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The Unchosen: the community were none too happy escape the constricted, doctrinal con- The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels about their surroundings. Some had left fines of our age. She bemoans the fact By Hella Winston them altogether. Others had jettisoned that she “couldn’t help feeling angered Beacon Press assorted standards and demands. A par- by the treatment many had been sub- Boston, 2005 ticularly strange group maintained com- jected to, merely for asserting their indi- 185 pages munal norms on the outside while vio- vidual desires or daring to question.” Reviewed by Mayer Schiller lating them in private or simply ceasing Winston flirts briefly with the universal- to believe in them. ity of norms in all societies, even the The author dealt with “close to secular and the “suggestion that every- sixty people in all” and admits that “it is one is concerned with—indeed struc- impossible to get an accurate sense of tures his or her life around—other peo- the number of Hasidic people who are ple’s opinions and perceptions.” She transgressing against or struggling to tried to “remain open to all points of leave their communities.” She is confi- view” but eventually admits to feeling dent, though, that her “experience … “angered” by that which she encoun- indicates that this phenomenon might tered, attributing it to the “paradox of well be quite widespread.” As a basis for fundamentalism.” It is wearisome at this this “indication,” she offers that stage of the debate to have to state yet Footsteps, a “group devoted to provid- again that the orthodoxies of mod- ing former ultra-Orthodox ” with ernism are no less intrusive and coercive the means to enter secular society, than those of any traditional society. We are all aware, for example, of the ruth- lessness that major universities and the The tragedy of a Jewish soul con- This work ignores the media employ to stifle all those who demned by circumstances to live outside other story—the story of question the sacred dogmas of secular- the world of is very great. It must ism and egalitarianism. remain a mystery, the purpose of which the overwhelming majori- Indeed, the hold of these mind- is beyond human understanding. Yet, its controllers is so powerful that even horror is substantially lessened by the ty of Chassidim who find Winston is aware of the sociological mitigating forces of environment. A far their lives very fulfilling. given that all of us, believer and materi- greater tragedy, though, is that of those alist, labor within philosophical limits Jews born and raised within the Torah that are enforced by social stigma. Yet camp who opt, in whole or in part, to receives “an average of five new inquiries she is powerless to escape them. leave it. a week.” The provincialisms of modernists Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of However, Unchosen is not con- have been well dealt with by others. For Hasidic Rebels describes a handful of cerned with intuitively achieved socio- us at present there are the more pressing such tragedies from within the logical conclusions. It is a very human questions of what we, as Orthodox Chassidic community. The author, book and its strength lies in its moving believers, both Chassidic and non- Hella Winston, is a self-described “secu- depiction of the pain and difficulties Chassidic, are to make of the stories lar ” who “wanted and needed to see encountered by those uncomfortable in assembled in Unchosen. Are there some the world from … [the] perspective [of and seeking to abandon the Chassidic lessons to be gleaned from these sad Chassidim].” As she began to explore world. It was a gripping read for this tales for Chassidim in particular and for the community, focusing on the most reviewer, and despite the author’s obvi- Orthodox Jews in general? right-wing Chassidic groups, she ously a priori rejection of Orthodoxy, it First, it is important to note that became aware that certain members of is a book both kind and sympathetic to this work ignores the other story—the all sides of the personal and family story of the overwhelming majority of Schiller is mashgiach ruchani and gives a struggles created by those who opt out. Chassidim who find their lives very ful- shiur at Yeshiva University High School for Boys. Nonetheless, our author cannot filling. It leaves us in the dark about the Summer 5766/2006 JEWISH ACTION 85 UseThisummer06Rev.qxp 6/2/06 8:03 AM Page 86

