can foster a confidence in its principles and ideals to the point that interaction is not considered a spiritual danger, I don’t foresee a change in approach. As a pure academic exercise, the recommendation of Must a Jew Believe Anything? is bold and exciting to me. But in a practical sense, it is lacking.

The only way intra-Jewish relations will change significantly is if our leadership suggests that it has value and that value trumps overzealous concerns over assimilation. I hope it does change.

I strongly suggest reading Must a Jew Believe Anything? and thinking about its many fascinating points for discussion. If you have read it let me know what you think in the comments.

Buy the book on Amazon: Must a Jew Believe Anything?

Related posts:

1. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)
2. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
3. Book Review | Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism
4. Book Review | Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza
5. The New American Haggadah | Book Review

I don’t remember where or how I came across this book, but when I saw Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism referenced somewhere, I knew I had to snatch it up. I saw it just after I wrote about the modern day exorcist here: Demons, Dybbuks, Devils and Exorcism. Buying this book was a smart decision. I read the book a little while back and neglected to do a review but I’ve wanted to tell you all about this book since I read it.

The author, J.H Chajes, is a professor at University of Haifa. He is a distant relative of the great Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chajes. Between Worlds is very scholarly and well researched. Yet, it reads like a novel, well almost like a novel, and it kept me engrossed in its content from start to finish.

Between Worlds chronicles the rise of recorded incidents of dybbuks and exorcism in the era of mystical writings of the Arizal’s students. Most of the book takes place in the 16th and 17th centuries. The book traces the relationship between Christian, Muslim and Jewish exorcism legends and practice as well. An appendix has full accounts of exorcisms found in rabbinic literature from that era.

As a skeptic, I found the restraint of Chajes astounding. It is almost as if he is winking the entire time that he is writing about demonic / disembodied soul possession. You just know that he can’t believe what he is writing as fact is even possible. But he writes as an objective 3rd party about rabbis and others performing exorcisms with a straight face.

There are a few points that I took away from the book that are worth sharing. First of all, the book mentions some disputes between rabbis. They were vicious disagreements. Accusations of philandering, abject immorality and horrible insults are hurled the way of one particular rabbi. I can only imagine what our rabbinic disputes will look like to historians some time in the future. Fascinating to read and fascinating to think about.

Second, the book supports the theory that “the more knowledge becomes accessible, the more some religious leaders will try to ‘esotericize’ their religion to maintain a level of separation between the masses and the public”. I know, that theory is a mouthful. With regard to exorcism it works as follows. The masses were becoming more literate throughout the world. Exorcism was an art reserved for spiritual leaders and scholars. It was not available to the masses no matter how learned they became. Thus, the existence of demons and dybbuks reinforced the need for leadership. It is similar to today’s maximalist position of Daas Torah. In a time that more orthodox Jews can study the sources and responsa on a given subject, the religious leaders have reserved a segment of inaccessible knowledge under the maximalist position of Daas Torah. I’m not saying this is wrong or intentional, rather it is a pattern and it happens.

My third point for this review is the nature of the relationship between Jewish scholars and their Christian and Muslim counterparts. It seems that there was much interaction between them and they worked together, at least for the sake of exorcism. It was nice to see cooperation instead of the stereotypical debates and polemics against one another. If they could do, so could we.

If you have ANY interest in dybbuks or demons or exorcism or 16th century mysticism, buy Between Worlds.

Related posts:

1. Demons, Dybbuks, Devils and Exorcism.
2. Book Review | Must a Jew Believe Anything?
3. Book Review | Hush
4. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
5. Book Review | The Color of Water

Over Yom Tov I read some great books and articles. I hope to share some of them with you over the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps the most compelling book I read was hot off the presses: Strictly Kosher Reading by Yoel Finkelman. Briefly, the purpose of the book is to present an academic study of the fiction and non-fiction reading that is published within the charedi community. Analyzing books for children, adults, women, religions and secular audiences gives the scholar access to the framework of charedi Judaism.

The book posits that charedi Judaism is a conscious effort to recreate a Utopian version of Eastern European orthodox Judaism. The book disputes that this society ever truly existed in the way it is imagined and recreated today and calls this version of history unhistorical and a myth. But the point of the book is not to prove or disprove whether or not this is a myth or fact. Rather, the book tries to prove that there a Herculean effort to establish that myth/fact as the reality in 21st century America.

The book only analyzes the charedi community and uses a specific (and very accurate) definition of the charedi community. It is a non-chasidic, “yeshivish” community that does not completely shun the outside world. Charedi communities are not absolutely insular. They teach secular subjects, many obtain secular jobs, English is the primary language, yet there is a conscious effort to reject much of secular culture. Whether it is culture, science, diversity or other contemporary values in secular society, these are all rejected.

This creates a very interesting phenomena. The charedi community is situated inside the secular, “outside” world but ultimately rejects much of it. This balance is what creates much of the tension in the book and in the charedi world. Ideas are only acceptable if they are found in Torah, secular recreation is frowned upon, yet, and this is the key, ideas not found in Torah have crept into charedi Judaism, secular recreation (fiction books, sports, movies etc) have found their way into the charedi community.

Strictly Kosher Reading analyzes this phenomena and does so excellently.

I read a lot as a teenager and read a lot of the books that Finkelman uses in his analysis. At times, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with his findings. Particularly with regard to books that claim to teach the “Torah approach to X (parenting, depression, divorce, whatever)” but really are just regurgitated ideas from popular science, psychology, pop-parenting, etc.) that are repackaged with Torah lingo and jargon is this most egregious. Further, trying to codify any specific parenting, family, psychology advice as Torah advice is at best disingenuous because of the myriad sources that disagree, contradict or talk above one another. Also, it is clear that many of these sources are products of their times and the vicissitudes of the environments in which they were written.

I recommend Strictly Kosher Reading for any curious reader.

