Lubavitcher Women in America: Identity and Activism in the Postwar Era

by Bonnie J. Morris

Lubavitcher Women in America offers a rare look at the world of Hasidic women activists since World War II. The revival of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in the second half of the twentieth century has baffled many assimilated American Jews, especially those Jewish feminists hostile to Orthodox interpretations of women's roles. This text gives voice to the lives of those Hasidic women who served the late Lubavitcher Rebbe as educators and outreach activists, and examines their often successful efforts to recruit other Jewish women to the Lubavitcher community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Central to this book is how Lubavitcher women have "talked back" to American feminist thought. Arguing that American feminism cannot liberate Jewish women--that a specifically Jewish spirituality is more appropriate and fulfilling--Lubavitcher women have helped to swell the ranks of their Rebbe's followers by aggressively promoting the appeal of traditional, structured Jewish observance. The book thus offers a unique look at female anti-feminist religious rhetoric, articulately presented by Jewish "fundamentalists.

Genres: Judaism

Paperback

First published July 10, 1998

About the author

Bonnie J. Morris grew up in Los Angeles and North Carolina. She earned a B.A. in Jewish history from American University, the first student there to minor in women’s studies. She completed her Ph.D. in women’s history at Binghamton University in New York in 1989.

Dr. Morris taught at both George Washington University and Georgetown for almost 25 years, becoming professor emeritus and Professor of the Year at GWU and Vicennial Medalist at Georgetown. In 2017 she joined the history faculty at the University of California-Berkeley, earning a nomination for its Excellence in Teaching Prize.

She is the author of 16 books, including three Lambda Literary Finalists, two national first-prize chapbooks, and the critical feminist texts Women’s History for Beginners, The Disappearing L, and The Feminist Revolution. She may be found lecturing on C-Span, Olivia Cruises, Semester at Sea, the National Women’s Music Festival, and on Pacifica Radio KPFK.

Reviews

[Perlie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this for my dissertation. The level of outright hostility the author feels toward her subject community is so intense you have to wonder why she continued? She conflates "hasidic" with "ultra-orthodox" or even just "orthodox" repeatedly. She tries to use a feminist lens to examine a culture that has its own lens, and therefore draws all kinds of misconclusions. Much of the writing is heavily subjective, and she uses damning adjectives and adverbs as she misjudges and condemns people. There are some redemptive moments, but overall it's hard to read about a community the author disdains.

[T.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, from a unique cultural perspective. It was a dissertation.