Worlds Apart: The Sisters Weiss by Naomi Ragen

Naomi Ragen is an acclaimed American-Israeli author of many novels. According to Wikipedia, she practices Judaism according to the Modern Orthodox perspective and her writing focuses on the issues concerning the treatment and role of women in the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) and Hasidic communities.

For those who are not familiar, and just in the most general of terms, Modern Orthodoxy combines observing traditional Jewish practices with secular learning, arts and humanities, equal opportunity for men and women and being self-supporting. In contrast, the Ultra-Orthodox are strict observers and interpreters of Judaism, and do not accept many aspects of secular life or contemporary social norms. Hasidic groups are part of the Ultra-Orthodox world, but have their own very specific sub-practices, and are generally rooted by the location of their European origins and by the teachings of each group's leader or founder.

There are many interpretations, degrees and types of practice in Judaism, just as there are many Christian denominations and movements.

In this novel, a large Ultra-Orthodox family in Brooklyn includes two young sisters. Rose, the older, is an outlier and eventually breaks away from the family to follow her interest in becoming a professional photographer. Pearl, the younger sister, idealized Rose, but after her departure takes the opposite route, becoming even more pious and traditional. Because of Rose's choice they are separated for decades, meanwhile marrying and becoming parents.

Eventually, conflict and resolution occur when Rivka, Pearl's daughter, runs away and seeks out Rose and her daughter Hannah for help. Ragen tells the story from the points of view of all the major female characters and includes many details of Ultra-Orthodox religious life (many of which were unfamiliar to me). While some of the plot points are not at all surprising, they are beautifully executed.

The book is very satisfying, and a fast-paced read. There is a glossary of Yiddish and Hebrew words following the text. As a novel first published in January, 2012, it makes an interesting counterpoint to Unorthodox, a memoir published in February, 2012 by Deborah Feldman, who left the Hasidic world in real life. Unorthodox was recently adapted into a multi-part Netflix series which is running now to great acclaim.

Today, as I write this, is the eve of Passover, when the First Seder would traditionally occur. Considering that we are in the height of a terrible pandemic in which we must observe social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19, coronavirus, many Seders will not occur, or will be held virtually, using modern technology. My hope is that this plague will soon end and next year will be very different.