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Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry
Abstract
In this first in-depth portrait of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel today, Samuel Heilman introduces a community that to many may seem to be the very embodiment of the Jewish past. To outsiders who stumble upon these neighborhoods and find bearded men in caftans, children with earlocks, and women in long dresses, black kerchiefs and stockings, it may appear that these people still hold fast to every tradition while turning their backs to the contemporary world. But rather than being a relic from the past, ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim, are very much part of the contemporary landscape and are playing an increasingly prominent role in the Jewish world and in Israeli politics. "Defenders of the Faith" takes us inside the world of this contemporary fundamentalist community, its lifestyle and mores, including education, religious practices and beliefs, sexual ethics, and marriage. Heilman explores the reasons why this group is more militant and extreme than its pre-Holocaust brethren, and provides insight into the worldview of this small but influential sector of modern Jewry.
... In Israel, state health regulations issued during the first two weeks of March 2020 enforced the shutdown of schools, religious seminaries, and synagogues. These steps undermined Haredi communal praxis, which is ingrained in collective, place-based rituals (Campbell 2020;Heilman 1992;Tavory 2016). When some Haredim (Haredi plural) turned to their spiritual leaders for guidance, the initial decrees were mostly to defy state regulations (see Munro 2022 for a notable exception). ...
... Haredi communities in general share their resistance to secularity and their efforts to keep their distance from its effects by physical withdrawal, language differentiation, and dress codes that make it hard for Haredim, especially men, to assimilate in non-Haredi crowds. Accordingly, Haredim aim to avoid meaningful interactions with all those who do not share their dogma (Baumel 2006;Brown 2017;Heilman 1992;Munro 2022;Tavory 2016). In Israel, the Haredi sector is characterised by some scholars as 'the society of scholars' (Friedman 1991), while others view it to be in unique state-community relations, as Haredi men are the only Jewish group categorically exempted from army prescription (Dalsheim 2019). ...
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted relationships between religious communities and the state. Churches, religious authorities, and believers have been obligated to modify key activities (prayer, ceremonies) and weigh their religious identity against state prohibitions. Accordingly, we ask how members of a reclusive religious community negotiated and performed their identity under a prolonged emergency. We analyse intra-communal discourse concerning the state’s social distancing regulations during Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns that occurred in closed groups in messaging apps. Specifically, this research case-studies Jewish ultra-Orthodox communities in Israel (Haredim). Extensive analysis of over 2,000 WhatsApp and Telegram posts in 35 ultra-Orthodox groups over a two-year period indicates that participants constantly sought to affirm their primary, dominant, communal identity. While efforts to integrate adherence to state prohibitions into this primary identity were evident, these efforts were well accepted only when justifying them via affirmation of the communal identity – superseding medical, political, and practical concerns. The findings advance understanding of minority groups’ attitudes towards state directives and illuminate contemporary pathways of identity dynamics in online social networks. The findings may also be applicable in a broader sense to the study of discourse dynamics in echo chambers and filter bubbles.
... The Ultra-Orthodox community is a closed religious and conservative group (Friedman, 1991) that relatively segregates itself from the outside world (Almond et al., 2011). Ultra-Orthodox men and women express their belonging to this community through their dress code, hairstyle, dietary preferences, gestures, and whole body movements (Heilman, 1992). To preserve their unique way of life amid challenges from the secular world, the Ultra-Orthodox community reinforces its religious identity through increased religious studies and the establishment of religious schools and institutions (Cohen, 1999), while concurrently strengthening their commitment to the spiritual, social, and cultural guidance of Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis (Brown & Leon, 2017). ...
... Nevertheless, all these groups form together a cultural enclave in Israel (Sivan, 1995) with fixed social, cultural, educational, technological, geographic, and ideological boundaries (Golan & Fehl, 2020) that isolate its members and limit their engagement with the secular and modernized Western world (Almond et al., 2011). Thus, their social world comprises limited external options (Heilman, 1992). The men are encouraged to dedicate all their time to studying the Jewish texts, for example, the Hebrew Bible (Torah), the Babylonian Talmud, and Rabbinic literature (Finkelman, 2011), and the women are socialized to fulfill their religious devotion by caring for their households and its numerous children (Teman & Ivry, 2021). ...
Making sense of the social world is an intricate process heavily influenced by cultural elements. Gambling is a prevalent leisure-time activity characterized by risk-taking conduct. While some individuals who engage in it do so without experiencing any harm, others will develop gambling problems. Judaism tends to perceive gambling negatively since it contradicts fundamental Jewish principles. The current study focuses on the Jewish Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel which is characterized as a cultural enclave with minimal interaction with the secular world. Hence, it provides a unique and novel socio-cultural context to inquire how individuals with gambling disorder (GD) from this community make sense of gambling. Following constructivist grounded theory guidelines, 22 Ultra-Orthodox men with GD were interviewed using a purposeful sampling design. Sixteen Rabbis were also interviewed, illuminating the socio-cultural context of Halachic regulations and norms regarding gambling in this community. An abductive analysis of the data, interwoven with Bourdieu's concept of habitus, yielded an overarching theme that we dub as "sense for gambling," encompassing matrices of Ultra-Orthodox external (e.g., a conservative cultural structure with numerous prohibitions and life marked by poverty) and internal (e.g., feelings of loneliness, dissatisfaction, and deviance) dispositions imprinted onto the body, creating diverse embodied reactions (emotional and sensory) to gambling, and leading to developing GD. We recommend placing the body, as the locus of internalized dispositions, at the core of examination when researching pathways to GD. We propose that this intricate interplay between external and internal dispositions shapes the decision-making regarding gambling, thus mitigating individual responsibility for GD.
... In nonradical RZ circles, adult men and women associate freely, but varying degrees of separation are maintained in schools and youth movements. In UO society, the separation is farther-reaching and includes public events and spaces (Caplan 2003;Heilman 1992). ...
... Once a couple has been set up, the amount of contact that is allowed between them before marriage varies (Lehmann and Siebzehner 2009). Many Hasidic couples do not date at all but rather meet once in the home of one of the two families (Heilman 1992). Litvak UO allow the couple to go out on several dates in a public setting (Lehmann and Siebzehner 2009). ...
Marriage guidebooks for Orthodox Jews in Israel have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Previous research has shown that Jewish Orthodox Israelis are exposed to liberal Western ideals about romantic love and gender egalitarianism while continuing to uphold conservative family values. To gain insight into how leaders of Orthodox Jewish groups manage these conflicting meaning systems, a representative sample of thirty guidebooks written for Religious Zionist and Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel was analyzed using a Grounded Theory analysis. The books were found to reject romantic love and gender egalitarianism, emphasizing instead the notions of other-focused giving and an essentialist gender partnership. The authors of these books also offer religious meaning systems focused on the interface between God and couples that we term "marriage theologies". We offer a typology of five marriage theologies, which endeavor to infuse even the most mundane aspects of marital life with sacred meaning. This re-enchantment of marriage plays a central role in recalibrating the religious meaning system in response to the secular Western culture surrounding it. The diversity of marriage theologies means that differential meaning systems can be offered to a wide range of Orthodox couples, from moderate to highly conservative and from idealistic newlyweds to disillusioned long-married couples.
