Hidden heretics : Jewish doubt in the digital age / Ayala Fader.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fader, Ayala, 1964- author.

Series:

Princeton series in culture and technology.

Princeton series in culture and technology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ultra-Orthodox Jews--Cultural assimilation--New York (State)--New York.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Judaism and secularism--New York (State)--New York.

Judaism and secularism.

Social media--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Social media.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews--New York (State)--New York--History--21st century.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews--Relations--Non-traditional Jews.

Relations.

History.

Assimilation (Sociology).

New York (State)--New York.

New York (State).

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 270 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1. Life-changing doubt, the Internet, and a crisis of authority

Part I: 2. The Jewish blogosphere and the heretical counterpublic

3. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis verses the Internet

Part II: 4. The morality of a married double life

5. The treatment of doubt

6. Double-life worlds

7. Family secrets

8. Endings and beginnings

Appendix: What you need to know about Ultra-Orthodox Jewish languages.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-260) and index.

ISBN:

9780691169903

069116990X

OCLC:

1125977351

Publisher Number:

99984757291