What do you think?
Rate this book
Free as a Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation
“Ruth Wisse’s intellectual autobiography is a lasting work of profound moral force and scathing political discernment.... Its illuminations are likely to be as urgent one hundred years hence as they are now.” —Cynthia Ozick
A Jewish child born into the worst of times in Europe grows up during the best of times in North America—only to recognize that it could be moving back in the opposite direction.
First came parents with the good sense to flee Europe in 1940 and the good fortune to reach the land of freedom. Their daughter, Ruth, grew up in the shadow of genocide—but in tandem with the birth of Israel, which remained her lodestar. She learned that although Jewishness is biologically transmitted, democracy is not, and both require intensive, intelligent transmission through education in each and every generation. They need adults with the confidence to teach their importance. Ruth tried to take on that challenge as dangers to freedom mounted and shifted sides on the political spectrum. At the high point of her teaching at Harvard University, she witnessed the unraveling of standards of honesty and truth until the academy she left was no longer the one she had entered.
A Jewish child born into the worst of times in Europe grows up during the best of times in North America—only to recognize that it could be moving back in the opposite direction.
First came parents with the good sense to flee Europe in 1940 and the good fortune to reach the land of freedom. Their daughter, Ruth, grew up in the shadow of genocide—but in tandem with the birth of Israel, which remained her lodestar. She learned that although Jewishness is biologically transmitted, democracy is not, and both require intensive, intelligent transmission through education in each and every generation. They need adults with the confidence to teach their importance. Ruth tried to take on that challenge as dangers to freedom mounted and shifted sides on the political spectrum. At the high point of her teaching at Harvard University, she witnessed the unraveling of standards of honesty and truth until the academy she left was no longer the one she had entered.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published September 21, 2021
61 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 5, 2021
About half way through Ruth Wisse’s memoir, “Free as a Jew,” I contemplated giving it a cautionary review. Having eagerly acquired the book upon its release, that reaction surprised me, but the book did not seem to be what I was expecting.
I’m a longtime admirer of Professor Wisse as a courageous and eloquent defender of liberal democracy and Israel, and a slashing critic of the illiberal, anti-intellectual and leftist direction of today’s American university. But before she began writing about politics, Professor Wisse was a preeminent scholar of Yiddish literature, and it was to that subject that the first part of her book seemed primarily devoted. It was, as she herself recognized at one point, largely an intellectual memoir. Lacking the intellectual and literary attainment to fully appreciate it, I thought similarly handicapped readers might find “Free as a Jew” of marginal interest.
Those concerns were erased by the latter part of the book, which is so powerful and beautifully written as to in itself warrant the highest recommendation. Nonetheless, the book’s most appreciative audience will still consist of conservatives, critics of academia, strong supporters of Israel and those with a strong Jewish identification.
I will not attempt to summarize Professor Wisse’s observations and arguments as to these subjects, because her rhetorical powers are so great that such an effort would inevitably do injustice to her and cause embarrassment to me. I will, however, note one passage of hers that I found particularly moving.
It’s been my experience that children of immigrants to the United States tend to have strongly patriotic feelings and be more inclined than those with longer histories in this country to view its failings with some perspective. Ms. Wisse was born in Eastern Europe in 1936 and, were it not for the perspicacity and determination of her father in getting his family out of Europe, she would have had effectively no chance of surviving the Holocaust. The family ultimately reached Canada, a country that had probably the worst record of any Western country in accepting Jews desperately trying to flee the Nazis.
Ms. Wisse recounts that her father, although open to the expression of just about any other opinion, asked her never to criticize Canada. But once, having learned of Canada’s cruel record regarding immigration during the war, she confronted him with the fact that Canada had provided refuge to so few when it could have saved so many. Yes, her father replied, but we were four of those whom it saved.
My parents were also refugees from the Nazis who reached the United States and had long and productive lives as physicians here. But their parents could find no country willing to take them and were all murdered. When I was already in my 40s and visiting my aunt in London, she told me of my father’s desperate efforts to get their parents out of Vienna and the anguish he felt at failing to do so.
Although better than Canada’s, America’s record of accepting refugees from the Nazis is hardly one in which to take pride. Breckenridge Long, the State Department official in charge of the granting U.S. visas, worked to limit Jewish immigration, even after the fact of mass murder by the Nazis became known. And the next book on my reading list, “The Jews Should Keep Quiet” by Rafael Madoff, apparently documents shockingly anti-Semitic views held by FDR that allegedly played a role in this.
Might I have known my grandparents had the United States taken a more humane attitude toward the endangered Jews of Europe? Perhaps. But though I want to know the historical facts, they do not affect my attitude about the United States, as they did not affect those of my parents, because we were among the three whom this blessed land saved.
Though I never talked to my parents about this, I learned from their experience, as Ruth Wisse did from that of her family, that “democracies, though they sometimes act badly, are no less precious and no less in need of our protection.” Near the end of her book, she writes
"Through this personal account, I convey my hope that my fellow citizens and people everywhere share my appreciation for the traditions of freedom that some of us inherit and others acquire. With the decline of formal expressions of gratitude like daily prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, the obligations attending them are likewise in danger of disappearing to the point where people born into this gift no longer realize that it must be reinforced and defended."
Through this book and her other writings, Ruth Wisse has brilliantly played her part in that reinforcement and defense. May the rest of us, according to our station, play ours.
I’m a longtime admirer of Professor Wisse as a courageous and eloquent defender of liberal democracy and Israel, and a slashing critic of the illiberal, anti-intellectual and leftist direction of today’s American university. But before she began writing about politics, Professor Wisse was a preeminent scholar of Yiddish literature, and it was to that subject that the first part of her book seemed primarily devoted. It was, as she herself recognized at one point, largely an intellectual memoir. Lacking the intellectual and literary attainment to fully appreciate it, I thought similarly handicapped readers might find “Free as a Jew” of marginal interest.
Those concerns were erased by the latter part of the book, which is so powerful and beautifully written as to in itself warrant the highest recommendation. Nonetheless, the book’s most appreciative audience will still consist of conservatives, critics of academia, strong supporters of Israel and those with a strong Jewish identification.
I will not attempt to summarize Professor Wisse’s observations and arguments as to these subjects, because her rhetorical powers are so great that such an effort would inevitably do injustice to her and cause embarrassment to me. I will, however, note one passage of hers that I found particularly moving.
It’s been my experience that children of immigrants to the United States tend to have strongly patriotic feelings and be more inclined than those with longer histories in this country to view its failings with some perspective. Ms. Wisse was born in Eastern Europe in 1936 and, were it not for the perspicacity and determination of her father in getting his family out of Europe, she would have had effectively no chance of surviving the Holocaust. The family ultimately reached Canada, a country that had probably the worst record of any Western country in accepting Jews desperately trying to flee the Nazis.
Ms. Wisse recounts that her father, although open to the expression of just about any other opinion, asked her never to criticize Canada. But once, having learned of Canada’s cruel record regarding immigration during the war, she confronted him with the fact that Canada had provided refuge to so few when it could have saved so many. Yes, her father replied, but we were four of those whom it saved.
My parents were also refugees from the Nazis who reached the United States and had long and productive lives as physicians here. But their parents could find no country willing to take them and were all murdered. When I was already in my 40s and visiting my aunt in London, she told me of my father’s desperate efforts to get their parents out of Vienna and the anguish he felt at failing to do so.
Although better than Canada’s, America’s record of accepting refugees from the Nazis is hardly one in which to take pride. Breckenridge Long, the State Department official in charge of the granting U.S. visas, worked to limit Jewish immigration, even after the fact of mass murder by the Nazis became known. And the next book on my reading list, “The Jews Should Keep Quiet” by Rafael Madoff, apparently documents shockingly anti-Semitic views held by FDR that allegedly played a role in this.
Might I have known my grandparents had the United States taken a more humane attitude toward the endangered Jews of Europe? Perhaps. But though I want to know the historical facts, they do not affect my attitude about the United States, as they did not affect those of my parents, because we were among the three whom this blessed land saved.
Though I never talked to my parents about this, I learned from their experience, as Ruth Wisse did from that of her family, that “democracies, though they sometimes act badly, are no less precious and no less in need of our protection.” Near the end of her book, she writes
"Through this personal account, I convey my hope that my fellow citizens and people everywhere share my appreciation for the traditions of freedom that some of us inherit and others acquire. With the decline of formal expressions of gratitude like daily prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, the obligations attending them are likewise in danger of disappearing to the point where people born into this gift no longer realize that it must be reinforced and defended."
Through this book and her other writings, Ruth Wisse has brilliantly played her part in that reinforcement and defense. May the rest of us, according to our station, play ours.
December 30, 2021
I read this book because I have read some articles by the author and have a lot of respect for her work and her political views, many of which I agree with. And there was a lot in this book to like and think about. She has led an interesting and fulfilling life and accomplished a lot for herself and for other people. But... for one thing, the book has more proofreading and grammatical errors than any book I have read recently, a sign of not enough editing. And there was a lot of name-dropping. For someone who is intellectually rigorous and expects that from others, this book was surprisingly lightweight. Perhaps I should have expected that from an autobiography. I am putting her book Jews and Power on my To-Read list because I'm sure it must provide a better picture of what she is like as an author and thinker. I'm giving this one 4 stars but I'm rounding up from 3.5.
August 28, 2022
Ruth Wisse has been an interesting voice in the Worldwide Jewish Conversation for many years. Starting as a professor in Yiddish Literature first in McGill University in Montreal where my wife had the privilege of attending a class she taught, to Harvard University, she has demonstrated her wisdom and intellect that goes way beyond her chosen field of study, and in turn has had much to say on many important topics.
One of her most recent articles "The Dark Side of Holocaust Education" published in "National Affairs" in the summer of 2022, when the knee jerk reaction to rising incidents of Antisemitism in the US and Worldwide is to increase Holocaust education, Ruth Wisse demurs from this approach of showing Jews as victims rather that highlighting their accomplishments! Taking stances that were against the common belief is nothing new to Ruth Wisse and that is what makes this book so interesting
I have to admit that my knowledge of Yiddish Literature is minimal at best. Having spoken a little Yiddish growing up, I am far from literate. And I have read some Yiddish literature in English translation including Y.L. Peretz, Shalom Alechem, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, Professor Wisse fills the book with references to the richness of this genre which has thus encouraged me to seek out and read more.
In addition, she goes into the the transition from Yiddish Literature to Jewish American Literature through Saul Bellows and Cynthia Ozick, all of which she had personal relationships with throughout her life and career just to name a few. There are many more she mentions, though interestingly, she never mentioned my favorite author, Herman Wouk, or his treatise on being raised a 2nd Generation Jew in the US, "Inside, Outside." I would love to question her on Herman Wouk, but that is for another day.
To say that she travelled in intellectual circles and interacted with some of the top people of her day is an understatement. First, the rich Jewish life of Montreal gave rise to many people who she knew growing up such as Leonard Cohen. And as her reputation grew, she was invited into various organizations and settings where she met many of the most important and influential Jews in the US and Israel.
And yes, there is a strong connection to Israel. Though she and her family did try to make Aliyah, only to return to Montreal, it is very clear throughout the book of her love and support for this country. As a friend of Hillen Halkin, I imagined him writing "Letters to an American Jewish Friend; A Zionist Polemic" to her. It was interested to read that Hillel had considered writing the letters to her and having her respond,
And perhaps the shining example of such affection and her intellectual approach is her opposition to the Oslo Accords which she shared her initial reaction when it was first announced. How could anybody oppose peace; however, she recognized that Yasser Arafat was a terrorist, not a peace maker, just as Natan Sharansky pointed out in his book "Never Alone." Both objected to elevating the man from a terrorist into an international politician and predicted the end result; a very unpopular opinion in the day.
