This edited volume offers profiles of contemporary Israeli Haredi (i.e., Jewish Ultra-Orthodox) society from several disciplinary points of view, resisting a generalized approach and examining the different, sometimes competing currents, that define it. It is argued that Haredi society has undergone a process of rejuvenation in recent history: demographically, it has experienced steady and consistent growth; on the Israeli political stage, Haredi parties have become increasingly influential; and culturally, the Haredi presence is increasingly felt in Israeli news media, popular movies, and TV series. Each of the chapters in the book focuses on a particular topic and combines research findings with an assessment of the current state of the field. These topics encompass Haredi ideology, politics, military service, education, geography, the media, and healthcare – together, they paint a complex picture of Haredi society as one of contradictory layers, dimensions, and aspects. Making sense of contemporary Haredi society is critical for anyone interested in understanding Israeli society as a whole, but the book will also appeal to historians of religion, scholars of contemporary conservative enclave religious societies and cultures, and those who focus on Jewish studies in the modern era.

The internal tensions and conflicts central to Haredi Lithuanian yeshivas in contemporary Israel are described with a focus on the rabinical authorities' attempts to respond to these difficulties and the changes the Haredi community is experiencing as a result

In recent years, many formerly ultra-Orthodox Jews have documented leaving their communities in published stories, films, and memoirs. This movement is often identified as "off the derech" (OTD), or off the path, with the idea that the "path" is paved by Jewish law, rituals, and practices found within their birth communities. This volume tells the powerful stories of people abandoning their religious communities and embarking on uncertain journeys toward new lives and identities within mainstream society. Off the Derech is divided into two parts: stories and analysis. The first includes original selections from contemporary American and global authors writing about their OTD experiences. The second features chapters by scholars representing such diverse fields as literature, history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, religion, and gender studies. The interdisciplinary lenses provide a range of methodologies by which readers can better understand this significant phenomenon within contemporary Jewish society.

978-1438477213 978-1503601956 978-0815636328

In this book Devorah Kalekin-Fisman and Karlheinz Schneider analyze how the relationship between the traditional and the modern is unfolding in a particular milieu by centering on the Haredi women in Israel who become part of the national (rather than the community) work force. The book is based on analyses of interviews with people in the Haredi world. The authors’ goal is to attain an understanding of what women’s work means to the women, to their families, and to the Haredi community as a whole, by placing women’s self-presentations in the context of sociological literatures relating to the sociology of religion and the sociology of gender. The focal issue is the question of how traditionalism fares when the legitimator / monitor of tradition in the home encounters the constraints of modernity through her studies and her work.

This book examines religion in Israeli society: what it is and how it functions. Here is a clear picture of how Judaism provides a matrix of continuity for Israeli society notwithstanding a wide diversity of beliefs and practices.

Based on a series of lectures the author gave in Mexico City in February 2010.