A novel of personal as well as political conflict, Partly Strong, Partly Broken raises provocative questions about faith, empathy, and what it takes for any community to survive in today’s America.
A microcosm of America—a suburban congregation where deeplyheld values clash and political conflicts threaten to tear the community apart.
The shadow of Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel and Israel’ssubsequent decimation of Gaza looms over this gripping and quietly devastatingnovel set in a suburban New Jersey synagogue in the fall of 2023.
Rabbi Adinah, progressive in her politics, sentimental in herrelationships, and devoted to her motley American congregation, returns from asummer sojourn in Israel to find her synagogue in disarray. A hurricane hasripped a hole in the roof, her office is flooded, her building manager isincompetent, and a young Syrian refugee she mentored lies in a coma, victim ofa hate crime.
When a new conservative member stirs rancor in her weekly Torahclass and things turn uglier, the rabbi desperately tries to hold her belovedcommunity together, even as her most treasured beliefs and alliances arebetrayed. What will happen when news of the Hamas attack arrives? Will thecongregation rip apart? Does Adinah’s vision of an all-embracing society have afuture?
A personal as well as political tragedy, the novel raisesprovocative questions about faith, empathy, and what it takes for any communityto survive in today’s America.
