Author of 'Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots' Speaks in Livingston

Temple B’nai Abraham Sisterhood Speaker Series presents Guest Speaker Deborah Feldman, Author of Unorthodox, The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots 

On Thursday, May 9, at 8 p.m., the Temple B’nai Abraham Sisterhood Speaker Series will present Guest Speaker: Deborah Feldman, Author of Unorthodox,  The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (Simon and Schuster.) Alyssa Sutton and Michelle Indyke are the chairs of this event. Debbie Myers and Elena Meinhardt are TBA Sisterhood Co-presidents.

Deborah Feldman was born and raised in the Hasidic community of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of the New York Times Bestselling memoir, UNORTHODOX: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (Simon and Schuster.)

In her debut memoir, Feldman recounts the many struggles endured while growing up within a particularly Orthodox branch of Hasidic Judaism. The daughter of mentally unstable parents, the author was raised by her Hasidic grandparents, whose allegiance to their religious and cultural traditions often proved problematic for the young Feldman. Cloistered from the secular world, the author’s pinhole-sized view of New York kept her at a continual disadvantage, providing a singular narrative for understanding the world beyond her neighborhood. As she matured, Feldman became more aware of the inner turmoil “brewing madly between my own thoughts and the teachings I was absorbing.” As she continued to question her faith, she soon recognized the tyrannical aspects of the traditions, the culmination of which led to an arranged marriage for her and another young Hasid.

Currently, she is working on a follow-up memoir, which finds her embarking on independence as a single woman and mother, finding a new kind of Jewish life for herself, and discovering the far-flung yet familiar community of many like-minded "religious refugees" of all faiths around the world, due out from Blue Rider Press, Penguin, in October of 2013. Deborah attended Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City with her son.

Cost: TBA members: $10     Non-members: $18     Students: Free 

To register:  All are welcome to attend, but registration is requested. For information or to register, please contact the temple office at 973-994-2290. Visit our website at www.tbanj.org.  Email: tbainfo@tbanj.org