... Research on this population can help expand knowledge of traditional societies in general, an issue of importance in light of the multiple needs of these populations, who are major consumers of welfare services (Leviatan, 2003). In addition, traditional populations are characterized by cohesion, organized self-help efforts, and extensive community activity (Chai, 2000;Heilman, 1992;Stadler, 2006;Teibel, 2005). Indeed, many members of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel are actively involved in a wide variety of voluntary community organizations, as well as in grass-roots initiatives to assist community members in all areas of life (Stadler, 2006;Teibel, 2005), making this an eminently fi tting population for a study of macro-intervention social work. ...
... The lack of an effect for citizen participation may be explained by the fact that it is not typical of ultra-Orthodox society (Katzover, 1999), which, to a large extent, keeps its distance from the establishment and limits contact with it to a minimum (Heilman, 1992;Heilman & Friedman, 1991;Marty & Appleby, 1993;Shalhev, 2006). Indeed, a study comparing ultra-Orthodox activists with those in the general population found that the ultra-Orthodox reported substantially less citizen participation than their non-Orthodox counterparts (Zanbar, 2009). ...
The fi rst investigation of the characteristics of Israeli ultra- Orthodox community activists,
the study examines the contribution of personal and social resources to the
effectiveness of community activity serving community development. The sample
comprised 163 volunteers active in promoting citizens rights through democratic
processes. The variables predicting effectiveness are presented, along with practical
recommendations for macro- intervention social workers in the field.
... Scholars define ultra-Orthodoxy to be Orthopraxic to reflect the efforts to control members' conduct. This is to say, community structures highlight praxis, the right ways to act, rather than doxy, the right beliefs (Heilman 1992;Neusner 1986). ...
... Numerous precepts aim to regulate all of the believer's life spheres, including that of social conduct. Pious Haredi social conduct can be depicted through conforming to several key tenets: (1) Locality-the adhering believer must live in close physical proximity to community institutions (Heilman 1992;Tavory 2016); (2) gender segregation-gender separation is demanded on most occasions, and strongly encouraged in others (Aharoni 2014;Fader 2017;Stadler 2009); (3) external boundaries-Haredis are urged to minimize interactions with non-Haredis so as not to risk a contamination of their righteousness (Brown 2017;Friedman 1991). It should be noted that three Haredi denominations vary in how they negotiate their external boundaries. ...
In recent years, media theorists stress macroscopic relations between digital communications and religion, through the framing of mediatization theory. In these discussions, media is conceptualized as a social institution, which influences religious establishments and discourse. Mediatization scholars have emphasized the transmission of meanings and outreach to individuals, and the religious-social shaping of technology. Less attention has been devoted to the mediatization of the religious community and identity. Accordingly, we asked how members of bounded religious communities negotiate and perform their identity via public social media. This study focuses on public performances of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, rhetorically and symbolically expressed in groups operating over WhatsApp, a mobile instant messaging and social media platform. While a systematic study of instant messaging has yet to be conducted on insular-religious communities, this study draws upon an extensive exploration of over 2000 posts and 20 interviews conducted between 2016–2019. The findings uncover how, through mediatization, members work towards reconstructing the holy community online, yet renegotiate enclave boundaries. The findings illuminate a democratizing impact of mediatization as growing masses of ultra-Orthodox participants are given a voice, restructure power relations and modify fundamentalist proclivities towards this-worldly activity, to influence society beyond the enclave’s online and offline boundaries.
... Many Jews who were once unaffiliated with any movement within Judaism became Reform, the most liberal Jewish movement, and those already affiliated with a particular denomination of Judaism moved to the right. In the Orthodox world, the influx of once liberal or secular Jews joining Orthodox communities and adopting Orthodox ways of life and thinking became known as the Baal Teshuva Movement (Heilman, 1992(Heilman, , 2006. These new adherents to Orthodoxy are known as baalei teshuva (masters of return or repentance), in the singular baal teshuva for a man or baalat teshuva for a woman. ...
... In broad strokes, one can divide Orthodox Jewish society into two major groups: the Modern Orthodox, who explicitly engage with the outside world ideologically, and the Hareidim, or Ultra-Orthodox, who engage with the outside world not for its own sake, but rather because of pragmatism (Heilman, 1992(Heilman, , 2006Yehuda, Friedman, Rosenbaum, Labinsky, & Schmeidler, 2007). Estimates place the number of Hareidi Jews in America at around 250,000 (Wattenberg, 2005), but statistics about the Hareidi population are scarce, not only because of difficulties in counting the members of the community but also because of a Hareidi taboo on counting people at all. ...
... It maintains that the Written and Oral Torah were divinely given and must be followed without change. Within Orthodox Judaism, there are further distinctions, such as Modern Orthodox, who engage with contemporary society while observing Halacha (Jewish law), and Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox), who tend to isolate themselves to preserve their religious lifestyle (Heilman, 1992). ...
... Haredi communities tend to have collectivist leanings and share strong cultural norms, including modest dress and defined gender roles. Haredi Jews are often clustered in certain neighborhoods, where they can provide mutual support and concentrate religious resources while limiting contact with the secular world (Heilman, 2000). This also means they can walk to Synagogues during the Sabbath. ...
Objective: The overall aim of this study was to elicit and document the recovery-related perspectives and experiences of Haredi Jews with lived experience of mental illness living in Canada. A more focused objective was to specifically explore self-identified facilitators and barriers toward recovery from mental illness in this group. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study involving semistructured interviews with 20 women who (a) identified as Haredi Jews, (b) had used mental health services in recent years, and (c) were 18+ years of age. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. Results: Four prominent themes emerged from the analysis. The first two themes were predominantly facilitators, and the last two themes were predominantly barriers. These themes were (i) a close-knit, supportive, and lively community with considerable social capital; (ii) Judaic beliefs and practices regarding Gd, daily life, and health care giving structure, meaning, and purpose; (iii) community stigma and self-stigma, often related to marriageability of self or offspring, as well as notions of perfection; and (iv) a lack of wider mental health literacy, despite participants speaking positively about mental health services such as medication and therapy. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This study indicates several individual-level and community-level factors that are reported to facilitate recovery in Haredi Jews. However, problems of stigma and mental health literacy remain an issue. Targeted antistigma programs, such as co-constructed contact-based educational interventions, may be helpful in contributing to a community climate that further facilitates recovery.
... Haredim aim to limit meaningful interactions with those who do not share their religious beliefs (Stolzenberg and Myers 2022). Hence, they distinguish themselves physically, linguistically, through distinctive dress codes, and selective media use, making assimilation into non-Haredi environments highly challenging (Baumel 2006;Brown 2017;Heilman 1992;Mishol-Shauli et al. 2019;Munro 2022;Tavory 2016). ...
While religious dogma and science are often viewed at odds, scientific knowledge is increasingly integrated into religious journalism. This challenges the epistemic tenets that underlie the worldviews of religious readers. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of religious journalists as science gatekeepers and, more specifically, uncover their ethos in advocating science communication to their audience, amid widespread ambivalence. To this end, we focus on the ethical gaze of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews in Israel. An enclaved religious group that has a history of challenging scientific precepts and has of late demonstrated various levels of ambivalence and resistance to scientifically inspired policies made during the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 Haredi editors, radio and print/online journalists, engaged with science reporting before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings unveil several ethical facets employed by Haredi journalists: care, community, professionalism, and religion. The findings also outline the interaction between professional, religious, and communal codes of conduct, as they play out in bounded mediascapes. Accordingly, religious journalists’ role breaches traditional boundaries as they respond and strive to integrate multiple sources of knowledge for what they see as the betterment of their devout readers.
