Book Review: A Seat at the Table by Joshua Halberstam

Each story of leaving religion is different and the phenomenon is not new. New are only the outreach possibilities and the multiple ways people who left can tell their stories.

The OTD stories were probably less dramatic in the time of Potok. But going off the derech is obviously not a new phenomenon. Nowadays the cases are just amplified by the social media and various e-publications.

A Seat at the Table. A Novel of Forbidden Choices by Joshua Halberstam tells the story of Elisha, a 17 years old boy, from a Hasidic family in Boro Bark. Like the author of the book, he is scion of fine rabbinic families, refugiated to America from the old countries. The story takes place at the end of the 1960s, when America was at a crossroad of mentality changes, with the anti-war protests and Flower Power movement taking over the country. 

An anthropology student, Elisha is struggling to discover the world through his own eyes and make sense. The Hasidic masters and writings he grew up with are his guidance, but in a world which does not exclude the secular path. His switch is never permanent and, as many of those who left a world behind, they are never completelly cut out from their past. The familiarity of reciting a bracha or the felling of being at home when being around the family table at a Seder. However, some decided that being in both worlds can be possible, pursuing a secular life suits better his or her expectations about life. Refusing to be judgemental and leaving the doors always open, instead of a stubborn rejection of the family ties with the rebel(s) is in line with the deep message of the Hasidism, the one before it was distorted and turned into an ideological sword cutting the ties with those who do not conform.

I enjoyed the slow pace of the book, as well as the drama free plot and the positive message. Although not all the characters are equal and I would have expect more deep understanding from Elisha, the story is enjoyable and in many respects relatable. 

I may confess that I´ve discovered A Seat at the Table while randomly browsing for some easy readings but it kept me busy and was interesting enough to be worth a blog review.

Rating: 3 stars