However, to me, the most important point of the book is her observations on how society itself was changing both in general and in the Jewish communities of North America. To me, her observations were on point. Her disappointment with the Harvard Community she joined and spent significant time at is a clear view of what is going on inside of college campuses. It is something that every Jewish parent, who strives to send their children to a top university in North America must pay attention to before sending their children packing. She also touches on and shares some observations of the Liberal Jewish Community of North America which should be a clarion call for all those who live there. She has written a book on this topic, "If I Am Not For Myself, The Liberal Portrayal of the Jews," which is on my must read list. Another of her books I am putting on my reading list "Jews and Power."
This by far is one of the most powerful and thoroughly enjoyable books I have read in quite some time. It is an extremely easy read and well worth the time!
One of her most recent articles "The Dark Side of Holocaust Education" published in "National Affairs" in the summer of 2022, when the knee jerk reaction to rising incidents of Antisemitism in the US and Worldwide is to increase Holocaust education, Ruth Wisse demurs from this approach of showing Jews as victims rather that highlighting their accomplishments! Taking stances that were against the common belief is nothing new to Ruth Wisse and that is what makes this book so interesting
I have to admit that my knowledge of Yiddish Literature is minimal at best. Having spoken a little Yiddish growing up, I am far from literate. And I have read some Yiddish literature in English translation including Y.L. Peretz, Shalom Alechem, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, Professor Wisse fills the book with references to the richness of this genre which has thus encouraged me to seek out and read more.
In addition, she goes into the the transition from Yiddish Literature to Jewish American Literature through Saul Bellows and Cynthia Ozick, all of which she had personal relationships with throughout her life and career just to name a few. There are many more she mentions, though interestingly, she never mentioned my favorite author, Herman Wouk, or his treatise on being raised a 2nd Generation Jew in the US, "Inside, Outside." I would love to question her on Herman Wouk, but that is for another day.
To say that she travelled in intellectual circles and interacted with some of the top people of her day is an understatement. First, the rich Jewish life of Montreal gave rise to many people who she knew growing up such as Leonard Cohen. And as her reputation grew, she was invited into various organizations and settings where she met many of the most important and influential Jews in the US and Israel.
And yes, there is a strong connection to Israel. Though she and her family did try to make Aliyah, only to return to Montreal, it is very clear throughout the book of her love and support for this country. As a friend of Hillen Halkin, I imagined him writing "Letters to an American Jewish Friend; A Zionist Polemic" to her. It was interested to read that Hillel had considered writing the letters to her and having her respond,
And perhaps the shining example of such affection and her intellectual approach is her opposition to the Oslo Accords which she shared her initial reaction when it was first announced. How could anybody oppose peace; however, she recognized that Yasser Arafat was a terrorist, not a peace maker, just as Natan Sharansky pointed out in his book "Never Alone." Both objected to elevating the man from a terrorist into an international politician and predicted the end result; a very unpopular opinion in the day.
However, to me, the most important point of the book is her observations on how society itself was changing both in general and in the Jewish communities of North America. To me, her observations were on point. Her disappointment with the Harvard Community she joined and spent significant time at is a clear view of what is going on inside of college campuses. It is something that every Jewish parent, who strives to send their children to a top university in North America must pay attention to before sending their children packing. She also touches on and shares some observations of the Liberal Jewish Community of North America which should be a clarion call for all those who live there. She has written a book on this topic, "If I Am Not For Myself, The Liberal Portrayal of the Jews," which is on my must read list. Another of her books I am putting on my reading list "Jews and Power."
This by far is one of the most powerful and thoroughly enjoyable books I have read in quite some time. It is an extremely easy read and well worth the time!
December 5, 2024
I've admired her spirited defenses of Israel's right to exist, of Harvard's dissenters against craven groupthink, and her research on Yiddish literary and cultural persistence in the Old and New Worlds. Her autobiography (as another reviewer on Goodreads agreed) feels less weighty and more chatty, with names from her girlhood pal Leonard Cohen in postwar bourgeois Montreal to Norman Podheretz, Marty Peretz, and Zalman Bernstein of the neo-con NYC stable, to Saul Bellow and Hillel Halkin among many other (mainly Jewish) intellectuals and influencers abundant on every page.
