Jewish books

Warning – According to halacha, it is assur to say anything negative about a book, so posters should be careful about their responses.

If you have nothing good to say, say nothing. But don’t leave a blank post either.

I am not commenting simply because I haven’t read any of the above books.

The Hamantash that Ran Away

Good sheilah. I assumed that any posts that mentioned such books would be deleted.

It does shock me the in the frum commnity almost everyone has heard of the Chosen (Its actally is quite positive towards the frum community) but in the general secular world Portonys Complaint is one of the most famous books of Jewish Literature

Anne Frank is probably the most famous jewish literature book

“It does shock me the in the frum commnity almost everyone has heard of the Chosen (Its actally is quite positive towards the frum community) but in the general secular world Portonys Complaint is one of the most famous books of Jewish Literature”

Which part shocks you?

I grew up on Chaim Potok books. I don’t know if we had Portnoy’s Complaint at home or not. If we did, I never noticed it. I’m guessing it’s not as child-friendly as Chaim Potok, so I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if we had it.

My parents took me to see The Chosen when I was about 12. My older sister yelled at me afterwards.

Rebshidduch, I know. That’s why it would be L”H for anyone to say anything negative about them.

zdad – it’s an awful book and just because people know of it doesn’t mean we liked it. on its own, it explains the rebbe’s method of making sure that his son, who is obviously heading off the path, sticks to the Torah in some manner. the problem with the book, from what i understand, was the author’s view of chassidus and the Torah way.

and this line “(Its actally is quite positive towards the frum community)” is just sad and twisted. I have always assumed you were educated in and raised in a more modern/less yeshivish derech and i assumed are living the life you grew up in. and that you have experienced tremendous chillul Hashem behavior from people who seem to misread some of your presentation as an attack on Torah instead of on what you were brought up to believe is a distortion of Torah (and sometimes is). but to say that it is positive that we like a book that is anti religion is dangerously confusing the difference between accepting PEOPLE who put down frum lifestyle, and accepting their views. and if they speak against Torah, you are actually obligated to hate them. Unfortunately we are better at the hate part then at the explaining what we hate and worrying about how it appears to others who are not familiar with either the halacha or the person’s deeds.

I know you say it doesn’t bother you, but bulldozing someone who is defending what they were taught without educating them is just a way of preserving their poor perception of some of jews way of life.

If you’re looking for books on Gedolim, but don’t want to read a very long biography, I highly recommend ‘Inside Their Homes’. It’s an Artscroll book, ghost written by Nachman Seltzer. The author is identified simply as Reb Binyomin, but he was in Mir in my day, so I know who he is. He gives us a close up view of the Gedolim of our generation, which one does not necessarily get from the ordinary biographies.

Another book, Jewish but not a frum book which is very interesting, is ‘The Prime Ministers’ by Yehuda Avner. The author was a senior Israeli diplomat originally from Manchester, UK. He was personal secretary to four Israeli Prime Ministers, and has documented his experiences during the tumultuous times. This is from the marketing blurb, “It is an insider account of Israeli politics from the founding of the Jewish State to the near-present day. It reveals stunning details of life-and-death decision-making, top-secret military operations and high level peace negotiations. The Prime Ministers brings readers into the orbits of world figures, including Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and the Lubavitcher Rebbe…”

zahavasdad,

It does shock me the in the frum commnity almost everyone has heard of the Chosen (Its actally is quite positive towards the frum community)

I’m not sure those in chassidic frum communities would agree.

zahavasdad,

Wait, first you write:

(Its actally is quite positive towards the frum community)

And then:

I dont doubt [that those in chassidic frum communities would disagree], which is why I was suprised so many had heard of it.

Which is it? Is it positive towards the frum community, or not?

zahavasdad,

Do you think it’s positive towards the chassidic frum community?

Just curious Avram and SY

Did you read the actual book, or just read some synpapsis? (Its very possible you did read the book)

zahavasdad,

I think it is, but I am not the last word on this topic.

Do you think that the portrayal of a chassidic “rebbe” emotionally neglecting his son in order to teach him compassion is positive?

We are not going to agree on this topic .

Ive read enought Art Scroll “Histories” to know how to write such a book. Anything remotely seeming to be negative towards Rebbes is rarely put in them. If you are not used to a more general light then the Chosen is not for you.

zahavasdad,

If you are not used to a more general light then the Chosen is not for you.

Aha, so I can’t properly appreciate The Chosen because I’m locked in some kind of sheltered frum box, used to sanitized Artscroll biographies exclusively? Not quite. I read The Chosen before I became frum, and formed my interpretations with that mind set. The author’s polemic against the perceived chassidic “circle the wagons” approach to modernity, and the juxtaposition of Reuven’s saintly father and Reb Saunders is quite unsubtle.

I never said you had to like the book, I gave my opinion, you are entitled to your own opinion.

I was aware you were a BT which is why I had said earlier that I suspected you had already read it (I also suspect SY might have read it as well)

zahavasdad,

Like Ive seen, ive read “Frum” Books and you see things like how the father spent all his time learning (and not spend with the son)

I think there’s a difference between a distant father and a neglectful father. A soldier can spend most of his time away from his family, but that isn’t neglectful per se. Reb Saunders made a conscious decision to refuse emotional connection with Danny.

You are also spending all your energy on this one aspect of “The Pain and the widsom of the silence” There is alot more to the book than that.

Silence and pain seem to be primary themes of the novel.

You dont seem to mention how the Rebbe really took a liking to the Less relgious boy and invited him over regulary (Except during the Zionist phase)

I did not perceive Reuven to be “less religious” in the novel – now you’re gonna get the MO posters up in arms 🙂

zahavasdad,

is there are secular jewish work you approve of?

Einstein’s special relativity is quite spectacular 🙂

zahavasdad,

Read the Hebrew Mishpacha Magazine Obituary of Rav Elyashiv

Why?

If someone grew up Frum and went off (which I think is what happened to CP if I’m not mistaken. I think he went to YU, since I think I remember my father saying that he recognized some of the people/Rabbanim in his books. But if I’m mistaken about CP’s background, feel free to correct me), it would seem likely that his perception of the Frum world would not be completely accurate or positive.

I think the main problem that people have with CP’s books is that the point of his books (or at least one of the points if not the main one) is to present his hashkafa and from what I understand, his own hashkafa may be off.

I am speaking in general terms since I read the books too long ago to be able to comment more definitively.

I think that often the secular world looks at these portrayals of the Frum world (whether it be Fiddler on the Roof, Chaim Potok, or something else) very differently than the Frum world does.

That is because the secular world is starting out with either no knowledge or incorrect knowledge of the Frum world. They are also usually starting out with a very negative impression of the Frum world.

So they view these portrayals as positive since they are more positive than their initial impressions.

However, the Frum world who knows what the Frum world is about realizes that these are in fact negative portrayals of the Frum world.

Additionally, there are things that someone secular would not realize are problematic. For example, the mixed dancing in Fiddler on the Roof and the way the Rabbi is portrayed as an idiot who can’t figure out why it should be a problem.

Experiment-0

As for Fiddler on the Roof, I thought you were talking about the movie. Sorry if I misunderstood. I read a lot of Shalom Aleichem as a kid, but I don’t think I ever read this, so I can’t really comment.

Is it the movie or the book that people criticize? I would have thought it’s the movie. I didn’t think there were too many Frum people who were familiar with the book. I don’t think I ever even heard anyone mention it until now (besides my family).

Randomex, what book? Fiddler on the Roof? Are you joking????

Randomex is referring to Portonoys Complaint by Philip Roth