![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the identity narratives of three former members of New Age Judaism (NAJ) communities. By conducting an ethnographic study of the communities, the paper shows that these life stories are based on an intensive search for spirituality. This search prompted the narrators to experiment with disparate forms of Jewish and non-Jewish beliefs and practices and, consequently, to negotiate, challenge, and subvert the categories of the religious and the secular. By emphasizing their choice of a Jewish spiritual identity over a secular or religious one, the narratives illustrate the gradual inward turn taking place in Israeli Jewish society over the last two decades among non-observant Jews and the creation of a new hybrid category of Jewish identity.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 In order to protect the privacy of the community members, all the names, other than those of the two leaders, have been changed.
2 Werczberger, Jews.
3 Huss, “Spirituality”; Heelas and Woodhead, The Spiritual Revolution.
4 Salkin, New Age Judaism; Weissler, “Women of Vision.”
5 Rothenberg, “New Age Jews.”
6 It should be noted that while the North American Jewish Renewal movement and the secular Israeli Jewish Renewal Movement share a similar name and both aspire to bring about a renewal of tradition, their notions of renewal are quite different. The former focuses on spiritual experiences and has a strong neo-Hasidic leaning, while the latter’s orientation is intellectual and focuses mostly on pluralistic study of Jewish texts. See Werczberger and Azulay, “Jewish Renewal Movement.”
7 Libman and Cohen, Two Worlds, 123–56.
8 Goodman and Yona, “Introduction.”
9 Asad, Genealogies of Religion; Goodman and Yona, “Introduction.”
10 Asad, Formation of the Secular, 29; Habermas, “Religion in the Public Sphere”
11 Fedele and Knibbe, “Introduction,” 7; Huss, “Spirituality.”
12 Bhabha, Location of Culture, 2; Sarup, Identity; Sommers, “Narrative Constitution.”
13 Sommers, “Narrative Constitution.”
14 Cohen and Eisen, The Jew Within; Illman, “Researching Vernacular Judaism.”
15 Cohen and Eisen, The Jew Within; Kelman et al., “The Social Self.”
16 Cohen and Susser, Israel and the Politics, xiii.
17 Cohen and Susser, Israel and the Politics, xiii; Kaplan and Werczberger, “Jewish New Age.”
18 Goodman and Yona, “Introduction.”
19 Arian and Keissar-Sugarmen, “Portrait of Israeli Jews.”
20 Goodman and Yona, “Introduction”; Yadgar, “Need for Epistemological Turn.”
21 Yadgar, Masoratim in Israel, 38–39.
22 Werczberger and Azulay, “Jewish Renewal Movement.”
23 Werczberger, Jews, 3.
24 Cadge and Davidman, “Ascription”; Kelman et al., “The Social Self.”
25 Illman, “Researching Vernacular Judaism”; Kelman et al., “The Social Self.”
26 Cohen and Eisen, The Jew Within, 12.
27 Werczberger, Jews, 54.
28 Ibid, 54.
29 Sommers, “Narrative Constitution.”
30 Ibid., 606.
31 Shoham, “Tale of Two Cultures.”
32 Timothy and Olson, Tourism, 5.
33 These non-Orthodox institutions, a part of the secular Jewish renewal movement, offer pluralistic Jewish text study to secular Jews.
34 Weissler, “Women of Vision.”
35 Maoz and Bekerman, “Searching for Jewish Answers.”
36 Beit Hadash broke up following the sexual allegations against their founder and leader, Mordechai Gafni.
37 Wuthnow, After Heaven, 3.
38 Ibid., 11.
39 Maoz and Bekerman, “Searching for Jewish Answers.”
40 Taylor, A Secular Age, 485–6.
41 Ibid., 486.
42 Cadge and Davidman, “Ascription.”
43 Heelas and Woodhead, The Spiritual Revolution.
44 Possamai, I-zation of Society, 20.
45 Adams et al., “Psychology of Neoliberalism.”
46 Sommers, “Narrative Constitution,” 614.
47 Goodman and Yona, “Introduction.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Rachel Werczberger
Rachel Werczberger is a Senior Lecturer at Hadassah Academic College. Her research interests include Jewish renewal and revival, New Age culture and contemporary spiritualities, authenticity and religion under neoliberalism. Her book Jews in the Age of Authenticity: Jewish Spirituality Renewal in Israel was published in 2016 by Peter Lang publishing. Her current research project focuses on the everyday religious and spiritual experiences of Israeli Jew.