Still, Wisse, who came to Canada with her well-off, educated family during the "khurban" as WWII erupted, from Romania as a four-year-old, does share her own evolution from a Red fellow traveller if of the less culpable folk-music teenaged contingent in the Cold War, into a youthful convert to sensible conservative thought, way before it was fashionable, around Ike is Right's '56 campaign.
Her subtitle's awkward. She attempts to elaborate why patriotism's not a dirty word, why continuity of what our elders have forged and struggled to pass on matters, and how promiscuity, lack of responsibility, and hedonism have undermined stability among recent generations, outmoded as these notions sound. She recognizes how being a woman hindered and then helped her, as she'd never have, even in the early '90s, landed her a coveted position at the top of the professorial profession in Jewish Studies. She shows how her struggle to shine a light on Yiddish within that penumbra gained her first acclaim and then disdain, as many colleagues turned against Israel, and abandoned their principles to embrace the shibboleths of the New Left, Soviet lies, and what's now the mainstream in education and activism, via proponents as "victims" and of intersectionality.
She's sharp on why Philip Roth can't go the distance compared to those who delved as Yiddish thinkers at the cusp of modernity, into the Jewish experience of acculturation, for instance, as he'd drawing from a far shallower well of tradition, as one in the vanguard of giving in to intermarriage, within the dominant American society and its secular mores. Such glimpses into her lit-crit career give promise. However, she offers nearly nothing about teaching actual flesh-and-blood adepts until a couple of generalized anecdotes from Harvard. These usefully display the surrender to the customer-service, fear of litigation, and "I can't do this reading because I find the author 'racist'" mentality that began in the 1990s, and became the S.O.P. for anyone dealing with campus clientele.
Her memoir integrates mentors, and books which guided, stimulated, frustrated, and agitated. It's evident how often in her academic stint she faced opposition by what later would be called "self-hating" Jews, and their corollary, anti-Zionists from among her supposed "cousins" as comrades and colleagues in her political, journalistic, and scholarly circles. She presciently caught on, through her research on manifestations of Yiddish radicals who rushed to renounce their heritage, and curry favor with their opponents to Jewish survival a century before, to how deeply patterns of turning against one's own kith and kin were cut into modern assimilation and denial of one's collective loyalties. And to Wisse's credit, she acknowledges her own mistakes, gaffes, and misstatements.
I admit, as to prejudice, my own distaste for this Ivy League/ elite establishment, which as this former Columbia doctoral student, McGill-Stanford-tenured Harvard professor epitomizes, runs the show across North America. As she notes, the heads of those on its campuses today are varied as race and gender categories officially approved go. (As a relevant aside on GR, you can hear reviewers who echo the views of her opponents, in anti-Zionist and pro-feminist "bien-pensant" lockstep.)
Given today's ranks consolidate, around as rigidly as hidebound WASP predecessors, as to Politburo conformity to received notions of what's tacitly or explicitly sanctioned "correct" by administration and their DEI/Title IX bureaucrats. Wisse doesn't seem to be in touch with us stuck as everyday folks outside East Coast bastions of either privileged lefty or equally at-ease right-wing think tanks, seminars, dinners, and keynote speakers. Her "cri de coeur" addresses those within these networks of philanthropy and endowments; such roundtable conference insularity betrays its own exclusions.
I sympathize with quite a few of her views (although I missed any retrospective admission of the responsibility that her friends in high places had in the Beltway and Manhattan for engineering the War on Terror two-odd decades ago). Yet I reacted as if she and titled acquaintances enjoy a rarified atmosphere of affluence (if not wealthy, a chair at this echelon in Cambridge or Palo Alto, say, earns far above what 99% of us will), "who you know," and easy access which separate this creative and chattering class from working stiffs with worries of paying the rent. Wisse reliably expounds urgent concerns. But these preoccupied reflections, however heartfelt and backed by contemplation into action, seem suited for only her erudite milieu; it's hard to think of many who don't enter these august hallways, grand hotels, c-suites, or faculty meetings who'd commiserate much with her ilk.