I do have two criticisms of the book. One in style and one is substance.

The style critique is that the book seems to jump around a lot. There are times where I was reading and wondering how what I was reading was related to the paragraph I had just completed. Things seem disjointed at times and there is no clear order to the book. Also, similarly, the author is constantly telling the reader “what he is going to do” and when he is going to do it. It was a bit distracting. I do not revoke my recommendation based on this I just wish it were easier to read.

The substance critique is a bit more serious.

Throughout the book various rabbis, gedolim and Roshei Yeshiva are mentioned. Mostly because there are books written about them and they provide more data to support the book’s arguments. Three specific gedolim are mentioned and I feel strongly that mentioning them in the context of this book is disingenuous.

The three are: R’ Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, R’ Shimon Schwab and R’ Yaakov Weinberg. I admit, I have a bias towards these three great men. They are three of my personal heroes.

Finkelman tries to prove that the American yeshiva is a facsimile of an Eastern European yeshiva that never really existed. One of his “proofs” is a famous idea from R’ Shraga Feivel who is credited with inventing the modern day charedi yeshiva / day school. In his view, R’ Shraga Feivel was saying that the goal of the American yeshiva is to follow the model of the Eastern European yeshiva. The thing is that R’ Shraga Feivel’s model was specifically a drastic departure from the prior Eastern European model. The same quote Finkelman uses to prove his point is actually a disproof! R’ Shraga Feivel’s theory of education is quoted as follows:

“Reb Shraga Feivel sel-consciously set out to create a new type of bochur in the melting pot of America, one who would… draw from all that was best of the many strands of European Jewish life. America… would produce a new Jew combining within himself the best elements of Europe: the Lithuanian intellectual acuity, the bren (warmth) of Chasidus, the organizational abilities of German Jewry, and the appreciation of hiddur mitzvah (beautification of the mitzvah) of the Hungarians. Above all, the American Jew would be characterized by his temimus (sincerity), a trait that was much more a part of American culture than of Europe.”

My grandfather was a talmid muvhak of R’ Shraga Feivel and is mentioned several times in the book. He is also credited with facilitating the book’s publication in the acknowledgments. I probably heard this idea from my grandfather several dozen times. This was R’ Shraga Feivel. It was his essence and the essence of the yeshiva system he envisioned for America.

The entire point R’ Shraga Feivel was making was that America is different and requires a more well rounded yeshiva student. He is quoted in the same Artscroll book as saying that yeshivas in America needed to produce “soldiers” and not “generals”. This in itself was a huge modification to the yeshiva system as it was in Eastern Europe where the goal was to produce Torah giants and not be as concerned with the general public.

Therefore, I find it disingenuous to use R’ Shraga Feivel’s words to make the point that American yeshivos recreated the Eastern European version when he was in fact saying and doing the very opposite.

The book uses a famous quote from R’ Shimon Schwab to support the idea that charedi Judaism specifically creates a sanitized version of history that supports the charedi view of history. His words:

What ethical purpose is served by preserving a realistic historic picture? Nothing but the satisfaction of curiosity. We should tell ourselves and our children the good memories of the good people, their unshakable faith, their staunch defense of tradition, their life of truth, their impeccable honesty, their boundless charity and their great reverence for Torah and Torah sages. What is gained by pointing out their inadequacies and their contradictions? We want to be inspired by their example and learn from their experience…

On the surface this quote plays right into Finkelman’s thesis. I believe that R’ Schwab meant something slightly different. He meant that the focus of studying history for frum Jews is not for historical accuracy. It is for inspiration. It is not a science. It is literature. Meanwhile he clearly acknowledges that the charedi view of the past is skewed. But he says that’s okay as long as one realizes the difference between inspirational myth and history. I don’t believe R’ Schwab meant that we should purposefully ignore or rewrite history. Rather that if the goal is to inspire (and usually it is in charedi schools) then it should not be taught as history or claim accuracy, rather it is inspiration.

R’ Yaakov Weinberg is quoted in the book as well. The context is not important at all. What is important is that if anyone with gadol credentials would agree with Yoel Finkelman it would be R’ Yaakov Weinberg. His learning was classically rationalist in many respects, his yeshiva approved of college and secular education and his students are more acculturated than the students of almost any other yeshiva to the right of Yeshiva University. He was maligned for his “left wing” views and fought for moderation in the charedi community. It seems silly to toss R’ Weinberg’s name into a conversation about charedi censorship and rewriting of history and casting him as part of the process. He certainly did more to slow that process down than any other ostensibly charedi gadol.

My father is a talmid muvhak of R’ Weinberg. I met R’ Weinberg several times myself. I grew up hearing his insights and opinions on a daily basis. That he could be lumped in with the most narrow version of charedi Judaism is absurd by all accounts.

Similarly, I think R’ Shraga Feivel and R’ Schwab would more likely be allies of Yoel Finkelman on many matters in this book. If he felt it was necessary to include them in his study and place them on the side of the fence that is criticized in Strictly Kosher Reading I wish there would have at least a footnote at the mention of the names of these three gedolim indicating their general stance as being more sympathetic to the author’s than the current charedi establishment.

There is much more wonderful, insightful, fascinating and constructive material in the book. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants an academic lens into charedi culture. Whether you know nothing about the charedi community, are in the charedi world now, were in the charedi world at one time, or plan on being in the charedi world sometime in the future, Strictly Kosher Reading is a great read.

Click any of the links in the post to purchase from Amazon: Strictly Kosher Reading. (Softcover version here: Strictly Kosher Reading)

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Hush
2. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
3. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
4. Book Review | The Color of Water
5. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)

Normal book reviews review books that have been recently published. This is not a normal book review. It is really a more of a reflection upon reading a wonderful book.

A friend suggested I read The Search for God at Harvard and gave me a copy of the book a little while ago. I finally got around to reading The Search for God at Harvard and really enjoyed it. There are some very important thing that I learned from the book and I recommend reading it if you have not yet read it yourself.

