Book description
Inside the hidden world of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn's Crown
Heights--a close-knit but divided community.
On a cold night in December, the members of a Hasidic anti-crime
patrol called the Shomrim are summoned to a yeshiva dormitory in Crown
Heights. There to break up a brawl, the Shomrim instead find
themselves embroiled in a religious schism which has split the
community and turned roommate against roommate, neighbor against
neighbor. At the center of the storm is Aron Hershkop, the owner of an
auto-repair business and the leader of the Shomrim. Hershkop watches
as the NYPD builds a criminal case against his brothers and friends,
apparently with the help of several local residents, who have taken
the rare step of forgoing a ruling from the local rabbinical council.
Soon, both sides are squaring off in a Brooklyn criminal court, with
the Shomrim facing gang assault charges and decades in prison. What
conflict could run so deep it left both sides airing their dirty
laundry so publicly? This compelling story takes you to the deepest
corners of a normally hidden world.
- Features fast-paced writing and a true story with surprising
twists, personal conflicts, and a tense trial
- Offers a glimpse in a normally sheltered and private community
many see, but few know much about.
- Centers on an unusual man facing a universal conflict: do you do
what's simple and expedient, or do you do follow our heart, your
tradition, and your faith?
MATTHEW SHAER, formerly a reporter for the Christian Science
Monitor, has written for New York magazine, Harper's, the Washington
Post, and Slate.