Still, Wisse, who came to Canada with her well-off, educated family during the "khurban" as WWII erupted, from Romania as a four-year-old, does share her own evolution from a Red fellow traveller if of the less culpable folk-music teenaged contingent in the Cold War, into a youthful convert to sensible conservative thought, way before it was fashionable, around Ike is Right's '56 campaign.
Her subtitle's awkward. She attempts to elaborate why patriotism's not a dirty word, why continuity of what our elders have forged and struggled to pass on matters, and how promiscuity, lack of responsibility, and hedonism have undermined stability among recent generations, outmoded as these notions sound. She recognizes how being a woman hindered and then helped her, as she'd never have, even in the early '90s, landed her a coveted position at the top of the professorial profession in Jewish Studies. She shows how her struggle to shine a light on Yiddish within that penumbra gained her first acclaim and then disdain, as many colleagues turned against Israel, and abandoned their principles to embrace the shibboleths of the New Left, Soviet lies, and what's now the mainstream in education and activism, via proponents as "victims" and of intersectionality.
She's sharp on why Philip Roth can't go the distance compared to those who delved as Yiddish thinkers at the cusp of modernity, into the Jewish experience of acculturation, for instance, as he'd drawing from a far shallower well of tradition, as one in the vanguard of giving in to intermarriage, within the dominant American society and its secular mores. Such glimpses into her lit-crit career give promise. However, she offers nearly nothing about teaching actual flesh-and-blood adepts until a couple of generalized anecdotes from Harvard. These usefully display the surrender to the customer-service, fear of litigation, and "I can't do this reading because I find the author 'racist'" mentality that began in the 1990s, and became the S.O.P. for anyone dealing with campus clientele.
Her memoir integrates mentors, and books which guided, stimulated, frustrated, and agitated. It's evident how often in her academic stint she faced opposition by what later would be called "self-hating" Jews, and their corollary, anti-Zionists from among her supposed "cousins" as comrades and colleagues in her political, journalistic, and scholarly circles. She presciently caught on, through her research on manifestations of Yiddish radicals who rushed to renounce their heritage, and curry favor with their opponents to Jewish survival a century before, to how deeply patterns of turning against one's own kith and kin were cut into modern assimilation and denial of one's collective loyalties. And to Wisse's credit, she acknowledges her own mistakes, gaffes, and misstatements.
I admit, as to prejudice, my own distaste for this Ivy League/ elite establishment, which as this former Columbia doctoral student, McGill-Stanford-tenured Harvard professor epitomizes, runs the show across North America. As she notes, the heads of those on its campuses today are varied as race and gender categories officially approved go. (As a relevant aside on GR, you can hear reviewers who echo the views of her opponents, in anti-Zionist and pro-feminist "bien-pensant" lockstep.)
Given today's ranks consolidate, around as rigidly as hidebound WASP predecessors, as to Politburo conformity to received notions of what's tacitly or explicitly sanctioned "correct" by administration and their DEI/Title IX bureaucrats. Wisse doesn't seem to be in touch with us stuck as everyday folks outside East Coast bastions of either privileged lefty or equally at-ease right-wing think tanks, seminars, dinners, and keynote speakers. Her "cri de coeur" addresses those within these networks of philanthropy and endowments; such roundtable conference insularity betrays its own exclusions.
I sympathize with quite a few of her views (although I missed any retrospective admission of the responsibility that her friends in high places had in the Beltway and Manhattan for engineering the War on Terror two-odd decades ago). Yet I reacted as if she and titled acquaintances enjoy a rarified atmosphere of affluence (if not wealthy, a chair at this echelon in Cambridge or Palo Alto, say, earns far above what 99% of us will), "who you know," and easy access which separate this creative and chattering class from working stiffs with worries of paying the rent. Wisse reliably expounds urgent concerns. But these preoccupied reflections, however heartfelt and backed by contemplation into action, seem suited for only her erudite milieu; it's hard to think of many who don't enter these august hallways, grand hotels, c-suites, or faculty meetings who'd commiserate much with her ilk.