The Search for God at Harvard is supposed to be the story of New York Times journalist, Ari Goldman’s year at Harvard Divinity School. While much of the book focuses on his year there, the book is really about some of Goldman’s issues with religion, issues with his parents and his rise in through the ranks at the NY Times. In other words, the backdrop for the book is Goldman’s year at the Div School, but the bulk of the storytelling in the book has nothing to do with what he learned there. I would have liked more.

But that is my only criticism of the book; wanting more can hardly be a criticism.

Ari Goldman was raised as an orthodox Jew in the 60′s. As Goldman notices, much has changed in the orthodox Jewish community in the last 50 years. Goldman remains committed to orthodox Judaism, but like everyone, is not perfect. He takes some liberties with his observance. This is an attitude that has mostly been purged from orthodox Judaism. Many people think this is a good thing. I do not. Goldman’s story is a prime illustration why.

I cried two times while reading The Search for God at Harvard.

You can’t help but notice that Goldman feels cheated by his parents who divorced when he was 5 years old. He makes it clear that he still feels the pain of that 5 year old who lost his beloved friday night Shabbos dinners with his parents. So when he has a moment where he connects with his son and realizes how lucky he is to be a father it seems to give him a bit solace. You can feel him healing. The writing is that good and the point is so poignant that I could not help but to tear up. But this was a sidebar to the book. I think the second time I cried shows how the social changes in orthodox Judaism over the last 50 years may not be for the best.

The biggest tear-jerker for me was at the end of the book. Goldman struggles to remain observant throughout the book. He struggles as single male in the big city. He struggles as a journalist who may need to work on Shabbos. He even feels Divine Intervention when his first real journalism gig at the NY Times does not require he work on Shabbos. He feels connected to orthodox Judaism. It is his Judaism.

After the year at the Div School, Goldman and his wife and son move to Westchester County. They join a modern orthodox synagogue. The rabbi hears that Goldman has quite a talent as a cantor and asks him if he would lead one of the services on the high holidays. At first Goldman is honored but he declines. Eventually he acquiesces to pressure to take the job. He feels validation that he has been able to navigate the difficulties of balancing modernity with an ancient tradition. But some members of the shul are not happy. They find some of his activities are not in consonance with Jewish law. They said he worked on Shabbos, he ate (kosher food) in non-Kosher restaurants, he read the New Testament, his son was named for a non-Jew etc. In Goldman’s mind, these were struggles. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. In Goldman’s eyes these were battles. To his coreligionists they were seen as compromises. And they threatened the sheltered world of orthodox Judaism. That year, Goldman did not lead the services. In fact he did not even go to the synagogue because he was so hurt.

That was when I cried.

The postscript to the high holidays story was that the other synagogue members eventually apologized. They told Goldman that they too participate in many of this “objectionable” activities. But they keep them quiet. They don’t discuss them. If had kept his mouth shut he would have been just fine.

Goldman concludes his book with what I feel to be the most significant point in The Search for God at Harvard. After the ethnic pride movements of the 70′s, religions began to shift to more fundamentalist views in the 80′s. This continued through the 90′s and brings us to where we are today. Intolerance for co-coreligionists and “other-religionists” became more pronounced in the 80′s than it was prior to the 80′s. President Reagan brought religion to fore of policy and discourse in America.

In orthodox Judaism a similar phenomena happened as well. Orthodox Judaism became more narrow. Many activities, positions, policies, beliefs, modes of dress, aspirations among other things that were previously accepted in the broad spectrum of orthodox Judaism were expunged. People and communities were told to move to the right, or move on. It has not let up since. In matters of theology, practice, social and religious, the orthodox Judaism of my grandparents is long gone.

Am I crazy for trying to bring it back? Maybe. But that won’t stop me from trying.

Pick up your own copy of The Search for God at Harvard by clicking on any of the links in the post. It is a great read.

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Must a Jew Believe Anything?
2. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)
3. Book Review | Hush
4. Book Review | Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza
5. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading

As I mentioned previously (see: When Did the Western Wall Become a Place of Prayer?) I found an interest in the Cairo Geniza. I went on Amazon and looked for the best looking book I could find on the Cairo Geniza and I bought Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza. It was amazing.

First, some background. As we recently studied in the Rambam Class, there is a prohibition against the detsruction of God’s printed name. So what do you do when the names are printed in books or on papers if they are no longer able to be used? Geniza. They are buried and given the same respect given to humans after humans die.

Generally, a geniza will be buried and the paper will decompose and be lost forever. The Cairo Geniza is a collection of items that fell into disuse. But the Cairo Geniza has two incredible anomolies that make it so special. First of all, the residents of Cairo and the contributors to this geniza buried all items with hebrew letters. They buried contracts and poems as well as prayers and biblical texts. This makes the content of the geniza much broader. More importantly, because of the climate and the fact that the geniza was in a closet sized room and not buried underground, many of the items placed in the geniza remained intact.

The Cairo Geniza was a repository of nearly 300,000 Jewish documents and holy texts spanning 1000 years. The earliest documents were from the 9th century and the latest documents were from the 19th century. That is a mind-blowing discovery. Further, as opposed to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the people of Cairo were not a minor sect. They practiced rabbinic Judaism similar to orthodox Judaism of today. The traditions and teachings of orthodox Judaism that are practiced and taught today can be traced through the Geniza and were practiced and taught in a way that is familiar to orthodox Jews today.

Sacred Trash is best known for its wonderful way of weaving together the men and women who discovered the geniza, their motivations and personalities with their discoveries. It reads more like a novel than a book of Academia and I am sure that history buffs and budding scholars will find the book a bit watered down. No matter. It was perfect for me.

Reading Sacred Trash I learned a lot about Solomon Schechter. Today, his name is associated with Conservative Judaism. But when he was chasing the Cairo Geniza, he sounded very different from what I expected. His writings and his passions for strict observance of Judaism is more familiar in Orthodox Judaism than Conservative Judaism today. It seemed to me from the excerpts in the book that were taken from his writings that he would be more comfortable in a Yeshiva today than at the JTS. It could be the book has mislead me, but that is what I gleaned from the book about Solomon Schechter.

I also learned that rough drafts of the Mishnah Torah were found in the geniza. Oh how I would love to see those…

My main interest in the book was to get a sense of daily religious life for observant Jews 1000 years ago. It wasn’t easy to pull these details out of Sacred Trash as that was not its purpose. But the few things that I learned in this regard were very profound and have affected or affirmed the way I see Judaism.

In the earliest recorded days of the Jewish community in Cairo, there were three synagogues. One was for Jews who followed the tradition of the Babylonian Talmud. That would be most similar to today’s orthodox Jews. The second was for those followed the Palestinian Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi). The third was for Karaites. They did not follow the Talmud at all. Although their disagreements on theology were intense. There is evidence that they married out of their respective sects and “intermarried”. They made stipulations about observance in the marriage contracts resolving to place their affection for one another above disagreements on observance. They disagreed on theology but all realized that they were striving for the same truth. This created an environment of inclusion rather than exclusion.

To me, this is an important lesson. I am not certain if the lesson is applicable today or not. But I am sure that I wish it was. Healthy competition among Jewish sects is a good thing. But hatred, negative propaganda and absolute dismissal of entire swaths of Judaism cannot be the ideal. But more importantly, it wasn’t always this way. It doesn’t always have to be this way either.

The other thing that caught my eye in Sacred Trash was the focus on liturgy and in particular piyitum of the Jews in the early years of the Cairo Geniza. Piyutim (liturgical poems) were the focus of Jewish life in those days. People who could not read hebrew or pray came to the synagogue to hear the newest piyutim. Each week a new piyut was written in masterful style and substance. It is something that is lost upon us moderns but to them it was the ultimate expression of devotion and connection to God. It’s interesting for a number of reasons. The first thing I thought about was the comparison to the secular world. Entertainment in those days were ballads. People paid money to hear a good ballad. Jews came to the synagogue to hear beautiful ballads about God, the Jews and Torah.

In my view, this illustrates the amorphous nature of social Jewish observance. During the era of the Temple, the focus of Jewish social observance was the holy Temple service. Following the destruction of the Temple the focus became redacting, editing and perfecting Jewish texts like the Torah and the Talmud. It seems that in the 9th through 12th centuries piyutim were the focus. During medieval times, the focus for many was simply survival for others it was the three methods of commentary on the Talmud, pirush, psak and pircha. After the Renaissance the focus shifted to scholarly Talmudic discourses called pilpul. Some felt this was too intellectual and robbed many of a connection with God and Chassidus was born. In the last century, the focus has shifted to a life of kollel, where men study Torah full time after marriage and are supported by their communities (or wives). Also we have seen the rise of the Daf Yomi (daily study of one folio of Talmud) and perhaps most of all we have seen the proliferation of chumros (stringencies) and segulos (charms). I wonder, how will we be defined in a few hundred years?

Of course, these are generalizations. And also, we are presuming adherence to mitzvos and participation in the synagogue as a given throughout these eras of observant Jews. But the point remains. The focus of social Jewish observance changes, has changed many times and continues to change. It is important for our generation to know that we are unique, things are different today than they have ever been and the social acceptability of kollel life is not a given. Many would say, perhaps it should be reexamined.

Sacred Trash taught me a lot. I am sure it will speak to you in other ways as well and it will be a great addition to your bookshelf.

Pick it up from Amazon.com by clicking any of the links like this one: Sacred Trash

Related posts:

1. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
2. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
3. Book Review | Hush
4. Book Review | Must a Jew Believe Anything?
5. Book Review | Unchosen

Better late than never.

While browsing the local Barnes and Noble, I made a stop at the perilously thin Judaism section. There are a couple shelves of mostly uninteresting books. Only one book caught my eye. Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. I vaguely recall hearing about this book a while back. (As in years ago, But I never read it.)

Now I have a renewed interest in the lives of those who live in a community that they are not comfortable in since my Thoughts on Ami Magazine’s Orthoprax Article: The Impostors Among Us blog post. So I purchased the book at Barnes and Noble, something I rarely do, and read the book after the meal on the 7th night of Pesach.

The book is really a dissertation by the author who intended to study hasidic Jews in Williamsburg for her Ph.D. By accident, she began a study of those who left or were in the process of leaving hasidic Judaism. For this I am thankful, because it was way more interesting than the former.

Unchosen had me almost right away when it distinguished between Lubavitch / Chabad and all other chasidic groups. This is something that I have discussed with friends online and in real life that was very well stated in the book.

With its “mitzvah tanks”, campus Chabad houses, celebrity stuffed fundraising telethons, and outposts across the globe, Lubavitch has become almost synonymous with Hasidism. This despite the fact that in the United State it numbers less than half the size of Satmar and is hardly representative of the Hasidic community as a whole. With their mission – unique in the Hasidic world – to attract unaffiliated Jews, Lubavitchers are raised to engage (Jewish) outsiders, doing missionary work wherever Jews are found around the world. [...]

This emphasis on proselytizing has meant that a significant percentage of Lubavitchers were not born in the community but joined by choice. Often those who join [...] have led formerly secular lives, which likely included a college education or beyond. [...] Additionally, Lubavitch raises a substantial amount of money from non-Hasidic Jews [...]. All of this is strong contrast to the other Hasidic sects, which include Satmar, Ger, Viznitz, Belz, Bobov, Skver, Sponka, Pupa and Breslow, to name only a few. In these sects, almost all members are born into the community, and none engages in formal outreach, making them comparatively more insulated from , and less aware of, the ways of the outside society than their counterparts in Lubavitch.

