The Spiritual Transformation of Jews Who Become Orthodox

Roberta G. Sands

Description

Spiritual transformation is the process of changing one's beliefs, values, attitudes, and everyday behaviors related to a transcendent experience or higher power. Jewish adults who adopt Orthodoxy provide a clear example of spiritual transformation within a religious context. With little prior exposure to traditional practice, these baalei teshuvah (literally, "masters of return" in Hebrew) turn away from their former way of life, take on strict religious obligations, and intensify their spiritual commitment. This book examines the process of adopting Orthodox Judaism and the extensive life changes that are required. Based on forty-eight individual interviews as well as focus groups and interviews with community outreach leaders, it uses psychological developmental theory and the concept of socialization to understand this journey. Roberta G. Sands examines the study participants' family backgrounds, initial explorations, decisions to make a commitment, spiritual struggles, and psychological and social integration. The process is at first exciting, as baalei teshuvah make new discoveries and learn new practices. Yet after commitment and immersion in an Orthodox community, they face challenges furthering their education, gaining cultural knowledge, and raising a family without parental role models. By showing how baalei teshuvah integrate their new understandings of Judaism into their identities, Sands provides fresh insight into a significant aspect of contemporary Orthodoxy.
List of Tables
Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Context of Spiritual Transformation

1. Beginnings

2. Searching, Finding, and Making a Commitment

3. Developmental Trajectories

4. Challenges of Novices: Learning and Adapting

5. Marriage, Parenting, and Relations with the Family of Origin

6. Spiritual and Religious Struggles

7. Psychological and Social Integration

8. Incorporating Spirituality into Everyday Life

9. The Spiritual-Religious Transformation and Its Consequences

Appendix A. Individual Interview Questions
Appendix B. Focus Group Questions
Appendix C. Key Informant Questions

