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