December 5, 2023
Another remarkable book by this inspiring scholar. The memoir begins with Wisse's early life--her family's escape from Romania in 1940 and her childhood in Montreal as the children of parents who are grieving for many of their family members who perished during the Holocaust. She details her education and eventual introduction into the academic world as a Yiddish studies expert. She taught at McGill University and later went on to Harvard, where in the third part of the book she analyzes the steep decline of civic discourse due to many factors among students and administrators. All throughout the book Wisse interacts with intellectual greats such as Isaac Bashevis Singer (whom she fondly refers to as Bashevis), Leonard Cohen, Saul Bellow, and a host of other poets, writers, and academics.
This brief review can't possibly do this incredible book justice. There is so much more in these pages, including the formation of Israel and its continual fight against those who want to destroy it; relations between politicians and countries; cultural shifts at universities and in the larger sphere of societies; interpersonal relationships and how they are affected by work and motivation; and the drive to continue the quest to learn and teach others. One of the most phenomenal, intellectually rewarding books I've ever read.
This brief review can't possibly do this incredible book justice. There is so much more in these pages, including the formation of Israel and its continual fight against those who want to destroy it; relations between politicians and countries; cultural shifts at universities and in the larger sphere of societies; interpersonal relationships and how they are affected by work and motivation; and the drive to continue the quest to learn and teach others. One of the most phenomenal, intellectually rewarding books I've ever read.
December 30, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. It likely appeals only to a very small market -- basically people deeply invested and interested in modern Jewish history and culture.
Professor Wisse's autobiography also serves as a first-hand view of the intellectual history of modern Jewish thought. We get to meet up close the personalities she has interacted with which include many of the thinkers who have shaped the Jewish present following the holocaust -- from all the famous Yiddish writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer, through modern zionist thinkers like Hillel Halkin, and including Jewish religious thinkers like David Hartman. We accompany her on her personal journey from culture-based, Yiddish-centric Judaism in Montreal, through socialist zionist camps, a stint in Israel, academia at Columbia, McGill and Harvard, and to her modern day position as a leader in the conservative think tank world.
Worth a read if you traffic in the world of ideas!
Professor Wisse's autobiography also serves as a first-hand view of the intellectual history of modern Jewish thought. We get to meet up close the personalities she has interacted with which include many of the thinkers who have shaped the Jewish present following the holocaust -- from all the famous Yiddish writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer, through modern zionist thinkers like Hillel Halkin, and including Jewish religious thinkers like David Hartman. We accompany her on her personal journey from culture-based, Yiddish-centric Judaism in Montreal, through socialist zionist camps, a stint in Israel, academia at Columbia, McGill and Harvard, and to her modern day position as a leader in the conservative think tank world.
Worth a read if you traffic in the world of ideas!
June 13, 2024
We read parts of this in my WOC group.
This reads like a promotional book for Zionism: Wisse's theory seems to be Israel, Israel, Israel.
She fails to mention that, in order for white European women like her to steal Indigenous land and rename it 'Israel,' it first had to be stolen from the actual Indigenous people, Palestinians. This has required constant genocide for 76 years.
Why did this white woman, of European descent, cling to someone else's land so vigorously? Probably because she knows, deep inside, that she doesn't belong there.
Wisse has a long history of being racist, anti-Palestinian, and generally repugnant in the manner of coddled white women from the US: she deludes she's a 'victim' when she is actually an oppressor.
Sadly, even more racist than Phyllis Chesler, though this may be hard to believe until witnessed.
We recommend facetiously for a few laughs, if not disgust.
This reads like a promotional book for Zionism: Wisse's theory seems to be Israel, Israel, Israel.
She fails to mention that, in order for white European women like her to steal Indigenous land and rename it 'Israel,' it first had to be stolen from the actual Indigenous people, Palestinians. This has required constant genocide for 76 years.
Why did this white woman, of European descent, cling to someone else's land so vigorously? Probably because she knows, deep inside, that she doesn't belong there.
