Emily and Ruth : Hasidic Jews in the UK

We hear that you intend to end your marriage, he said.

Ruth would write down their conversation in a diary later.

The men had been told that Ruth would be willing to leave her children

with their father after their divorce.

“No, that's not the case,” she replied, confused.

This was not the conversation she had been expecting.

Then her interrogator mentioned some pictures. 

“They said they had photos of me - running around with this strange man

A man who is not my husband.” The implication was clear, if Ruth did not agree

to leave her school-age children in her community then the news of her affair

would be made public. 

Worse, the men would specifically tell her children

“to let them know what kind of mother they had”.

She doesn’t remember exactly what she said before leaving the room.

She was too frightened.

There are Haredi groups across the UK, concentrated in London, Salford, and Gateshead.

All are trying to maintain their 19th Century traditions in a modern world

and religious laws govern everything from their attire to their diet.

In some areas, Yiddish remains the dominant language.

Emily’s doubts about her marriage started just before her wedding, in north London.

She was due to marry a man she had met twice. He was 20 and so was she.
 
It's normal for Haredi marriages to be arranged - boys and girls are kept apart

while growing up. It's usually up to a matchmaker to help potential couples

find each other.

“My father was trying to find a really special sort of, you know, catch,”

“So I’m lying there, you know, I’m in bed and I was like OK, let’s at least get it over

and done with, and then he starts calling his rabbi.”

It's normal to ask your rabbi for help about intimate things.

They are experts in solving the riddles of how to follow ancient biblical laws

in a 21st Century world.  .

“The rabbi said it’s OK as long as the curtains are closed and then we –

I don’t remember much of what happened.

I think I just blacked it out.” .

are these the ones who cut a hole in the cover to put their thingee through?

well well you have pics