DOCSLIB.ORG

How Do Parents Within the Orthodox Jewish Community Experience Accessing a Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service? Gemma Rowland

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
How Do Parents Within the Orthodox Jewish Community Experience Accessing a Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service? Gemma Rowland How do parents within the Orthodox Jewish community experience accessing a community Child and Adolescent mental health service? Gemma Rowland A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London for the Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology May 2016 Final word count: 31000 i Abstract Previous research suggests that children of minority groups may be underserved by mainstream services (Elster, Jarosik, VanGeest & Fleming, 2003). There has been an identified need for research that focuses on barriers to accessing services faced by minority groups, such as the Orthodox Jewish community (Dogra, Singh, Svirdzenka & Vostansis, 2012). Given that parents are often the gate-keepers to care (Stiffman, Pescosolido & Cabassa, 2004), understanding their help-seeking behaviour is crucial to ensure that Orthodox children and families are given the same opportunities to access services as their majority group peers. To date there is extremely limited research on the help-seeking behaviours of Orthodox Jewish parents. The current study sought to consider the experiences of Orthodox Jewish parents who have accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in order to seek help for their families. Semi-structured interviews were completed with nine Orthodox Jewish parents with regards to their experiences of accessing tier 2 CAMHS for their child. A thematic analysis was conducted. Four themes were found: ‘The Orthodox community as unique’, ‘Pathways to help’, ‘Attitudes towards mental health’ and ‘The parental journey’. Participants described a number of significant cultural barriers to seeking help. Stigma was identified as occurring in relation to mental health and also in relation to the process of help-seeking, as suggested by previous research within adult Orthodox populations (Feinberg & Feinberg, 1985). These stigmas relate to concerns regarding labelling and future matchmaking for the child and their siblings. Parents experience emotional and practical strains in parenting a child with mental health difficulties and in accessing psychological support for their children. The implications for service level change and clinical practice are considered. ii Acknowledgments I would firstly like to thank the parents who took the time to participate in this research and to share their experiences. Thank you to Dr Beth Hill for your boundless enthusiasm and support throughout the research process, and to Dr Jo Temple and First Steps clinicians for helping with recruitment. Thank you to Dr Paula Magee for your supervision in completing this research. I would like to thank my family and my friends for accepting my training-related absences and for offering support over the last three years. And of course, extensive thanks to Paul, for your endless patience and encouragement and for making me laugh every single day. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, who have believed in me when I could not believe in myself and who helped me to find help when I needed it. iii Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and context .................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 The Orthodox Jewish community .................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 The Orthodox community and acculturation ................................................................... 2 1.1.3 Key groups within the Orthodox community ................................................................... 4 1.1.4 The role of community leaders ........................................................................................ 6 1.1.5 The Orthodox community in Hackney ............................................................................. 6 1.2 Children and young people; help-seeking for mental health difficulties ............................. 8 1.2.1 Parents as gatekeepers to care ...................................................................................... 9 1.2.2 Parents experiences of accessing CAMHS .................................................................... 9 1.2.3 Factors affecting help-seeking ...................................................................................... 10 1.3 Literature review .............................................................................................................. 15 1.4 Mental health and the Orthodox community .................................................................... 18 1.4.1 Stigma and cultural barriers to psychological help in the Orthodox community ........... 19 1.4.2 Mental health, and Orthodox children and young people. ............................................ 20 1.4.3 Culturally sensitive practice .......................................................................................... 21 1.5 Equal access to services ................................................................................................. 23 1.6 Research rationale ........................................................................................................... 24 1.7 Research aims ................................................................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 26 2.1 Ethical and epistemological positions .............................................................................. 26 2.1.2 Epistemological positions .............................................................................................. 27 2.2 The recruitment site and service context ......................................................................... 27 2.3 Research design and rationale ........................................................................................ 28 2.3.1 Rationale for methodology ............................................................................................ 28 2.3.2 Approach to TA ............................................................................................................. 30 2.4 Procedure ........................................................................................................................ 