Holy Rebellion
Religious Feminism and the Transformation of Judaism and Women’s Rights in Israel
9781684582099
9781684582082
9781684582075
Distributed for Brandeis University Press
Holy Rebellion
Religious Feminism and the Transformation of Judaism and Women’s Rights in Israel
An in-depth study of Jewish religion and law in Israel from a gendered perspective.
In Holy Rebellion, Ronit Irshai and Tanya Zion-Waldoks examine social change in Israel through a rigorous analysis of the shifting entanglements of religion, gender, and law in times of cultural transformation. They explore theological, halakhic, political, and sociological processes and show how they interact with one another in ways that advance women’s rights, as well as how they are met with a conservative backlash in the discourses and actions of the rabbinic establishment. Irshai and Zion-Waldoks build on legal philosopher Robert Cover’s 1982 paper “Nomos and Narrative,” which explained how cultural narratives and legal norms are reciprocally enforced or transformed. Expanding on this notion, Irshai and Zion-Waldoks propose a “narrative ripeness test,” an analytic tool that evaluates the relationship between culture and law to assess how and when change within a minority cultural community may be accelerated or hindered by state intervention.
Religious feminisms are emerging around the world, not solely in Israel, and this book helps elucidate how they create enduring and radical change. Many liberal states are also confronting an illiberal backlash and question the multicultural framework’s ability to serve the needs of minorities within minorities. Therefore, the theoretical framework offered by Irshai and Zion-Waldoks is applicable beyond the Israeli case, even as it offers deeper insights into an Israeli society in turmoil.
In Holy Rebellion, Ronit Irshai and Tanya Zion-Waldoks examine social change in Israel through a rigorous analysis of the shifting entanglements of religion, gender, and law in times of cultural transformation. They explore theological, halakhic, political, and sociological processes and show how they interact with one another in ways that advance women’s rights, as well as how they are met with a conservative backlash in the discourses and actions of the rabbinic establishment. Irshai and Zion-Waldoks build on legal philosopher Robert Cover’s 1982 paper “Nomos and Narrative,” which explained how cultural narratives and legal norms are reciprocally enforced or transformed. Expanding on this notion, Irshai and Zion-Waldoks propose a “narrative ripeness test,” an analytic tool that evaluates the relationship between culture and law to assess how and when change within a minority cultural community may be accelerated or hindered by state intervention.
Religious feminisms are emerging around the world, not solely in Israel, and this book helps elucidate how they create enduring and radical change. Many liberal states are also confronting an illiberal backlash and question the multicultural framework’s ability to serve the needs of minorities within minorities. Therefore, the theoretical framework offered by Irshai and Zion-Waldoks is applicable beyond the Israeli case, even as it offers deeper insights into an Israeli society in turmoil.
378 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2024
Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion, and Law
Religion: Judaism, Philosophy of Religion, Theology, and Ethics
Reviews
Table of Contents
PREFACE The heroines of this story Authors’ positionality and Methodology INTRODUCTION Who and what is this book about?A note on terminology
The Dati (Jewish National-Religious/Modern Orthodox) community in Israel Dati feminists – Who are they? Gender, religion, and the Jewish-democratic State Overview of the book and its main argument
CHAPTER 1: JEWISH FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF RELIGIOUS NARRATIVE AND NOMOS Theoretical frameworks Applying Cover CHAPTER 2: HOMES - FEMINISM RESHAPES ORTHODOX JUDAISM
Strategies of “Change from Within” and Struggles over Collective Homes Beit Midrash (Torah Study)
Beit Knesset (Religious Rituals) Beit Din (Adjudication: Agunot and get Refusal) Bayit Leumi (National Home) Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Family and Female Body) Postscipt: Alternative Homes CHAPTER 3: NARRATIVE BACKLASH: THEOLOGICAL, DISCURSIVE AND POLITICAL ORTHODOX OBSTACLES TO DATI FEMINISM
The Sacrificial Imperative: “Aqedah” Theology as the Basis for Religious Subjectivity“Gender Essentialism” “Slippery Slope” Nationalism “Normalcy” and Family Values
CHAPTER 4: JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN DATI FEMINISTS AND THE STATE Introduction “Minority within minority”: Unpacking the Multi-culturalism DebatesA New Theoretical Model: The “Narrative Ripeness” Test
The Human Dignity Test: The Limits of “Narrative Ripeness” Dati Feminists and Israel’s Supreme Court: Applying the Narrative Ripeness Test .
Acute Cases: Human Dignity Supercedes Narrative Ripeness AFTERWORD Viva la revolución? Our argument Where do we go next? Looking to the future
The Dati (Jewish National-Religious/Modern Orthodox) community in Israel Dati feminists – Who are they? Gender, religion, and the Jewish-democratic State Overview of the book and its main argument
CHAPTER 1: JEWISH FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF RELIGIOUS NARRATIVE AND NOMOS Theoretical frameworks Applying Cover CHAPTER 2: HOMES - FEMINISM RESHAPES ORTHODOX JUDAISM
Strategies of “Change from Within” and Struggles over Collective Homes Beit Midrash (Torah Study)
Beit Knesset (Religious Rituals) Beit Din (Adjudication: Agunot and get Refusal) Bayit Leumi (National Home) Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Family and Female Body) Postscipt: Alternative Homes CHAPTER 3: NARRATIVE BACKLASH: THEOLOGICAL, DISCURSIVE AND POLITICAL ORTHODOX OBSTACLES TO DATI FEMINISM
The Sacrificial Imperative: “Aqedah” Theology as the Basis for Religious Subjectivity“Gender Essentialism” “Slippery Slope” Nationalism “Normalcy” and Family Values
CHAPTER 4: JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN DATI FEMINISTS AND THE STATE Introduction “Minority within minority”: Unpacking the Multi-culturalism DebatesA New Theoretical Model: The “Narrative Ripeness” Test
The Human Dignity Test: The Limits of “Narrative Ripeness” Dati Feminists and Israel’s Supreme Court: Applying the Narrative Ripeness Test .
Acute Cases: Human Dignity Supercedes Narrative Ripeness AFTERWORD Viva la revolución? Our argument Where do we go next? Looking to the future