Jewish American Writing and World Literature: Maybe to Millions, Maybe to Nobody by Saul Noam Zaritt (review)

While the research does a great service to the movement of religious feminism among Modern Orthodox women—as opposed to the Haredi and “traditionalist” interviewees who often seemed to have little interest in change—I could not help but wonder if TaylorGuthartz’s conclusions idealized Modern Orthodoxy. While asserting that most Orthodox women maintain the status quo rather than engage in resistance and change, she argues that they do not do so “unthinkingly or blindly.” I am not sure that is true, and that conclusion is far beyond the scope of this study with a few dozen interviewees. Moreover, I’m not sure that “most” Orthodox women stay Orthodox. There is no data on Orthodox women who leave, especially Modern Orthodox women, who have no formal or organized communal structures after they leave. This is a topic that is in dire need of new research. This book, which at times is more history than sociology, exposes important dynamics while inviting followup research. The analysis at times makes too many generalizations about women from different denominations, arguing that denominational affiliation is an indicator of attitudes about feminism and other issues. However, these assumptions and generalizations are not always warranted from qualitative research and require broader study. The author’s bias about Modern Orthodox women—that they are the most courageous, scholarly, and authentically grappling from among the different interviewees—also needs to be taken into check. Despite the extensive analysis, there is still much that we do not know about women’s agency within patriarchal societies. Yes, women can be courageous. But sometimes women—like men—are afraid of change. And sometimes, despite everything, the system works for them. One of my favorite lines in the book is: “Perhaps it would be more just to reposition ‘resistance’ as the stance adopted by men who seek to oppose and limit women’s religious adaptation and creativity as they respond to changing circumstances” (34). That is powerful—but I’m not sure how many of her interviewees would feel the same way.