Yeshiva fundamentalism
Subtitle: piety, gender, and resistance in the ultra-Orthodox world
By: Nurit Stadler.
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 197
ISBN-13: 9780814740491
Subjects: Ultra-Orthodox Jews -- Israel; Orthodox Judaism -- Israel; Jewish fundamentalism -- Israel; Jewish men -- Religious life; Yeshivas -- Israel; Jewish religious education of adults -- Israel; Spiritual life -- Judaism
Description: "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."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : redefining male piety and fundamentalism; title: Yeshiva fundamentalism in the Haredi community in Israel; title: On the edge of transgression : the study of Talmud and the evil inclination; title: Challenges to the fundamentalist denouncement of work; title: The idealization of soldiers' masculinity; title: The domestication of masculine piety; title: A case study: terror, ZAKA, and the "soldiers of piety"; title: Epilogue : a reconstruction of fundamentalism and piety.