Tuvia explores his roots

I recently received a new book to review from the Israeli English language publisher, Gefen Publishing: “Careful, Beauties Ahead.” It’s probably the fifth book by Tuvia Tenenbom that I’ve read. Each one has been a very informative read. Tuvia is an expat Israeli born to a Yiddish-speaking rabbinical family in Bnei Brak, Israel’s largest majority ultra-Orthodox city. He has lived in Germany, the US, and elsewhere for many decades, working as a journalist and author. Holding multiple academic degrees and speaking several languages, Tuvia is also a playwright, essayist, and the founding artistic director of the Jewish Theater of New York. 

Tuvia has a very idiosyncratic, satirical writing style. It takes time to get used to it when beginning any one of his books, even after having read several. Tuvia’s unthreatening appearance and talkativeness has led to his success describing Jews and their place in society in countries such as Germany, the UK, Ireland, the US, and Israel. Tuvia’s sardonic personality belies his cherubic appearance, and the reader is soon caught up in Tuvia’s droll reporting of mundane encounters with people all around the world. 

Tuvia’s latest book, subtitled “My year with the Ultra-Orthodox,” features Israel’s Haredim (pl) from Jerusalem and also his home town, Bnei Brak. Tuvia makes good use of his childhood Yiddish. That homely language was often his entree into the Ultra-Orthodox world. What comes through loud and clear is Tuvia’s affection for these Jews (some of whom refuse Israeli citizenship until the Messiah comes) and his befuddlement with their often-blind adherence to the pronouncements of their sect’s spiritual leaders (the Rebbes). “Go figure” is often Tuvia’s conclusion after listening to a follower explaining his beliefs as commanded by his particular Rebbe. 

Tuvia greatly admires many aspects of Hasidic life in Jerusalem. For him, the young families with many children are all impeccably dressed, eat the most delicious food (Tuvia never turns down an offer of food), are the most beautiful, and the most generous in sharing what they have, especially in Jerusalem. Some of the various sects wear archaic clothing based on the locale from which the first of their Rebbes originated. 

Haredi and Hasidic Jews

Haredi Jews reject many of the trappings of technology, such as television and the internet, and schools are segregated by gender. They have a high regard for Torah study and much respect for rabbinical scholars. They are characterized by their serious and scholarly demeanor. Men wear white shirts and black suits, and black fedora or Homburg hats over black skull caps. Most men wear beards. Women dress modestly, with long sleeves and high necklines, and most wear hair coverings.

A subset of the Haredi Jews is the Hasidic Jews, a group that focuses on the joyful spiritual aspects of religious practice. Hasidic Jews often wear distinctive clothing features to identify that they belong to different Hasidic groups. Male Hasidic Jews wear long, uncut sidelocks, called payot. Many wear an elaborate hat made of fur, a shtreimel, on Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and other festivities. 

(https://www.learnreligions.com/hasidic-ultra-orthodox-judaism-2076297)

Chabad, or Lubavitch, is one of the largest Hasidic dynasties emanating from  Eastern European Orthodox Judaism. Its main importance to the Jewish world is outreach specifically to non-religious Jews. Its deceased and irreplaceable Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is endorsed by many Chabadniks to be the  Moshiach (messiah). Chabad is quite popular in the US and elsewhere, but less so in Israel. It isn’t a big subject in Tuvia’s book.

Lately, according to Tuvia, there’s been more cooperation between the different Ultra-Orthodox camps, although they each have their loyal followers. There is still discord among members of some of the different sects, such as the Gur dynasty. The younger son of the deceased Gur Rebbe was cut off from his role by the older brother when the father died.  (Disputes over dynastic succession are not uncommon). Their split is dramatic, with disrespect and even violence perpetrated against the younger brother’s much smaller, breakaway group. Tuvia greatly prefers the younger brother as a spiritual leader and castigates the older brother as a money-grasping, dictatorial phony.

Some of the topics Tuvia emphasizes in the book are the “spilling of seed”, referring to sexual profligacy by unmarried men; the forbidden looking at women (even your wife); the Secret of One, men and women combined and the living and the dead combined; various methods to find your all-important mate; the great desire of many younger Haredim to engage with the world beyond Mea Sha’arim (the major Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem); and many other topics.

Tuvia’s book expresses his ambivalent feeling of his “body” leaving the Haredi world while his “soul” remains there. Near the end of the book, there’s a section on Haredim who no longer believe, but fear the consequences of breaking away from their family’s life in the sect. For the first time Tuvia observes what it means to leave a community and what it means to divorce yourself from a community. He feels the angst of those who would like to disavow their Ultra-Orthodoxy, but can’t or don’t. The men and women can leave it spiritually, but are forced to hide their feelings because they would become outcasts to their entire community. Not only that, their entire family would suffer the harmful consequences of such an action, most likely banishment.

Tuvia says: I left that world, but the Haredi Jew deep in me never left. “The Jew in me is solid.” Tuvia, the cosmopolitan, modern Jew, feels that Haredim are his family despite his obviously different lifestyle choices. 

While Tuvia despairs over what he calls the (mostly older) “God-replacement/Super Chosen rabbis”, he is impressed by a number of younger rabbis who thoroughly reject the entitled, mostly old rebbes. The truth is that Israel is, and will continue to be, riven by the followers of those all-powerful rabbis. (Ironically, many of the most violent young Haredim live in Tel Aviv and travel to Jerusalem – on their Rebbe’s orders – to start or participate in riots.) 

Right now in Israel, the never-ending battle to get military-age Haredim to share the burden of military service, or even national service, is paramount. This is because of the increased manpower needs of the IDF, which became obvious after the Oct 7 massacre. The Haredim usually have 5,6, or more children (non-religious Israelis typically have three children). If Haredi youth don’t help defend the country, Israel’s future is dire. It’s a big problem….

But Tuvia doesn’t delve into that argument. Like his previous books, such as “The Lies They Tell” (about America), “Careful, Beauties Ahead!” shines a light on a very significant segment of the country’s Jewish population, in this case the 

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis. Unfortunately, Israel’s mass media overwhelmingly casts the Haredim in a bad light, which is evident in the newspapers, TV shows, and films. (“Shtisel” is a major exception.) Tuvia’s book may open many people’s eyes.

You can buy “Careful, Beauties Ahead,” at a reasonable price on the publishers website: (https://www.gefenpublishing.com/product.asp?productid=3416). It can also be purchased from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B006R1DTTK) or in bookstores