Unchosen

by Winston, Hella

• ISBN13: 9780807036273
• ISBN10: 0807036277
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-11-15
• Publisher: Beacon Press

Summary

A surprising and controversial exploration of Hasidic Jews struggling to live within their restrictive communities-and, in some cases, to carve out a new life beyond them . . .When Hella Winston began talking with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn for her doctoral dissertation in sociology, she was surprised to be covertly introduced to Hasidim unhappy with their highly restrictive way of life and sometimes desperately struggling to escape it. Unchosen tells the stories of these "rebel" Hasidim, serious questioners who long for greater personal and intellectual freedom than their communities allow. In her new Preface, Winston discusses the passionate reactions the book has elicited among Hasidim and non-Hasidim alike.Named one of Publishers Weekly's Ten Best Religion Books of 2005.

Author Biography

Hella Winston is pursuing her Ph.D. in sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Chapter One: Changing Trains	1	(18)
Chapter Two: Wigged Out	19	(18)
Chapter Three: Floating	37	(12)
Chapter Four: From the Outskirts	49	(12)
Chapter Five: Coming and Going	61	(10)
Chapter Six: Building a Different Kind of Chabad House	71	(16)
Chapter Seven: Becoming a Rock Star	87	(14)
Chapter Eight: Second Acts	101	(16)
Chapter Nine: Dancing at Two Weddings	117	(16)
Chapter Ten: A Cautionary Tale	133	(14)
Chapter Eleven: L'Chaim	147	(18)
Conclusion	165	(7)
Afterword	172	(5)
Glossary	177	(6)
Acknowledgments	183	(2)
Notes	185