Inside a Hasidic Schism
The powerful Gur sect in Israel has been rocked by internal violence, scandal and more. On two evenings in late May, the streets of Jerusalem were once again the scene of violent riots. Incensed mobs threw stones, glass […]
Category Archives: Religion
Blinded by a Black Hat
Israel would do well to examine why in the Shitrit murder, and many other cases involving rabbinical misconduct, authorities often turn a blind eye. I remember the Shitrit family. Very devout new immigrants from Morocco, they lived in […]
An Observant Wife
An Observant Wife is the sequel to my previous book, An Unorthodox Match, the story of California girl Lola, whose thoroughly modern secular life implodes without warning. After years fruitlessly searching for love, marriage, and children, she decides to take the radical step of seeking spirituality and meaning far outside the parameters of modern life […]
Why I Left Jerusalem
After 50-something years, and to the astonishment of our children and grandchildren, at the end of June my husband and I packed up our things and left Jerusalem, moving halfway across the country to settle in Zichron Yaakov, […]
An Observant Wife
My new book, An Observant Wife, which is a sequel to An Unorthodox Match will be published on September 14th. Here’s a comment by an early reader: “Long before Shtisel and Unorthodox reached television screens, Naomi Ragen had […]
Goodbye 2020. Welcome 2021!
Dear 2020, Here we are at the eve of your departure. I have to admit that I’m thrilled to see you go. But I wouldn’t want you to fade into oblivion before reminding us both of the remarkable […]
An Unorthodox Match now in Paperback
Just a note to let you know that the paperback edition of An Unorthodox Match is officially coming out today, November 24. I’ve also just finished the sequel, An Observant Wife, which takes the love story of Yaakov and […]
COVID is Ripping Israel Apart
When COVID-19 reached Israel last March, I was not unduly worried. Fifty years of firsthand experience with Israeli resilience and mutual cooperation, through wars, recessions, exploding buses and deep political turmoil, made me believe we would sail through […]
The Rebellion of Israel’s Haredim
In mid-January 2020, when Israelis first became dimly aware of a mysterious new virus coming from far-off China, most of our attention was focused closer to home. Although we empathized, we were more concerned about the inability of […]