Alan J. Yuter, “Reconstructing Orthodoxy,” UTJ Viewpoints (28 December 2020) (original) (raw)

THE CONTEMPORARY STUDY OF ORTHODOXY: CHALLENGING THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL PARADIGM

Traditiom, 2016

The study of Orthodoxy as a distinctive Jewish religious phenomenon began in the early 1960s with the publication of the pioneering studies of Jacob Katz. Subsequently, other scholars such as Aviezer Ravitzky, Moshe Samet, and Yosef Salmon proceeded to study particular historical and philosophical aspects of Orthodoxy. At about the same period, books that were published in the United States by scholars such as Solomon Poll, Charles Liebman, Samuel Heilman, and Israel Rubin addressed the sociological aspects of the Orthodox (or, as they sometimes referred to it, Ultra-Orthodox or haredi) society. A further contribution was made by the valuable publications of Menachem Friedman in the early 1990s, in which he focused on the haredi society in Israel. The growing worldwide academic interest in religious fundamentalism has further propelled the research interest in Jewish Orthodoxy in recent decades. These trends are reflected by the growing number of scholars, books, articles, and conferences dealing with various aspects of Orthodoxy. This article challenges the conventional worldview according to which there is a one-dimensional sequence of religious degrees, both within and outside of Orthodoxy, a worldview which is conveyed in numerous academic books and papers published during the past two decades .

Three Questions: Orthodoxy's Power and After

2008

The persistence and success of Orthodox Judaism rests on its providing powerful answers to basic questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and morals. Those answers are no longer sufficient, especially in light of feminist critique which undoes Orthodoxy on all three counts. New theology will require returning to the basics of the lived religious language of Torah and Mitzvot.

Orthodox Judaism in the Twentieth Century: An Alternative Modernity

Intellectual History Review, 2022

A prevalent scholarly view holds that Orthodox Judaism in the twentieth century was opposing or challenging modernity, since it refused to assign religion its appropriate modern place as a distinct sphere of values. The goal of this review essay is to reconsider the connection between Orthodox Judaism and modernity. Based on four recent works on Orthodox Judaism during the first decades of twentieth century, which are devoted to political mobilization, gender, theocracy, and law, the essay explores, first, the modern methods whereby Orthodoxy attempted to gain a foothold in the public sphere and, second, the political philosophy of Orthodoxy, which challenges the separation of religion and state. It argues that Orthodox Judaism is a project of an alternative modernity, which strives to gain power in order to conduct a promethean reconfiguration of its surroundings.

In Search of an Authentic Judaism: Blessings and Challenges of Modern Orthodoxy

2021

I am often asked what was it that attracted me, a Dutch Calvinist Protestant, to Judaism.[1] There were many motivations for my eventual conversion to Judaism, such as the desire to experience a spiritual connection (for which many if not all religions could qualify), a belief in one God (limiting my options to the monotheistic faiths), the Torah (narrowing it down to Judaism), and a religiously inspired and committed lifestyle that permeates life in all its different realms (which left me with Orthodoxy). But although I highly appreciated these values, there were and are other things that I value as well, among them: A communal striving for responsible and ethical conduct, a path of challenging and deepening studies, open-mindedness and respect for people with different mindsets and opinions, innovational out-of-the-box thinking, intellectual honesty, creativity, and aesthetics.