movement’s spiritual elite, paragons of of change. This is hardly the case. who find personal or communal life dif- faith, purity, scholarship, piety and Despite a rhetoric of unalterable norms, ficult and alienating. humility. Of course it makes no claim the truth is that even these communities Having noted all these positive to present a balanced picture, yet, the are forever changing. Methods of educa- trends, the point must be acknowledged result is that the book taken in a vacu- tion, hours, content, girls’ schooling and that much still needs to be done. The um is apt to mislead the unsuspecting family discipline across the board are far question is, how far could the Chassidic reader into a mistaken view of the different today than they were just a few world change in order to reach alienated Chassidic community. For the reader decades ago. For lack of one general numbers of its own community, with- with little or no contact with the vari- term to describe these changes, they out damaging its essence? This is a ous Chassidic groups and interested in may loosely be grouped under the gen- daunting question. The yeshivah day is seeing the tale untold in Winston’s eral categories of “more individual long and hard anywhere, but is particu- work, I recommend nothing more elab- attention” and “softer methods of disci- larly so in Chassidic and orate than a visit to any Chassidic com- pline and subject presentation.” This is, worlds, where there are no (or severely munity for a or even on a of course, not even to mention the de-emphasized) other studies and no weekday. This trip would doubtless pro- many technical pedagogical changes extracurricular outlets. Thus, with the vide a counterbalance to the unintend- that the computer age has facilitated. In exception of Shabbat and yom tov, ed, but nonetheless severely limited per- truth, despite their public postures, where these communities tend to pro- spective that emerges from Unchosen. modernist cultures cannot escape the vide very engaging, spiritual experiences Second, what lessons may be past and traditional peoples must always open to all and the occasional rebbishe derived from this work to assist those chasunah (good for a week’s worth of within Orthodoxy to prevent the phe- events now and then), the Chassidic nomena of “drop outs” from the ranks What Chassidim always adolescent spends ten hours a day, no of Torah Jewry in general and the vacations, over a or a Shulchan Chassidic world in particular? We are all grasped instinctively, the Aruch. Incidentally, there is a much aware of the litany of advice in this yeshivah world belatedly lower drop out rate among girls, who regard, all accurate, which posits the have a more colorful, somewhat varied need for a warm and caring home and and Modern Orthodoxy and less demanding educational system, communal environment as the primary almost not at all is that a than among their male counterparts. prevention against alienation from It remains to be seen how much Torah. The weakening of authority and faith is lived in a culture. It the Chassidic world is willing to intro- discipline in recent decades has altered is almost impossible to live duce other studies, extracurricular and society as a whole, and its effects, how- physical activities and vocational train- ever we may either bemoan or welcome in consumerist, irreverent ing in order to make its environs more them, have a powerful impact on the America emotionally while hospitable for everyone. In fact, what is ranks of Orthodox homes and yeshivot. attempting to believe in taking place today is, on the one hand, Thus, we have been warned, since the an attempt to close the doors even fur- author of Chovat Hatalmidim penned and practice a faith that ther to the outside (witness the enor- his introduction in the 1930s, to imbue demands respect, reverence mous energies invested in the struggle our youth with a sense of joy and fulfill- against the Internet) and, on the other ment in Torah and mitzvot. Of course, and an opening to the life hand, a concomitant realization that this must be balanced with the teaching of the spirit. some things must change—by offering of respect, modesty and objective stan- children more play time, physical activi- dards of learning. This balancing act is ties, games, prizes, trips and the like. always difficult, and its means of resolu- evolve. One should always be careful to Left neglected are the larger ques- tion will either exacerbate or alleviate glance behind the absolutist self- tions concerning the problems created the alienation that produces “drop descriptions of both worlds. by the explosive population growth outs.” In addition to the slow reforms combined with no secular training, In fact, Unchosen seems unaware that the Chassidic world undergoes, which leave all Chassidim, besides a of both the changes and efforts afoot in there are many schools, teachers and small minority particularly adept at the Chassidic community to address counseling programs that are available business, severely behind the eight ball these problems. It is a common miscon- for troubled and weaker students. While economically and yields enormous crises ception among those outside of tradi- they may not yet be sufficient, they do in areas such as affordable housing and tional societies that these communities exist, and they are growing; they are a school costs. These difficulties some- are forever utterly frozen in time, devoid powerful step toward assisting those times produce shalom bayit problems,

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with children who suffer accordingly. Off the Derech: Why Observant Jews mentor, the Hollywood star—virtually Thus, much of the personal turmoil Leave every possible source of disaffection depicted in this work may be traced to By Faranak Margolese from Orthodox Jewish society finds its the Chassidic community’s inability to Devora Publishing analysis in Off the Derech. Despite a resolve the predicament just outlined. , 2005 marked tendency to present sweeping Thus the root question: How much can 429 pages historical generalizations and armchair this lifestyle be altered without compro- Reviewed by Hillel Goldberg philosophy as profundities, Off the mising the purity and sincerity of the Derech offers a number of concrete caus- old-European pieties? es of disaffection from halachic Judaism What Chassidim always grasped and suggestions for altered behavior on instinctively, the yeshivah world belated- the part of parents, teachers and others ly and Modern Orthodoxy almost not who could ameliorate the problem. at all is that a faith is lived in a culture. The question is, is the cure worse It is almost impossible to live in con- than the disease? Is the tail wagging the sumerist, irreverent America emotional- dog? ly while attempting to believe in and To take one critical arena of going practice a faith that demands respect, off the derech: the Jewish day school. If reverence and an opening to the life of the day school is to stop harboring the spirit. Chassidic cultural devotion to those attitudes or engaging in those activities that turn certain kids off, what language, dress, traditional respect, rev- are the unintended consequences? erence and deep historical memory and Often, a dumbing down of the curricu- continuity all safeguard and transmit In the decades after World War II, lum. When the prime focus in a school the soul of faith and a joyous passion with the growth of Orthodox Jewish is to be sensitive to that which turns off for its preservation. The startling success society from the ashes, it was assumed of this model in creating Torah study that with an observant family and a Should one put the needs and devotion to Judaism must give us proper day school education in place, pause when considering whether the Orthodox Jewish growth was guaran- of the child at risk above all system may be significantly tampered teed. No wrinkles. No drop outs. No re- else, such that if the stan- with it in order to help lost children and run of the nineteenth-century break- potentially lost individuals. down of traditional Jewish society. dards for the other children Of course, we need be aware of We all know that this is not the are somehow lowered, those who no longer think of them- case, although, thank God, there is no so be it? selves as chosen and seek to remind near-total meltdown of the kind that them of their membership in the began in the early-nineteenth century in a child at risk, the result is a major “legion of the King.” Let us also be Western Europe and in the mid-nine- emphasis on making the process of aware that a work of this kind will be a teenth century in Eastern Europe. We learning sweet and delightful. This often welcome event in those Jewish journalis- also have much to be grateful for in the entails a lowering of standards. In other tic circles that never saw a problem in existence of a large number of aware, words, it is not enough to know what Orthodoxy that they didn’t find news- sensitive and effective , parents, turns off a child and what can be altered worthy. Nonetheless, we must not fall educators and others who work with to prevent this. It is also necessary to prey to their modernist provincialism. children at risk. To that list we may now know how the crucial alteration in (for To the degree that Unchosen helps us add Faranak Margolese, who has com- example) the classroom can be accom- better see ourselves and leads us to dis- piled an extraordinarily wide range of plished without distorting the entire cover remedies for our maladies, it is to analyses of fault lines within Orthodox curriculum and educational goal. For be welcomed. We still await—and the society that cause or facilitate Orthodox this, Margolese provides little guidance. wait may prove a long one—the major Jewish youth to “go off the derech.” She writes as if the special attention or publishing house that will issue a study The school, the home, the syna- adjustment required for nurturing a about the faith, piety and scholarship of gogue, the peer group, the general socie- child at risk can be implemented in a ty, the teacher, the parent, the rabbi, the the Chassidic world. Yet we need not vacuum. This book is written from a find our verification of this grandeur in pertinent but narrow focus. books. It is there in the communities Rabbi Goldberg, PhD, is executive editor of This constricted focus calls into themselves. We need only visit and Denver’s Intermountain Jewish News. He question some of Margolese’s evidence. emerge spiritually renewed. JA serves on the editorial board of Jewish Action. She quotes, for example, unqualifiedly

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stupid statements by day school teach- dards for the other children are some- school graduates found the intellectual ers, reported by drop outs, as a cause of how lowered, so be it? Or vice-versa? It foundations of their faith wanting, one their disaffection. No doubt, stupid is naive simply to mouth the truism that should not change the curriculum with- statements are sometimes made in the one size, one household, fits all. This out considering this: If a day school classroom; and understandably enough, may be possible but not without guid- inculcates a profoundly personal experi- a person could be turned off by them— ance and thought. It is not enough for a ence of the holy, will this hold the stu- by the racism, indifference or ethnocen- book to tell us how children at risk are dents better than “intellectual explo- tricity they reflect. However, Margolese created and how one should respond. It ration?” These contextual questions are makes no attempt to establish the verac- is also necessary to know how to do all critical, and while they should not ity of these statements. To her, it is that in the context of sustaining stan- excuse a shallow curriculum lacking any enough that the drop out understood dards in the Orthodox Jewish family, attempt at giving students a rationale them to have been just as he or she school and . for belief, they do show that what for reported them. Again, from the angle of No doubt, this is complex, and one student might be a problem will be, helping the individual, his or her per- the answers are varied, perhaps as varied for a very different student, a solution. ception is critical. But from the angle of A final comment. History does addressing the larger issue—how Despite a marked tendency not allow us this easy bifurcation: Judaism is presented in the day school to present sweeping histori- Children at risk are lured by a decadent classroom—one cannot take an individ- cal generalizations and arm- society; or, as Margolese believes, the ual student’s impression at face value. temptations might be there, but essen- One needs to know exactly what hap- chair philosophy as profun- tially children at risk are turned off by pened in the classroom. It is this context dities, Off the Derech offers a negatives within Orthodox Jewish socie- that the book does not address. number of concrete causes ty. And if the negatives weren’t there, Another critical arena: the family. the temptations wouldn’t triumph. Say that a family with seven children of disaffection from halachic Margolese’s effort at identifying the neg- has one child at risk. Is it possible to put Judaism, and suggestions for atives is valuable, and her prescriptions into place a series of adjustments that altered behavior on the part or other’s should be evaluated and meet the sensibilities of the child at risk of parents, teachers and oth- implemented. But historical forces are without altering the entire family focus? more complicated than this. It is not This is not merely a question of ers who could ameliorate the strictly within the mechanics of enrolling children in different schools or problem. Orthodox Jewish society that the phe- programs, including one tailored for a nomenon of observant Jews who leave child at risk, or a question of relating as the individual family, classroom or Judaism can be understood. differently to different children, a point shul. If one keeps in mind that this larg- On the material level, economics, that Margolese elaborates, and rightly er agenda cannot be dispensed with in lifestyles, social status and family back- so. The question is, what do the implicit dealing with children at risk, the reader ground introduce countless shades and goals of the family become? will benefit from some of the case histo- nuances into any personal decision to For example, can a family hold ries and approaches that Margolese sets leave—or to embrace—observant up, as a value, the preeminence of forth. Judaism. On the spiritual level, the col- talmidei chachamim, including the Some of her approaches, however, lective Jewish soul is too sensitive for inculcation of the aspiration to become leave one wondering. She cites, for easy readings. How did the one, while also openly acknowledging a example, the lack of ability found undermine much of traditional society related but still different value system— among certain day school graduates to in the nineteenth century? Centuries a love of Torah in general, without the articulate their basic beliefs, then writes, earlier, how did false Messianism take rigorous, disciplined pursuit of Torah “intellectual exploration can strengthen root in much of Jewish society? After texts? It is one thing to subscribe, in the and improve the degree of belief.” That World War II, why did Orthodox abstract, to the admirable truism that sentence makes sense only in a pro- Judaism flourish—and also suffer these each child needs to be encouraged foundly anti-intellectual age, when gen- current setbacks? These questions are far Jewishly according to his innate tenden- uine philosophical exploration is rarely too large for a simple bifurcation. This cies. It is quite something else to foster a undertaken. In fact, intellectual explo- should offer some solace to both the at- genuine thirst for Torah if one of these ration is precisely what steered many risk youth and their parents and teach- children is a rebel. How many different Jews, from Baruch Spinoza to Solomon ers, without derogating from the impor- messages can one household contain? Maimon and a slew of nineteenth-cen- tance of addressing the issue concretely. Should one put the needs of the child at tury maskilim, away from traditional If for that alone, we owe Faranak risk above all else, such that if the stan- Judaism. Again, just because some day Margolese a strong word of thanks. JA

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