Maiden of Ludmir: A Jewish Holy Woman and Her World

by Nathaniel Deutsch, Janusz Bardach (Foreword)

Hannah Rochel Verbermacher, a Hasidic holy woman known as the Maiden of Ludmir, was born in early-nineteenth-century Russia and became famous as the only woman in the three-hundred-year history of Hasidism to function as a rebbe―or charismatic leader―in her own right. Nathaniel Deutsch follows the traces left by the Maiden in both history and legend to fully explore her fascinating story for the first time. The Maiden of Ludmir offers powerful insights into the Jewish mystical tradition, into the Maiden’s place within it, and into the remarkable Jewish community of Ludmir. Her biography ultimately becomes a provocative meditation on the complex relationships between history and memory, Judaism and modernity.

History first finds the Maiden in the eastern European town of Ludmir, venerated by her followers as a master of the Kabbalah, teacher, and visionary, and accused by her detractors of being possessed by a dybbuk, or evil spirit. Deutsch traces the Maiden’s steps from Ludmir to Ottoman Palestine, where she eventually immigrated and re-established herself as a holy woman. While the Maiden’s story―including her adamant refusal to marry―recalls the lives of holy women in other traditions, it also brings to light the largely unwritten history of early-modern Jewish women. To this day, her transgressive behavior, a challenge to traditional Jewish views of gender and sexuality, continues to inspire debate and, sometimes, censorship within the Jewish community.

Genres: Nonfiction, Judaism, Jewish, Biography, History, Religion

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Nathaniel Deutsch is a professor at The University of California, Santa Cruz, where he is also the Co-Director of the Center for Jewish Studies and the Director of the Institute for Humanities Research.

Reviews

[Masha Shollar · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly well-researched and well written account of a Jewish woman who has been mostly lost to history. Deutsch uses first-hand accounts, Jewish history, mysticism, and political upheaval as lenses through which to contextualize and explain the rise and prominence of Chana Rochel Verbermacher; this book is not only a fascinating deconstruction of gender, social convention, and piety, it's an elegy for a world that no longer exists.

[Rivqa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This academic work is very approachable and deeply informative--not only about the titular Maiden, but also about Hasidic life in 19th-century Ukraine. Through this mysterious character who left few traces in male-dominated (and recorded) history, Deutsch has examined her contemporaries' views on gender and gender roles, class and spirituality. A fascinating read.

[Tepintzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are only bare bones evidence and lots of personal recollections of Hannah Rochel Werbermacher. Nathaniel Deutsch has successfully woven them together into a narrative whole. Unlike "They Called Her Rebbe", this is a scholarly work, although he still cites "Rebbe" in his research. Aside from collating what material is out there on the Maiden, Deutsch provides a lot of background on the Chasidic movements of the 19th century, how they changed over the decades, and how the Maiden interacted with them. I found this book to be even-handed and nuanced, locating the Maiden within Chasidism and Jewish mysticism.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

great research & entrancing subject but not exactly the liveliest read in the world