Chutzpah High Heels The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land eBook Jessica Fishman
Download As PDF : Chutzpah High Heels The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land eBook Jessica Fishman 
Having grown up in Minnesota, Jessica Fishman moves to a land in the Middle East that is full of idiosyncrasies, terrorists, and beautiful, olive-skinned men. When she arrives in Israel, she is a wide-eyed immigrant hoping to survive on Zionism. But instead of working the land on a kibbutz or being swept off her feet by a strong, sensitive Israeli soldier, Jessica is faced with a barrage of ridiculous obstacles. She overcomes notorious Israeli bureaucracy, makes embarrassing mistakes learning Hebrew, serves in an army of teenagers, and dates cocky Israelis, until she finally meets one obstacle, rooted in the very ideology that brought her to Israel, that tests the core of her identity. With self-deprecating wit, Jessica takes us on a personal journey through these challenges, weaving a humorous yet heartbreaking tale about losing and finding identity, and offering a seldom-before-seen snapshot of Israeli culture.
Chutzpah High Heels The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land eBook Jessica Fishman
A book that is hard to put down. This is a terrific book in general, but anyone Jewish, curious about Judaism, or curious about living in Israel would benefit. I have a feeling that this story really does not end where the book finished - so she needs to write a sequel, or a part two, or revise the book on its next release. I admire her - she has more chutzpah than I do. At times this book is laugh out loud hysterical. Israel definitely has a big problem. It is allowing the Ultra Orthodox too much power. The country cannot work as a theocracy. It is hard for me to identify with Orthodoxy because of how women are treated differently. You have two forces working against each other - The Law of Return (which for me is actually too lenient) versus the all Orthodox Israeli Rabbinate who says that you either have to be a convert to Orthodoxy - or prove that you have a Jewish biological mother - to be a Jew. I do have respect for those that want to feel this way (to a certain degree - extreme fundamentalism, not so much - spitting, throwing stones, rejoicing that you are not a female). But the country needs to change and allow other branches of Judaism to thrive. The author here says that she is an atheist (although I thought there were a couple lines in the book where she did say that she prayed - if so, to who?). Love to have a discussion with her on that because I find the concept of atheism so foreign. Needless to say, she is pretty amazing, and this is a wonderful book.Product details
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Chutzpah High Heels The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land eBook Jessica Fishman Reviews
I absolutely LOVED this book! I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in Israel, and what life is "really" like. If you've spent time in Israel on a program in high school, college, or any other time, or are contemplating moving to Israel, this book will put many things into perspective. At times, I was laughing out loud, and at others, I was upset for what the author was going through. I have already recommended it to friends & family & I know that at some time in the future, I'll read it again as I truly enjoyed it. I'm hoping that Jessica Fishman continues to write. I know I would buy another book written by her.
This is a great read- very entertaining [funny, heartrending, and dramatic at turns] and fascinating all around. Not only is the story of the author's journey worth reading in its own right, but the insight into Israel as a country and the cultural picture it paints of the nation is incredibly interesting. The personal tale Ms. Fishman shares paints a refreshing portrait of another human being and helps remind me how big the world is and how different we all can be- and that diversity is a grand thing.
If I had one disappointment in the book it'd be that it wasn't long enough [meant as a compliment, really] and didn't go into enough detail about the wild and wooly world of Israeli politics, laws, military motivations, and customs. I'd love to read a companion book that fleshes out more of how the bureaucratic processes for various services work [or don't] in Israel and which delves into some of the other idiosyncrasies touched on in the telling of the story but which aren't fully explored [fairly, for the sake of pacing]. I imagine there are already books out there covering those subjects but one written by Ms. Fishman, I suspect, would be much more entertaining!
Back to the book that's been written, though... Another thing I loved was the knowledge I gained on the interconnection between the religious and secular powers in Israel- which ultimately lead to what I interpret as the crux of the story- and how they're far more complicated than I realized. What I learned in the book has changed how I view Israel, for certain. It's a much more complex country than I'd realized- and I knew it was complex to begin with.
