|
The ultra-Orthodox
yeshiva, or Jewish seminary, is a space reserved for men, and for a
focus on religious ideals. Fundamentalist forms of piety are usually
believed to be quite resistant to change. In Yeshiva
Fundamentalism, Nurit Stadler uncovers surprising evidence that
firmly religious and pious young men of this community are seeking
to change their institutions to incorporate several key dimensions
of the secular world: a redefinition of masculinity along with a
transformation of the family, and participation in civic society
through the labor market, the army, and the construction of
organizations that aid terror victims. In their private thoughts and
sometimes public actions, they are resisting the demands placed on
them to reject all aspects of the secular world.
Because women are not
allowed in the yeshiva setting, Stadler’s research methods had to be
creative. She invented a way to simulate yeshiva learning with young
yeshiva men by first studying with an informant to learn key
religious texts, often having to do with family life, sexuality, or
participation in the larger society. This informant then invited
students over to discuss these texts with Stadler and himself
outside of the yeshiva setting. This strategy enabled Stadler to
gain access to aspects of yeshiva life in which a woman is usually
unable to participate, and to hear “unofficial” thoughts and
reactions which would have been suppressed had the interviews taken
place within the yeshiva.
Yeshiva
Fundamentalism provides
an intriguing — and at times surprising — glimpse inside the
all-male world of the ultra-orthodox yeshivas in Israel, while
providing insights relevant to the larger context of transformations
of fundamentalism worldwide. While there has been much research into
how contemporary feminism has influenced the study of fundamentalist
groups worldwide, little work has focused on ultra-Orthodox men’s
desires to change, as Stadler does here, showing how fundamentalist
men are themselves involved in the formulation of new meanings of
piety, gender, modernity and relations with the Israeli
state.
Nurit
Stadler is Assistant
Professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. She is the coeditor of Authority and
Power in the Haredi
Community. |
