Orthodox Jews in America (The Modern Jewish Experience) [Paperback]

Jeffrey S. Gurock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2009 | Series: The Modern Jewish Experience

Jeffrey S. Gurock recounts the history of Orthodox Jews in America, from the time of the early arrivals in the 17th century to the present, and examines how Orthodox Jewish men and women coped with the personal, familial, and communal challenges of religious freedom, economic opportunity, and social integration. His absorbing narrative portrays the varied lifestyles of Orthodox Jews and exposes the historical tensions that have pitted the pious against the majority of their co-religionists who have disregarded Orthodox teachings and practice. Exploring Orthodox reactions to alternative Jewish religious movements that have flourished in a pluralistic America, Gurock illuminates contemporary controversies about the compatibility of modern culture with a truly pious life, providing a nuanced view of the most intriguing present-day intra-Orthodox struggle—the relationship of feminism to traditional faith. The book exposes the hypocrisy of Jews who, while outwardly devout in their careful observance of religious ritual, have behaved as moral miscreants. Anyone seeking to understand the American Jewish experience will find Orthodox Jews in America to be essential reading.

(2011)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Although there are many good books on the history of Jews in America and a smaller subset that focuses on aspects of Orthodox Judaism in contemporary times, no one, until now, has written an overview of how Orthodoxy in America has evolved over the centuries from the first arrivals in the 17th century to the present. This broad overview by Gurock (Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva Univ.; Judaism's Encounter with American Sports) is distinctive in examining how Orthodox Jews have coped with the personal, familial, and communal challenges of religious freedom, economic opportunity, and social integration, as well as uncovering historical reactionary tensions to alternative Jewish movements in multicultural and pluralistic America. Gurock raises penetrating questions about the compatibility of modern culture with pious practices and sensitively explores the relationship of feminism to traditional Orthodox Judaism. There are several excellent reference sources on Orthodox Jews in America, e.g., Rabbi Moshe D. Sherman's outstanding Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook, to which this is an accessible and illuminating companion; recommended not only for serious readers on the topic but for general readers as well." —Library Journal

(Library Journal 2009)

"Gurock systematically describes how the devout built the communal infrastructure and developed a cadre of skilled functionaries to meet the requirements of ritual observance..." —Jewish Book World

(Jewish Book World 2009)

"Jeffrey Gurock is positioned more propitiously than any other historian to take on an overall social history of American Jewish Orthodoxy." —Karla Goldman, author of Beyond the Synagogue Gallery

(Karla Goldman, author of Beyond the Synagogue Gallery 2010)

"A great storyteller, Professor Gurock masterfully weaves together personal narrative, sermons, and social observations to create gripping narratives of Orthodox Jewry in America.... [Orthodox Jews in America] brings together several decades of Gurock's incisive research and thinking on American Orthodoxy while offering a still deeper and more nuanced analysis of its overall development." —Shuly Rubin Schwartz, author of The Rabbi's Wife

(Shuly Rubin Schwartz, author of The Rabbi's Wife 2009)

"Gurock's new book is full of interesting details and analysis about how Orthodox Judaism has evolved in America, and how Orthodox Jews have made managed the challenges of American life. This is a well-written social history, illustrated with intriguing photographs." —The Jewish Week, December 4, 2009

(The Jewish Week )

"Gurock is the unrivaled expert on Orthodox Jews and Judaism in the United States, something he proves ably with this book." —Lila Corwin Berman, Temple University, American Historical Review, February 2010

(Lila Corwin Berman, Temple University American Historical Review )

"This volume, superbly written and referenced and the product of dense scholarly research, is well worth the read." —American Jewish Archives Journal, Volume LXI, no. 2, 2009

(American Jewish Archives Journal )

"[T]his is a very good historical and social introduction to the history of Orthodox Judaism and it will certainly find an important place in any collection that deals with American Jewry. The author has a pleasant writing style and provides rich documentation in the notes." —Religious Studies Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, March 2011

(Religious Studies Review )

"Gurock's work is a densely packed, deeply researched, and rich amalgam of history, speculation, and mediation between contending poisitions that is written... from within the tradition of Jewish worship he seeks to analyze." —Journal of American Ethnic History

(Journal of American Ethnic History )

About the Author

Jeffrey S. Gurock is Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University. He is former Associate Editor of American Jewish History and former chair, Academic Council, American Jewish Historical Society. His books include Judaism's Encounter with American Sports (IUP, 2005). He lives in Riverdale, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (March 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253220602
• ISBN-13: 978-0253220608
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Movements > Orthodox

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars fact-filled, June 11, 2011

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orthodox Jews in America (The Modern Jewish Experience) (Paperback)

This detail-filled book ably presents the history of American Orthodoxy, from the first congregations in the 1700s to the much larger communities of today. Most of the book focuses on the 20th century, when American Orthodoxy evolved from a big tent full of not-too-observant Jews to a smaller, but much more intensely observant, group.

What caused these changes? Gurock suggests that major factors include America's increased tolerance for minority religions, the movement of Hasidic and other haredi Jews to the U.S. after the Holocaust, and modern Orthodox Jews' increased prosperity (which not only increased the market for kosher food, but also made them less interested in being rabbis and teachers, thus causing them to cede many of these positions to not-so-modern Orthodox Jews who were willing to accept lower salaries).

Although this book generally describes what happened and why, I do wish Gurock had added a few extra pages here and there discussing the logic of the arguments between Orthodox and Conservative, and between modern and not-so-modern Orthodox, Jews. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, Orthodox Jews moved towards a consistent embrace of separate seating for men and women, while Conservative Jews moved towards a consistent embrace of mixed seating. Gurock mentions that "halacha" favored separate seating, but doesn't explain how premodern Jewish law reached this position, nor does he explain why Conservative rabbis disagreed.

4.0 out of 5 stars Examining Orthodox Life, August 24, 2010

By 

Richard M. Plotzker "rich the furrydoc" (delaware) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orthodox Jews in America (The Modern Jewish Experience) (Paperback)

Orthodox Judaism, both as individual practice and as community, has been a work in progress starting with Professor Gurock's wonderful opening chapter on a single observant man in colonial Manhattan. It remains a work in progress today as numerous subdivisions of people in modern dress and those attired only in black and white accept or decline the many opportunities that life in America affords. In between, there is a remarkable account of who came, why they came, tensions between how immigrants and native born Orthodox Jews adapted to what they found, and to the enduring institutions they created.

I found the book generally easy to read with straightforward sentence structure suitable for late high school or early college readers, though with the cadence too often interupted by words that were not part of SAT challenges, let alone customary vocabulary. The history follows chronologic order though there is an awkward transition from the post-World War II era to the current affluent times with little assessment of how the affluence occurred. Similarly some of the contemporary issues, notably the institutional adaptations to feminism or inconsistencies in dealing with misconduct within the Orthodox community, were not addressed nearly as thoroughly as those 19th and 20th century events that are more fully resolved historically.

Despite these relatively minor reservations, Orthodox Jews in America reflects a superior scholarly achievement and should find its place as required reading in many a college course on American Judaism.

5.0 out of 5 stars Orthodox Jews in America, April 14, 2010

By 

Bruce Wolf (JUPITER, FL, US) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orthodox Jews in America (The Modern Jewish Experience) (Paperback)

A wonderful book. Jeffrey Gurock write an inclusive, insightful review of American Orthodoxy. In the process, he gives a thorough look at American Judaism in general. I recommend this without reservation.