Notes
References
Index

Sujets

• Judaism
• Orthodox Judaism

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 21 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438474304
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Spiritual Transformation of Jews Who Become Orthodox
The Spiritual Transformation of Jews Who Become Orthodox
ROBERTA G. SANDS
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2019 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sands, Roberta G., author.
Title: The spiritual transformation of Jews who become Orthodox / Roberta G. Sands.
Description: Albany, New York : State University of New York, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018027991 | ISBN 9781438474298 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438474304 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Jews—Return to Orthodox Judaism. | Spiritual life—Judaism.
Classification: LCC BM565 .S26 2019 | DDC 296.7/15—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027991
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
There’s a whole big tradition out there, and there’s a whole Jewish tradition that’s so beautiful. It was locked away; you didn’t even know about it. At first, you didn’t even know about it; then you knew about it, but it didn’t seem very accessible; then it starts to become accessible … it’s very cool. I love that process. So now that things are becoming more accessible, it’s good, it’s good, it’s a good place to be. But it’s still exciting.
—“Ben,” Orthodox for ten years
Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Context of Spiritual Transformation
1. Beginnings
2. Searching, Finding, and Making a Commitment
3. Developmental Trajectories
4. Challenges of Novices: Learning and Adapting
5. Marriage, Parenting, and Relations with the Family of Origin
6. Spiritual and Religious Struggles
7. Psychological and Social Integration
8. Incorporating Spirituality into Everyday Life
9. The Spiritual-Religious Transformation and Its Consequences
Appendix A. Individual Interview Questions
Appendix B. Focus Group Questions
Appendix C. Key Informant Questions
Notes
References
Index
List of Tables
Table I.1 Characteristics of Interviewees
Table 2.1 The Spiritual Transformational Processes: From Beginnings to Commitment
Table 2.2 Influential Books
Table 3.1 Age of Commitment to Observing Mitzvot
Table 3.2 Age and Stage at Time of Interview
Table 3.3 Scores of Interview Participants on the Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (MEPSI)
Table 3.4 Comparison between Men and Women on Erikson’s Stages of Development, based on the Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (MEPSI)
Acknowledgments
The research described in this book was developed together with Rivka Ausubel Danzig, who died tragically in 2006 following a courageous struggle with illness. She was my partner in the conceptualization, implementation, and initial analysis of the study. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Rivka, whose penetrating intellect, creativity, perceptiveness, and spiritual depth were awe-inspiring. I am grateful for her contributions to this study and deeply regret that she did not live long enough to participate in the writing of this book.
Rivka and I collaborated on the study “ Baalei teshuvah’s Spiritual Transformational ‘Soul Work.’ ” I appreciate the funding and support we received from The Spiritual Transformation Scientific Research Program, sponsored by the Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science, with the generous support of the John M. Templeton Foundation. I am particularly appreciative of the support provided by Solomon H. Katz, founding president of the Metanexus Institute and director of its Spiritual Transformation Scientific Research Program. Others affiliated with this program, especially Joan D. Koss-Chioino and Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, as well as other grant recipients, offered encouragement to further our work.
This research was made possible by individuals who cannot be named because they were promised anonymity. I am grateful to the baalei and baalot teshuvah who shared their experiences and challenges in their individual interviews and in focus groups. They are remarkable individuals whose determination and perseverance are documented in this book. I also appreciate the participation of key informants, also promised anonymity. I wish I could name this distinguished group of rabbis, rebbetzins, and community leaders.
A number of individuals helped with the implementation of this research. I am especially grateful to Robyn Rapoport Spero, our proficient research coordinator, who participated in all phases of the research, including screening potential participants, interviewing, coding, and data analysis. I also thank the following individuals for their assistance in various capacities: Gail Feinstein, Susan Frager, Jennie Goldenberg, Tirzah Goldenberg, Miriam Hirsch, Chanie Holzer, Nicole Ives, Rebecca Stern Lamm, Charna Shapiro, Rashi Shapiro, and Victoria Stanhope.
Thanks also go to former dean Richard Gelles and support staff of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, and to the Social Work Mental Health Research Center (especially Phyllis Solomon, Steven Marcus, and Craig Abbs) that existed at the time of this study. My immersion in the field of social work as a social work educator at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, as well as my social work practice experience, influenced the theoretical perspective taken in this book.
Two chapters of this book include versions of previous publications. I thank John Wiley Sons for allowing me to use a modified version of my article “The social integration of baalei teshuvah ,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 48 (1), 86–102, ©2009 by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. I also thank Taylor Francis for permission to use a modified version of an article I co-wrote with Rivka Danzig, “A model of spiritual transformation of baalei teshuvah ,” Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 26 (2), 23–48. DOI: 10.1300/J377v26n02_02; https://www.tandfonline.com .
I have benefited from the work of scholars who preceded me in studying Jews who become Orthodox. These include Janet Aviad, Sarah Bunin Benor, M. Herbert Danzger, Lynn Davidman, and Debra Kaufman. Thanks also go to Cynthia Darling-Fisher and Nancy Kline Leidy for allowing us to use the Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (MEPSI) in this research. I also appreciate the valuable reader reports on my manuscript obtained by State University of New York Press. Thanks also go to Rafael Chaiken for guiding me throughout this process and Eric Schramm for valuable suggestions.
Many friends and family members have been here for me as I worked on this project. I thank my daughter, Bonnie (Blima) Moskoff, who, after she became Orthodox, sparked my interest in baalei teshuvah as a research topic. I appreciate her reviewing chapter 5 and the questions she and her husband, David, answered during the writing of this manuscript. I thank Dorit Roer-Strier of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with whom I have conducted research on the impact of a daughter’s teshuvah on family relations in Israel, the United States, Argentina, and South Africa; and the research team in Israel, coordinated by Minny Mock, that enriched my understanding of the process of becoming Orthodox. I also thank my son Philip Wilhelm for being there for me. Finally, and significantly, I thank my beloved husband, Samuel Klausner, for his advice, encouragement, perspectives, insights, and support throughout this undertaking. I appreciate his prodigious knowledge and wisdom, as well as his tolerance of the time and energy it took in writing and completing the manuscript.
Philadelphia, PA May 6, 2018
Introduction
The Context of Spiritual Transformation
Seated beside a partition separating the women’s section from the men’s, the women wedding guests chatted excitedly among themselves. After the musicians returned from their break and introduced a lively tune, a few friends of the bride beckoned the women to form a circle on the dance floor together with Shani, the bride. All of a sudden, several other friends of the bride placed red and green pointed paper hats on their heads and joined the circle. Holding hands, the women with the hats moved into the center of the circle and danced with Shani while the others clapped. Then women in the outer circle joined the center circle, dancing with Shani and her friends.
The next round was similar to the first except that this time friends of the bride took out long, shimmering white lights that they waved in circular motions. As the music became louder, the dancing became more spirited. The mother of the bride joined her daughter, the two of them dancing together in the center while others danced around them. One by one, Shani’s friends joined the mother-daughter pair in the center circle. Round three was similar except that this