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Rating: 
Summary: A book worth reading
Review: a friend lent me this book, i picked it up ad couldnt put it doen i was up the whole night reading its worth every penny i have read it so many times over its such a special book. i must therefore strongly disagree with the last two reviews. yes indeed some of the story may be almost impossible to understand, how can parents not listen to such a cry for help? how can a man change so suddenly or be so cruel? how can she not realise such basic things he duties? naomi ragen has given us the answer unfortunately the world is not sugar coated and no one is perfect. i think she made her characters all seem very understandable, the parents, - their expectations made them overlook the situation some people live in denial its their way its sad, it seems unrealsitic but it unfortunately does happen - ms ragen is simply opening our eyes to this. as for the husband - it is a common known fact that what is on the outside is not always on the inside from the start ragen introduced the character as somewhat ignorant to what a woman is and this is why he became what he was. the sages say that the lust for honour will bring a persons downfall is this not demonstrated so carefully by the author? finally Batsheva shows naivety yet she acts with such courage and wisdom, she made her mistakes - she was 18!...
im sorry to have been so defensive and critical of the two previous editorials but this is my favourite book, it taught me alot about people and alot about the world and that naivety wont get anyone anywhere. its sad but true things like this do happen and people dont always deal with it the way you expect them or want them to.
congratulations on this book - it was truely an absolutely fantastic work. i highly highly reccomend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Danielle Steele with Orthodox Jews
Review: As a Reformed Jew, this book really opened my eyes about how some of the other people in my religion live. I found it well researched and highly meaningful.
I literally stayed up most of the night, two nights in row so I could devour it.
This book really makes you think.
Rating: 
Summary: Daddy's sacrifice gets on with life
Review: For me, "Jephte's Daughter" is one of those books that I enjoyed reading, plot flaws and all. It concerns Batsheva, a young Orthodox Jewish girl who has been brought up in the lap of luxury in California. She's well educated and has been introduced to the outside world of non-Orthodox books and ideas by her tutor. Her world changes suddenly and irrevocably when her father arranges her marriage to a Hassidic boy of good lineage in Jerusalem. It turns out that Batsheva's father is the heir to a major Hassidic dynasty who renounced his own responsibilities by promising his daughter's hand in marriage to solidify alliances in the next generation. In other words, like Jephte in the Bible, he's sacrificed his daughter's future to meet his needs in the present. Batsheva tries to adjust, but finds herself locked in a marriage that becomes increasingly stifling and repellent. Her husband (& his mother's) brand of Ultraorthodoxy is far more restrictive than what she is used to. When her husband becomes abusive, she escapes to London with their young son and begins a new life. She gains success as a photographer and, eventually, falls in love with one of the least suitable men imaginable.
A number of the previous reviewers have complained about elements of the plot that strain credulity. They're there, all right, and the fairy-tale ending is probably the biggest credulity strainer of them all. But I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the book anyway. Ragen may not be a great writer , but she's better than many bestselling romance novelists. Her writing is highly readable, her characters are lively, and her settings are provide insight into what, for many people, is an exotic way of life. Ragen also has some major points to make with her story. The same themes run through "Jephte's Daughter" as through Ragen's later books--namely the enduring importance of Jewish tradition, the need to balance the past with modernity and the Law with compassion, and the position of women within Judaism. "Jephte's Daughter" is by no means a literary masterpiece, but neither is it complete trash.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping read
Review: I found this fiction both enlightening and startling. It was certainly a different view of Jewish life to mine. However, the struggles that each of the protaganists battled with showed a thorough understanding of the human condition. I thought Naomi's story line was superb, I couldn't put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I loved 'Sotah' and 'The Scrifice of Tamar', so I bought this book believing this book would be as rich and satisfying as the first two Naomi Ragen books I've read. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. The fact that I felt sympathy for the books 'bad guy' (Bat Sheva's husband) but none for the heroine would easily indicate how bad the book is.Being Ragen's first book, I can accept less than perfect writing. My problem here was the plot consistency (or rather - lack of). On one hand, before marrying, Bat Sheva is described as this ultra orthodox, chaste girl who goes to a private, orthodox Jewish private school, only wears modest dresses, and is proud of her heritage. But all that heritage is quickly forgotten once she gets married. The strict dressing code (no pants for women, hair covered for married women) and food code (strict kosher rules), etc. - are suddenly all forgotten in Bat sheva's quest for happiness, simply because it's her new husband who represents them, and he, in turn, represents 'evil'. Even though the interpertation of religious laws can vastly differ between sects and groups within Judaism, I'd expect someone like Bat Sheva to comply with the basics, but she doesn't. She also doesn't try and understand her husband's & mother in law's point of view, but expects everyone to understand her 'tragic' stance of the misunderstood newcomer.
Rating:
Summary: A book worth reading
Review: I thought that this was a good book, interesting & engaging to read. However, I have to [say] that the storyline was not very believable. I found it strange that this very well educated & religious girl all of a sudden "forgets" that a married orthodox woman can't walk all over Jerusalem wearing pants, and with her hair uncovered. Most of non-Jewish women know that, but she didn't? And then a father that absolutely adored her up to the point she got married,all of a sudden decides that he won't help his only child? And a Christian would-be priest that "conviniently" discovers a Jewish mother seems a little too much, at least to me. Although I still enjoyed reading this book, in my opinion it wasn't as good as "Sotah", and "Sacrifice of Tamar" both of which I found absolutely amazing.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: These situations that BatSheva HaLevi went through were very sad. This book explains the exceptions that go on within Jewish families and are very real. Although her story is not the norm, I think it was good of Naomi Ragen to write about things that go on behind closed doors.
Smooth reading and very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Danielle Steele with Orthodox Jews
Review: This is a made-for-TV movie in book form. It is so sloppy in its writing and editing that I almost wished for commercial breaks. The basic premise that this family would allow a free-thinking non-Jewish tutor into their home to work with their impressionable young daughter is so absurd as to be laughable. About 50 times you get to read about the main character's long legs and slim waist. She has no education but is accepted (embraced!) by intellectual cirles in London. She has no training but becomes an instant success as a photographer. One character fondly remembers his mother, except we were previously told she died when she gave birth to him. Events described don't add up in terms of a time line -- one character born in 1894 has a daughter who is a professor in Germany before the war -- so she was born when her father was 10? Jews are described in the most humiliating terms -- the Orthodox are continuously sweating and wiping their brows. This simplistic novel was a major disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Jewish princess meets Gentile prince
Review: This story is really less about Judaism than it is about feminism, romance, and dysfunctional people. Batsheva is a Jewish Cinderella. Ragen spared no convenience or manipulation in her plotting, and there was a happy ending for all the right people. I was hoping to learn more about mainstream Judaism; this was disappointing.
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