Off the Derech: How to Respond to the Challenge - Hardcover

Margolese, Faranak

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1932687408 ISBN 13: 9781932687408

Publisher: Devora Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

"Off the Derech," translated as "Off the Path," is the term used within the Orthodox Jewish community to describe those who have left Jewish observance. This groundbreaking new book by Faranak Margolese examines why Orthodox Jews stop practicing Judaism, confronting one of the most pressing issues in the religious Jewish world today.

Based on a study which involved over 500 Jews who left Orthodox Judaism, Off the Derech presents the first comprehensive examination of the causes of defection from Orthodox Judaism. It clearly and thoroughly explains those causes, and provides solutions to this increasingly common phenomenon. In doing so, Off the Derech enlightens not only the Orthodox but Jewish parents and leaders from all streams of Judaism as the research provides valuable insights into assimilation and Jewish continuity at large.

This highly anticipated work, over five years in the making, is certain to become the definitive handbook on what is emerging as one of the most difficult issues in the Orthodox and Jewish world today. It is a must-have, invaluable handbook for parents, teachers and Rabbis alike.

About this title

About the Author

Faranak Margolese is a freelance writer and editor. After receiving a BA in Philosophy from Stern College, she earned a Masters degree in Non-Fiction Writing from Columbia University’s prestigious School of the Arts. She served as the youngest Adjunct Professor to teach writing at both Yeshiva University and Queens College. She also founded Write Impressions; served as a contributing editor to the Los Angeles Jewish Times; served as the general editor of Freedom in the World: an Annual Survey of Political and Civil Rights Throughout the World; and has written for numerous Jewish organizations throughout the world. She currently lives in Jerusalem where she continues to write and edit material relating to Jewish causes.

From Publishers Weekly

Baffled by her own experience as well as those of friends, Margolese explores the phenomenon of yeshiva-educated children from observant homes abandoning their tradition, or "going off the derech path." Interviews with formerly observant Jews, as well as rabbis, educators, therapists and program directors uncover the emotional and intellectual complexity behind the phenomenon. "Most observant Jews seem to have left, not because the outside world pulled them in, but rather because the observant one pushed them out," she concludes. "They experienced Judaism as a source of pain rather than joy." Margolese, who returned to a religious lifestyle, views her findings as a wake-up call to reshape the observant world so it remains inspiring and inviting. Though some of her observations hardly break psychological ground-healthy parent- and teacher-child relationships ground self-esteem, for instance-they can have startling results when placed in the context of the religious world. She advocates focusing on meaning instead of on rules, and placing a child's emotional needs above his Torah observance. Though Jewish readers may be most interested in Margolese's subject, her conclusion will resonate with those of all faiths: "God cannot be confined to the narrow path we walk... neither can his people."
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Edition details

• Publisher: Devora Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1932687408
• ISBN 13: 9781932687408
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 429