... The large group is that feature that accords the social nomos with what Berger and Luckman (1966) termed a "plausibility structure," i.e., the sense of reality or the social construction of reality that maintains the social order as real, obvious, and given. 19 In a classic study of Haredi community in Israel, Samuel Heilman (1992) observes that the artificially created sense of being part of something "really big" provides a counterbalance to life in what is an otherwise small, enclosed world. Writing about instances of routine social maintenance, Heilman refers to large halls in buildings, big public Sabbath gatherings, and rites of passage such as weddings and funerals. ...
As if by design, crisis reveals basic structural fault lines. In the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, non-Haredi Jews expressed surprise and even outrage about the ultra-orthodox Haredi response to the pandemic. It was not understood how large-scale violations of public health protocols comported with the legal-halakhic principle of Pikuaḥ Nefesh (saving human life). In this essay, I explore Hasidic response to COVID-19 as reported in the secular and Haredi press and in emergent social science literature about this crisis. I place Haredi response to crisis in relation to the clash between two sets of values: the value of saving human life and the value of intensive Talmud study (talmud Torah) and ritual-communal practice. In what Robert Cover called a paideic nomos, there are more important things than human life. What we see already in the Babylonian Talmud is the profound ambiguity of paideic norms vis-à-vis the larger public good.
... In addition, Orthodox Jews report less use of technology (Hack, 2007), which was crucial to daily life during the pandemic (e.g., receiving updated health information, maintaining social contact despite restrictions on social gatherings; Ho et al., 2020). Orthodox Jewish communities are highly interdependent and collectivistic, and their communal life relies heavily on in-person gatherings (Heilman, 2000). Under ordinary circumstances, this communal environment provides complementary group resources (products of religious communal belonging), social identity resources (products of being accepted as a religious group member), and psychosocial resources (products of religious beliefs; Bankier-Karp & Shain, 2022;Hayward & Krause, 2014). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant health crisis highlighted the lack of scholarly understanding of the effects of sociocultural factors and religious beliefs on compliance with public health guidelines. Orthodox Jews in particular were suspected of mistrusting medical experts and were singled out for alleged non-compliance with COVID-19 health guidelines. We surveyed American Jews ( N = 1,141) during the early stages of the pandemic about their religious beliefs connected with the pandemic, trust in relevant public figures, and compliance with health guidelines to examine whether and how these factors are related. Generally, participants expressed high levels of trust in scientists, medical professionals, and religious leaders and a high degree of adherence to health guidelines. We examined how trust varies as a function of sociodemographic features, religious affiliation, and health-related religious beliefs (i.e., spiritual health locus of control). Overall, our research underscores the relevance of religious beliefs and trust in public figures to adherence to health guidelines and public health messaging.
... A heterogeneous group, the ultra-Orthodox community consists of hundreds of sub-groups belonging to three main branches: Litvak, Hasid, and Sephardi (Don-Yehiya, 2005). This minority group is distinguished by its strict observance of Orthodox Jewish law (Halacha) and its constant striving to insulate its members from contemporary social and cultural influences (Heilman, 2000). Accordingly, most ultra-Orthodox members live in poverty (National Insurance Institute of Israel [NIII], 2017), as they oppose core curriculum studies in k-12 schools, focusing instead on religious studies, which lead to low employment levels in the community as well as low wages for the employed (Kingsbury, 2020). ...
Media can play a crucial role in enabling vital capabilities during a health emergency such as the Covid-19 pandemic. While capabilities are essential to everyone, they are especially vital to marginalized populations. Therefore, this study examined how two prominent minority groups in Israel: ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinian-Israelis, were portrayed in the Israeli news media during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings revealed that the news media typically contributed to security by rendering the audience aware of risks, threats, and behaviors endangering public safety, and that the media habitually lowered potential stigma by contextualizing and explaining incidents, highlighting minority contributions, and portraying complex depictions.
... 7 Haredi Jews can be distinguished from Progressive, Conservative, and Religious-Zionist Jewish streams by their self-protective stance and avoidance of secular education and professional training. Beyond their homogeneous appearance, the Haredi sector consists of multiple groups, each with its own religious leaders (rabbis), teachings, and rites (Friedman, 1987;Heilman, 1999;Stadler, 2009;Stadler and Taragin-Zeller, 2017). These can be loosely divided into Lithuanian yeshiva-based (Torah learning) communities, Hasidic dynasties, and Sephardi Haredim (who trace their origins to the Iberian peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East). ...
Despite growing interest in community-level science literacy, most studies focus on communities of interest who come together through particular science, environmental or health-related goals. We examine a pre-existing community—ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel—with a particular history and politics vis-à-vis science, technology, and medicine. First, we show how Haredi cosmologies and culture come together to critique science as an epistemology while engaging with science as a technology. Then, we demonstrate how community-based medical experts serve as both science-related knowledge mediators and gatekeepers. Whereas Haredi Jews are constantly critiqued for their low levels of individual secular and science education, these community-based webs of knowledge seemingly position Haredi individuals with knowledge that surpasses the average “secular” Israeli. This case study develops unique analytical tools in the growing field of community-level science literacy, while pushing forward conversations about self-ascribed experts, knowledge gatekeeping, and the socio-political contexts of group critiques of science.
... Prominent among the marginalized populations is the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel, which makes up 12.6% of the Israeli population (Cahaner and Malach 2020). This social-religious community is characterized by strict observance of Jewish-religious law, relative insulation from the modern world (Don-Yehiya 2005;Friedman 1991;Heilman 2000), and widespread poverty and inequality (Haron 2013;Kalev et al. 2021; National Insurance Institute of Israel 2017). ...
Journalists can play a pivotal role in promoting a population’s security amid a health crisis such as a global pandemic. This role becomes of enhanced importance for marginalized populations as they face a compounded threat due to preexisting social inequalities and exclusion. This study focuses on the utilization of Twitter by ultra-Orthodox journalists during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. The study applies a thematic analysis of 23,110 tweets from the 20 most popular ultra-Orthodox journalists on Twitter. Findings reveal that ultra-Orthodox journalists utilized Twitter in an “ambassadorial” role to advocate their community’s security through six strategies: (1) explaining the challenges endangering ultra-Orthodox Jews during COVID-19, (2) dispelling COVID-19 accusations directed against ultra-Orthodox Jews, (3) encouraging social distancing and health guidelines, (4) highlighting the social contributions of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the general public during the pandemic, (5) criticizing wrongdoers who violated the health guidelines, and (6) calling out acts of hatred and bigotry that have been directed toward ultra-Orthodox Jews. These findings reveal the professional ethos of ultra-Orthodox journalists and their aspiration to protect their community. Furthermore, these findings shed light on the vital role Twitter can play in journalistic work through inter-social interactivity and the enablement of capabilities, particularly the capability “to be secure.” Lastly, this study expands the understanding of the social media resource contributing to policymakers tasked with formulating its fair distribution in society in accordance with the capabilities approach and its objective of promoting well-being.
... Over the past half century, numerous studies and monographs on Ḣ aredism have appeared (for example : Liebman 1965;Friedman 1991;Waxman 1991;Heilman 1992;Soloveitchik 1994). These studies have greatly enriched perspectives on the phenomenon, its diversity, and its manifold ramifications, giving readers a broad, rich background with which to examine it. ...
