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A powerful and moving novel of faith, love, and acceptance, from the international bestselling author of The Devil in Jerusalem. Yaakov is a man of God, a father, a Talmud scholar, and a widower. After failing to save his wife's life, he is struggling both financially and spiritually. Lola is a woman from the secular world who has suffered terrible tragedy and hardship in her life. To find her place she has turned to God and the Orthodox community in Brooklyn. She now goes by the name of Leah. Yaakov needs help to keep his home and his children in order; Leah needs a purpose and a place in the Orthodox community. They both need a partner in life, a perfect match. But the instant chemistry they share is fraught with drama and prohibition. Forces are against them while necessity pushes them together. And then there is the possibility - will love win, or won't it?… (more)
A predictable easy romance read about a 30 something Jewish woman who is unhappy with her single Manhattan life - she studies Judaism and becomes a Baal Tsuvah. Moving to Boro Park, Brooklyn she discovers the beauty of family life within the confines of the insular Hasidic community ( )
There's been a recent fascination with the lives of women in Orthodox Jewish communities, and this novel is set in the American center of that world, Boro Hall, Brooklyn. Jacob, a widower with five children, is struggling to continue his studies after the trauma of his wife's death. The community provides him with a helper, Leah, born Lola, who is of Jewish parentage but is considered a convert, as is any person raised outside the Orthodox community. Here, the restrictions of this life (dietary, behavioral, rigid dress codes and gender roles) pales in comparison to the terribly judgmental and critical actions of the allegedly pious community, featuring the actual shunning of anyone not born into this insular world. This reality is presented in contrast with the Torah instructions and rabbinical teachings, which urge acceptance, respect, and charity. The portrayal of the hypocrisy, as seen through the eyes of Jacob's mother-in-law, is vivid and revelatory. ( )
A fun romance novel set in an orthodox Jewish community. I expected this book to take a serious look at people entering the Orthodox community and very soon I realized that this was a romance novel first and foremost and I would have to give up my expectations to enjoy the book. After I started looking at it like a Hallmark movie I really enjoyed it. ( )
I did not care very much for the writing, nor for the coincidences that occurred. I also felt many of the characters' actions were not believable, but I did really care about the characters. I also was interested to learn so much about this observant community. ( )
I will lead the blind by a road they did not know, and I will make them walk by the paths they never knew. I will turn darkness before them to light, and rough places into level ground; these are the promises, I will keep them without fail. ---ISAIAH 42:16
Dedication
For Alex Half a century of friendship, love, support, joy, partnership. Thank you, my dear husband.
First words
Leah Howard sat there facing Rabbi Weintraub's empty chair, rehearsing what she was going to say to him.
Quotations
They are so strict about laws that were never written in the Torah and so lax about the laws that are actually there!
Last words
And that they---as a community---had had the great privilege of embracing a pious young woman who had, like Ruth at long last found her way to them, and to the God who had clearly directed the uneven steps of her long journey home.
A powerful and moving novel of faith, love, and acceptance, from the international bestselling author of The Devil in Jerusalem. Yaakov is a man of God, a father, a Talmud scholar, and a widower. After failing to save his wife's life, he is struggling both financially and spiritually. Lola is a woman from the secular world who has suffered terrible tragedy and hardship in her life. To find her place she has turned to God and the Orthodox community in Brooklyn. She now goes by the name of Leah. Yaakov needs help to keep his home and his children in order; Leah needs a purpose and a place in the Orthodox community. They both need a partner in life, a perfect match. But the instant chemistry they share is fraught with drama and prohibition. Forces are against them while necessity pushes them together. And then there is the possibility - will love win, or won't it?
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