Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy (review)

The changing character and direction of Orthodox Judaism in America is a frequent topic of Sabbath-table conversation among Orthodox Jews. Few Orthodox Jews lack an opinion or explanation for the many issues that are addressed in this book. How and why has the Orthodox community transformed itself during the past fifty years? How can we best characterize the nuances of belief, practice, and attitude of an increasingly diverse group of Orthodox Jews? What issues and factors explain the religious shift in contemporary Orthodoxy? In what way has the balance of power shifted within Orthodoxy, and what are the consequences of that change? These and many other questions are addressed in this superb book by the distinguished scholar of American Orthodox Jewish life Samuel Heilman. With a keen eye and an eloquent pen, Heilman raises enough issues to satisfy any student of American Jewish life.

For decades scholars and laymen alike have recognized two overarching types of Orthodox Jews, Modern Orthodox and Haredi. These two terms are commonly used to describe Orthodox Jews who differ in their relationship with American society and culture. Heilman's outline of the differences between the two groups is useful for the novice but adds little to what is already well known. More intriguing is his introduction of new terms, "contrapuntalists" and "enclavists" to describe these two types of Orthodoxy. While these terms might make for creative sociology, they are likely to be quickly forgotten.

Education is often the battlefield upon which ideology and values are contested. This is certainly true among Orthodox Jews. In this book, we have an excellent discussion of the politics of Jewish education in elementary schools, yeshiva high schools, post high-school programs and kollels. Many of the critical factors explaining the religious shift in Orthodoxy are related to matters of education. Parents choosing to send their children to haredi schools, the changing nature of yeshiva faculty—with an increasing number of haredi teachers at modern Orthodox institutions, and the common practice of spending at least a year of study at an Israeli yeshiva or women's seminary following high school form part of the dynamics that explain the religious shift to the right. In addition, what Orthodox Jews read is of great significance. With an increasing number of halakhic texts, religious commentary, and hagiographies written or edited by haredi Jews, it is their religious view that often prevails.

In 1998, Touro College initiated an educational program in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, called Machon L'Parnasa. Geared to the Hasidic/haredi community, with classes in separate buildings for men and women, the institute provides academic training toward a certificate or associate degree in fields such as accounting and desktop publishing. In a chapter devoted to this institution, Heilman presents an excellent discussion of the sociological significance of Machon L'Parnasa. He correctly argues that the program raises issues regarding matters of materialism. Hasidim who attend these training programs may reject American culture, but they want to share in America's economic bounty. For a community that regards the pursuit of secular education as a challenge to the priority of Torah study—a critical part of the divide with modern Orthodox Jews—and which views the college campus as a dangerous place that promotes permissive values and cultural assimilation, the phenomenon of Machon L'Parnasa is notable.

One matter not sufficiently explored in this book is the growing number of haredi pulpit rabbis, and the concomitant lack of modern Orthodox men serving as leaders of congregations. This is true not only in the greater New York area, but increasingly in small-town communities as well. A close study of rabbinic leadership at the Young Israel synagogue movement would likely reveal the shift from the modern Orthodox rabbis that once predominated in American pulpits to haredi rabbis.

Further to this point is the growing role of the heads of the yeshivot in...