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Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

Book by Deborah Feldman · 8 quotes · Dream, I Can, Ifs

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Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Quotes

“As far as I can remember, I have always wanted everything from life, everything it can possibly give me. This desire separates me from people who are willing to settle for less. I cannot even comprehend how people's desires can be small, ambitions narrow and limited, when the possibilities are endless”

“I can't bear the thought of living an entire lifetime on this planet and not getting to do all the things I dream of doing, simply because they aren't allowed. I don't think it will ever be enough, this version of freedom, until it is all-inclusive. I don't think I can be happy unless I'm truly independent.”

“If you are forced to confront your fears on a daily basis, they disintegrate, like illusions when viewed up close. Maybe being always protected made me more fearful, and I would later dip cautiously into the outside world, never allowing myself to be submerged completely, and always jerking back into the familiarity of my own life when my senses were overwhelmed. For years I would stand with a foot in each sphere, drawn to the exotic universe that lay on the other side of the portal, wrenched back by the warnings that sounded like alarm bells in my mind.”

“Ich stoße mich mit den Kufen ab, schließe beim weichen Dahingleiten, das darauf folgt, meine Augen und halte, wie Mimi es mir zeigte, meinen Rücken gerade. Nie zuvor habe ich mich so frei gefühlt. Der Klang der auf dem Eis kratzenden Schlittschuhe ist am lautesten, und ich verliere mich in seinem Rhythmus. Meine Bewegungen wiederholen sich und werden tranceähnlich, und ich wünschte, das Leben wäre immer so. Jedes Mal, wenn ich die Augen öffne, erwarte ich, irgendwo anders zu sein.”