Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life) [Hardcover]

Amy Neustein (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life

In 2006, New York magazine and ABC's Nightline both featured stories dealing with rabbis who had abused children entrusted to them. Then, at the start of 2007, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency published a five-part series on sexual abuse by rabbis who led congregations, taught religious studies, and ran youth groups. The series soon was picked up by Jewish newspapers nationwide. Despite this spate of media coverage, there has been a dearth of scholarly material investigating sexual abuse within the Jewish clergy.
Tempest in the Temple brings together fifteen practicing rabbis, educators, pastoral counselors, sociologists, mental health professionals, and legal advocates for abuse victims, each of whom offer insights into different facets of the problem.
This book is divided into three sections. The first section, "When the Vow Breaks," describes rabbis who break their "vows" through active pedophilia. The second section, "Sacrificing Victims," illuminates the community dynamics surrounding abuse: how a community unwittingly contributes to the cover-up of abuse; why victims of abuse are all too often ignored or cast off by their religious communities; and the mechanisms by which powerful religious institutions protect their own. The third section, "Let Me Know the Way," addresses how Jewish communities can overcome the ignorance, bias, and corruption associated with clergy sexual abuse. Solutions--some already successful, others yet to be tried--are explored here.
Tempest in the Temple offers an open discussion of some of the most deeply rooted fears in the Jewish community. While it is the first book to bring child sex scandals in temples and synagogues to light, its purpose is not to blame or shame Jews but to examine this horrific problem with as much clarity and precision as possible so that the best remedies can be offered to the community as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tempest is a testament to how we can protect our children and make our Jewish communities the safe and nurturing places we want them to be."--Esther Giller, President and Director of the Sidran Institute, Baltimore

"Neustein's work is a most timely volume that serves educators, parents, clergy, and mental health professionals who face the challenge of protecting children from child sexual abuse."--Debbie Fox, Director of Children and Family Services, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles

"The veil of secrecy shrouding clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse has been torn asunder in the past decade. Neustein's thoughtful and pragmatic collection provides practical interventions to assist clergy of all religious faiths."--Terence A. Keane, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Boston University, and Robert A. McMackin, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

"Neustein's fascinating collection includes perspectives from rabbis, lawyers, psychotherapists, social workers, and educators who seek to empower children against predators. One chapter tells the parallel history of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. . . . This book skillfully gathers the voices of those who struggled against official silence to speak truth and demand justice in this case and others . . . [and] helps us begin the discussions we have resisted too long." --Providence Journal

About the Author

AMY NEUSTEIN, Ph.D., is a sociologist, researcher, lecturer, and author of many scholarly articles on child sexual abuse, sociology of religion, and speech technology. She is the co-author of From Madness to Mutiny (NUP, 2005), and is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Speech Technology. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Brandeis (April 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584656719
• ISBN-13: 978-1584656715
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting exploration of scandal in a closed society, December 27, 2009

By 

Andrea Love "nanajlove" (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life) (Hardcover)

Tempest in the Temple provides an honest and open look into how the jewish community has handled allegations of child sexual abuse from their members. Mindful of the disasterous consequences from how leaders within the Catholic community dealt with similar allegations, the reports from rabbis and other jewish leaders indicate a cautious and mindful approach when these situations arise.

The editor has included writings from rabbis, educators, pastoral counselors, sociologists, mental health professionals, and legal advocates for abuse victims. This broad sweep of perspectives allows the reader a glimpse into the complex and highly traditional religious community. The articles are presented in three sections, organized by the context of the authors expertise. Section one explores the impact of active sexual exploitation within the rabinical organization. Section two covers characteristics of the community that contribute to the cover up of scandal. In section three, the authors provide details on how the jewish community is working to better protect their members from abusers, providing prompt and supportive assistance to members who make allegations, and how to better prepare congregations so that scandal does not destroy their sense of solidarity.

This book is an interesting read due to the thoughtful and almost gentle presentation of the subject matter. As a professional researcher, I found the articles well researched and referenced. It was enlightening to read about how a closed religious society operates and deals with controversy while attempting to remain united. Two aspects that are most impressive are how thoroughly explained and logically laid out each course of action was and the efforts behind examining how each step will impact thie jewish community as a whole and the congregation of the victim/perpetrator in particular.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the LibraryThing book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and engaging read to an underreported topic, November 1, 2009

By 

Matthew Posey (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life) (Hardcover)

Tempest in the temple is a collection of essays edited by Amy Neustein that addresses the much under-reported issue of sexual abuse within Jewish Communities. The book is divided into three parts and comprised of nine essays from people with diverse backgrounds - lawyer, rabbi, survivors of child abuse, psychologists, and social workers. These different perspectives each bring a unique voice to the topic. This book includes essays containing heart wrenching tales of abuse, the frustrating pursuit of an accused abuser over twenty years, technical issues of how the abuser/abused relation develops, characteristics of abusers, and recommended approaches to handling potential cases of abuse.

One of the most intellectually engaging aspects of the book are the attempts to understand why the community would act to hide cases of abuse. One particularly striking reason is the concept of m'sirah; the idea of informing on a Jew to a non-Jewish authority being against Judaic law. In some Orthodox circles there are amazingly strong proscriptions against m'sirah that include enacting a death penalty on the informant. There are also strange concerns of providing fuel for anti-Semitic views and generally an attitude that suggests the shame of revealing that abuse occurs in the community is somehow worse then the actual presence of the issue.

This book provides a number of well written essays that explores the topic of child abuse in an in depth manner. The only concern I would have is that a reader might conclude that the assertions and issues brought up only apply to Jewish communities.After reading this collection it is apparent that many of the reasons for abuse arise out of the power differential of rabbi and congregant and are allowed to occur due to the surrounding bureaucracy - neither of which are unique to Jewish communities. I'd encourage any reader of this book to keep this aspect in mind while reading this collection.

A at times painful read but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in better understanding how abuse occurs within a religious context.