When Hershele, a poor but brilliant yeshiva student, is invited for a weekly charity meal by a rich widow, he comes face-to-face with Mirele, the widows pretty, bright, and strong-willed daughter. As the two innocently come to know each other, they fall in love. Are they "bashert"-soul mates destined to be together? Or will rigid class differences, shtetl politics, and a ruthless marriage broker tear them apart? This bittersweet love story, written in 1891, provides a vivid and insightful exploration of our great-grandparents lives in 19th century Eastern Europe: how they lived, how they...