Author Description

"Tavory takes readers to the heart of the exhilarating--at times exhausting--life of the Beverly-La Brea Orthodox community. Just blocks from West Hollywood's nightlife, the Orthodox community thrives next to the impure sights, sounds, and smells. But to sustain this life, as Tavory shows, is not simply a moral decision to be made. People find themselves summoned both into social life and into their identity as Orthodox Jews as they are called upon by organizations and prayer quorums or the nods of strangers and whiffs of unkosher food floating through the street. In this fascinating ethnography, we come away with a better understanding of the dynamics of social worlds, identity, interaction and self--not only in Beverly-La Brea, but in society at large."--Provided by publisher.