Holy Days : The World Of The Hasidic Family

Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: This book might be a fun and interesting read for the general buyer, but if you truly want to learn about what Hasidic life is like, it won't help you much. The author is not an Orthodox Jew, and the finished book just doesn't have much insight into the reality of the life. I do give it credit for including lots of extra basic information to educate the non-Jewish reader.

Rating:
Summary: Strong book with strange lapses
Review: This is a lyrical look at a world that is not accessible to most people on a daily basis. Lis Harris felt a strong attraction to the Hasidic Jews she saw around her from time to time, so she found a way to learn more about the people who live this life. Her book is respectful and informative.

A weakness of the book is that her level of personal involvement in the writing seems uneven. This book is an unabashed memoir, where she describes how she got involved with the project (a longing to know more about what she saw in her own family pictures and felt drawn to, in the face of a quite secular upbringing). However, having described how she got involved in this project, she then fails to tell us how she resolved her longing. What did she learn about these people that enables her to look at the photographs without feeling the same drawing-in?

I say this despite the fact that the individual parts of the book are highly personal -- her descriptions of the mikveh and of the lives of unmarried girls are lyrical and moving.

The book is well worth reading, but the author's nearly completely assimilated background does make it hard for her to distinguish between "ultra-orthodox" religious practices, and more common practices of observant Jews (say the modern Orthodox, for example). Many things she encountered elicited a "gee whiz -- how odd!" response from her, and it was strange that she couldn't distinguish between the practices she encountered which are unique to Hasidic life and the practices which are common to practicing Jews of many stripes. The book would have been stronger had she spent less time looking for academic explanations of what she encountered and spent more time understanding the context -- how do these people fit into the context of observant Jewish practice?

On the whole, however, it is an excellent book, well-written and worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A definite read
Review: Whether or not you already know about the ultra-Orthodox world, this book gives you a good look inside. There are parts that are inspiring. I didn't really like the part "rebels" part. I think it was too brief to be of use to anybody.