Reviews for Orthodox Jews in America

The average rating for Orthodox Jews in America based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-10-22 00:00:00 Joaquin Escobar This detail-filled book ably presents the history of American Orthodoxy, from the first congregations in the 1700s to the much larger communities of today. Most of the book focuses on the 20th century, when American Orthodoxy evolved from a big tent full of not-too-observant Jews to a smaller, but much more intensely observant, group. What caused these changes? Gurock suggests that major factors include America's increased tolerance for minority religions, the movement of Hasidic and other haredi Jews to the U.S. after the Holocaust, and modern Orthodox Jews' increased prosperity (which not only increased the market for kosher food, but also made them less interested in being rabbis and teachers, thus causing them to cede many of these positions to not-so-modern Orthodox Jews who were willing to accept lower salaries). Although this book generally describes what happened and why, I do wish Gurock had added a few extra pages here and there discussing the logic of the arguments between Orthodox and Conservative, and between modern and not-so-modern Orthodox, Jews. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, Orthodox Jews moved towards a consistent embrace of separate seating for men and women, while Conservative Jews moved towards a consistent embrace of mixed seating. Gurock mentions that "halacha" favored separate seating, but doesn't explain how premodern Jewish law reached this position, nor does he explain why Conservative rabbis disagreed.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-28 00:00:00 David Williams There were typos on practically every page in this book.