The Sacrifice of Tamar by Naomi Ragen

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48139

Naughty premises and then goes where it shouldn't have.....I was sorry I read it!

Gold Member Joined: Oct 17 2006 Posts: 1004

I read it after high school. Didn't you know what it was about before you read it?
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If you try to help others, you too will feel better - Wise old goat

Chocolate Moose: Didn't I warn you to stop reading her!!! Laughing

(referring to a Naomi Regan post when I mentioned she's very gifted but very anti haredi)

Never mind, I"m not your mother...to be honest, I'm tempted to read her myself, but your negative reviews of her book save me a lot of time and money!!!

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48139

lol

I thought it was an explanation of the Bible sotry, sort of what I thougth the Red Tent would be.

Now that I read all of her books, I guess I can stop.

Silver Member Joined: Aug 30 2006 Posts: 760

I think she's talented. It's a shame that she "airs dirty laundry". I always like her articles about Israel.

Gold Member Joined: Apr 06 2006 Posts: 1492

I thought it was better than Jephte's Daughter. It was one of my favorite books.

I wouldn't say it's anti-charedi, period. The Kovnitzer Rebbe saves the day with the grandson's bris, for example, and there is also strong admiration for her dh, who is staunchly dedicated to following halacha. He stands solidly behind Aaron even when he discovers the truth. Don't forget - the ultimate conclusion was that halacha is a system based on kindness, and if Tamar had asked a shaila, she would have received a favorable response.

The criticism is largely aimed at certain attitudes which may exist in some Charedi circles, but have no basis in halacha - things like hiding problems, for example. At the same time, there was a degree of sympathy for the circumstances, esp. with Holocaust survivors, that may cause people to hide problems. Shortly before I read the book, I learned that a woman who had been like a grandmother to me had hidden from me the fact that she had a developmentally handicapped daughter, so this aspect of the book rang true for me.

To be brutally honest about the "dirty laundry" issue - I've seen far more of it on this site, even those boards which are accessible to the public, than I got from her books. Talk about attitudes toward finances, extreme shidduch fears, past discussion of the "S" word, etc.

Platinum Member Joined: Jun 09 2005 Posts: 11840

I think her criticism (throughout all her books) is aimed at the supposed phenomenon of women not knowing enough about the halachic system to avoid needless suffering.
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Dip the apple in the honey...

Silver Member Joined: Jun 05 2006 Posts: 894

Platinum Member Joined: Jun 09 2005 Posts: 11840

Of course there are always people in every society that don't know enough to protect themselves from harm.

I'm not sure it's any worse in the frum community. I don't know enough about it.