This is a very important distinction and I quote the book here because it is an important point about Lubavitch and a more important point about Chasidic Judaism in general. They are isolated. Almost completely.

What happens when someone who was isolated wants to rejoin society at large? Unchosen tells that story. Short version: It is very hard, sometimes humorous and always painful.

The book is similar to Hush (reviewed here: Book Review | Hush) in that it does a decent job describing the immense social pressure placed upon members of the Chasidic community. So much of their approach to dealing with issues is by worrying what the neighbors will say and less about what might have caused the issues or even thinking about solutions to the issues.

Another very eye opening element of Unchosen is the interests of those who “leave”. The writer of the Ami article assumed it was because of mental illness. Others say it is because they want to commit sins. But the truth is obviously more comples. The subjects in Unchosen had a varitey of interests. Some of the interests were purely intellectual. But they could not satisfy their intellectual interests within their community. They wanted to read literetature or even just Jewish philosiphy from non-Orthodox rabbis. These were forbidden. For this reason many of them began to venture off into the libraries of New York. It seems that the Jewish Theoligical Seminary library, with its vast collection of Jewish books, is a frequent haunt of these rebels. Hardly the places of debauchery and hedonism some are wont to believe draws people away from tradition.

I also found that the confusion between what is mitzvah, halacha, minhag and social convention really hurt these rebels. They were taught that a streimel or chasidic dress in general was on the same level as keeping Shabbos or kosher. Obviously this is not true and wrong. But because they were taught this, it made it that much easier to leave mitzvah observance after shaving a beard.

Something else in Unchosen that was interesting was the revered rabbi who became an orthodox Jewish feminist and left the chasidic community because of their approach to women. He kind of reminded me of a less atheistic version of the orthoprax rabbi (see: The Orthoprax Rabbi Takes the J-Blogosphere By Storm) and I was pleased to see that he was able to (kind of) leave the Chasidic world but find a comfortable place in the non-chasidic orthodox community.

Of course the Internet played a large role in these people finding each other, finding comfort and finding their new lives. The Internet cannot be blamed, but it was a part of the process.

The thing that left the greatest impact on me was the insight of one woman who left the chasidic world and to placate her family and her daughter’s father sends her daughter to a modern orthodox Jewish school. She herself is not observant but leaves room for the possibility that she could become more observant after she heals (she was sexually abused) and can reconnect with her Judaism. She expects her daughter to be observant and raises her in that kind of home. She remarked that she would always try to discipline her child to be a good person and keep the rules of Judaism. She tries to make it fun and not about fear. That is a great. But what struch me is that she said that while she might, from time to time, yell at her daughter about other things, she would never yell at her daughter about anything having to do with religion. For her it has to be about love and happiness. Not fear and yelling. At the very least, it is something worth thinking about.

Overall Unchosen is an amazing book. It offers insight that people of all walks of life can and should learn from. I am very happy that I read it and I recommend that adults read this book.

Ultimately, there are many lessons in the book that can help keep as many  as possible, “chosen”.

There will be one more future post about this book forthcoming.

Related posts:

1. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)
2. Book Review | Hush
3. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
4. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
5. Book Review | The Color of Water

Purim is a few days away, but I have a late entry for Purim reading. I recommend Rabbi David Fohrman’s The Queen You Thought You Knew. If you order it today, you can get it before Shabbos and read the book before Purim. It is an easy read and the book is not too long.

The Queen You Thought You Knew is worthwhile addition to your library. Rabbi Fohrman discusses a novel approach to the Purim story. His work is mostly speculative but presented reasonably and in my opinion, responsibly.

The premise of the book is that there are many many questions that remain unanswered in the Megilla which can be answered with the novel approach of Rabbi Forhman. Many of the questions in the book have been asked and answered by Chazal or more recent rabbis. But I am not aware of any holistic solution to some of the more well known and lesser known challenges within the Megilla narrative.

Rabbi Forhman takes us on a journey of question, thought and theory to find answers and ultimately his novel approach.

I won’t ruin the book in this post but I will say that it is nothing like anything you have heard before. The book is clearly well researched and well thought out.

Although I wholeheartedly recommend this book. But there is one small caveat. It is important to note that Rabbi Fohrman’s theory is almost completely unsubstantiated in Chazal or other classical sources. It is almost entirely novel and based purely on the text of the Megilla. Rabbi Fohrman himself seems to forewarn of this throughout the book by hedging the theory of the book as speculative and a possibility not to the exclusion of any other idea. To some, this may be a great accomplishment. To others it may be controversial. I think it is a worthwhile read if only for the questions presented and the very novel solution as tenuous as it may be.

While using an academic style of study, the book fails to use any external corroborative materials to support its flimsy premise. In fact, I think the historical record would indicate that the premise is wrong. In my mind, if you’re going to use academic methodology, you should provide some scholarly support for your premise. This is the biggest and most glaring flaw of the book. Outside of this critique the book’s premise is elegant and useful.

It is also worthwhile to discuss the merits and demerits of the style of study the book represents. It is a departure from typical yeshiva style study in that it is more similar to academic text-based study. This is different than almost every other Torah book that is studied in the yeshiva milieu. It remains to be seen if this will become a more popular form of study or if it will be shunned by the yeshiva fraternity.

This last issue is being discussed in my post on DovBear: Is Rabbi Fohrman’s Purim Book Controversial?

Order on Amazon by clicking any of the links or simply clicking here: The Queen You Thought You Knew

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Purim and the Persian Empire
2. Book Review | DovBear on the Parsha
3. Book Review | The Color of Water
4. Book Review | Unchosen
5. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard

A couple of weeks ago I read The Color of Water, a really excellent book. I don’t write about every book I read, but this one was worth sharing with you.

