Divorce is never a simple affair, but it’s certainly made easier when the couple is childless. The exes go their separate ways and, hopefully, find happiness and new love. However, the intriguing premise of “Hard Love,” by acclaimed Israeli playwright Motti Lerner, complicates the issue.

Hannah and Hershel, two young ultra-Orthodox newlyweds, are forced into divorce when Hershel renounces his religion. After the split, each remarries and has children. Their children grow up, meet and inevitably fall in love. This creates a slightly awkward situation, to say the least. Twenty-five years later, Hannah and Hershel reunite for the first time to discuss their predicament. As the discussion moves beyond their children’s problematic relationship, the play takes on larger issues such as the pros and cons of Orthodoxy, particularly for women; the existence of God; personal choice, and faith.

“Hard Love” ran for more than a year at the Haifa Municipal Theatre, and the play was presented February in its European premiere at the Teatro Argot in Rome, as part of its Mediterranean festival. Directed by Jeffrey West, “Hard Love” will be brought to Chicago by North Carolina’s Theatre Or, which presented the play in June 2005 in an acclaimed American premiere production.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Victory Gardens Theater, Downstairs Mainstage, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago; Aug. 5-20; Wed.-Fri. 7:30 p.m.; Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 2:30 p.m.; $30, $35. (773-871-3000 or www.victorygardens.org)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount