'It is Our Custom from Der alter Heim': The Role of Orthodox Jewish Women's Internet Forums in Reinventing and Transmitting Historical and Religious Tradition

The society in question is Orthodox and particularly ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewry since the end of the Second World War, and the medium under discussion is Orthodox Jewish women’s Internet forums, colloquially known as “virtual communities.” The subjects of our study are Modern Orthodox (MO)5 and ultra-Orthodox women, known as Haredim.6 MO and Haredim follow the same basic tradition, but differ in terms of customs, rabbinical authorities that they follow, and strictness of religious observance of non-halachic issues.7 Much has been written about the gendered development of Modern Orthodox and Haredi women’s lives, and I have noted the various studies’ significance and the authors’ conclusions in a previous study.8 Noteworthy since that time, however, are path-breaking studies by Salcberg Block on the internal group empowerment of Haredi women in the Toldos Aharon and other communities and her study of dress as empowerment in the Modern Orthodox Israeli community;9 those by Rivka Neria Ben-Shahar about Haredi women, their choice of employment and their use of mass communication as means of internal change10 and her study with Azi Lev-On about the changes taking place among Israeli Haredi women surfing Israeli Haredi women’s forums.11 In terms of research on the Internet and Orthodox Jewry one should also note Heidi Campbell’s important study dealing with the use of Internet among Israeli ultra-Orthodox groups.12 While these studies all contribute to our understanding the general framework of Haredi women and communication from different perspectives, they are limited by the fact that they deal almost solely with Hebrew-speaking Israeli Religious and Haredi women. Israeli Haredim interpret this prohibition stringently, although sources mention that up to forty percent are clandestine Internet users.14 A few Haredi groups, notably those involved in outreach such as Lubavitch Hassidim, have a more positive attitude towards media in general and Internet in particular and many of the Haredi women frequenting virtual communities indeed belong to Lubavitch. How did contemporary Haredi society take on its present form? [...]the Second World War, most ultra-Orthodox Jews, divided primarily into Hassidim16 and Mitnagdim,17 lived in the Baltic areas and Eastern Europe.