Yeshiva Fundamentalism: Piety, Gender, and Resistance in the Ultra-Orthodox World
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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 tothe 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.
1 Introduction: Redefining Male Piety and Fundamentalism 12 Yeshiva Fundamentalism in Israel's Haredi Community 353 On the Edge of Transgression: The Study of the Talmud and the "Evil Inclination" 524 Challenges to the Fundamentalist Denunciation of Work 745 The Idealization of Soldiers' Masculinity 966 The Domestication of Masculine Piety 1177 A Case Study: Terror, ZAKA, and the "Soldiers of Piety" 1358 Conclusion: A Reconstruction of Fundamentalism and Piety 158Notes 165References 173Index 189About the Author 197