30 2.4.1 Ethical considerations ................................................................................................... 30 2.4.2 Confidentiality and anonymity ....................................................................................... 31 2.4.3 Ethical approval ............................................................................................................ 32 2.4.4 Protection from harm .................................................................................................... 32 2.4.5 Informed consent .......................................................................................................... 32 2.4.6 Supervision ................................................................................................................... 33 iv 2.4.7 Recruitment of participants ........................................................................................... 33 2.4.8 Inclusion and exclusion criteria ..................................................................................... 33 2.4.9 Participants ................................................................................................................... 34 2.5 Data collection ................................................................................................................. 35 2.5.1 Resources ..................................................................................................................... 35 2.5.2 Interview process .......................................................................................................... 35 2.5.3 Interview schedules & design ....................................................................................... 35 2.5.3 Transcription ................................................................................................................. 36 2.6 Data analysis ................................................................................................................... 37 2.7 Reflexivity ......................................................................................................................... 38 2.7.1 The researchers’ position .............................................................................................. 38 2.7.2 Relationship to Judaism ................................................................................................ 38 Chapter 3: ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 40 3.1 Summary of key themes. ................................................................................................. 40 3.1.1 Development of themes ................................................................................................ 41 3.2 The Orthodox Jewish Community as unique ................................................................... 42 3.2.1 An insular, traditional community
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Halachic and Hashkafic Issues in Contemporary Society 143 - Having a Secular Name Ou Israel Center - Fall 2019
    5779 - dbhbn ovrct [email protected] 1 sxc HALACHIC AND HASHKAFIC ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY 143 - HAVING A SECULAR NAME OU ISRAEL CENTER - FALL 2019 A] WHAT IS A ‘JEWISH NAME’? •There are different levels as to how ‘Jewish’ a name is. Consider the difference between the following: - A Hebrew name from the Tanach 1 eg Avraham, Yehonatan, Esther etc. - A Tanach name which has been shortened or adapted eg Avi, Yoni, Esti, Sari. - A Tanach name which is not normally used - eg Ogli, Mushi, Mupim, Chupim, Ard, Kislon. What about Adam? - The English translation of a Hebrew name eg Abraham, Jonathan, Deborah. - A non-biblical Hebrew name which is commonly used by observant Jews eg Zvi, Ari, Rina, Shira. - A non-Hebrew name which is only used by observant Jews eg Velvel, Mottel, Mendel, Raizel, Sprintze, Kalonimus Kalman. - A non-Jewish name which has been explicitly accepted by Jews - eg Alexander - A non-Jewish name which is commonly used by Jews and non-Jews eg Andrew, Jason, Susan, Lucy. - A non-Jewish name which has connotations relating to other religions eg Paul, Luke, Mary. - A non-Jewish name which is directly connected to another religion eg Chris, Mohammed, Jesus. B] NAMES, WORDS AND REALITY «u¯kt r e h rJt kf u u·kt r e Hv n ,u ­t r k o ºstvk t tcHu o hºnXv ;ugkF ,t u v s&v ,'H(kF v )nst*vi n ohek,t wv r. Hu 1. (ugcy hpk uk ,utbv una tuv :wuna tuvw aurhpu - e"sr) /u *n J t01v v­H( Jp1b o4st*v yh:c ,hatrc At the very outset of creation, the animals were brought to Adam so that he could name them.
    [Show full text]
  • Off the Derech: a Selected Bibliography
    Off the Derech: A Selected Bibliography Books Abraham, Pearl. Giving Up America (Riverhead Books, 1998). Deena and Daniel buy a house, but soon after their relationship disintegrates and Deena questions her marriage, her job and her other relationships. Abraham, Pearl. The Romance Reader (Riverhead Books, 1995). Twelve-year-old Rachel Benjamin strains against the boundaries as the oldest daughter in a very strict Hasidic family. Alderman, Naomi. Disobedience. (Viking, 2006). Ronit Krushka never fit into her Orthodox London neighborhood or life as the daughter of its rabbinic leader. After his death, she returns to the community and re-examines her relationships, including one with another woman. Alderman presents a literary, thought-provoking journey of growth and acceptance. Auslander, Shalom. Foreskin’s Lament. (Riverhead Books, 2007). Auslander’s memoir relates the childhood experiences and interactions in the Orthodox community that led to his anger with God and to charting his own path. His caustic wit leaves the reader simultaneously hysterical and shocked. Bavati, Robyn. Dancing in the Dark. (Penguin Australia 2010; Flux (USA), 2013). Yehudit, Ditty, Cohen pursues her dreams of ballet secretly because her strictly Orthodox family would not approve of this activity. As her natural talent grows, so does her guilt at deceiving her family. Chayil, Eishes. Hush (Walker & Company; 2010). Gittel’s best friend commits suicide when they are ten-years-old, and she must come to terms with Devoiry’s death and the community’s stance on sexual abuse to move forward in her own life. Fallenberg, Evan. Light Fell (Soho Press, 2008). After a homosexual affair, Joseph leaves his wife and five sons.