Wisse has a long history of being racist, anti-Palestinian, and generally repugnant in the manner of coddled white women from the US: she deludes she's a 'victim' when she is actually an oppressor.
Sadly, even more racist than Phyllis Chesler, though this may be hard to believe until witnessed.
We recommend facetiously for a few laughs, if not disgust.
January 20, 2022
As a reader, I found, Ruth Wisse's book, "Free As A Jew", to be very thought provoking. Even though not all Jewish People live in Israel, history has shown that the Jewish Homeland must always be there. History has shown what happened when Israel was not there to take in Europe's Jews. I also learned about Her life growing up in Montreal Canada. I was glad that the author was a proud Jewish Woman. In her memoir, she writes about Individuals who are self-hating Jews. Many of them are from the Far Left. Sad but true. I also understood why Ruth Wisse became more Conservative as she got older.
In addition , she writes about her experience teaching in Harvard. It seemed only the Far Left liberal view was tolerated over there. In conclusion, "Free As A Jew", is a book well worth reading.
In addition , she writes about her experience teaching in Harvard. It seemed only the Far Left liberal view was tolerated over there. In conclusion, "Free As A Jew", is a book well worth reading.
February 26, 2022
I enjoyed this book but it was difficult at times given the authors diversion into various literary works, which discussions were used to explain the stories she was telling. What I found interesting was her story, her family history in Vilna and migration to Canada, her Jewish life and the stories she told about Jewish life in general and her academic career. She discussed some of the anti Semitism on campus that she experienced, along with Larry Summers and Alan Dershowitz. She dove into politics and touched on some criticism of Jews on the left as well.
Because of her deep knowledge of Yiddish, I’m going to send the letter from my grandmother Fanny Katz, that she sent to her sister in the 1970’s before she passed away. Hopefully she can translate the letter or have a student do it. The author is reachable via her email address @ Harvard.
Because of her deep knowledge of Yiddish, I’m going to send the letter from my grandmother Fanny Katz, that she sent to her sister in the 1970’s before she passed away. Hopefully she can translate the letter or have a student do it. The author is reachable via her email address @ Harvard.
December 21, 2021
We desperately need more courageous professors of the caliber of Ruth Wise in this hostile world of academia! She is a proud Jew, fabulous scholar, and a Zionist. She is a writer and lecturer with great charisma and strong principles. I wish I had been her student back in the 1970’s but am grateful that Tikvah fund allows me to attend her virtual lectures in 2021. This is a very detailed and well-written memoir. It made me want to learn Yiddish.
February 25, 2024
While, as a rabid feminist, I take significant issue with aspects of Wisse's politics, as a would-be student of Yiddish literature in translation, this academic memoir was invaluable for generating a self-guided syllabus. I also think it worthwhile to seek out perspectives like hers that differ from mine but are not merely based on knee-jerk reactivity. Though she and I are not aligned, clearly she forms her views based on careful reasoning and reliable sources.
June 13, 2022
Wow. Intense.
August 25, 2023
This was more of an academic based memoir. It is well written, but it wasn't for me.
December 16, 2024
Interesting autobiography of a strong woman who made an impact
July 16, 2025
Ruth Wisse is a formidable woman with prescient instinct and intellect.
January 1, 2022
Extraordinary Life
While this memoir may not be for everyone, I found it an extraordinary view of 20th to 21 at century intellectual life. Prof. WIsse is the embodiment of scholarly research, enthusiasm for learning, and the love of literature that is a joy to read. While she and I might not agree on many political issues, I wish I’d had the opportunity to study with her over the years and I appreciate the opportunity to read her other works to further understand her point of view.
A great, intellectually stirring memoir.
While this memoir may not be for everyone, I found it an extraordinary view of 20th to 21 at century intellectual life. Prof. WIsse is the embodiment of scholarly research, enthusiasm for learning, and the love of literature that is a joy to read. While she and I might not agree on many political issues, I wish I’d had the opportunity to study with her over the years and I appreciate the opportunity to read her other works to further understand her point of view.
A great, intellectually stirring memoir.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews