Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels Paperback – November 15, 2006

A good read. It shed a lot of light on what appears to be a secretive religious group. I enjoyed it and was able to read it objectively and respectfully. Although it is not my belief it was informative and an eye opener with detail and perspective of those who follow this insular belief. Above all things is that, without the 'religious covering', people are people, curious, investigative and wholesome in their hearts until they are under some kind of binding doctrine that tells them otherwise and they spend their lives trying to prove themselves often to a community that is unyielding in it's criticism and 'self correction.' I know I couldn't make it in this community, God bless those who can.I felt compassion for those who came out of the religion and the people and outreach groups to help them make the transition. My heart went out to those who stayed in and agreed to be interviewed under an assumed name, they took a tremendous risk. I was deeply moved for the ones that were caught in the middle of nowhere and didn't know what to do. Talk about your psyche being jacked; wow! what a head trip. If you want to get a perspective on the Satmar sect this is a good beginning and there are other books that are helpful too in understanding.

I was torn between giving this book 3 stars or 4 stars. It would depend on who was reading the book, what background they had, and what intentions they had for doing other research. Some reviews said that book was biased and one sided. I would say that it is one piece of the puzzle. Some reviews complained that the author told of problems, but did not provide solutions. As a sociologist, I don't think that the author has the ability to provide solutions, nor would it have been appropriate. The book has the advantage of showing the problems, so somebody more qualified can help find solutions.Some reviews talked about how the book does not address the joys of hasidus. The theology and joys of Hasidus is a different issue than the sociology aspects the books is conveying.I enjoyed the book, because the book helped to answer some questions that I had. Specifically it helped me to better understand the differences between the Jewish families and their views on Jewish/Secular education that are 10 - 20 years old than me vs. Jewish families that are 10 - 20 years younger than me. The author did not intend to answer these questions. It just came out in the stories.I brought this book, because I thought it was going to be the opposite of the book "Pathways: Jews who return". Pathways is just a bunch of stories of Jewish who decided to become religious and their stories. The difference between Pathways and Unchosen is that Pathways interviews people who had completed their transformation, so one could see the beginning, middle, and the end. Unchosen limited her interviews to Jews who are either just beginning their journey or early on in their journey. The one exception would be Malki, who has basically started her own business. There are no stories of Jews who have completed their journey: move away from the community they were raised in, and are now married and taking care of their families. There are no stories of Jews who have moved out of their community, and are now leading religious lives as Modern Orthodox or mainstream Orthodox.At the end, the book lead me to the question of, "What was the purpose of the book?" "What was the book trying to accomplish?" and "Would I recommend this book to somebody else, and for what purpose"? One answer that I could come up with was to support the argument that not providing our boys and girls a strong secular education has the problem that if a child does not fit the Talmud scholar model, that it leaves the child with limited choices in adulthood to lead a productive life. The second answer was as part of a health education curriculum to begin discussion of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, child abuse, and sex outside of marriage. As this book does show, even the most insular communities are not immune to these vices, and in some cases they are more susceptible to them due to the fact that they don't have the secular education to defend themselves. Most secular adults know the difference between the fantasy/ideology of TV vs. the reality of it, even on "reality" TV shows. Can you image a child watching MTV for the first time with no background to prepare him/her to what they would see and hear? Or even a show like "Sex and the city"?

I knew quite a bit about Lubavitcher Hasidim because they are so ubiquitous, but very little about most of the other branches, mainly because they don’t have anything to do with us goyim. Most of what I had learned previously I’d either learned from my reading or from my Hebrew Literature and Culture class or from friends who had grown up on the periphery of one or another of the groups—again, mostly Lubavitcher. This book deals mainly with several young people who have rebelled in some way against one of the largest and most insular groups, the Satmar Hasidim, a group whose origins are in Hungary. Satmar Hasidim don’t talk to just anyone, even other Jews, so Ms. Winston had to do some serious work to get this written. The experiences she relates are poignant, fascinating, sometimes infuriating, always told with regard for the humanity of all the parties concerned—the young men and women trying to break out of what they see as a religious prison, the parents afraid of losing their children or the futures of their other children as they see it. At the same time, she shows us the good things about Hasidic society, and there is much to admire. This is not a way of life for everyone, that becomes obvious in the pages, and there’s a lot of pain as well as joy in the stories. Read it only if you’re ready for both.

The title is intriguing, and the book is written in an easy literary style. However, the book focused on one or two rather oddball characters that were outcasts in their community. They would have been outcasts in any situation, not necessarily Orthodox Judaism. There were glimmers of hope for them to find an authentic Jewish experience that they could relate to, and that was the most interesting part of the book. I found the book to be a bit one-sided, portraying Hasidix, Orthodx Judaism as a negative, but at the same time, the author was a bit "nostalgic" for "the good old days".

I enjoyed this peek into the Hasidic Community. Originally, born in Brooklyn and growing up in LI , I remember traveling along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn and seeing the Hasidic Jews there. Always wondering about them . Then years later seeing them and learning about them on my two visits to Israel.Now I live in Georgia and see a beautiful Chabad Synagogue less than three miles from my home. I hope to explore it one day.I am a Roman Catholic and I have great respect for Jewish people , especially those who have a good understanding of their faith.Thank you for an informative and worthwhile read.

I have mixed feelings about this book... On one hand I liked the details on the day to day lives of Hasidim Jews.... But on the other hand the people that the author interviewed seemed shallow vain arrogant troubled... I wish she had interviewed more people... The main person is a man named Yossi who seems lost and confused, but unwilling to take any steps at helping himself... He just seems to drift float through life....

Exciting book

11 days past delivery date and still no book.