The book tells the story a white-Jewish woman Rachel Shilsky / Ruth McBride Jordan, who married two black men and raised a very successful family in the inner city. Alternating chapters, the book tells the story of her childhood from her perspective and the story of her adult life from her son, the author, James McBride’s perspective. The Color of Water reads like a novel but is biographical.

Rachel’s father was a rabbi in Virginia. According to his daughter, he was a really horrible person. He was violent, unloving and unfaithful to his crippled wife. He was cheap, racist and a hypocrite. Rachel’s experience with her father was her only Jewish experience and eventually led her to a life as far from Judaism as she could run. Reading about her limited understanding of her Judaism and her father’s gross behavior was depressing.

But despite it all, she persevered as a person. She left Judaism but she turned herself into a very strong woman. She led a large family against the odds to great success. Perhaps most importantly and ironically, her son attributes their success to her “Jewishness”. She pushed her children to get an education and stereotypically, many of them are “professionals” that would make any yiddishe mama proud.

As much as Rachel ran away from her Jewish roots, those Jewish values were nevertheless instilled in her family and led them to great success.

The book is fascinating, educational, heartwarming, heartrending and challenging. It is well written, fun to read, leaves room for much discussion, indeed, the book is part of many high school and college curricula and I recommend the book for teens and adults.

I would love to meet Mr. McBride and his mother after reading this book. I am pretty sure you will too.

Purchase here: The Color of Water

Related posts:

1. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
2. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
3. Book Review | Unchosen
4. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
5. Book Review | Hush

This is a review of the book Hush by Eishes Chayil. I paid for the book and received no compensation for this review. (Nor do I want any.)

Last week, my friend Heshy Fried told me about a new book called Hush. Curiosity piqued, I immediately purchased the book from Amazon. It was delivered to my door on Friday afternoon.

After our Friday Night Dinner, I tucked my elder son into bed at 8:30 PM. I sat down with the book and began to read. Three hours later (and several tissues later) I completed the book. The best determination of a good read, is whether I can put the book down. I could not put down Hush. If you stop reading now, just buy the book and read it yourself. (You can buy the book by clicking on this link: Hush)

Hush is a novel about an ancillary victim of sexual abuse in a chasidic community. But it’s not really a novel. The anonymous author writes that the story is based on her own story. Truthfully, the book is based on hundreds of stories and not just stories from the chasidic world. The same story, with a different backdrop can be told by many victims of abuse from almost any insular culture. This includes, inner-city communities, Catholics, Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The backdrop for this story is a fictional Chasidic sect in Borough Park. The fictional sect is in the style of the major Chassidic branches in the New York metropolitan area like Satmar, Ger, Vizhnitz and Skver.

The story is mostly told through the eyes of a nine year old girl. To me, this is the charm of the book. Victims of abuse say that their lives can become frozen at the age of the abuse. The nine year old perspective is so innocent on the one hand, so damaged on the other hand, so naive on yet another hand and disturbing on all hands.

There are plenty of villains in Hush, there are plenty of victims too. But only a few heros. This is how it is. Sexual abuse can ravage a community, but it takes a very strong person to be a hero in the face of abuse. Strong people like that are rare and the book demonstrates this sad reality wonderfully.

One of the heroes in Hush is a chasidic newspaper publisher. To me, he represents the bloggers who have done the dirty work of exposing this harm and its perpetrators. On behalf of everyone, thank you. The publisher in this book exposes abuse at his own peril. It shouldn’t be that way. The other hero in the book is the main character’s husband whose unconditional commitment to his wife gave her the strength to prevail under extremely trying circumstances. Enough so that she felt like an Eishes Chayil, a woman of valor, as the pseudonym implies.

Hush has a surprisingly light tone to most of the book. As it is seen through the eyes of a nine year old chasidic girl, the names and places in the book have cute and funny names that ring true to Orthodox Jews. I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout the book.

As to the “meat” of the plot. the community’s approach to allegations of sexual abuse are all too familiar. Insular communities all share a distrust of governmental authority and prefer to self-police. Unfortunately, there is no self-policing of abuse in the book.

Crying is to be expected as one reads Hush. There are moments of heartbreaking sadness and moments of emotional triumph. The book will move its reader to tears throughout the book and by the time the reader is at the climactic ending resistance to crying is futile.

Hush is important. It gives real life victims a voice they can relate to. The voice of the main characters of Hush are familiar to any victim of abuse. In this respect, the book is relevant to victims of abuse in any community.

I am only somewhat familiar, not intimately familiar with the idiosyncrasies and foibles of the chasidic community. But Hush does a spectacular job of drawing you into their community. I can only assume that what is written is accurate. (I would love if a chasidic reader would read Hush and get back to me about the accuracies of the depiction of the chasidic community in Hush.) The worldview portrayed in the book is absolutely terrifying. Anyone that is not exactly like “you” is an enemy or at best a heathen. The self absorption and ignorance about almost everything is shocking. Characters in Hush describe any custom they have as “The Torah say”, even when the Torah certainly does not say the thing they are quoting. Characters in Hush subscribe to every possible superstition Jewish culture has to offer. And perhaps worst of all, every kind of prejudice about “outsiders” that I am sure outsiders can sense in their real life interactions with the community. Characters in Hush have no working knowledge of what most communities call common sense and the facts of life.

Upon reflection, I wonder if these characteristics of the chasidic community, real or imagined for the book, contributed the trauma of sex abuse. Is abuse so horrible that the milieu plays a negligible role? Or perhaps is the abuse exacerbated when you have been trained to think that your community is vastly superior to others in every possible way, that God prefers you over anyone else and misinformation is so prevalent that one has to wonder if it is a vast ignorance conspiracy to maintain allegiance?

It is a question that may not have an answer but I think it is the broader question that is raised in Hush.

I cannot possible give a bigger endorsement for Hush. I recommend you click one of the links on this review and buy the book immediately. Read it. Feel the pain and hurt. Share it with a friend or a spouse and hopefully slowly, together, we can slay this dragon that has been harming our community for far too long.

(This book is for adults. I am not recommending this book for teens. Parents, use your own discretion.)

Related posts:

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2. Book Review | Unchosen
3. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
4. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
5. Book Review | Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza

Yesterday I flew from New York to Los Angeles. We got to the airport just under 3 hours before our flight. This is a direct result of missing a few flights in the last few years. We always err on the side of caution.

I stopped in a Hudson Books to peruse the available reading material. Prominently displayed was a new book by Ben Mezrich called “The Accidental Billionaires“. I am a big fan of Mezrich having read, Busting Vegas, Rigged and of course Bringing Down the House (I recommend all those books). I took a look at the book and discovered it was about the founding and founders of Facebook.

I bought the book.

And so should you.

Why?

The book is interesting, tells a compelling story and most of all offers fantastic insight into our world. Facebook transformed the way we interact with each other on the web and in real life.

Before Facebook, the web was mostly information that someone else put on the web for you to learn from. The genius of Facebook is that it gave everyone the opportunity to share their lives with their friends on the web. Facebook is a web platform that is the really the voice of the people. Facebook wrestled the web away from corporate content providers and gave the power of the web to you and me and our friends.

Prior to Facebook there was MySpace. MySpace was and continues to be a big advertisement for one’s brand, band, etc. It is not a relationship building platform. Facebook is a place to meet and befriend people. It is your real life, just online. Facebook took the interactions of our daily lives and transported them onto a web page. That is why Facebook is not only the largest online community, but is also the most popular photo sharing site on the web. People share their lives in a natural way on Facebook.

Twitter really took the Facebook lesson of sharing and community building and over-simplified it. Twitter has also become wildly successful because it builds community.

Understanding our highly interactive online world is important and this book really illuminates that reality.

The other thing that made the book powerful was the struggle the founders of Facebook encountered while attributed credit to the creator of Facebook.

See, Facebook wasn’t revolutionary. It was just social networking done the right way. Other folks had thought of similar sites and other sites were launched and they failed.

The tension over whose idea Facebook was is something that happens all the time in our modern world. People think of ideas or concepts at the same time as others. One of those parties may be successful with their version of the idea and the other version may fail. When the failing version owners realize they have not succeeded oftentimes they get angry, they file lawsuits, they yell and scream and make themselves look bad.

Much of the book is dedicated to appreciating this complex dynamic and it is a valuable lesson in modern fairness.

I recommend this book (click to purchase) to anyone wishing to gain insight and appreciation for our interactive, modern, web based universe. As well as people who just like reading a good book about a college geek who became the youngest billionaire in the history of America.

Related posts:

1. Rabbis and Facebook
2. Malcolm Gladwell Doesn’t Use Twitter or Facebook But He Is Pretty Sure They Are Useless
3. Become a Fan of Pacific Jewish Center on Facebook
4. Book Review | The Color of Water
5. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew

During the summer months many people find some extra time to catch up on their reading. By reading, I mean books with paper, ink, covers and turning pages. I don’t mean on a backlit display plugged into an electrical outlet.

This summer, I have been too busy to do any real substantive offline reading. I have done a lot of online reading, but my book reading has fallen behind.

One exception has been DovBear on the Parsha, and you can read my review here.

Part of the reason for this is that in my “spare time” I usually end up reading up on Law School materials. I actually enjoy reading cases and Law Review articles, so my reading of other stuff has fallen a bit behind.

There is plenty of summer left and I thought it would be nice to provide some of my all time favorite reads and a quick note about why I like each book.

Click the title of the book to purchase on Amazon.

Please feel free to add your favorites, especially if you see my faves and think I would like your suggestions.

Jewish Books

The Committed Life by Esther Jungreis

Written for Observant Jews and anyone else, the quintessential Rebbetzin Jungreis weaves together stories of commitment and dedication to life, love and spirituality. I confess to crying throughout the book and if you have an emotional side, this book will speak to you.

Letters to a Buddhist Jew by Akiva Tatz

What the Angel Taught You by Rabbi Noach Weinberg and Yaakov Salomon

A book of Reb Noach Weinberg’s wisdom on life, happiness and achieving one’s goals. The book is humorous, thoughtful and practical.

Frameworks by Rabbi Matis Weinberg

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman

A (slowly becoming outdated, but continually being updated) analysis of the rise of the information age. From the first personal computers to blogging, the book puts all the advances of the last two decades into a neat package. I found the book to be very important to understanding our era as a participant and as a parent!

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
2. Rational Reading and Gift List
3. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
4. Book Review | The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook
5. Do You Like Reading Blogs?

Over Shabbos I had the privilege of reading an excellent book. On Thursday my DovBear on the Parsha arrived at my summer residence and I was hoping to look it over on Shabbos.

At just over 175 pages I thought I would peruse the articles and formulate a general opinion of the book over Shabbos. Instead, I was so tired by the time Shabbos came along I decided to just read the first couple of chapters before heading to bed Friday night.

To my surprise I was unsuccessful in my goal… I started the book after the Friday night meal and I went to sleep at 11:30 PM, after I had read the entire book cover to cover (not just the first couple chapters). DovBear on the Parsha is a true page turner.

I was spellbound and mesmerized. As I was reading I felt myself running through the full gamut of emotions. The book made me laugh, cry, agree, disagree, shake my head, nod my head, upset, happy, disappointed, thrilled and thirsty for more.

Before I begin the substantive review, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I found the dedication and acknowledgements sweet and honest. It was not contrived as some cheesy dedications are and it only added to the power of the book. The book certainly starts on the right foot.

First, allow me to say, the book demonstrates DovBear’s tremendous breadth of Torah knowledge. The sheer number of Torah commentaries, Midrashim, Talmudic passages and contemporary opinions presented represents a life’s work devoted to understanding and appreciating Torah.

