For most of us it's nothing like the hassidic version portrayed in Hush it's dating. 'Shidduchim' is the general term for the orthodox-Jewish marriage-arranging scheme. I found your link on my dashboard, so I figured I'd drop in and say hi.įirst off, I am an orthodox Jew - ultra-orthodox, in fact. And here's a third, from The Velveteen Rabbi. And then there's the review in The Curious Jew. Here's a review from a Jew in her blog, Bad for Shidduchim (and I learned, from reading Hush, the Shidduch means an engagement) I don't think she's an orthodox Jew, though. I realize that this sect of Judaism is very small, but it quite freaked me out.

And the place of the female in this culture. The extreme hatred of 'goyim.' The absolute lack-of-knowledge about sex and sexuality. But I was more distressed by the things I learned about the Hassidic community. I was, of course, appalled and upset by the premise of the book. There are lots of great reviews out there in cyberspace, lots of raves for this book. The biggest problem - her community's 'hushing up' of this sort of event. Devory had been sexually abused by her brother. Gittel is haunted by the best friend who committed suicide when they were 9. But as this all happens, she is becoming more frequently visited by a ghost from her past, a ghost who won't let go until Gittel does something to help her. This is what her whole life has built towards, marriage, and children. The second half of the book is set a bit later, after Gittel is out of high school, 18, and hoping to find a husband and marry. The first half of the book flips back and forth between 2000, when Gittel was nine, and 2008, when she was 17.

This book is written by a member of the Hassidic community in New York, and is an eye-opening page-turner.

Hush by eishes chayil