Malkah Shapiro grew up in Poland, the daughter of a noted Hasidic master. The Rebbe’s Daughter tells her a rare glimpse of the world of the Hasidic Jew in pre-World War I Eastern Europe. This is a learned text, filled with biblical, talmudic, kabbalistic, and hasidic allusions and direct quotations, demonstrating that, in contrast to the stereotype of traditional Jewish girls’ education at the turn of the century, the author was blessed with a thorough education in Judaic classics. Shapiro’s tale, translated and presented in Rabbi Polen’s capable hands, is poetic and sensitive, providing a rich and inviting history for its readers.