Too many of us “punch in” at the local Daf Yomi instead of “tuning in” to our learning. This book demonstrates the latter.

Second, the insights are impeccable. I found myself time and time again wishing that I had thought of what I was reading. Much of it seems so obvious and yet elusive to the average observant Jew.

In particular the observations made in “Eliezer and his 318 Men is obviously the correct reading of the material and yet I have never heard it before! Perhaps, I would have seen it myself in the original text down the road, but the way DovBear seemlessly integrates the words of the commentaries with the Torah gives life and a spark to the commentaries quoted.Similarly, the sentiment expressed in “What Was Rivka Playing At” and “Esav Enigma” is something I talk about often but is foreign to many learned Jews.

A clarity of thought and of writing makes some difficult concepts more palatable and easier to appreciate. But the depth of the content is not compromised by its simple tone. Each short essay (almost each essay) provides deeper insight into some of the most complex sections of the Chumash. Such as, the story of Tamar, Yaakov stealing the Blessings from Esav, the curse of Cham, the sin of the Spies and the first Shabbos violator.

Third, the aesthetics of the typography and layout is pleasing. So often a book is well written but so hard to read because of the obvious lack of attention paid to the reader’s eyes. DovBear on the Parsha is easy to read linguistically and physically.

Next, the essays. Many essays were outstanding. My overall favorites (I could be missing a few) are: Rainbows, The Curse of Ham, A Twenty First Century Sodom?, Why Was Isaac Blind?, Salt and Straw, Marrying Sisters, Leah’s Lament, Esav Sonei L’Yaakov, Tamar’s Tale, Abominations, Stoned, Talking Torah with the Baby Bears and What Remains of my Favorite Post. I regret that I read it on Shabbos, because I kept on thinking “I have a great kneitch to add here”, or “that is just like something I once saw on something else”, or “that is such a pet peeve of mine as well”, and I wish I could have annotated the book with my thoughts.

To me, that is the greatest asset of the book. It provides real (fast) food for thought on an unlimited number of Torah subjects. The essays are not ends in themselves, they are starting points for discussion and beginning point to understanding Torah more deeply.

There were a couple of essays which I disagreed with on a theological basis. That is a good thing. That means that DovBear on the Parsha is pushing us to challenge and think. Too often we accept and move on. DovBear on the Parsha takes that away from its reader and I think that is wonderful.

What moved me the most was DovBear’s unyielding devotion and dedication to Torah. Questions, answers, problems, solutions, issues and explanations did not deter DovBear as throughout the book he remained dedicated to Torah and mitzvos. It was clear to me, the reader, that DovBear is passionate about his Judaism and takes pride in his adherence to Torah and mitzva observance.

I felt this particularly due to the joy that jumps off the page in DovBear’s tone as he writes a new insight or thought. The sheer enjoyment is palpable and to me, only a feeling felt through a real dedication to Torah Judaism.

The final essay in DovBear on the Parsha is “What Remains of My Favorite Post“. The relevant quote is here:

Any two-bit exegete can flatter his colleagues and offer simpering praise. That sort of behavior may suggest manners, but it doesn’t demonstrate brains, talent or confidence. Endless praise is the behavior of a sycophant, someone who values popularity over truth and integrity. Is that really what we want…? An endless exchange of Valentines?

As a blogger who has been smacked around (and who has done his share of smacking) I can relate. The roughness is how some people prefer to communicate but it’s always sign of respect to be noticed, and mentioned. Moreover, rough language often comes with the territory when ideas are at stake.

With this thought, DovBear has given license to his readers to criticize. A review with no criticism would be shallow and empty. It is in this light that I present my sole critique.

Imagine you buy a brand new car. Let’s say you got your first new Lexus. It is a beauty and something you have coveted for years. You get into your new ride and turn the key, ahhhh, the engine roars to life. You exert some pressure on the gas pedal, ahhhh, the cars purrs as it accelerates. Your hand reaches for the radio and you push the power button and… nothing. The radio doesn’t work. Big deal, right? The car is a Lexus, you didn’t get a Lexus for the radio – right? But it still bothers you – right?

That is how I felt a couple of times while reading DovBear on the Parsha. The content is so good and yet it could use another good proof-reading. There are more than a few typos. There is a lack of consistency in the transliterations. For example one (great) essay is title “Makot Machlokes”. Those two spellings are contradictory. Makot is a sephardic pronunciation and Machlokes is an ashkenazic pronunciation. Throughout the book we are treated to both variants with no consistency. Similarly, in a post titled “Mean Loez”, the Me’am Loez is spelled Meam and Me’am.

This is just like the radio not working in the Lexus. I don’t tune in to DovBear for perfectly consistent writing style I tune in for substance. But the lack of attention to the nitty gritty in the writing does not do the rest of the book justice. DovBear on the Parsha is too good a book for the reader to be annoyed by typos and inconsistencies.

My only other critique (if this is even a critique) is the lack of content on the summer Parshios and the book of Devarim. I simply wish there was more content in the book.

In summary, DovBear on the Parsha is a masterpiece. It is a masterpiece because so few of us could even write a book like this. Most lay people are not producing innovative thought on Torah and our Rabbis and teachers focus on so many other corners of Torah. DovBear on the Parsha is a mechayev on all of us to think, challenge, study and grow in our Torah study. Each short essay can evoke emotion and thought from its reader.

I recommed DovBear on the Parsha for every Jewish home. You will probably find yourself agreeing with most of what DovBear has written. And even if you disagree with everything in the book it will still be a worthwhile, if not important read.

Click anywhere it says “DovBear on the Parsha” to buy from Amazon.

If it is sold out of Amazon go to DovBear’s blog and purchase there by clicking here.

Related posts:

1. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
2. Book Review | Hush
3. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
4. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
5. Book Review | Unchosen