This article proposes a reassessment of the development of Ḥaredism, that is, the application of strict, maximalist, commandment-oriented Judaism to increasingly large lay publics, in light of confessionalization processes in Europe. Whereas historiographical and sociological convention locates the sources of Ḥaredism within the development of 19th century orthodox Jewish responses to the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah), Reform, and secular Zionism, this article argues that Ḥaredi structures and practices preceded these movements, and, in some cases, influenced their development. The basis for the priority of Ḥaredi identities to Jewish secular identities is rooted in the social disciplining and religious engineering of Jewish societies in the early modern era, until just before the Haskalah, and beyond. This disciplining was predicated on the imposition of religious, social, and ascetic education systems on growing segments of the population. Ḥaredism as a concept and as a phenomenon emerged in 16th century Safed (Ottoman Palestine); there, previous Jewish ascetic patterns were reworked, reorganized and structured under the aegis of the print era, and became a basis for mass, super-regional education. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Ḥaredi religiosity steadily percolated through European Jewish societies by means of works of personal ethic and conduct that were written, printed, and reprinted many times, in Hebrew and Yiddish, through works that enumerate the commandments, and through popular works that make the Jewish halakhic code, Shulḥan Arukh, accessible to the masses by abridging or reworking it. Starting in the early 19th century, with the mediation of the Ḥasidic and Lithuanian religious movements, this process massively penetrated broad strata of society.
... The Politics of Tradition: Agudat Yisrael in Poland.Jerusalem: Magness Press. 17On ultra-Orthodox life and institutions, see SamuelHeilman (2000). Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry. ...
The multidisciplinary anthology Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic provides deep insights concerning the current impact of Covid-19 on various religious groups and believers around the world. Based on contributions of well-known scholars in the field of Religious Fundamentalism, the contributors offer about a window into the origins of religious fundamentalism and the development of these movements as well as the creation of the category itself. Further recommendations regarding specific (fundamentalist) religious groups and actors and their possible development within Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism round up the discussion about the rise of Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic.
... Thus, devotees may turn for advice to a local community rabbi or a yeshiva-based Torah scholar or seek advice from a particular rabbi with expertise in a specific area of Jewish law. Second, together with the creation of the State of Israel, there has been a considerable growth in yeshiva (religious seminary) study, and many men have reached high levels of literacy (Hakak 2012;Heilman 1992;Stadler 2009), thus lessening the need to seek advice from others. Also, internet forums enable religious members to address their questions to a large array of rabbinic scholars (Englander and Sagi 2013). ...
This article examines the varying ways religious devotees utilize, negotiate, embrace, and reject religious authorities in their everyday lives. Ethnographically exploring the ways that Orthodox Jews share reproductive decisions with rabbinic authorities, I demonstrate how some sanctify rabbinic rulings, while others dismiss them, or continue to “shop around” until they find a rabbinic opinion that resonates with their personal desires. These negotiations of religious authority and ethical freedom are worked out across a biographical trajectory, opening new possibilities to explore how religious authority fluctuates and changes over the life course. I argue that analysis of engagement with rabbis without attention to the inner diversity of interpretations and practices perpetuates a hegemonic and overly harmonious picture of religious authority. Highlighting these variations, I show how the process of consultation was more significant than mere submission to religious rulings. Religious consultation, in itself, then constitutes a significant node for making an ethical Jewish life. Attending to these aspects of religious authority has great potential to further develop and contextualize the field of ethical freedom while complicating binary models of submission versus resistance. My approach demonstrates the need to broaden our anthropological tools to better understand the ways individuals share everyday decisions with mediators of authoritative knowledge. [ religious authority, ethics, reproduction, gender, Judaism ]
... However, many respondents referred to the indirect effects of the pandemic on the social and religious lives of community members. Since Orthodox Jewish communities can be described in terms of a collective communal, familial, and socially connected culture that values interaction with other community members, public health measures rooted in the concept of 'physical distancing' might indeed be experienced as particularly stressful to their members [40]. ...
Background
The importance of community involvement in the response against disease outbreaks has been well established. However, we lack insights into local communities’ experiences in coping with the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored both the impact of, and response to, COVID-19 within the Orthodox Jewish communities of Antwerp (Belgium) during the first lockdown period (March 2020 – May 2020).
Methods
We conducted an explorative qualitative study using a participatory approach. First, we performed a community mapping to identify relevant stakeholders. Through the active involvement of a community advisory board and based on qualitative interviews with key-informants and community members, we elicited lived experiences, attitudes, and perceptions towards COVID-19. Interviews were conducted both face-to-face and using online web conferencing technology. Data were analyzed inductively according to the principles of thematic analysis.
Results
Government-issued outbreak control measures presented context-specific challenges to the Orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp. They related mainly to the remote organization of religious life, and practicing physical distancing in socially and culturally strongly connected communities. Existing community resources were rapidly mobilized to adapt to the outbreak and to self-organize response initiatives within communities. The active involvement of community and religious leaders in risk communication proved to be of great importance to facilitate the coverage and uptake of pandemic control measures while protecting essential community values and traditions. Creating bottom-up and community-adapted communication strategies, including addressing language barriers and involving Rabbis in the dissemination of prevention messages, fostered a feeling of trust in government’s response measures. However, unmet information and prevention needs were also identified, such as the need for inclusive communication by public authorities and the need to mitigate the negative effects of stigmatization.
Conclusion
The experiences of Orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp demonstrate a valuable example of a feasible community-centered approach to health emergencies. Increasing the engagement of communities in local decision-making and governance structures remains a key strategy to respond to unmet information and prevention needs.
... COVID-19 and the public health directives issued had a significant impact on regular aspects of Jewish religious practice (e.g., ritual baths, communal prayer, marriage ceremonies, and circumcision). Furthermore, stay-at-home restrictions may have been particularly stressful for Orthodox Jews since their culture is collective, communal, and familial (Heilman 2000). In addition, more traditional Hasidic or Haredi communities tend to be composed of large families (Pirutinsky et al. 2015) of low socioeconomic status (Pearson and Geronimus 2011). ...
Given links between stress and obesity, it is likely that individuals gained weight during the COVID-19 lockdown. Research suggests that religiosity facilitates coping, which may have lessened the relationship between stress and weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown. We examined this relationship among Orthodox Jews (n = 731). Results indicated that stress was marginally associated with weight gain, and that this was moderated by intrinsic religiosity (IR). For those with low IR, stress correlated with weight gain, while for those with mean or higher IR, stress and weight change were unrelated. Results suggest that for some, religiosity may moderate links between stress and weight gain during times of crisis.
... Therefore, these synagogue closures and restrictions come at potentially great cost to congregants for whom face to face interactions with other congregants plays a central role in their lives (Vanderweel 2020). Orthodox Judaism places a heavy emphasis on the communal and social aspects of the religion as well as rituals (Heilman 2000). A sense of abandonment by or alienation from a framework that has previously anchored the individual can lead to negative mental health outcomes and difficulty coping with those outcomes (Pargament et al. 2001;Ellison and Lee 2010;O'Brien et al. 2019). ...
A diverse Modern Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem continued to serve its congregants and maintain community despite closures and restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Members were surveyed in April 2020. There were minorities of members who were experiencing mental health issues, especially those less acculturated and no one surveyed received any professional mental health help. About a quarter of the members said that regular check-ins were important but some said they were not receiving enough of them. Synagogues can potentially serve as coping resources for congregants both during periods of crisis as well as during regular periods of operation.
