Tradition in a Rootless World: Women Turn to Orthodox Judaism

by Lynn Davidman

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.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Nonfiction, Sociology, Jewish, Womens, Feminism

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[C Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, engaging ethnography, contrasting "ba'alat teshuvah," women who adopt Orthodox Judaism as adults, in two different settings. Davidman's book is “an attempt to understand how and why young, educated, secular Jewish women are attracted to religious communities that offer such traditional definitions of gender and how these women are then resocialized into the community’s norms and way of life” (43).

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well researched exploration of women returning to Orthodox Judaism in two different ways. The book is written in a traditional way and contains a lot of very interesting material and ideas. One of the few bits of extensive qualitative research into Jewish life and practice.

[Amanda]

Same conclusions, over and over. Modern orthodox rich career women: stable. Nut jobs being deported to a chabad in st. paul: not stable. shock me shock me shock me.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and comprehensive

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expansion of author's dissertation on the subject. Pretty interesting, quick read (although okay, I skimmed some of her basic explanations of what ethnography is, as I already know that). She used interviews and participant observation to explore the lives of women new to a modern Orthodox congregation (Lincoln Square Synagogue in NYC) and a residential institute run by the Lubavitch Hasidim (Bais Chana in St. Paul, MN). The most interesting part was the narratives professional women had about the restrictions these traditions involved, and moreover what the few women who considered themselves feminists thought. I'd ideally have liked to see a follow-up a couple of years later to see where the women she interviewed were on their journeys, but obviously that's not very practical in a dissertation (phds take too long already), so I'll see what else the author has written. I wouldn't mind reading something specifically on the Lubavitch community in Crown Heights, either.

Incidentally, I kind of wish I'd read this before I read _The Yiddish Policemen's Union_ as it would have provided much useful context (the yiddish was easy, having enough context for the orthodox characters' mindset and traditions wasn't)-- between what I already knew and what Davidman took the time to explain in text, I barely needed to look at the glossary or the internets (and then I usually found that she explained those things later on). In any case, if you're looking for further information on orthodox Jewish traditions and why they attract some people, this might be a good choice.

confidential to julian: you might consider adding this to your list o' books on religion to read. you might find it pretty interesting.

[Lynn Davidman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating, award-winning story of how modern Jewish women seek the comforts and certainties of conservative religion. It traces the journeys of two distinct groups of women, quoting them and their teachers to illustrate how their quests and life stages lead them to two different approaches to Judaism, a modern Orthodox and a Hasisic.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a bit dated, the scholar in me appreciates the footnotes and the intense respect to scholarly detail.

[Anthony Nuccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting peek inside the world of orthodox Judaism and how women view themselves in that world.

[E.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

dry but intensely informative analysis of the early strides of the female half of the baal teshuvah movement from the angle of two major kiruv-oriented organizations. excellent references, great addition to my library on the topic of women within orthodoxy.

[Fred Coat · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can a book with a topic so interesting be so yucky? The research is terrible, the writing is even more terrible. Yuck.

-Fred Coat

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated but nevertheless fascinating examination of why women (Jewish women in this case) might gravitate towards traditionalist religion.

[rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

yet another ethnography

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. It was nice sociological study of women who chose to live Orthodox Jewish lives however, I felt like the title and introduction were a bit misleading. I assumed that it would be about Gentile women who had chose Orthodox Judaism, not Jewish women. The book focuses on ba'lot teshuvah, not converts, although the word 'convert' and 'conversion' frequently appears throughout the piece it refers to the transformation of a non-practicing Jew into one who observes the mitvoth.

The work does a good job of explaining the differences in the communities and the women who chose the particular routes she studied, although I feel like I would have enjoyed this work more if it were more clear who was being studied. Perhaps a simple edit in the subtitle could have helped: "Jewish Women (re)Turn to Orthodox Judaism."

[Stephen Cranney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all right. Standard ethnography, nothing special, even though the topic itself was quite interesting.