Up Close: September 22, 2014

by TJC Staff

This week on Up Close, a look at the real-life hasidic community in New York and a fictionalized account of the Kabbalistic tradition in Israel.

First, New York Times reporter Joseph Berger shares insight into New York’s hasidic community, gleaned from decades of reporting. His book is The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles with America.

Then, author Ruchama King Feuerman on the surprise success of her second novel, In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist, and why the facts of life in Jerusalem’s Kabbalistic community can be even stranger than her fiction.

Watch the complete episode on TJC on-demand on cable in the TJC Original Series/Interviews category. You can also watch highlights from the episode in the video above, or listen to the complete audio of this episode at the top of this post or by subscribing to our weekly audio podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/tjcupclose or on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tjcs-up-close/id807702211.