... However, many respondents referred to the indirect effects of the pandemic on the social and religious lives of community members. Since Orthodox Jewish communities can be described in terms of a collective communal, familial, and socially connected culture that values interaction with other community members, public health measures rooted in the concept of 'physical distancing' might indeed be experienced as particularly stressful to their members [32]. ...
Background: The importance of community involvement in the response against disease outbreaks has been well established. However, we lack insights into local communities’ experiences in coping with the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored both the impact of, and response to, COVID-19 within the Orthodox Jewish communities of Antwerp (Belgium) during the first lockdown period (March 2020 – May 2020).
Methods: We conducted an explorative qualitative study using a participatory approach. First, we performed a community mapping to identify relevant stakeholders. Through the active involvement of a community advisory board and based on qualitative interviews with key-informants and community members, we elicited lived experiences, attitudes, and perceptions towards COVID-19. Interviews were conducted both face-to-face and using online web conferencing technology. Data were analyzed inductively according to the principles of thematic analysis.
Results: Government-issued outbreak control measures presented context-specific challenges to the Orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp. They related mainly to the remote organization of religious life, and practicing physical distancing in socially and culturally strongly connected communities. Key informants described how existing community resources were rapidly mobilized to adapt to the outbreak and to self-organize response initiatives within communities. This included the active involvement of community and religious leaders in risk communication, which proved to be of great importance to facilitate coverage and uptake of pandemic control measures while protecting essential community values and traditions. Creating bottom-up and community-adapted communication strategies, including addressing language barriers and involving Rabbis in the dissemination of prevention messages, fostered a feeling of trust in government’s response measures. However, unmet information and prevention needs were also identified, such as the need for inclusive communication by public authorities and the need to mitigate the negative effects of stigmatization.
Conclusion: The experiences of Orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp demonstrate a valuable example of a feasible community-centered approach to health emergencies. Increasing the engagement of communities in local decision-making and governance structures remains a key strategy to respond to unmet information and prevention needs.
... Studies have indicated that the negative effects of being ostracized are not only related to people's sense of needs satisfaction but also to mood (Williams, 2007). Since the social identity of Ultra-Orthodox Jews is closely related to adherence to social norms and values (Heilman, 1992), in Experiment 2, participants' mood was measured as an additional factor that was expected to be influenced by ostracism, to enable a conceptual replication of the main hypotheses of Experiment 1. All measures, manipulations, and participant exclusions are reported. ...
Ostracism has negative psychological and behavioral outcomes, thus making it crucial to better understand how these effects can be mitigated. Two experiments tested whether cultural values can moderate immediate as well as delayed reactions to ostracism in two populations with very different values concerning interactions with the opposite sex. The Ultra-Orthodox population in Israel constitutes a specific subculture whose values differ considerably from those of secular Jews in Israel. In particular, Ultra-Orthodox Jews adhere to strict separation between genders, which is enforced by Ultra-Orthodox men. It was hypothesized that being ostracized by the opposite gender on a computer game would be less distressing in particular for Ultra-Orthodox men than for secular men and women who cultural values have no such prohibition. In both experiments, Jewish secular and Ultra-Orthodox men and women played Cyberball, a virtual ball-toss game against two ostensible players (half same gender, half opposite, but all with their in-groups). The findings showed that whereas secular men and women were more distressed when ostracized by a member of the opposite sex, Ultra-Orthodox males reported lower distress on both the needs satisfaction and mood measures after they were ostracized by ostensible Ultra-Orthodox female players than when receiving fewer ball tosses from ostensible Ultra-Orthodox male players. It is argued that when cultural values provide a rationale for ostracism, this can eliminate ostracism distress. The discussion centers on ways cultural and other embedded values can mitigate the negative outcomes of ostracism.
... Furthermore, they are vehemently opposed to those who identify with the Zionist culture and who accept values associated with secularization and modernity. Heilman (1992) has pointed out that this stream sees itself as representing authentic Judaism and as continuing the customs of traditional Jewish society. ...
Perceptions of collective narratives have been found to be a meaningful way to understand intergroup relations. The aim of this study was to examine intergroup relations between two religious groups by measuring perceptions of in-group and out-group collective narratives. The two groups in question were ultra-Orthodox Jews (uO) and National Religious Jews (NR) in Israel. The paper presents a tool based on Sagy, Adwan and Kaplan (2002) which examines perceptions of in-group and out-group collective narratives by examining four components: levels of legitimacy, feelings of empathy and of anger and levels of knowledge. The tool was adapted to the social context by standardized procedure. Data were collected from a sample of 402 ultra-Orthodox and 388 National Religious Jews. In comparison to the National Religious, the ultra-Orthodox reported a lower tendency to give legitimacy to the narrative of the out-group and showed stronger emotions of anger and weaker feelings of empathy towards them. A significant difference between the two groups was found regarding two themes: the status of the State of Israel and Torah learning. The results are discussed in an attempt to understand intergroup relations between religious groups, against the backdrop of the unique context of the two religious communities.
... According to public health reports, Orthodox Jewish communities, especially those composed of tight-knit Hasidic groups, may have elevated COVID-19 mortality as compared to other ethnic or religious groups in the USA, and numerous influential religious leaders have died (Stack 2020). Public health initiatives, especially stay-at-home orders, may be particularly stressful to Orthodox communities as they are characterized by a collective communal, familial, and social culture that values interaction with others (Heilman 2000). In fact, social support proffered by faith communities is generally an important mediator of the association between religion and health-both mental (Koenig 2018) and physical (Koenig et al. 2012), and Orthodox Jews typically gather for communal prayer three times daily and gather regularly for communal events, religious holidays, life cycle occasions, and religious study. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic presents potential mental health challenges, and the American Orthodox Jewish population has been particularly affected by the virus. The current study assessed the impact of the pandemic and explored the relationships between exposure, religiosity, and distress in a sample of n = 419 American Orthodox Jews. Results indicated high levels of exposure, concern, and compliance with medical guidelines; however stress was generally low and we found evidence for positive impact. Direct exposure correlated with higher religiosity. Positive religious coping, intrinsic religiosity and trust in God strongly correlated with less stress and more positive impact, while negative religious coping and mistrust in God correlated with the inverse. While the study is limited by its design, findings highlight that for some, faith may promote resilience especially during crisis.
... Its leaders wishedt og et their share of certificates for immigration to Palestinea sw ell as budgets and allocations of land. This created ab acklasht ot he more radical 11 On Ultra-Orthodox lifeand institutions,see Heilman 2000. 12 Ravitzky 1996 On Agudat Israel, see Bacon 1996. ...
... Almost as a mirror image of this intellectual trend, ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities that contest Israel's secular elite tend to describe the separatism and isolationism associated with pre-modern Jewish communities in Europe as the more authentic model of Jewish life (Baumel 2006;Heilman 2000). A more subtle hierarchical discourse that reflects domestic tensions and power struggles can be found when comparing Israeli perspectives on American Jewry and North African Jewry. ...
This paper suggests that images and stances associated with the diaspora in the homeland culture offer a unique prism through which internal tensions in homeland collective identity may be dissected and understood. We believe it is worthwhile to broaden the spectrum of inquiry of recent research on quantifiable diaspora economic and political involvement in homeland nation-states to the inherently fluid, abstract realm of cultural representation. The paper implements this research orientation by offering a preliminary discussion of homeland-construed representations and stances of the diaspora, based on the case study of Israel. Israel is a particularly useful case for our purposes because of the degree to which the diaspora serves as a ‘significant other’ for the homeland national culture. Our claim is that two main prisms, or frames of reference, which we label as ‘minority stance’ and ‘authenticity,’ designate Israeli views of its diaspora that prove fundamental to Israeli national self-definition. The degree of authenticity ascribed in Israeli culture to representations and practices associated with the diaspora is contingent on the positive or negative value attributed to them as embodying a ‘minority stance,’ that is, to the diaspora giving central importance to its environing host society in its own identity and self-understanding. Using Greek culture as a comparative point of reference, we suggest that these prisms may be but two examples of various homeland ‘filters’ on the diaspora experience – filters which pertain to the homeland society’s ongoing internal negotiations of identity and symbolic boundary-work.
... This is expressed by high marriage and fertility rates, a low average marriage age, and low divorce rates, relative to the general population (Fass & Lazar, 2011). Compliance with social-cultural-collectivist codes (Haj-Yahia, 2011) in the community and family is a central psycho-cultural theme in UOJ society, which reflects the nature of the relationship between the individual and society (Heilman, 1992). ...
... One might also argue that HY was not socially accessible because of the insularity of Hasidic communities, a fact that ethnographic studies often emphasize (see, e.g., Belcove-Shalin 2012;Fader 2009;Heilman 1992;Kranzler 1995b;Rubin 1972Rubin , 1997. In light of this, the potential difficulty for acquiring useful linguistic data for analysis ought to be addressed. ...
Unlike other Yiddish dialects that were diminished to the point of virtual obsolescence in the decades following World War II, Hasidic Yiddish remains the dominant language for several hundred thousand Hasidic Jews across the globe. And yet, a survey of the research on Yiddish linguistics published during the second half of the 20th century does not reflect this reality. In this article, I review how the ideological underpinnings of Yiddish linguistics created and perpetuated a disciplinary preoccupation with a hypothetical standard at the expense of theoretically informative empirical studies of an evolving Yiddish dialect. Specifically, I show how linguistic chauvinism, a series of calamitous events, and historical anti-religiosity complicated by new resentments, led to the erasure of Hasidic dialects from Yiddish scholarship. Finally, I highlight significant contributions that recent empirical studies of Hasidic Yiddish are making to the field of linguistics.
... This is expressed by high marriage and fertility rates, a low average marriage age, and low divorce rates, relative to the general population (Fass & Lazar, 2011). Compliance with social-cultural-collectivist codes (Haj-Yahia, 2011) in the community and family is a central psycho-cultural theme in UOJ society, which reflects the nature of the relationship between the individual and society (Heilman, 1992). ...
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish (hereinafter: UOJ) society, as a faith-based community, is a traditional Jewish society based on the principles of Torah and Jewish law. Traditionally, the objective of women’s employment is to financially support their husbands’ Torah study. In recent years, however, there have been many changes and the fields of work have expanded, so that many UOJ women have acquired academic or professional education in new fields that were previously uncommon among this unique society. Women’s desire for self-fulfillment, professionalism, and work has become a main source of self-expression, beyond the fulfillment of the traditional roles of UOJ women. In the current study, 203 UOJ women in Israel answered a questionnaire comprised of occupational, familial, and ideological-spiritual fulfillment items. Findings indicate the existence of positive correlations among ideological-spiritual fulfillment, self-expression, job satisfaction, family size, age, and occupational experience. In addition, study findings indicate a complex picture in UOJ women’s lives – the preservation of tradition alongside change. On the one hand, the findings reflect some stability in UOJ women’s ideological-spiritual principles; yet on the other, they also reflect several changes, especially in relation to job satisfaction and self-expression. These findings are discussed both in practical and theoretical contexts.
... Hasidic Jews distinguish themselves from other branches of Judaism via particular religious beliefs and ritual practices (for more on Hasidism, see Heilman 1992). New York is home to a number of Hasidic groups, each united around a charismatic spiritual leader and named after the latter's prewar Eastern European ancestral town or village. ...
This is a pilot study investigating synchronic variation in New York Hasidic Yiddish (HY) object pronouns. HY is a variety that has been transmitted directly by immigrants from Eastern Europe following the second world war and is presently the everyday language of thousands of Hasidic Jews in New York and other communities around the world. In Yiddish, pronominal forms in the dative case, 'mir' (1SG) 'dir' (2SG), have historically been used in four types of syntactic constructions: 1) when the pronoun referent is the recipient of an action in a double object construction; 2) with a transitive verb that inherently selects for an object in the dative form; 3) with a dative experiencer; and 4) as the object of a preposition. Anecdotal observations suggest an innovative leveled paradigm with accusative forms 'mikh' (1SG) and 'dikh' (2SG) in all four historically dative positions. Moreover, while other Yiddish dialects have dative case marking on definite articles and attributive adjectives, spoken HY has largely lost these. With 'mir' and 'dir' as the sole remaining dative forms in in the pronominal paradigm, learners of HY have less evidence for positing dative case than do learners of other dialects. The data for this study come from an online controlled judgement experiment with 113 native HY speakers from New York. Regression analysis reveals an age effect, with younger speakers tending toward innovative dative forms, and an interaction between age and gender, with younger females innovating more extensively than males. However, sex is confounded with language dominance in this community, largely because of an educational model that supports HY-English bilingualism among girls but gives primacy to HY in the education of boys. The model also selects speakers from Hasidic neighborhoods in Rockland County as the most likely innovators. Overall, the results of this study suggest an emergent reduction in the HY case system where, for some young speakers, the distinction between the accusative and dative case forms has been lost. HY offers linguists a unique opportunity to observe the development of a post-coterritorial Yiddish dialect in a new language contact environment. This investigation into HY in its unique sociocultural context contributes to Yiddish linguistics by highlighting changes that have occurred since its arrival to the US and to general theories of language change by identifying the social factors that may be playing a role in these developments.
... The Jewish Ultra-Orthodox culture is distinct and separate from the secular culture of Judaism in Israel and elsewhere. It is mainly distinguished by its all-encompassing religious lifestyle, strict standards of religious observance, and its ideological choice to isolate itself to a great extent from the surrounding culture to preserve its traditional Jewish way of life (Heilman, 1992;Heilman & Friedman, 1991). The culture and demographic characteristics of the Ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel as a whole clearly differ from those of the general Israeli population (Gurovich & Cohen-Kastro, 2004;Weil, 1990). ...
Ostracism is known to cause psychological distress; however it remains unclear why ostracism evokes this response. Two experiments tested empirically whether fear of death mediates ostracism effects and whether attachment internal working models moderate this role. A total of 288 participants played Cyberball with two other ostensible players. After the game the accessibility of their death‐related thoughts was assessed by a word completion task, and the Needs Satisfaction Scale was used to measure their distress. Participants’ attachment orientation was measured using the ECR scale. Death anxiety fully mediated ostracism distress. However, this effect was stronger in low‐anxious individuals. These studies contribute to the ostracism literature by providing further empirical support that death anxiety mediates ostracism distress, and to the attachment literature by documenting the moderation effect of attachment anxiety.
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... Lynn Davidman (1991), looking at women in Orthodox Judaism, finds that women benefit from the way in which the tradition sacralizes women's roles as wives and mothers in stable family units, a conclusion also supported by studies of the burgeoning ultra-orthodox movement in Judaism (e.g. Heilman 1999). ...
Rethinking Society for the 21st Century - by International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) July 2018
... An essential dilemma that constantly permeates the daily management of ultra-Orthodox society regards its relations with the 'outside', that is, the secular society that surrounds their community. According to Heilman (1992), ultra-Orthodox society developed a survival mechanism during the nineteenth century, in reaction to the advent of secularization and modernity. Since that time, the ultra-Orthodox community has been standing guard against openness towards the surrounding society, and in particular against two of the central pillars of socialization in Israeli society: the army and institutions of higher learning. ...
... An essential dilemma that constantly permeates the daily management of ultra-Orthodox society regards its relations with the 'outside', that is, the secular society that surrounds their community. According to Heilman (1992), ultra-Orthodox society developed a survival mechanism during the nineteenth century, in reaction to the advent of secularization and modernity. Since that time, the ultra-Orthodox community has been standing guard against openness towards the surrounding society, and in particular against two of the central pillars of socialization in Israeli society: the army and institutions of higher learning. ...
Within the last two decades, significant changes have been taking place in ultra-Orthodox society in Israel regarding higher education and entry into the workforce. This study examines the socio-religious identity of educated ultra-Orthodox women in light of their entry into the workforce. Findings show that although these women are leading a process of academic and occupational changes in the ultra-Orthodox community, they actually function as agents of preservation, and attest to a rise in their level of religiosity, despite the changes in their lives. Most of them continue to maintain the core values of Ultra-Orthodox society, especially the ideal of a ‘society of scholars’. They do reveal some openness towards the world, but in a limited and controlled manner.
This project tracks the prayer responses of Hasidic masters and their communities in Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7 2023. The massacre perpetrated on that day resulted in widespread trauma and vulnerability in Israel, and it triggered a war in the Gaza Strip and battles on other fronts. Given the traditional Hasidic affinity for prayer, the Hasidic prayer response to the crisis is of interest. This is particularly so since contemporary Hasidim do not identify with the Zionist project or ideology, do not support the State of Israel, do not serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and do not publicly pray for the well-being of Israeli soldiers. The findings demonstrate that Hasidim responded to the crisis with prayer, but they did so without compromising their anti-Zionist ideology or non-Zionist stance. There were instances of prayers for soldiers, but these were creative, idiosyncratic expressions, general prayers, or personal supplications. The most common prayer for IDF soldiers was not said, nor were there public calls for specific prayers for those who were risking their lives to free the hostages, to protect the Jewish People, and to ensure the security of the State of Israel and its inhabitants. The Hasidic prayer response could be characterized as acknowledgement and appreciation without embrace. This analysis suggests that, when Israel emerges from the crisis, we should not expect a change in the attitude of Hasidic communities toward the State or the IDF, even if there were glimmers of such a change immediately following October 7.
This article is devoted to the role of contemporary Ashkenazic Hebrew in Hasidic communities in English-speaking countries, presented within a theoretical framework that we refer to as internal diglossia and external bilingualism. It has typically been believed that Ashkenazic Hebrew, the historical variety of Hebrew used in Central and Eastern European Jewish communities in a diglossic situation alongside the vernacular Yiddish, fell out of use in the first half of the 20th century and was replaced by either the co-territorial majority languages, or by Israeli Hebrew as a language of both speech and writing. However, contrary to this widespread assumption, the traditional Eastern European form of Hebrew continues to thrive as a productive written language along- side Yiddish and English in Hasidic communities. This 21st-century Ashkenazic Hebrew has its own linguistic features that differ significantly from Israeli Hebrew (Kahn and Yampolskaya 2022). The article examines the acquisition and use of contemporary Ashkenazic Hebrew among men and women in Hasidic communities as well as user attitudes to the language in terms of gender, social status, and holiness.
This paper focuses on the analysis of the discourse in major Israeli ultra-Orthodox newspapers during the first year of COVID-19. Following Durkheim, we argue that the pandemic not only brought about a health emergency, but also a state of anomie. Analyzing both Hamodia and Yated Neeman—both major news outlets of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel—we show how in a time of anomie when the sanctity of life (pikuach nefesh) conflicted with the sanctity of the community, the latter prevailed. Thus, this study unveils a different set of moral priorities than the one commonly referred to in Israeli bioethical discussions in the pre-COVID-19 era. We also found that the Durkheimian “totem” or “God” metaphors—a symbol of society itself—are highly relevant in analyzing how leaders of the Haredi community in Israel tried to keep their congregation together. This was expressed in the two heavily censored newspapers we analyzed: they placed communal living above the sanctity of individual life in a way that exposed how the cohesion of the group and the community itself were sanctified. At the same time, what was identified as the real virus was in fact secularism and not COVID-19.
Orthodox Judaism is deeply spatial. It requires that its members live in accordance with Halakha (Jewish law), the dominant protocol determining Jewish ritual and translation of the commandments into many aspects of day-to-day living. The strict orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community comprises many sects whose communal identity plays a central role in everyday life and spatial organisation. This book examines how different levels of communal-organisation are reflected in the residential patterns of four British communities: The Litvish communities of Golders Green and Gateshead, and the Hassidic community of Stamford Hill and Canvey Island. The research reveals and analyses powerful mechanisms of residential segregation acting at the level of the apartment, building and the near neighbourhood level. Identifying the main engines of spontaneous and organised neighbourhood change and evaluating the difficulties of liberal planning dealing with non-autonomous individuals in the housing market sheds light on similar processes occurring in other city centres with diverse population groups. This book aims to highlight the impact of various organisational levels on the spatial structure of the urban enclave. It focuses on the internal dynamics of ethno-religious enclaves that emerge from three levels of action: (1) individuals’ relationships with their own and other groups; (2) the community leadership’s powers inside the group and in respect of other groups; and (3) government directives and tools (e.g planning). The study investigates the residential dynamics of four Haredi areas in the UK, representing differing social organisational through communal leadership and local-government directives.
Since we assumed the editorship of the American Jewish Year Book in 2012, we have organized three “Forums” on topics of contemporary interest. Each of them brought together a very distinguished group of academics to provide brief commentaries, and this year we have done the same. The first was a “Forum on the Pew Survey, A Portrait of Jewish Americans” (Dashefsky and Sheskin 2015). The second was a “Forum on the Pew Survey, A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews: A Further Analysis of the 2013 Survey of US Jews” (Dashefsky and Sheskin 2017). The third was a “Forum on Contemporary American Jewry: Grounds for Optimism or Pessimism?” (Dashefsky and Sheskin 2019). This fourth forum uses the same format to discuss the 2020 report on Jewish Americans completed by the Pew Research Center.
Increasing numbers of young Israelis annually leave the enclave of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Relying on 16 in-depth interviews, we examine the effects of this disaffiliation on life trajectories and identity reconstruction of individuals who left their society of origin two decades ago. This unveiled a multistep longitudinal process, characterized by moving in and out of various structural stages, coupled with disaffiliates’ agency to highlight specific sociocultural characteristics or the more universal nature of the human condition. The life course of disaffiliates begins with a phase of early struggle with the immediate tolls of disaffiliation, followed by a formative period marked by two steps: military service and acquisition of higher education. Here disaffiliates practice adoption of increasingly inclusive identities, in which the past and present are enmeshed. The formative period is followed by three alternative trajectories: (a) adherence to restrictive Israeli conformity, (b) ongoing search for singularity, and (c) integration of ultra-Orthodox heritage with contemporary Israeli realities. The disaffiliation trajectory from the ultra-Orthodox society is embedded in particular sociocultural, political, and historical contexts. However, narratives of disaffiliates adhere to frameworks of cultural Jewish-Israeli particularism, as much as to those of human universalism, plugging in to certain universal themes of the human condition, namely rigidity, fluidity, alterity, and inclusion.