I truly hope there's a sequel forthcoming- would love to read the story of what happened next and how Ms. Fishman has gotten to where she is now.
A distressing but interesting read, sort of like a detailed description of an impending train wreck. I couldn't put it down, but it raised some questions that make this personal narrative problematic.
Jessica, daughter of a Conservative Movement convert to Judaism, sets out on her journey to fulfill her Jewish identity by moving to Israel. This is her "Secret" with a capital S. This is problematic as the Israeli Rabbinate does not recognize Conservative conversion as authentic, but instead of dealing with this in a sincere way, she forges a connection to a Conservative rabbi in Israel named Nouriel -- and then gets his help forging a legal document attesting to her Jewish identity while in Jerusalem. In other words, she realizes that her fundamental identity as a Jew is questionable due to her mother's Conservative conversion, but instead of trying to be sincere and authentic, perpetuates a fraud. Without knowing whether this part of her story is true or not, I assure you that if a rabbi is helping to commit this kind of fraud, it is seriously scandalous.
But she already has disdain for other "types" of Jews -- her sorority sisters at AEPi who she judges superficial, a "dirty" family, to begin with. Later she extends her contempt to modestly dressed Orthodox girls on an airplane, and "stinky Penguins," by which she means Orthodox men.
The rest of her tale is about seeing how far she can use chutzpah (nerve and pushiness) to force others to accept her on these artificial terms. This includes trying to manipulate her boyfriend into marrying her despite not being recognized as Jewish; Her refusal to go through a straightforward conversion herself; Attempting to bribe several Orthodox and Hassidic rabbis to lie about her religious status . . . it goes on and on.
The editing of the book is problematic because it is mostly missing, and the publisher did not help the author with simple copyediting so there are several confusing errors, including an extra page 145-146. Yotzeret Publishing is an extremely small house and only produces one or two books a year. They did not spring for fact-checking either. On page 250 the author writes "Anyone with the last name Cohen, Kahn, or Katz is conidered to be a descendant of a priest from First Temple Times" -- this is absolutely 100% incorrect. Surnames have nothing at all to do with priestly caste in Judaism. Elsewhere the author states that she was told a convert to Judaism has to have rabbinic proof of virginity -- this is also completely untrue. She reports a tearful conversation with her father in which he says he feels his wife was "raped.....penetrated and violated" when a Chabad rabbi confirms that her Conservative religious conversion is not considered reliable by many, if not most, other religious establishments. While it is sad that the family received disappointing news, I am sure that victims of genuine rape might think this is a pretty questionable comparison.
So why give the book two stars instead of just one? The story gets five stars for entertainment value, but most autobiographies are engaging because the author has gained perspective or understanding from her experiences -- and Jessica Fishman did not convey that she had learned anything about herself or anyone else. In the end it read as an exhausting tantrum from someone more spoiled a pouty than the sorority sisters she derided, stomping angrily out of a country that in the end could not be bullied to suit her needs.
A book that is hard to put down. This is a terrific book in general, but anyone Jewish, curious about Judaism, or curious about living in Israel would benefit. I have a feeling that this story really does not end where the book finished - so she needs to write a sequel, or a part two, or revise the book on its next release. I admire her - she has more chutzpah than I do. At times this book is laugh out loud hysterical. Israel definitely has a big problem. It is allowing the Ultra Orthodox too much power. The country cannot work as a theocracy. It is hard for me to identify with Orthodoxy because of how women are treated differently. You have two forces working against each other - The Law of Return (which for me is actually too lenient) versus the all Orthodox Israeli Rabbinate who says that you either have to be a convert to Orthodoxy - or prove that you have a Jewish biological mother - to be a Jew. I do have respect for those that want to feel this way (to a certain degree - extreme fundamentalism, not so much - spitting, throwing stones, rejoicing that you are not a female). But the country needs to change and allow other branches of Judaism to thrive. The author here says that she is an atheist (although I thought there were a couple lines in the book where she did say that she prayed - if so, to who?). Love to have a discussion with her on that because I find the concept of atheism so foreign. Needless to say, she is pretty amazing, and this is a wonderful book.
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