The past two decades in the United States have seen an immense liberalization and expansion of women's roles in society. Recently, however, some women have turned away from the myriad, complex choices presented by modern life and chosen instead a Jewish orthodox tradition that sets strict and rigid guidelines for women to follow. Lynn Davidman followed the conversion to Orthodoxy of a group of young, secular Jewish women to gain insight into their motives. Living first with a Hasidic community in St. Paul, Minnesota, and then joining an Orthodox synagogue on the upper west side of Manhattan, Davidman pieced together a picture of disparate lives and personal dilemmas. As a participant observer in their religious resocialization and in interviews and conversations with over one hundred women, Davidman also sought a new perspective on the religious institutions that reach out to these women and usher them into the community of Orthodox Judaism. Through vivid and detailed personal portraits, Tradition in a Rootless World explores women's place not only in religious institutions but in contemporary society as a whole. It is a perceptive contribution that unites the study of religion, sociology, and women's studies.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
nicely done and especially good for . . .:
people who haven't been exposed to Orthodoxy very much. Just to sum up briefly: the modern Orthodox Manhattanites profiled tend to have busy but slightly empty lives, and are trying to fit their new religious commitment into those lives. Their rabbis tend to focus less on beliefs about Divine existence and desires than on the utilitarian virtues of plugging into the wisdom of a 2000-year-old tradition. The women in the Lubavitch "sleepaway" camp tend to be younger, suffering from very troubled lives, more... more info
As the author, I want to correct some misimpressions offered:
I want to clarify some aspects of my book, TRADITION IN A ROOTLESS WORLD, that were left unclear by the first reviewer who wrote here. One is that the book does not focus on two synagogues in Manhattan but rather on one modern Orthodox synagogue community in Manhattan and the other a live-in school-cum-dormitory that is run by the Lubavitcher Hasidim in St. Paul Minnesota. The book has as its primary questions why contemporary women are attracted to Orthodox Judaism and how that transformation is... more info
