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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Historical fiction - not a biography,
By
This review is from: They Called Her Rebbe the Maiden of Ludmir (Hardcover)
Chana Rochel, the "Maiden of Ludmir," was an historical personage and yes, she was also a Hasidic Rebbe who counted learned rabbis among her many followers. Her remarkable story is well-known among Hasidim, and certainly deserves to be told to the general public. Unfortunately, Gershon Winkler was not the one to do it. I was very disappointed in this book, which is a work of fiction that borders on fantasy, and comes mostly from Winkler's imagination. The Chana Rochel I know from the legends was a deeply spiritual mystic with profound respect for Jewish tradition. Yes, she was a woman doing some "male things" such as wearing a tallis (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries), but that was not her central identity. Serving God was. There is nothing in her story to indicate that she wanted to overthrow rabbinic Judaism. The Chana Rochel we meet in this book is an iconoclast who spouts arguments that were common in third-wave feminist circles in the mid-1980's (when, I presume, this book was being written. It was first published in 1991.) The seven-page polemical exchange between her and Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl (pp. 40-47) sounds as if it came from a Jewish Renewal pamphlet. The result is a preachy novel that reads like propaganda. Maybe it is. Most disappointing was the way in which Winkler completely altered the pivotal mystical incident in Chana Rochel's life, when she received her personal mission from God. In the original legends, the story reads like this: "...One morning while visiting her mother's grave, Chana Rochel fainted and fell into a coma. Upon regaining consciousness, she asked for her father, and told him she has just come from Heaven, where she had been present at a sitting of the Heavenly Court and had received a new and sublime soul. Rabbi Moderchai of Chernobyl substantiated her claims, saying, 'We do not know whose religious soul is dwelling in this woman.'" (S. Feldbrand, From Sarah to Sarah, p. 53) From the description above, it would seem that Chana Rochel had a near-death experience (NDE) and returned as a "new person" with the sanction of the Heavenly Court. She was now a holy woman with a mission. The idea of receiving a "new" or "extra" soul refers to the phenomenon of "sod ha-ibbur," or the benign attachment of a holy soul to a living person for a good purpose. In "new-age" or shamanic terms, she had a power vision. From that point on, she knew herself to be a Rebbe and began to attract followers, including the Rebbe of Chernobyl. In Winkler's version, The Rebbe of Chernobyl questions her at the age of 12, long before the incident in the cemetery took place. They discuss, not spiritual visions, but the role of women in Jewish law. Chana comes across merely as a child prodigy who out-argues the rabbi. As for the cemetery incident, she simply falls asleep and dreams about the other world (no coma, no NDE), then awakens in a panic: "...The night was pitch black. She sat up, dazed; for a moment, she did not know where she was. Then memory came rushing back: she was in a cemetery. At night. In the dark. Alone. The worst nightmare of a living mortal... As she walked, she grew increasingly frightened... Each tombstone seemed alive, swaying menacingly tward her. This was the world of the dead; the night was their time. Every frightening ghost tale she had ever read spun through her memory, haunting every part of her being. The wind was howling fiercely. To the frightened young woman, it sounded like many voices calling out to her, beckoning her... She no longer remembered or cared in which direction she ran, whether she was headed toward the gate or back into the depths of the cemetery. She only knew she had to run from those voices..." (Winkler, They called her Rebbe, p. 103) Thus does Gershon Winkler transform a mystical journey to the Heavenly Court into a Gothic panic attack in a ghost-filled cemetery. This example is pretty much par for the whole book, where her religous devotions are consistently altered into modern social issues. Gone are her daily walks to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem with her tallis and tefillin, or her addresses to crowds that gathered outside her home on Shabbos, or the pilgrimages she led to Rachel's Tomb for prayers. (see Feldbrand, p. 54.) Instead, she is building a kibbutz and lecturing women on self-esteem. And what, exactly, are we to make of a character named "Zeide Zalman," who is obviously based on Rabbi Zalman Schachter of the 20th century, also known as Zeide Zalman, whom Winkler admires in real life? In the story, Zeide Zalman is a mysterious smiling old sage, origins unknown. Chana Rochel seeks to find out his identity through meditation, but "all she came away with was the idea that he was a momentary loan from another time, a future time." (p. 190) So what are we to gather from this episode -- that Zalman Schachter went back in time to give Chana Rochel her peace of mind? Apparently. And as if to be sure we get the point, the Zeide Zalman in the story even gives her a "mysterious" Hanukkah menorah -- an obvious literary reference to a short story about Chana Rochel by Zalman Schachter in his book, "The Dream Assembly." Nice fantasy, but... Like I said, the real story of Chana Rochel of Ludmir has yet to be written (deep sad sigh). Perhaps one day, it will be done by a Hasidic woman who understands the inner spirit as well as the outer form of her story.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Imagination,
By
This review is from: They Called Her Rebbe the Maiden of Ludmir (Hardcover)
The real history book on the Maid of Ludmir has since been written by Nathaniel Deutsch - highly recommended. Rabbi Winkler's book may be entertaining (I don't think, in fairness, he intended it to be regarded as history), but it should not be taken as telling the real story of this strange womean.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book Relating to Jewish Women,
By Dr. Kelly Fleming (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: They Called Her Rebbe the Maiden of Ludmir (Hardcover)
"They Called Her Rebbe" is an extraordinary book. Many individuals know of the movie "Yentl" starring Barbra Streisand. If you have enjoyed that movie, you will adore this book. Chana Rochel's story is about a woman who lived in the early 1800's in Eastern Europe (Russia) in a common Jewish shtetl (small village). She was unlike many other women of her time or even of today in the fact that she desired to study Torah and Talmud. This is uncommon to the degree that she desired within the Orthodox Jewish community. Women have a different place when it comes to Torah study than men. Chana Rochel was not content to remain in the "customs" of the people. Her argument being that neither the Torah nor the Talmud actually forbids the study of Torah or the observances of mitzvos (commandments) by women. They merely discourage it, as a woman has other preoccupations. Chana Rochel took her guidance from God Himself. As He directed her in her studies and later in her spiritual guidance of others, both men and women, she defied custom and followed the Lord. Chana Rochel's story is strong when it is put up against the background of customs. She followed the Spirit of the Lord, staying within Halakhah (Jewish Law), she stretched her God-given rights as a Jewish woman to serve Him in every capacity to which He had called her. Many Rabbis of her time and even since, have dismissed her by saying she possessed the soul of a great Rabbi, a MALE Rabbi. Many individuals who sought her guidance could not comprehend that a woman was being given this direct guidance from the Lord, so to ease their minds they also agreed with "soul of a great Rabbi" theory. I invite everyone to examine this story of an extraordinary woman who lived her life in an ordinary way. I recommend this book to every individual - male or female - Jew or Gentile - religious or non-religious. May you find the riches and blessings of the Holy Torah in the life of Chana Rochel as I have the privilege to experience.
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