This article documents a recent project translating COVID-19 information into Yiddish for the benefit of the Hasidic Jewish communities in London’s Stamford Hill and in Manchester in the UK. The translation work developed as a response to the urgent need for Yiddish-language resources specifically designed for the Hasidic community near the beginning of the pandemic. The translations were undertaken by a team consisting of linguists and native speakers of Hasidic Yiddish and took place within the framework of a research project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, dedicated to linguistic and sociolinguistic analysis of contemporary Hasidic Yiddish worldwide. In this article we discuss the sociolinguistic background to the translations and investigate the reasons why they were so urgently needed, before going on to address the issues encountered during the course of the translation process and the decisions taken in order to resolve them. These issues include the type of Yiddish chosen for the translations, the translation of medical terminology, gender-based linguistic differences affecting the translations, and specific cultural considerations that needed to be taken into account.
Historical clinical reports and media narratives suggest that Orthodox Jews are reticent to seek treatment for mental illness, present only with serious concerns, and hesitate to comply with treatment in general and psychopharmacology in particular. On the other hand, recent developments, and some limited research, suggest that Orthodox Jews may be likely to seek and comply with treatment. The current study compared the diagnostic, symptomatic, and treatment characteristics of 191 Orthodox Jews and 154 control patients all presenting to a large private mental health clinic with offices throughout greater New York. Results indicated that the groups were largely demographically similar, and that their diagnoses did not significantly differ. Orthodox Jews initially presented with lower levels of symptoms, terminated with similar symptom levels, attended a similar number of sessions, and were equally likely to use psychopharmacological interventions of similar types, compared to controls. This was equally true of ultra-Orthodox and modern Orthodox Jews. Clinicians providing mental health services to Orthodox Jews should be aware of these findings, which contrast with existing clinical and popular stereotypes. Further, excessive efforts to protect Orthodox Jewish patients against stigma may be unnecessary and counterproductive.
The role of the religious socio-cultural context in the stressors that Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family caregivers of persons with developmental disorders coped with during the COVID-19 period and the role of religion in their ways of coping with these stressors were examined in a qualitative study among 19 caregivers in Israel. The findings indicate that the stressors which the caregivers experienced stemmed primarily from disruptions in the religious socio-cultural context of the family members with disability. They also illuminate the centrality of religious coping mechanisms for the caregivers. Taking this into consideration is essential for providing culturally oriented help for the caregivers.
The multidisciplinary anthology Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic provides deep insights concerning the current impact of Covid-19 on various religious groups and believers around the world. Based on contributions of well-known scholars in the field of Religious Fundamentalism, the contributors offer about a window into the origins of religious fundamentalism and the development of these movements as well as the creation of the category itself. Further recommendations regarding specific (fundamentalist) religious groups and actors and their possible development within Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism round up the discussion about the rise of Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic.
Shababniks are Yeshiva dropouts typically from Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Ashdod, usually involved in some sort of a crime (petty thefts, robberies, credit card scams and other financial crimes, or sales of soft drugs). The term originates from the Arabic word shabab, which means a ‘young man’ or a ‘naughty boy’. Some sources say that the term comes from an acronym for the biblical phrase “Samach bachur b’yaldutecha” – ‘rejoice, young man, in thy youth’ (Ecclestiastes 11: 9). However, the group members do not relate to this phrase, as much as they do not identify with the term Yotzim Leshe’elah (‘those who have left to question’). Shababniks customarily hang out in groups, “being batlanim”, smoking weed all day long and showing open contempt towards community norms.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork and extensive narrative interviews, this study explores social patterns, languages, values, and identity among a group of 30 Shababniks who left the Haredi fold and relocated to Brooklyn between 2011 and 2015. I show how the stigma they carried in Israel and their placement in ‘correctional’ (kiruv) yeshivas prior to immigration to the United States, has further solidified a common bond, creating strong social solidarity within their subculture and in relation to the superculture. In examining the intersection of their identities, I analyze four main categories: (1) in-group kinship ties, (2) professional life, (3) leisure time, and (4) linguistic repertoire of Shababniks. I further cross-map these findings with the data gathered during my previous study of formerly ultra-orthodox (so-called Off the Derech) New York Jews. In doing so I compare the overlapping and diverging points of these two different groups.
I show how Shababniks creatively restructure their social practices and adapt to new and overlapping linguistic spaces. Narrative accounts also reveal how the speakers’ evaluate and negotiate their identities, and how they position themselves against the background of both Haredi community, and world at large.
This is the first study of Shababniks who have migrated from Israel as a group and the first contrastive study on the trajectories of leaving ultra-orthodox Judaism in two transcontinental contexts.
A comparison between the residential dynamics in Stamford Hill and Canvey Island enables direct examination of a variety of non-economic segregation theories, which demonstrate that the individual’s ability to implement his or her residential preferences is also affected by the group’s level of community organisation and the characteristics of the surrounding urban space. Religious and communal identity appear as the driving force behind the micro-dynamics in Stamford Hill, allow relatively small Hasidic groups living close to the city centre to reproduce their physical proximity in space, and maintain their communal identity. Considering the high fertility rates and high residential demands, the council is limited in supporting the Hasidic communities’ housing needs. More specifically, we could expect micro-segregation mechanisms to operate in multicultural urban hubs as a result of people’s urge to feel comfortable in their residential surroundings. The housing shortage at Stamford Hill prompted the Satmar community to initiate a group action and send pioneers to settle in the peripheral area of Canvey Island. The quality of life, in terms of living conditions and housing prices, is significantly higher than in the old enclave, with a relatively low density of two persons per room, and the construction irregularities are negligible. Despite the concern of the veteran residents of the implications of the entry of newcomers on the composition of the community and house prices, the support of the local authority increases the chances of Canvey Island to become a model of harmonious standalone coexistence. The micro-segregation pattern of the Satmar community in Stamford Hill and around JCoCI in Canvey Island suggests that seemingly homogeneous inner-city neighbourhoods actually include subareas created by religious, social or cultural relations.
Rabbi Yitshak Hutner (1906–1980) was a remarkable scholar, an enigmatic religious intellectual and a charismatic teacher. Drawing upon his public discourses and his written letters, I argue that Hutner’s vocabulary—which remained rooted almost entirely in the vocabulary of traditional Talmudism—afforded him a ready garment in which to clothe a syncretic educational theory, which combines Hasidic approaches to spiritual instruction and remakes the traditions of Lithuanian piety and study for his new American audience. The present study interrogates a series of key themes that appear in Hutner’s teachings, all of which pertain to issues of pedagogy and the construction of religious education. The essay advances a historical argument by examining the works of an important and influential modern Jewish thinker, but it is also driven by a constructive question: What does Hutner’s vision of Jewish religious teaching and learning have to contribute to today’s Jewish education, and to the broader world of higher education in North America in particular?
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