Among Israel’s Ḥaredim the academic discipline of Jewish studies is generally considered strictly forbidden. Yet a growing group of amateur scholars within this community have become captivated by the field in one way or another, sometimes producing carefully footnoted articles of their own. For the most part, members of this group communicate via online discussion forums, where they engage in passionate arguments, usually anonymously. Yoav Sorek writes:
[This group includes] Ḥasidim and Mitnagdim, the truly God-fearing and those [who feel] trapped in the ḥaredi lifestyle and cut corners [in religious observance], those lacking any academic degree and others who have earned one—sharp and knowledgeable one and all, still faithful to, and actively participating in, the intra-ḥaredi discourse. . . . Nearly every remarkable personality in the field originates in the circles of Ashkenazi religious zealots, yet the scholarly discussion . . . is not private, and sometimes a handful of [non-ḥaredi scholars] participate. . . .
[A] weekly Internet journal popped up several years ago which . . . became an especially favored forum for [ultra-Orthodox] scholars. . . . The journal . . . was, according to its subtitle, “where sages of Israel come to relax.” The publication insisted upon respectful discussion and high-caliber argumentation, but one also could find among the directives to its readers and writers the following note of caution . . . : “Please preserve the low profile of this publication. One can print it for ease of reading but should not show it to just anyone. Wisdom belongs to the discreet.”
More about: Israeli society, Jewish studies, Religion & Holidays, Ultra-Orthodox