••••• ••••• ♦ •• ••• ■ • • ♦ • ■ • ♦ •• •• 4 MEWS Cum OF CONGREGATION BETH MOM • • 4 • 4 Reli of 1' .bear able ■ invites you to attend an • These stories are filled with sadness selves. I was questioning all along, as I as well as humor, as the characters face was trained to do." the mysteries of their lives. Englander says that he started writ- In this reviewer's favorite story, ing seriously "when I gave up on wanti- "The Wig," Ruchama makes beautiful ng to be a writer." Living in New York wigs for Orthodox women who "circle City, he got a job working in a high- the globe to see Ruchama, because rise building that enabled him to spend they are trapped in their modesty and time concentrating on his writing. A want to feel, even as illusion, the sim- friend's mother, whom he describes as ple pleasure of wind in their hair." his "patron saint," was his first editor, On trips into the city for supplies, working with him on The Twenty- uchama steals looks at glossy seventh Man" and convincing him to women's magazines to see the latest attend the Iowa Writer's Workshop. hairstyles, and fantasizes about the In 1995, his first story was sold to lives of the women in the shampoo Story magazine, and from there his ads, and about her own long, beautiful career grew, and he met the agent who hair, cut off when she married. When sold the collection to Knopf she sees a delivery man with long, Englander seems to take none of this thick curls, she convinces him to let success for granted, repeatedly her cut and buy his over the course of the inter- 1-air, and she secret- view thanking the people ly fashions an who helped him. "I'm For immodest wig for numb. There's too much to herself absorb. It's not reality yet," Englander, whose he says. own shoulder-length Englander says that his 6 black hair is in ringlet work is "extremely autobio- curls, understands the graphical, not in setting and Orthodox world inti- tone, [but] the more ethereal mately. Although his stuff" Readers who share his lifestyle is now decid- knowledge of Hebrew will S edly secular, he grew appreciate some insider's up in an Orthodox plays on words; those who lander N1 athan community in West don't won't miss anything Hempstead, Long essential to the story. Island, and attended In "The Tumblers," the one story yeshiva through 12th grade, and later set in Europe during World War II, graduated from the State University o f the two groups of Chasidim in the vil- New York at Binghamton. lage of Chelm are the Meykil and the > In an interview, he says that it's Mahmir. The former, as their name really important to him that the implies, are more lenient in their inter- halachic reasoning that governs his pretations of Jewish law while the lat- characters' lives be absolutely accurate. ter choose to base their observance on "I've left that fold, but I think halachi the strictest interpretations. cally," he says, noting that his knowl- Englander expresses Jewish ideas in edge is not from book learning," but a natural way, never breaking the nar- 'what he was raised on. rative for definitions or to explain "I don't know how many religious Jewish holidays. "I have no concerns eople spend as much time wrestling whatsoever except for what the story with Jewish halachic issues as I do," he needs. I'm not trying to show that I says, noting that he does this in order can quote Gemara or do the first to get the stories right, to be certain aliyah of my bar mitzvah. that the characters' actions are consis- "Writing is the most important tent with their hearts and with the thing in the world for me," Englander halachic mind. says. It's also work, hard work. "I don't He traces his love of writing back sit around waiting to be inspired. It's to his yeshiva days, which he found like yoga or religious training. You iffocating"; writing was one of his have to do it every day." few outlets. When exposed to litera- The author has been living in ture in high school, he felt "naturally Jerusalem for the past 2 1/2 years, drawn to it." In college he studied lit- although all of the stories in For the erature and Jewish studies, and kept Relief of Unbearable Urges were written up his religious lifestyle until he in the United States. His next work is attended Hebrew University in a novel, set in Argentina. Jerusalem during his junior year and How does living in Israel impact discovered the existence of "function- his writing? "I don't know yet," he ina cultural Jews who respected them- says. I'm processing that world." 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