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Title: Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey Among Hasidic Girls by Stephanie Wellen Levine, Carol Gilligan ISBN: 0-8147-5192-X Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: November, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful writing and great insight
Comment: I read this book as a non-Jew who was interested in Hasidism. This particular book attracted me because I am the parent of two teen-age daughters. Having close contact with the problems my daughters face in the modern world I felt would help me understand the issues of Hasidic young women. Although the book is not designed to give a rigorous introduction to Hasidism, I am quite delighted by Stephanie Levine's work and the chance it has given me to have a glimpse into the spiritual and mundane issues of modern Lubavitch Hasidism.
Far from being a broad review of young Hasidic women, Levine focuses on the Lubaticher sect of Hasidism and its community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. She spent over a year living with and interviewing the students, teachers, and parents associated with the Bais Rivka Lubavitch high school, a girls-only school.
Hasidic girls have very little contact with males outside their immediate families. Their religious beliefs allow them only the slightest contacts with the world outside their community. Popular videos and music are not allowed and dietary restrictions only allow eating in the most kosher of restaurants. The "mavericks" part of the title has to do with the rebellious response that the young women sometimes bring to these severe restraints.
The "mystics" aspect of the title has to do with the deeply spiritual aspects of Hasidism where every thought and action of an individual's life has cosmic implications as the community does all it can to bring about the coming of the messiah. The last chaper of this book, "Into The Future," begins with a wonderfully clear and concise description of Lubavitch mystical beliefs.
The irrepressible joy and exhuberance of the young women, that the spiritual practice of Hasidism seems to promote, leads to the author's use of the term "merrymakers" to describe the subjects of this book.
Levine starts off the book with a general introduction to the Crown Heights Lubavitch community and the background to her study. She talks about the Bais Rivka school and its students.
Then in a series of seven chapters she takes in depth looks at seven of the young women she was able to get the closest to in her year of research. We meet their families and see their day to day life. We hear them describe their current life and aspirations. As the most important duty of a Lubavitch woman is to marry and have children, their mate selection and preparations for married life are part of these chapters.
The last chapter contains a look at the future for both the young women and the Hasidic movement. This is a wonderful book for anyone like me who is interested in Hasidism or the lives of young women in the modern world. Levine is a wonderful writer and she treats her subjects with fondness and respect. Yet she is honest and direct. So this study has both objectivity and admiration, a delightful combination in such a work.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating Characters, Beautiful Writing
Comment: I just finished "Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers," which describes the teenage girls among the Lubavitchers, a particularly interesting Hasidic sect. It's one of those books that will linger in my mind for many years. The poetic language, the engaging characters, and the sensitive, nuanced arguments make this book a wonder. An avid reader, I enjoy both serious books and light-hearted ones. Usually, the two categories don't mix. But this book kept me laughing and thinking. Levine's humor was terrific; I was chuckling out loud with some of her descriptions of the girls' thoughts and adventures. But while I was having fun, I was also thinking hard, and my worldview was rapidly expanding.
The centerpeice of this book is Levine's profiles of actual girls. Both in number of pages and in spirit, they comprise the bulk of the book. They are marvelous portraits of deeply human young women. Levine has a gift for bringing people's personalities out with passion and sensitivity. Many are content, but the rebels struggle daily and often feel pain. These seven profiles of very different young Hasidim read like the best short stories, with suspense, psychological power, drama, and intensity.
Levine also provides us with thought-provoking conclusions. For instance, she finds that many of the girls enjoy surprisingly confident, outgoing personalities and wonders whether their single-sex social lives offer some psychological benefits. She suggests that, for some girls, freedom from the sexual pressures of coeducational social lives can be a great boon. She also reports that the Lubavitch young women often took the wild, impish roles boys can claim in mixed-gender settings. But she does not argue that single-sex lives are best for all teens; she simply offers the observation that perhaps single-sex options (schools, social activities, etc.) might help some young people maintain their confidence. Her ideas are refreshingly open-ended and multifaceted. Levine explores other potential benefits this community offers as well. Her description of Lubavitch philosophy, and how it can bolster the girls' sense of power, is thorough and deeply perceptive. She also discusses the importance of cohesive community and unusual family closeness. The psychologist in me was fascinated by the Lubavitchers' desire to perfect the human soul, and Levine's speculation about how non-Hasidim might draw from this impulse in their own lives, even if they're not at all religiously inclined.
The author makes it very clear that she explores one particular group at one particular time: The Lubavitcher Hasidim of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Her ability to avoid sweeping generalizations (she never claims that her findings pertain to all Orthodox Jews or all Hasidic sects) impressed me. I was equally struck by the sensible, intelligent suggestions she makes to help readers use Lubavitch wisdom to improve their own lives, and their children's.
Read this book. You will learn a lot about leading a rich life from these Hasidic teenagers and have great fun while you're at it.
Rating: 2
Summary: interesting, but hardly convincing
Comment: This is a very fascinating read about adolescent girls in the Lubavitch section of Crown Heights. However, the study is not rigorous enough to really support the theoretical claims the author tries to make. Surely her research into Orthodox Jews in general would have suggested that girls in the Lubavitch community are NOT representative of those in either mainstream Orthodox Jewish or "ultra-orthodox" Chassidic communities, in which gender segregated schools are also the norm. As such, it's not clear how she can assert so confidently that the relative immaturity and extrovertedness of the girls she observes comes from their lack of inter-gender contact. The failure to "test" for alternative hypotheses - say, for example, the goals of community leaders, or the dictates of Lubavitch philosophy (neither of which are thoroughly examined - makes this even more problematic.
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