Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life

With a fresh perspective, Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life challenges the current historical paradigm in the study of Orthodox Judaism and other tradition-bound faith communities in the United States. Paying attention to "lived religion," the book moves beyond sermons and synagogues and examines the webs of experiences mediated by any number of American cultural forces. With exceptional writing, Zev Eleff lucidly explores Orthodox Judaism's engagement with Jewish law, youth culture and gender, and how this religious group has been affected by its indigenous environs. To do this, the book makes ample use of archives and other previously unpublished primary sources. Eleff explores the curious history of Passover peanut oil and the folkways and foodways that battled in this culinary arena to both justify and rebuff the validity of this healthier substitute for other fatty ingredients. He looks at the Yeshiva University quiz team's fifteen minutes of fame on the nationally televised College Bowl program and the unprecedented pride of young people and youth culture in the burgeoning Modern Orthodox movement. Another chapter focuses on the advent of women's prayer groups as an alternative to other synagogue experiences in Orthodox life and the vociferous opposition it received on the grounds that it was motivated by "heretical" religious and social movements. Whereas past monographs and articles argue that these communities have moved right toward a conservative brand of faith, Eleff posits that Orthodox Judaism-like other like-minded religious enclaves-ought to be studied in their American religious contexts. The microhistories examined in Authentically Orthodox are some of the most exciting and understudied moments in American Jewish life and will hold the interest of scholars and students of American Jewish history and religion.

About the Author :
Zev Eleff is chief academic officer of Hebrew Theological College and associate professor of Jewish History at Touro College. He is the author or editor of nine books and more than forty scholarly articles in the field of American Jewish studies. His Who Rules the Synagogue: Religious Authority and the Formation of American Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History were both finalists for the 2016 National Jewish Book Award.

Review :
Despite its sophistication, Authentically Orthodox is a very readable book and would be excellent contribution to undergraduate courses in religious studies, Jewish studies, and American religious history. --Jody Myers "Journal of the Association for Jewish Studies" With a fresh perspective, Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life challenges the current historical paradigm in the study of Orthodox Judaism and other tradition-bound faith communities in the United States.Paying attention to "lived religion," the book moves beyond sermons and synagogues and examines the webs of experiences mediated by any number of American cultural forces. With exceptional writing, Zev Eleff lucidly explores Orthodox Judaism's engagement with Jewish law, youth culture and gender, and how this religious group has been affected by its indigenous environs. -- "Jewish Journal" Zev Eleff is emerging as one of the freshest and most knowledgeable historians of American Jewish Orthodoxy. His new book includes essays that examine incidents of the interaction between American Orthodox Jews and the contemporary American culture in which they find themselves. These case studies are each rich enough to stand on their own as snapshots of the ongoing mutual influences between Orthodox Jewish communities and non-Jewish American culture. --Yoel Finkelman "AJS Review" Zev Eleff is quickly becoming one of the foremost historians of American Orthodoxy and has provided us with a thoroughly enjoyable read and edifying perspective on episodes which helped shape the contours of our religious community. In so doing he has helped us understand ourselves. --Yaakov Bieler "Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought"