What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hole in the Sheet: A Modern Woman Looks at Orthodox and Hasidic Judaism
The Hole in the Sheet is a provocative and outspoken view of Orthodox and Hasidic Judaism from a modern woman's perspective. This a passionate book, written by a woman who believes that the changes of the modern world should benefit both men and women, and that the male-dominated extremist religious groups are the major stumbling-blocks to a stronger and happier society. Written in a lively and personal style, The Hole in the Sheet presents a unique view of women and Judaism.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 25, 2014
Reads like a parody of modern feminism. I hate to rate this one star, because the issues are real, but I also want to rate it less than one star because a book about real issues that is factually inaccurate, vengeful and just so unreasonable that you want to laugh, can do more harm than good for real issues. It was hard to get through this book because it was just so ridiculous.
June 13, 2023
In reference to the attention-grabbing title, the author states:
"Which brings me to the story of The Hole In the Sheet. Personally, I have never seen such a sheet. I do not have any first-hand knowledge of the actual design of such a sheet. But whenever I mention the story to an Orthodox Jew, there's a moment of immediate recognition that this is the way it should happen. Or at least the way the story says it should happen."
That about sums up the scholarship of this book. She has never heard anything about the story other than the story itself, a rumor, but she's willing to believe it is the absolute secret society truth. No research. No questioning. No attempt to discover the truth (because it might not support the "Orthodox Jews are monsters" story?). What does "at least the way the story says it should happen" even mean? That it's a story.
That "moment of immediate recognition" is the same "recognition" people have when you mention Sasquatch or alligators coming up from the sewers--an urban legend that actual Orthodox Jews laugh about because It Is a Total Fairytale.
(One possible explanation as to the basis of this story is that someone saw tzitzis--the fringed vest that Orthodox men wear under their shirts, that has a hole cut out so they can put it on over their head--drying on the laundry line, and conjectured about its purpose.)
The author builds this book on her street cred growing up as an Orthodox Jew. However, from what she writes about her childhood and adolescence, that designation is questionable. A Jew can't be (ok, shouldn't be) a "Shabbos goy" for other Jews. That's just like doing the action themselves. So taking it upon herself to break Shabbos for her family wasn't doing them any favors.
"I know that when I was born, my father said, 'What a shame, it's a girl.'"
The thing about repeating things you are told when you are a child is that the intonation, the underlying meaning is missing. It's possible and very likely that this was said jokingly, in the same way that Jews say of a cute baby, "Oy, what an ugly baby." It's a form of avoiding the evil eye. (Oh, sorry, another archaic custom!) But ok, sometimes humor can be too subtle.
"At the age of thirteen, only boys would have the official ceremony of the Bar Mitzvah, which welcomed them into the world of men."
Right, because they are boys, who are growing up to be men. Why do girls and boys have to have the exact same experiences? Reading this book in light of today's circumstances, when men are taking part in girls' ceremonies, using girls' bathrooms, beating them in "women's" sports, faking periods, etc., girls complaining that men having their own turf and their own ceremonies was discriminatory and hurtful, is pretty ironic.
This is a very sad and angry book, a very long explanation of why, based on her painful experiences of being a girl and therefore not as good as boys, the author thinks Reform Judaism and intermarriage is the way to go. One hopes that writing this book was therapeutic for the author and that she no longer feels it necessary to tear down Orthodox Judaism and its adherents.
"Which brings me to the story of The Hole In the Sheet. Personally, I have never seen such a sheet. I do not have any first-hand knowledge of the actual design of such a sheet. But whenever I mention the story to an Orthodox Jew, there's a moment of immediate recognition that this is the way it should happen. Or at least the way the story says it should happen."
That about sums up the scholarship of this book. She has never heard anything about the story other than the story itself, a rumor, but she's willing to believe it is the absolute secret society truth. No research. No questioning. No attempt to discover the truth (because it might not support the "Orthodox Jews are monsters" story?). What does "at least the way the story says it should happen" even mean? That it's a story.
That "moment of immediate recognition" is the same "recognition" people have when you mention Sasquatch or alligators coming up from the sewers--an urban legend that actual Orthodox Jews laugh about because It Is a Total Fairytale.
(One possible explanation as to the basis of this story is that someone saw tzitzis--the fringed vest that Orthodox men wear under their shirts, that has a hole cut out so they can put it on over their head--drying on the laundry line, and conjectured about its purpose.)
The author builds this book on her street cred growing up as an Orthodox Jew. However, from what she writes about her childhood and adolescence, that designation is questionable. A Jew can't be (ok, shouldn't be) a "Shabbos goy" for other Jews. That's just like doing the action themselves. So taking it upon herself to break Shabbos for her family wasn't doing them any favors.
"I know that when I was born, my father said, 'What a shame, it's a girl.'"
The thing about repeating things you are told when you are a child is that the intonation, the underlying meaning is missing. It's possible and very likely that this was said jokingly, in the same way that Jews say of a cute baby, "Oy, what an ugly baby." It's a form of avoiding the evil eye. (Oh, sorry, another archaic custom!) But ok, sometimes humor can be too subtle.
"At the age of thirteen, only boys would have the official ceremony of the Bar Mitzvah, which welcomed them into the world of men."
Right, because they are boys, who are growing up to be men. Why do girls and boys have to have the exact same experiences? Reading this book in light of today's circumstances, when men are taking part in girls' ceremonies, using girls' bathrooms, beating them in "women's" sports, faking periods, etc., girls complaining that men having their own turf and their own ceremonies was discriminatory and hurtful, is pretty ironic.
This is a very sad and angry book, a very long explanation of why, based on her painful experiences of being a girl and therefore not as good as boys, the author thinks Reform Judaism and intermarriage is the way to go. One hopes that writing this book was therapeutic for the author and that she no longer feels it necessary to tear down Orthodox Judaism and its adherents.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews