A Time to Rend, A Time to Sew

by Rachel Pomerantz

Upbringing, education, career, family these are the threads that comprise the fabric of one's existence. But for some people, there comes a time to rend that fabric, a wrenching time fraught with inner turmoil and conflict, until that fabric is finally sewn anew to form a richer, more pleasing pattern. The painstaking restitching demands great care and endless patience, but the satisfying results justify the effort.

Genres: Jewish, Fiction

422 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Pen-name for Malka Schaps, Israel’s first female Haredi dean.

Reviews

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Khay just reminded me about this one. Certainly better than most frum books at least in its content but as I recall it was another case that I thought it was well written when I was nine and then turned around in high school and found it stilted and dry. More and more I am seeing that frum books take on the same 'excellent writing' as productions and Artscroll - melodramatic and some fancy words thrown in but no real sense of subtelty or dimension. I remember though I read this well over ten years ago that there was a lot of tell don't show as well as needing the plot to move in certian directions and so the characters followed suit, not to mention poor dialogue. Still, I recall appreciating a more realistic look at the ba'al teshuva experience and what coems along with that.

[Chava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I found the characters relatable, a strong sense of place in both New York City and Jerusalem, and, as the blurb says on the back of the book, a compelling story of people "struggling to resolve conflicts between secular ambitions and a rewarding Jewish life."