S
teve Lincoln’s wife died
of breast cancer a couple
of years ago, and Lincoln,
a retired building contractor,
remains too depressed to resume
many of his activities. He certain-
ly has not started dating. His adult
son and his rabbi cajole Lincoln
into joining a workshop at the
local Jewish Community Center
(in suburban Detroit) for dealing
with grief and loss.
Nearly two years ago, a drunk
driver killed Ayelet Weinberg’s
husband, a brilliant rabbinical
student. The young widow, left
with three small children and
no reasonable source of income,
can barely hold her life together.
She is not ready to talk with a
shadkhan (matchmaker). Ayelet’s
trusted confidante, Rebbetzin
Kalmonowitz, agrees with Rabbi
Kalmonowitz that Ayelet needs to
join the grief and loss workshop
at the suburban Detroit JCC.
Melvyn Westreich tells the
story of this widow and widower
in his third novel, According to
Their Deeds: A Frum Romance.
In chapters alternating between
Ayelet’s point-of-view and Steve’s,
we see the two recover their inter-
est in life, combine to overcome
her financial distress and grow
a warm friendship. Eventually,
they confront the question — the
central question of romance sto-
ries — whether that friendship
can grow into a lasting romantic
attachment.
Now, the formula for a
romance story is no secret: Have
your reader fall in love with an
adorable couple. Convince your
reader that the couple belong
together. Then put obstacles in
their path, which keep them
apart. Eventually, the obstacles
permanently separate the couple
(in a tragic romance like Romeo
and Juliet) or the couple succeed
in overcoming the obstacles (in a
happy romance like The Princess
Bride).
To make the story succeed,
though, the writer must create
an endearing couple and come
up with intriguing obstacles for
them to overcome. Steve Lincoln
and Ayelet Weinberg qualify as
endearing: honest, sensitive and
compassionate. They face obsta-
cles: He is wealthy, she nearly
impoverished; he has entered
middle age, she is in her early 30s.
The most stubborn and inter-
esting obstacle to their romance
comes from their different com-
munities: Steve belongs to the
Modern Orthodox world; Ayelet,
to the Haredi world, non-Cha-
sidic variety (the people outsiders
describe as “ultra-Orthodox”).
Can a young Haredi women
find happiness with an older
Modern Orthodox man?
Read According to Their Deeds
to find out. Along the way, as you
read, you will encounter a sym-
pathetic presentation of Haredi
values. But Westreich is no pro-
pagandist: His presentation of
Haredi life is not worshipful.
Steve and Ayelet must pro-
tect themselves from “wolves in
sheep’s clothing,
” respected mem-
bers of both Modern Orthodox
and Haredi communities who
do not live up to their professed
ideals. The rabbi and rebbetzin
generally give wise advice, but
they are fallible. Sometimes they
misjudge the situation. At the
most dangerous points in the
story, decisive help comes from
a Jew who utterly rejects ritual
observance.
I enjoyed reading According to
Their Deeds: A Frum Romance. I
think you will, too.
A Frum Romance
LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Melvyn Westreich has great
affection for Detroit and its
Jewish community. He set his
first two novels here, and he
also set According to Their
Deeds, in Metro Detroit. He
says another reason for put-
ting this romance story here:
“This novel centers on a
relationship between Modern
Orthodox and Haredi (so-
called ‘ultra-Orthodox’)
Jews,” he said. “In Detroit, an
intimate community, different
segments of the Jewish com-
munity rub shoulders with
each other. They can’t help
themselves. The community
is too small to avoid interac-
tion. The plot of According to
Their Deeds describes some-
thing that could happen.
“Describing a community
where the different segments
interact with each other and
get along with each other
enables me to tell a story of
how the Jewish world should
be.”
Born in London, Westreich
grew up in the Bronx, New
York. He earned his medi-
cal degree at Wayne State
University in Detroit and
stayed for his residency.
Then he moved to Israel,
where he lives on Kibbutz
Yavneh.
Now, Westreich says, he
has “zero family in Detroit,”
but he keeps in contact with
really close friends here who
“are like family.”
Westreich has been chair
of the Department of Plastic
Surgery at Assaf HaRofeh
Medical Center of Tel Aviv
University, president of the
Israel Association of Plastic
Surgery and chairman of the
Board of Plastic Surgery in
Israel.
Active on the board that
oversees mohalim (circum-
cizers) in Israel, Westreich
has traveled to Africa to
teach circumcision tech-
niques as part of an inter-
national effort to control
AIDS.
Meet the Author:
Melvyn Westreich
A review of Melvyn Westreich’s According to Their Deeds.
BOOK REVIEW
Melvyn Westreich
AUGUST 18 • 2022 | 57