Hidden Heretics

Hidden Heretics
Author: Ayala Fader
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0691234485

"This book concerns a cohort of ultra-orthodox Jews based in the greater New York area who, while retaining membership and close familial and other ties with their strictly observant communities, seek out secular knowledge about the world on the down low (so to speak), both online and via in-person encounters. Ayala Fader conducted her ethnographic research in these rarified social circles for years, developing relationships of trust with the mostly young married men and women who have taken to clandestine methods to find alternative social spaces in which to question what it means to be ethical and what a life of self-fulfillment looks like. Fader's book reveals the stresses and strains that such "double-lifers" experience, including the difficulty these life choices inject into relationships with wives, husbands, and one's children. Not all of these "double-lifers" become atheists. Fader's interlocutors can be placed on a broad spectrum ranging from religiously observant but open-minded at one end to atheism on the other. The rabbinical leadership of these ultra-orthodox communities are well aware of this phenomenon and of how unfiltered internet access makes such alternative forms of seeking an ever-present temptation. (Some ultra-orthodox rabbis have been sounding the alarm for years, claiming that the internet represents more of a threat to community survival today than the Holocaust did in the last century.) Fader's book examines the institutional responses of ultra-orthodox communities to the double-lifers. These include what is typically referred to as a Torah-based type of "religious therapy" conducted by trained members of these communities who as therapists and "life coaches" blend elements of modern psychiatry with ultra-orthodoxy and "treat" troubling, potentially life-altering doubt and skepticism as symptoms of underlying emotional pathology"--

Summoned

Summoned
Author: Iddo Tavory
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2016-03-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 022632219X

On a typical weekday, men of the Beverly-La Brea Orthodox community wake up early, beginning their day with Talmud reading and prayer at 5:45am, before joining Los Angeles’ traffic. Those who work “Jewish jobs”—teachers, kosher supervisors, or rabbis—will stay enmeshed in the Orthodox world throughout the workday. But even for the majority of men who spend their days in the world of gentiles, religious life constantly reasserts itself. Neighborhood fixtures like Jewish schools and synagogues are always after more involvement; evening classes and prayers pull them in; the streets themselves seem to remind them of who they are. And so the week goes, culminating as the sabbatical observances on Friday afternoon stretch into Saturday evening. Life in this community, as Iddo Tavory describes it, is palpably thick with the twin pulls of observance and sociality. In Summoned, Tavory takes readers to the heart of the exhilarating—at times exhausting—life of the Beverly-La Brea Orthodox community. Just blocks from West Hollywood’s nightlife, the Orthodox community thrives next to the impure sights, sounds, and smells they encounter every day. But to sustain this life, as Tavory shows, is not simply a moral decision they make. To be Orthodox is to be constantly called into being. People are reminded of who they are as they are called upon by organizations, prayer quorums, the nods of strangers, whiffs of unkosher food floating through the street, or the rarer Anti-Semitic remarks. Again and again, they find themselves summoned both into social life and into their identity as Orthodox Jews. At the close of Tavory’s fascinating ethnography, we come away with a better understanding of the dynamics of social worlds, identity, interaction and self—not only in Beverly-La Brea, but in society at large.

Stylelikeu

Stylelikeu
Author: Elisa Goodkind
Publisher: powerHouse Books
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2011-03-29
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 1576875725

