Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So for those of you who've watched it, what did you think?
I quite enjoyed it in that it was reflective of my own experience with Satmars(and similar).i.e I have met the type of characters portrayed.
The only thing I thought was strange was that whenever someone was praying, the subtitles said they were praying in Yiddish.
In my religious years , I attended many Minyanim(including Satmars), and I cannot remember any instance when prayers were in any other language except Hebrew(ie Sfat Hakodesh, only for prayer).
Last edited by JaiSea; 03-28-2020 at 04:35 AM..
Reason: added the ie comment at end
I'm currently reading the book on which this series was based, as I only watched the first episode and I found it to be slow-moving and it didn't particularly engage me. Of course, I haven't watched more than just the one episode. Maybe it gets better, I don't know.
However, I am finding Deborah Feldman's written memoir to be interesting. I think her book offers far more insight into her experiences and the community in which she grew up than what I've seen from the television series.
Spoiler Alert. In Feldman's memoir, nobody chased after "Esty" as portrayed in the series. Also, she already had her child with her when she left -- she didn't leave while she was still pregnant. The first episode of the series that I watched portrayed Esty's father as being a surly alcoholic, whereas in the original memoir it's made clearer that the father was mentally disabled.
Read her book many years ago and thought it was extremely interesting.
The movie specifically states " inspired by the book."
Also interesting is Abby Stein having a small role in the series.
Abby Stein is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker, and former rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and is a direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism's founder the Baal Shem Tov.*
Read her book many years ago and thought it was extremely interesting.
The movie specifically states " inspired by the book."
Also interesting is Abby Stein having a small role in the series.
Abby Stein is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker, and former rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and is a direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism's founder the Baal Shem Tov.*
I wasn't aware of that! Did she appear in that first episode I watched?
Yes, I figured the series isn't entirely based on the book. The character "Esty" in the series is "Devoireh" (Yiddish form of "Deborah") in the book. I wonder whether the provocative scenes that appear in the series were added merely for sensationalism and to keep viewers watching?
I'm actually enjoying the book very much. The author appears to write non-judgmentally, speaking about how the life was not suited for her, and how she didn't fit in. She has a thoughtful, expressive quality to her writing.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 03-29-2020 at 08:27 PM..
Am I the only one here who is uncomfortable with a story that celebrates a woman leaving a life of Torah? As if life is better as soon as one lifts the shackles of Torah observance. Her name is well known in the frum word, and I assure you she’s no hero there.
I think as Jews, we’d be better served if we made the gedolim (Torah giants) into the people we admire.
Am I the only one here who is uncomfortable with a story that celebrates a woman leaving a life of Torah? As if life is better as soon as one lifts the shackles of Torah observance. Her name is well known in the frum word, and I assure you she’s no hero there.
I think as Jews, we’d be better served if we made the gedolim (Torah giants) into the people we admire.
She left a community where she didn't feel she could fit in. When one leaves a particular community, it doesn't necessarily mean that one abandons Torah. The problem is that some members of some particular communities seem to think that they are the only ones who are doing it "right."
Am I the only one here who is uncomfortable with a story that celebrates a woman leaving a life of Torah? As if life is better as soon as one lifts the shackles of Torah observance. Her name is well known in the frum word, and I assure you she’s no hero there.
I don't see it as a celebratory story. This mini series gives outsiders a more insider look at the life of the Ultra-Orthodox/Hassidic community.
Also I see it as a story telling of one woman struggle when she didn't fit into a very restrictive old-fashioned style community that she was born into and what she decided to do about it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
