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They Called Him Mike: Reb Elimelech Tress
Reb Elemelech Tress his era, Hatzalah, and the building of an American orthodoxy.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
445 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 6, 2023
My cousin Mike Tress told me that once helping an Orthodox Jewish family with an insurance claim he was asked if he was related to “The” Mike Tress. We don’t believe so, yet, the surname resonated with us, so I sought out this book.
The first surprise came with the realization that Gershon Tress came from Steppin Ukraine. He immigrated from Steppin to the East side of lower Manhattan, and he was an orthodox Jew. The Tress family I am born into is mostly Catholic or Protestant. I will not spend a lot of time researching how the Tress name appears in western Ukraine, yet the question is quite interesting.
The book is for a specific audience, namely an orthodox Jewish audience. You must be from that background to understand the Yiddish terms used; because the writer assumes you do! The book is not well written, it is not literature, nor is it a biography. It is a history of Jewish orthodoxy in America.
Mike Tress is praised and idealized on almost every page, yet late into the book we don’t know much about him. This reviewer believes that if the book is about Mike, the writer should have begun with a biography.
Based on the quote from my nephew, Mike is well-loved by the Orthodox community even up to the present day, so there is no doubt about his credentials as a hero.
For all the reasons stated above, I did not enjoy this book. I did pick up some information about the Orthodox communities in the major cities of America, but these tidbits did not justify reading this book. In the last 100 pages or so, I just skimmed looking for “low-hanging fruit”, but I was disappointed. If a reader is of the Jewish faith, this book may be of far more interest to them than it was to me.
The first surprise came with the realization that Gershon Tress came from Steppin Ukraine. He immigrated from Steppin to the East side of lower Manhattan, and he was an orthodox Jew. The Tress family I am born into is mostly Catholic or Protestant. I will not spend a lot of time researching how the Tress name appears in western Ukraine, yet the question is quite interesting.
The book is for a specific audience, namely an orthodox Jewish audience. You must be from that background to understand the Yiddish terms used; because the writer assumes you do! The book is not well written, it is not literature, nor is it a biography. It is a history of Jewish orthodoxy in America.
Mike Tress is praised and idealized on almost every page, yet late into the book we don’t know much about him. This reviewer believes that if the book is about Mike, the writer should have begun with a biography.
Based on the quote from my nephew, Mike is well-loved by the Orthodox community even up to the present day, so there is no doubt about his credentials as a hero.
For all the reasons stated above, I did not enjoy this book. I did pick up some information about the Orthodox communities in the major cities of America, but these tidbits did not justify reading this book. In the last 100 pages or so, I just skimmed looking for “low-hanging fruit”, but I was disappointed. If a reader is of the Jewish faith, this book may be of far more interest to them than it was to me.
August 27, 2012
Elimelech "Mike" Tress was what is called a "balebatish" hero in the Orthodox world. In other words, he wasn't a rabbi or a scholar, but is celebrated for his activism and organizational abilities. Before and after the war, he created youth groups to stem the tide of assimilation. During the war, he was active in the rescue of numerous Jews. His life is certainly one worth reading about.
Unfortunately, though, I only read about half of this book. It's hagiographic, which bothers me a little, and often anti-Mizrachi, which bothers me much more. I may take it out of the library again and finish at some point, but I don't feel a tremendous pull to do so. To the extent that I do, it's because of Mike Tress himself and not the quality of the book.
Unfortunately, though, I only read about half of this book. It's hagiographic, which bothers me a little, and often anti-Mizrachi, which bothers me much more. I may take it out of the library again and finish at some point, but I don't feel a tremendous pull to do so. To the extent that I do, it's because of Mike Tress himself and not the quality of the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews