A clear-eyed and fearless analysis of what it means to be an Orthodox man in an increasingly egalitarian world.

The Men's Section begins with the lyrical description of services at a “partnership synagogue;” an Orthodox place of prayer where women participate in the services to the extent that Jewish law allows. Women lead prayers, they give speeches, they read from the Torah. This may not sound like a big deal to you, unless you know beforehand that in ordinary Orthodox synagogues, women don't participate at all, and that they are customarily separated from the praying men by a wall, or a curtain.

Independence is never given, it is taken. So Sztokman, an feminist scholar and journalist who also happens to be Orthodox, begins by investigating the kind of man who voluntarily gives up his patriarchal privileges to attend an egalitarian minyan.

She interviews a cross section of Ashkenazi men from diverse national backgrounds, (American, Israeli, Russian, British and Australian), and begins describing the "Be an Orthodox Man Box"--the qualities a Jewish Orthodox man is expected to have. These include being straight, being married, being punctual, having the right job, wearing a kippah, putting on tefillin, being good at reading from the Torah and leading the davening, supporting his family a certain way, being good at sports, suppressing his feelings—and if he lives in Israel, being a good soldier, as well. Outside the box are fearful social pressures; the man-on-man gaze that keeps him in the box, wielding weapons like exclusion and ridicule.

As she begins the book, Dr. Sztokman is under the assumption that these are evolved men who want to see women liberated from their traditional passive and submissive role. But that’s not the case, and reading about individual and personal histories that cause men to seek a kinder, more spiritual religious experience is fascinating.

In the end, most Orthodox men, though sensitive to women's feelings about exclusion, aren't quite ready for women's participation; it alters the men's club atmosphere, and means less fun stuff for them to do. And let's not forget, there is still the lingering question of who will get the kids ready for shul.