Stylelikeu, created by mother-daughter team Elisa Goodkindand Lily Mandelbaum, goes way beyond the now ubiquitousand static poses of street-fashion bloggers The Sartorialist,Face Hunter, and all the rest, and instead, brings us into thehomes-and more importantly the closets-of the most stylishpeople on the streets of New York, Los Angeles, London, andmore. Not interested in celebrities and the stylists who dress them,Elisa and Lily have an uncanny knack for finding and gainingthe trust of people who march to the beat of their own, verychic, drummer. Often spending up to three hours with themost daring and original dressers they can find, Stylelikeuphotographs each fashionable person in several different looksof the subject's choosing. To probe deeper into each subject's personal style, theyconduct intimate interviews on their ambitions, influences, anddreams, making each portrait so much more than yet anotherstreet photograph. From the most personal pieces in theirsubjects' wardrobes, to the favorite books on their shelves,to the most precious objects in their houses, Stylelikeu goesfar beyond mere appearances to showcase how creativity isfostered and manifested by living in the most stylish way of all:true to oneself. Trumpeted in the press for Elisa and Lily's departure from thetop-down nature of mass-market fashion, where the editorsof popular fashion magazines tell consumers what is stylish,Stylelikeu represents the vanguard of a new, DIY, fashion-mediaparadigm. It is a bold and inspirational experiment,documenting fashion at its source-the individual. A few of the 1000+ comments left by fans of the Stylelikeuwebsite: "Was just talking about how he NEEDED to be on thissite. So amazing." "I find her absolutely mesmerizing. She isso full of life and charm. She has a wonderfully contagiousspirit. She is such an inspiration and I would love to be like hersomeday." "I love that you guys feature such a diverse group ofpeople-all ages, races, sizes, budgets. It shows how everyonecan have style." "I don't have any words to describe howamazing those two girls are! They are the true inspiration forall the girls in this entire universe!"

Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov Movement

Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov Movement
Author: Naomi Seidman
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2019-01-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789624770

Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov movement she founded represent a revolution in the name of tradition in interwar Poland. The new type of Jewishly educated woman the movement created was a major innovation in a culture hostile to female initiative. A vivid portrait of Schenirer that dispels many myths.

Hush

Hush
Author: Eishes Chayil
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010-09-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0802722709

Inside the closed community of Borough Park, where most Chassidim live, the rules of life are very clear, determined by an ancient script written thousands of years before down to the last detail-and abuse has never been a part of it. But when thirteen-year-old Gittel learns of the abuse her best friend has suffered at the hands of her own family member, the adults in her community try to persuade Gittel, and themselves, that nothing happened. Forced to remain silent, Gittel begins to question everything she was raised to believe. A richly detailed and nuanced book, one of both humor and depth, understanding and horror, this story explains a complex world that remains an echo of its past, and illuminates the conflict between yesterday's traditions and today's reality.

Girl Meets God

Girl Meets God
Author: Lauren F. Winner
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1565123093

A young woman invites readers into her personal spiritual journey from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity in a powerful book about religion and identity.

All Who Go Do Not Return

All Who Go Do Not Return
Author: Shulem Deen
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2015-03-24
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 155597337X

A moving and revealing exploration of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and one man's loss of faith Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world—only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at eighteen is arranged and several children soon follow. Deen's first transgression—turning on the radio—is small, but his curiosity leads him to the library, and later the Internet. Soon he begins a feverish inquiry into the tenets of his religious beliefs, until, several years later, his faith unravels entirely. Now a heretic, he fears being discovered and ostracized from the only world he knows. His relationship with his family at stake, he is forced into a life of deception, and begins a long struggle to hold on to those he loves most: his five children. In All Who Go Do Not Return, Deen bravely traces his harrowing loss of faith, while offering an illuminating look at a highly secretive world.

The Skeptic and the Rabbi

The Skeptic and the Rabbi
Author: Judy Gruen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1631523031

As Judy Gruen walked down the aisle and into her Orthodox Jewish future, her bouquet quivered in her shaky hand. Having grown up in the zeitgeist that proclaimed, “If it feels good, do it,” was she really ready to live the life of “rituals, rules, and restraints” that the Torah prescribed? The Skeptic and the Rabbi is a rare memoir with historical depth, spirituality, and intelligent humor. Gruen speaks with refreshing honesty about what it means to remain authentic to yourself while charting a new yet ancient spiritual path at odds with the surrounding culture, and writes touchingly about her family, including her two sets of grandparents, who influenced her in wildly opposite ways. As she navigates her new life with the man she loves and the faith she also loves—surviving several awkward moments, including when the rabbi calls to tell her that she accidentally served unkosher food to her Shabbat guests—Gruen brings the reader right along for the ride. Reading this wry, bold and compelling memoir, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and when you’re finished, you may also have a sudden craving for chicken matzo ball soup—kosher, of course.