Among Righteous Men : A Tale of Vigilantes and Vindication in Hasidic Crown Heights

by Shaer, Matthew

• ISBN13: 9780470608272
• ISBN10: 0470608277
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-25
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Inside the mysterious world of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyns Crown Heights-a close-knit, but divided, community Aron Hershkop runs an auto-repair business in Crown Heights, but also heads a volunteer community patrol called the Shomrim. When his brothers and colleagues try to stop a brawl at a rabbinical dormitory, they end up in court not as witnesses for the prosecution, but on trial for assault. The Shomrim Six are, in fact, caught up in a religious schism that has divided the community (and started the brawl), and the two sides take it to a secular court instead of letting the local rabbinical council settle it. This compelling story takes you to the deepest corners of a normally hidden world. Features fast-paced writing and a true story with surprising twists, personal conflicts, and a tense trial Illuminates important Lubavitch community issues and questions related to the value of tradition, independence, belief, and family Explains background and history of the Lubavitcher movement and of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson and the schism in the community following his death Among Righteous Men is important reading for anyone interested in the ultra-Orthodox, and especially the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and the issues and conflicts it faces today.

Author Biography

MATTHEW SHAER, formerly a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, has written for New York magazine, Harper's, the Washington Post, and Slate.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
	p. 7
	p. 21
	p. 35
	p. 45
	p. 61
	p. 75
	p. 85
	p. 101
	p. 113
	p. 125
	p. 137
	p. 157
	p. 171
	p. 187
	p. 193
	p. 201
	p. 209
	p. 223
Epilogue	p. 229
Acknowledgments	p. 233
Index	p. 235
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