    [Show full text]
  • Tefilla Workshops for Channichim by Saul Adler Et Al
    Tefilla Workshops for Channichim Written and compiled at Yeshivat Har Etzion, Gush Etzion, Israel Contributors: Saul Adler Ramy Avigdor Jarred Bloch Alon Chasen Danny Eizenberg Chemi Falkson Gabi Gluck Sholem Hurwitz Hillel Maizels Meir Perez Doron Podlashuk Layve Rabinowitz Warren Sher Avi Ziskind Division of Informal Jewish Education, JHB, South Africa Dear Madrichim Our Sages show an ambivalent approach to taking Davening seriously. On the one is one of the things for which a עיון תפילה that ברכת התורה hand we say each morning in person gets reward in This World, but his reward in the World to Come is not a עיון תפילה which clearly makes (שבת קכז. diminished; (this is based on a Gemarah in teaches that ברכות נה. & ברכות לב. positive action. But on the other hand the Gemarah in .is one action that reminds G-d of man’s sins and leads to a sore heart עיון תפילה ?חז"ל How can we synthesise these 2 understandings of give one approach to explaining this apparent contradiction. They בעלי תוספות The explain that if one takes davening seriously and has kavanna, then he reaps the rewards in both This World and in the Next World as one builds a relationship with Hashem. On the other hand if one takes one’s davening so seriously as to believe that G-d will automatically give one everything for which one prayed, then he will leave with a sore heart, as he will not be answered. Moreover, this haughty behavior will lead G-d to look at one’s actions more seriously in the ‘hope’ that one is a true Tzadik and one truly deserves all his prayers answered and hence one’s sins will be remembered.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Copy of Dissertation
    The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam ​ by Joseph Dov Rosen A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair Professor Deena Aranoff Professor Niklaus Largier Summer 2017 © Joseph Dov Rosen All Rights Reserved, 2017 Abstract The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam ​ By Joseph Dov Rosen Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies with the Graduate Theological Union University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair This study uncovers the heretofore ignored prominence of talmudic features in Midrash ​ ​ ha-Ne’lam on Genesis, the earliest stratum of the zoharic corpus. It demonstrates that Midrash ​ ​ ha-Ne’lam, more often thought of as a mystical midrash, incorporates both rhetorical ​ components from the Babylonian Talmud and practices of cognitive creativity from the medieval discipline of talmudic study into its esoteric midrash. By mapping these intersections of Midrash, Talmud, and Esotericism, this dissertation introduces a new framework for studying rabbinic interdisciplinarity—the ways that different rabbinic disciplines impact and transform each other. The first half of this dissertation examines medieval and modern attempts to connect or disconnect the disciplines of talmudic study and Jewish esotericism. Spanning from Maimonides’ reliance on Islamic models of Aristotelian dialectic to conjoin Pardes (Jewish ​ ​ esotericism) and talmudic logic, to Gershom Scholem’s juvenile fascination with the Babylonian Talmud, to contemporary endeavours to remedy the disciplinary schisms generated by Scholem’s founding models of Kabbalah (as a form of Judaism that is in tension with “rabbinic Judaism”), these two chapters tell a series of overlapping histories of Jewish inter/disciplinary projects.
    [Show full text]
  • Strongly Traditional Judaism: a Selective Guide to World Wide Web Resources in English Jacob Shulman Brooklyn Public Library
    Judaica Librarianship Volume 10 Number 1–2 6-13 5-1-2000 Strongly Traditional Judaism: A Selective Guide to World Wide Web Resources in English Jacob Shulman Brooklyn Public Library Follow this and additional works at: http://ajlpublishing.org/jl Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Information Literacy Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citation Shulman, Jacob. 2000. "Strongly Traditional Judaism: A Selective Guide to World Wide Web Resources in English." Judaica Librarianship 10: 6-13. doi:10.14263/2330-2976.1145. ALEFBIT Strongly Traditional Judaism: A Selective Guide to World Wide Web Resources in English* Jacob Shulman Brooklyn Public Library Brooklyn, NY Abstract: Annotated list of about forty The Web pages listed here were chosen face. An entry in the format mutt>jeff sig­ selected World Wide Web sites in Eng-_ from more than a hundred sampled. While nifies the steps through a path where click­ lish that are relevant to understanding some items were discovered using the Web ing "mutt" leads to a page where one the more traditionally religious Jewish guides of Romm (1997), Green (1997), and should then click "jeff". URLs (see Glos­ community. The sites include resource Levin (1996), the bulk of the research was sary) have been provided for most listings, indexes and information about kosher original. [Of these three guides, Romm because sometimes those "addresses" food, Jewish calendars, music, commu­ cites the most pages, but Green has the are more durable than the links created to nities, and Torah learning. The sites are best balance between comprehensiveness get at them (or those links' names).
    [Show full text]
  • State‐Religion Struggles Over Sex Education in Israel and England
    `I didn't know how to be with my husband': State-religion struggles over sex education in Israel and England Article (Published Version) Taragin-Zeller, Lea and Kasstan, Ben (2021) ‘I didn’t know how to be with my husband’: State- religion struggles over sex education in Israel and England. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 52 (1). pp. 5-20. ISSN 0161-7761 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/92622/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way.
    [Show full text]
  • On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars Within a Secular-Protestant Landscape
    Sheldon, R. 2019. On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars within a Secular-Protestant Landscape. Secularism and Nonreligion, 8: 8, pp. 1–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/snr.107 RESEARCH ARTICLE On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars within a Secular-Protestant Landscape Ruth Sheldon This contribution to the special issue draws on ethnographic fieldwork exploring pluralities of Jewish life across adjacent urban neighbourhoods in London in order to engage with the conceptual questions and empirical omissions that are currently of concern to scholars of nonreligion. Learning from some illustra- tive moments in my fieldwork in which articulations of non-belief in God serendipitously arose, I first consider how marginal Jewish perspectives trouble the conceptual framing of ‘religion/nonreligion’ within (post)Protestant cultures. I then show how an ethnographic approach focused on the specific contexts in which piety or belief in God is othered can deepen understanding of the heterogeneous formations of ‘nonreligion’, even within relatively well-researched settings such as contemporary London. Introduction home to people of mixed Jewish and Christian parentage, This contribution to the special issue has been born and those of patrilineal Jewish descent (Orthodox Judaism out of my ethnographic study engaging with plurali- defines Jewish identity as matrilineal), how it welcomed ties of Jewish life across two London neighbourhoods: couples in mixed Jewish/non-Jewish relationships, and one widely represented
    [Show full text]
  • Finding the Bashert: Why Is It So Difficult to Hear the Bas Kol?
    Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist Brooklyn, NY www.DrSorotzkin.com [email protected] FINDING THE BASHERT: WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO HEAR THE BAS KOL? The Gemara (Moed Katan 18b) quotes Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel that “Every day a bas kol proclaims that the daughter of so and so [is the match] for so and so.”1 One would therefore imagine that singles need only to sit back and wait for a bas kol to guide them to their bashert (intended). If only it were so! Instead, countless frum singles are frustrated in their sincere efforts at finding a shidduch. There are, undoubtedly, many sociological factors, some affecting the Orthodox community at large, while others impact only specific subgroups, that can make the shidduch process more difficult than it needs to be - but those issues are beyond the scope of this article. Often, however, there are individual emotional issues that make the process especially arduous for particular individuals. This article will focus on some of the more common emotional issues that I have encountered in working with singles who have asked for help in the shidduch process. I will explain how certain personality characteristics can severely hinder the shidduch process, and how early childhood experiences contribute to the development of these personality characteristics. The Bas Kol I have often wondered what purpose the above mentioned bas kol serves if no one can hear it. In most cases where chazal discuss a bas kol, those who were in need of the information heard it (e.g., Rashi, Bereishis 38:26; Berochos, 3a), while this bas kol seems to be heard by no one.2 1 הגרסא המוכרת יותר למדרש זה (סוטה ב.) קובעת כי "ארבעים יום קודם יצירת הולד בת קול יוצאת ואומרת בת פלוני לפלוני".
