Boychiks in the Hood, an inaccurate Hasidic travelogue

I hesitated for a long time in which category to include Boychiks in the Hood, by Robert Eisenberg, a book I had for a long time on my reading list. 

The book was published in 1996, when Hasidism was rather considered a path of life followed by a rather exotic group of people, and I finished reading it in 2018, when Hasidism is still considered a path of life followed by a rather exotic people, but relatively widely present into the everyday media and literary, also academic approaches. For instance, there are more people who've heard about Satmers and about Jews going to Uman, in Ukraine, on Rosh Hashanah. However, checking facts and adding information to the field of research or to the overall knowledge about a specific topic could be done at any time, as what changed meanwhile since the publication of the book was only the frequency of the information about the topic. People belonging to the Satmer branch of Hasidism will hardly change in their approach to belief in the next 100 years or until Moshiah will come.

Therefore, the book can hardly be considered a research, and there are more than once facts and statements which slightly or roughly contradict the documented realities. For instance: 'A large proportion of the Satmar Hasidim perished during World War II, but not to the same extent as did Polish Jewry. Adolph Eichmann's liquidation machine didn't get around to the destruction of Hungary's Jews until the final months of the war, and then they found little official enthusiasm for the project among their Hungarian allies'. Or the fact that there is a serious connection between Kasztner and the Satmer Rebbe, and although his was a not good, and a Zionist, Kasztner had a contribution to saving Rav Teitelbaum's life. Even at the level of the 1990s, there was for sure enough knowledge, especially among Shoah survivers from Hungary that would help a more refined and serious approach. 

Robert Eisenberg travels from Israel to Monsey, Florida to Antwerp and to Uman to meet Jews of all colours and believes, born religious or religious by choice. They share their experiences mostly by using Yiddish, the 'dead language of Judaism which is so much alive nowadays. There are stories which reveal new and interesting things, or facts that are - again - hardly if ever developed or researched beyond the direct declarations of the dialogue partners. For me, the book is mostly a travelogue, with plenty of comparisons between the people he meet and movie characters, singers and actors, most of them not making any sense for the nowadays non-US reader. 

Although Boychiks in the Hood is an useful reading for anyone interested in Hasidic/post-WWII Jewish histories and stories, it has too many flaws to make it into a top 20 books about Hasidism you should read. 

Rating: 2.5 stars

Book Review: Promised Land by Martin Fletcher

Set in the post-Shoah Israel and featuring the intertwined dramatic stories of two brothers born in Germany, separated by the War and reunited in Israel after, Promised Land grasped very much of the spirit and historical challenges of the young country and its people. 

Peter and Arie Nesher reunited themselves in Israel, each of them carrying the burden of their family that was murdered in concentration camps. Another drama will unite them for ever: their shared love for the Egyptian-born Tamara, a young ola hadasha from a now destitute academic family struggling hard to adjust to the harsh realities of the land of Israel.

Arie is becoming rich, taking the smart advantage of being the first to start or grasp a business opportunity, while Peter will dedicate his life and intelligence to defending the promised land on the secret front of information. The ways in which the personal histories are connected to the mainstream historical and social challenges were described with a highly literary skillfull art. The creative story is developing while taking into account the specific realities, without turning into a history lesson. The facts and characters have a determined, historically-defined context, without limiting the story and this makes the book an enjoyable reading experience for anyone who loves books sets in Israel or interested in historical novels about Israel. 

The story has many interesting turns and keeps you awake and curious until the very end, with a deeply human and balanced perspective on things and people, some of them painful, like the fact of dealing with Germany and Germans and German money after the war. 

What I personally did not fancy at all, whas the coming and going of the story of the brothers in love with the same sister. Was is because of the indecision, the soap-opera touch ? Regardless of the answer, it was not my piece of literary cake.  I also noticed a small mistake, as the brother of Tamara, Ido, was given once the same family name with her husband, although it was not clear they were changed all of them the names.

Promised Land by Martin Fletcher is a passionate reading that brilliantly covers the first 2 decades from the life of the state of Israel. Recommended to anyone that loves contemporary historical novels and a good Jewish story.

