Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

Hasidic Judaism refers to a conservative and insular sect of Judaism that was popular in Eastern Europe. After many of these communities were decimated in concentration camps during WWII, the survivors began to set up enclaves in various locations, including New York City, and focused on growing their communities through reproduction. As Deborah explains in her Note from the Author, the Satmar community is a form of Hasidic Judaism. “Satmar” derives from the name of a small Hungarian town from where its rabbi fled after WWII before coming to New York and forming a Hasidic community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Kosher refers to the dietary and food preparation rules in Judaism. Within Judaism, there are different strata of kosher, a lesson that Deborah learns at a young age when she accepts candy from a Jewish girl, only to be told it is not the correct form of kosher. One of Deborah’s defining moments in her account is trying non-Kosher foods with her new friend Polly. After this dinner, she announces that she no longer wants to be Hasidic.