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Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey Among Hasidic Girls
From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.
Lubavitcher Hasidim are fa...more
Lubavitcher Hasidim are fa...more
Paperback, 255 pages
Published
August 6th 2004
by New York University Press
(first published November 26th 2003)
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I had read this book a couple years ago. I did enjoy reading this. I am Jewish but had no idea how the observant Jew lived. At the time I was reading I was very interesting in the Chabad movement. I live in Myrtle Beach. I used to subsitute teach at the school. Most of the followers of Chabad are a bit open minded I believe than up in Crown Heights.
They are not waiting at every corner looking to turn you to Teshuvah. We actually had a book discussion with Chabad members mostly the Rabbi's wives...more
They are not waiting at every corner looking to turn you to Teshuvah. We actually had a book discussion with Chabad members mostly the Rabbi's wives...more
Most of this book is a moving account of young Lubavitcher women, which is done extremely well. These girls come alive - their passion, their beliefs, their personalities and how those develop within a culture with so many rules, and such high expectations. This part of the book - the bulk of the book - easily deserves 4.5 stars from me.
In particular, unlike other anthropology-style accounts, Levine captures the role of religion and belief in shaping their world view. This is a welcome contrast...more
In particular, unlike other anthropology-style accounts, Levine captures the role of religion and belief in shaping their world view. This is a welcome contrast...more
Not really sure what I think about this book. I got a little tired of the "gee! wow! Hasidic people aren't all exactly alike!" tone, though I thought the girls' stories were fascinating. Because I'm interested in girls' intellectual culture, I was especially intrigued by the girls' spiritual and intellectual lives, especially the girls who were eager to study Torah, and I thought the book could have done a much better job discussing relationships, especially the mashpiah relationship, which Levi...more
it was "eh"....
not really an eye-opening experience for me, but i don't think i was the target audience for the book (i'm hasidic)... i think it was more written to shock and amaze the general public... presenting several portraits of modern hasidic women to just illustrate (and exploit?) the fact that we are in fact human and have lives rather similar to a lot of other folks "out there"...
not really an eye-opening experience for me, but i don't think i was the target audience for the book (i'm hasidic)... i think it was more written to shock and amaze the general public... presenting several portraits of modern hasidic women to just illustrate (and exploit?) the fact that we are in fact human and have lives rather similar to a lot of other folks "out there"...
The author, as part of her doctoral thesis at Harvard, spent a year in Crown Heights, studying Lubovitch girls in high school and beyond, before they married. I'm no Chasid, but I'm Jewish enough to feel uncomfortable with her anthropologist's view of our culture. She describes ritual, behavior, and myth as if she were Margaret Mead among the Samoans. Although the author is Jewish (though non-observant), her year-long stay among the Lubovitchers affects her not at all --she adamantly refuses to...more
I am disappointed this was not designed as a longitudinal study as it would be interesting to track these individuals as women. Ten years has passed since this was published and these girls are now getting into the third decade of their lives. I agree with other reviewers that this book would benefit from a good editor. Many years ago, I worked in Manhattan as a computer programmer and the office was full of Lubavitchers, mostly men but a couple of women. I did learn a lot about the lives of the...more
This book looks at teenaged girls in the Hasidic Lubavitch community. You could call this book research for my own writing, and while I did enjoy the looks at the individual girls, I found that this book was too much of what I think it was supposed to be--an academic paper. I didn't care so much of the sociological ramifications in a greater community, I just wanted more of the girls. The young women profiled were certainly diverse--people interested in leaving, people who were truly embracing t...more
Interesting profiles of people, but the author had only a couple of insights at the end, one of which was the (fairly obvious) idea that single-sex environments are good for girls' confidence. She could've figured this out from a literature review, but she didn't seem to do one.
I really enjoyed this one. A nice readable slice of life piece, with some interesting insight into Chabad philosophy. There was nothing particularly new in it for me, but if you are totally new to the subject and curious, it's a good start.
Engaging book, though I was already familiar with the subject. Wasn't that engrossed by the writing style (ex: spent too much time going on about minute details of specific wedding, the opening and closing).
Fascinating. The author moves to Crown Heights to live among the Lubavitchers, strict followers of Orthodox Judaism. She wondered what the girls were like. An assumption on the part of many might be that because this type of Judaism requires women to wear wigs, cover up their bodies, cook a lot, and serve the men, etc, that the girls would be timid and maybe unhappy. Au contraire, the author found that the teen girls were exuberant, self-possessed, opinionated, and happy. For the most part. She...more
Did not enjoy this book. It rambled and did not delve meaningfully into people's lives. This book requires major editing. On a positive note, I did learn a bit about the Lubavitch community.
This was a great book. It was the story of Hasidic girls. I loved the conclusion: that teenage girls should have time apart from boys!
This was such an interesting book to read. The girls' upbringing was not unlike my Mormon youth in many ways.
Aug 16, 2007
Jill
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Armchair Sociologists
A reasonably interesting look into the life of teenaged Hasidic girls. As always with these books, though, there seems to be some surprise that the group is, well, truly human, and does a lot of the same kinds of things that the rest of us do. I thought the author's strength was her conversations and descriptions of the girls; she lost me when she went on to draw conclusions about what the rest of the world can take from Hasidism. It was a little too abstract. I am reading a couple more books ab...more
A book that I can really relate to. Entertaining and thought provoking.
Before I moved to nyc, I had a very vague and miscontrued perseption of Hasidim. While I lived in Williamsburg, a neighborhood on the cusp of a large Orthodox community, my perception changed but my understanding was still hazy.
This book was fascinating to me, as I'm sure it was to nearly everyone living outside of the cloistered Orthodox world. As a feminist, it was sometimes difficult to understand the apparent voluntary subjugation of the Hasidim women, but Levine does a fantastic job of off...more
This book was fascinating to me, as I'm sure it was to nearly everyone living outside of the cloistered Orthodox world. As a feminist, it was sometimes difficult to understand the apparent voluntary subjugation of the Hasidim women, but Levine does a fantastic job of off...more
Dec 17, 2012
penny
added it
not quite what i expected, but a worthwhile read
this is such a genuine journey into these young girls lives that i'd likely never have the opportunity to know or really wonder about without this book's help. i like when you read a book and say to yourself "wow, that is so not my life" and yet feel the resonance of the story some place deep in your own experience. super tender, sensitive, fascinating, and thoughtfully written and researched, i thought it was a great book.
Levine lived with the Lubavitcher sect of Hasidic Jews in Crown Heights for a year, and produced this book about the teen girls there. Slightly exploitative, perhaps, but still a rare and fascinating glimpse into the daily lives of this highly private community. Highly recommended for those interested in learning more about their Hasidic neighbors, and particularly for those interested in feminism and religion.
An interesting look inside the world of Hasidic teenage girls. The author expected to conclude that the rigid gender roles and norms were detrimental to the girls, but ended up being surprised at the ways in which they were more free-spirited than teenagers in mainstream U.S. culture.
A participant-observer's stories about Lubavitcher pariahs and faithful followers of the "once and future messiah," Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
The author lives in Crown Heights Brooklyn for a year and delves into the lives of various Hasidic women and girls. It's really fascinating.
Lubavitch women are amazing people!!
May 04, 2013
Ashley
marked it as to-read
Apr 10, 2013
Ellie
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2013
Geoffrey Sanders
added it
Mar 17, 2013
Jill
is currently reading it
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Mar 14, 2011 07:32am