Rating: 4 stars

'One of Us'...

Telling the stories of people that left the Hasidic way of life in New York, the Netflix documentary One of Us is as heartbreaking as such stories could be. 

No parent should be left without his children because a different life choice. No child abuse should be tolerated, regardless how pious the perpetrator looks like for the community. The help organisations like Footsteps in New York offer to those who left the fold to integrate into the new life is tremendous and it is important for people to know that they are not alone. After belonging your own life to a tight community when everyone is part of the whole, finding yourself completely on your own in this big crazy world requires a lot of time and patience and knowledge about how this worl functions. But everything has a price and those finding their way 'off the derech' might not do it alone.

The documentary made by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady last around one hour and a half and features the changes taking place into the lives of Luzer, Ari and Etty as they decide to leave behind their closed communities. Filmed over 3 years, it covers dramatic changes taking place into the lives of the participants, such Etty's defeat in court against her ex abusive husband which leads to her being separated from her 7 children and Ari's recovery from drug abuse. 

The community can be a shield for those who are in and a terrible weapon against those who left. I personally know more than one case of a man who left the fold and man given visitation rights to his children that remained with the observant mother because it happened to be part of an important Hasidic family. But if you are a woman without a supportive family - in Etty's case even her own family testified against her - you are lost. The fact that the abuser of Ari is still in a position where he is close to children that he can eventually abuse is outrageous. Those stories are examples of what is actually wrong and sets limits of things that should not be accepted. 

I personally would have expect some wider coverage of individual stories, that may reflect the diversity of reasons and situations why people leave and what happens after. I know many success stories and people that also managed somehow to keep their parental rights and also cases when child abusers were brought to justice. The stories brought to attention are heartbreaking and interesting but especially for someone not familiar with the phenomenon, it may bring a bit of diversity and shape a completely different perspective.  

The 'Lone Wolf in Jerusalem'

Drama, adventure, romance and WWII traumatic memories. The popular novel in Israel, Lone Wolf in Jerusalem, by the decorated IDF colonel Ehud Diskin, wisely uses the troubled political and security landscape in Israel during the British Mandate to recreate vivid stories of the Jewish resistance in the Holy Land. 

The main character is David Gabinsky, a former member of the resistance against the Germans in Belarus, shortly landed in the 'home of the Jewish people' and faced with the harsh survival realities. The different ideological orientations and strategical mindsets of the many resistance groups and different approach of Zionism - explained sometimes but the author in a bit too school-like, pedagogical way - are a good indicator of the current political mainstreams in Israel. Diskin projects also a different image of the Jewish communities in Europe, with insights about the armed resistance against the Germans, a reality not enough approached either in purely historical or literary works placed in that period of time. 

Besides the historical contexts and constructions, the story flows beautifully and there is enough action and romantic touch to inspire and captivate the readership. The love between David and Shoshana is dramatic and moving, with a dynamic written on hearbreaking historical canvass. 

The historical research is well done, which allows the writer to play with the imagination and create unique stories, without diminishing the reality of facts. It is an easy-to-read novel, with a touch of mystery, thriller and historical - also military - dramatism, recommended to history novels readers, especially those passionate about the Middle East, particularly Jewish history.  

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A Comprehensive Overview of Jewish History

If you are interested in more than a basic introduction to centuries of Jewish history all over the world and in the Land of Israel, this 'Historical Atlas of the Jewish People is the best recommendation. With contributions of noteworthy experts in Jewish history and the Middle East, such as Saul Friedländer, Raphael Vago, Pierre Vidal-Naquet or Yeshaiahu Leibowitz and Bernard Lewis, it covers extensively a range of historical aspects in a concise, comprehensive way.

You don't have to be an expert in Jewish history to understand many of the aspects featured, but a historical background might be useful though.  

The chronological overview is completed by historical portraits of specific episodes or event. Therefore, it both combines the evenemential history and the focus on specific trends in the history of mentalities. Achieving brevity when it comes to complicated histories is both a success but may have its inerent limitations, as it simply has to leave behind details not considered relevant for the economy of the text. Maps and pictures of various artifacts are adding more visual impact to the historical information and helps to contextualise. 

I personally felt that there are many information missing from the histories of various Jewish communities around the world, while other communities were completely omitted. A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People is not a book to read in a sitting and once. It is a reference that one can use regularly for aspects related to Jewish history. For historians in general, it offers a model of approaching centuries-long in a easy reading way while maintaining the essential academic chore. 

Book Review: The Innocents by Francesca Segal

Either you go to the islands of piety in Golders Green or in some more posh and top-notch circles in the North, Jewish life in London has an unique feature of continuity, community and stability that you rarely feel in other parts of Europe. The characters from the admirable debut novel by Francesca Segal, The Innocents, are real and realistic for their natural belonging to the same school clubs and gatherings from a very early age. Their friends stay with them and they eventually end up marrying up their teen-year sweetheart which involves also a stable economic future in the business of one of the parents'. She used as inspiration The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton translated into a Jewish context. Ironically Wharton harbored anti-Semitic feelings, visible for instance in The House of Mirth.  

Adam and Rachel are the perfect couple. They meet during a trip to Israel as teenagers and except a limited period of time, they always were a couple. They are preparing to get married and both families are enthusted. Rachel is too, but Adam hopes that once married, they will dare exploring the world, both physically and through the knowledge beyond the limits of things and reality. But in the everyday life of Hampstead Garden Suburb things are happening less randomly. The third generation after Shoah are used with an upbringing of plenty and transgressors are rejected. Like Rachel's cousin, Ellie, free of inhibitions, in the middle of a huge scandal which involved a married rich man and freshly expelled from Columbia after appearing in a porn film. Since he met her, Adam is out of his mind and becoming obsessed with her, which is not nice at all, but as realistic as possible. It is the appeal of adventure and unusual which calls him, although not necessarily what he might want to have for the rest of his life. It is a dream, a projection, an obsession. What a contrast with his wife, Rachel: 'Her world was one in which her own highest aspirations had always been those wanted for her by a community and the concept of innovation at a cost of isolation (or even mild disapproval) wasn't worth it. There was security in their social dictates'. 

Will Adam in his nivety give up stability for innovation? Will be betray expections for passion? Will curiosity win over certitude?

For a debut roman, The Innocents is well-built - although there are relationships between characters left unexplored and not all the characters are equally developed. My first encounter with Francesca Segal was through her second novel The Awkward Age which convinced me only partially. I wish her next novel is at least as captivating as her first.    

Rating: 4 stars

Learning to be Jewish in Germany

Dmitrij Belkin is one of the few of the so-called 'contingent' Jews who arrived in Germany following chancellor's Kohl decision to open the country to people of Jewish origin from Russia. Although the venerable leader of the Jewish community in Berlin Hans Galinski requested that only those who are halahically Jews - mother is Jewish - to be allowed, the political interest prevailed and in the end where accepted all those with a 'Jewish' heritage, which complicated at a great extent the overall distribution and identity of the newly created community.

Dmitrij Belkin arrived in the South of Germany from Ukraine as an adult, keen to continue his studies and learn - including German. Wandering from an absorption center to the other, meeting his new German neighbours or other people with migration background, Belkin is becoming aware not only of the new realities of the country he is about to become part of, but also of his Jewish identity. Actually, it is not the first time when I hear that someone is becoming more interested and focused on his own Jewish identity since living in Germany. It has to do not only with the memory of the Shoah, but with a certain Jewish reality that you cannot ignore and sooner or later, becoming part of this - even only intellectually - will happen. Even if you are an outsider, observing this reality means that there is a minimal interest for it and it may be enough for making a fire out of the sparke later. 

Ironically and self-ironically, engaged or just observing, Belkin is going through all the stages of becoming a public Jewish intellectual in Germany - including by doing his conversion to Judaism. He is taking note of the different Jewish communities in Frankfurt/Main or Berlin, is becoming involved in various projects and improves his German and academic credentials. He is part of the newly Jewish experiences in Germany and his full of humour memoir is really worth reading it if you want to better understand a different Jewish mentality and perspective.