    [Show full text]
  • Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah
    Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah RABBI LEONARD LEVY This paper was approved by the CJLS on December 6, 2006 by a vote of six in favor, 8 opposed and 11 abstaining (6-8-11). Voting in favor: Rabbis Aaron Mackler, David Wise, Loel Weiss, Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Leonard Levy, Joel Roth. Voting in opposition: Rabbis Elliot Dorff, Robert Fine, Daniel Nevins, Alan Lucas, Myron Geller, Gordon Tucker, Avram Reisner, Susan Grossman. Abstaining: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Joseph Prouser, Adam Kligfeld, Robert Harris, Myron Fenster, Philip Scheim, Mayer Rabinowitz, Paul Plotkin, Pamela Barmash, Vernon Kurtz, Jerome Epstein. How should rabbis and institutions in Conservative Judaism deal with people in :שאלה our communities who are sexually attracted to members of the same sex? In our society and in our communities, people who have been labeled homosexual :תשובה have suffered much pain and injustice. For much of the last half of the twentieth century, those who found themselves feeling sexual attraction toward members of the same sex were given the message that there was something very wrong with them. Many went into psychoanalysis or other forms of psychotherapy seeking a cure, but many did not find a cure, but rather further torment and pronounced feelings of self-loathing. Many have committed suicide. These people felt the need to hide their feelings of same-sex attraction (SSA) from their parents, other close family members and friends in fear that should those feelings be discovered (and even more so, if those feelings found expression in behavior which was discovered or disclosed), they would be rejected and disowned by those who were nearest and dearest to them.
    [Show full text]
  • By and for Jewish Women Only: the Musical Film "The Heart That Sings"
    Journal of Religion & Film Volume 25 Issue 1 April 2021 Article 58 March 2021 By and For Jewish Women Only: The Musical Film "The Heart That Sings" Celia E. Rothenberg McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Rothenberg, Celia E. (2021) "By and For Jewish Women Only: The Musical Film "The Heart That Sings"," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 58. DOI: 10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.25.1.001 Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol25/iss1/58 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion & Film by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. By and For Jewish Women Only: The Musical Film "The Heart That Sings" Abstract The musical film, “The Heart that Sings” (2011), written and directed by Robin Saex Garbose, is part of a genre of films created by and for Orthodox Jewish women. Heart provides a case study that illustrates the depth and breadth of Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s (1902-1994) influence on Jews and Jewish life well beyond his own community members. Schneerson’s outreach work via his shlichim, or emissaries, to unobservant Jews is well-recognized. The extent and nuance of his influence on a broad cross-section of Jews, however, has yet to be fully traced.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Parents in the Current Crisis of “Off the Derech” Adolescents: Dare We Discuss It? Can We Afford Not To?∗ ______
    Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist Brooklyn, NY www.DrSorotzkin.com [email protected] THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN THE CURRENT CRISIS OF “OFF THE DERECH” ADOLESCENTS: DARE WE DISCUSS IT? CAN WE AFFORD NOT TO?* __________________________________________________________________________ The frum community has been struggling with the problem of rebellious adolescents. Many factors have been cited as possible causes for this problem. A prominent therapist recently stated at a professional conference that we currently do not know what causes this problem. This paper will seek to demonstrate that it is deficiencies in the parent-child relationship that lie at the root of adolescent rebelliousness. The impact of other risk factors is mediated via their effect on the parent-child relationship. The resistance to acknowledging the central role of parents in this problem, and the repercussions of this resistance, are discussed. ________________________________________________________________________ The problem of rebellious adolescents has become a major area of concern for the frum community. Many articles have been written on this subject and it is rare for a community organization to hold a conference without workshops devoted to this topic. While accurate statistics are not available, most educators and activists feel that the problem is growing at an alarming rate. Many knowledgeable activists use the term “epidemic.” This paper will review the items commonly mentioned as risk factors in frum children becoming rebellious (“going off the derech”). I will demonstrate that there is a strong tendency - albeit with the best of intentions - to downplay the role of parents in this problem. The reasons for this avoidance and how it can impede efforts to alleviate the problem will be explored.
    [Show full text]
  • Digging the Well Deep (Zevic Mishor Doctoral Thesis)
    Errata Notice (for Doctoral Thesis) Digging the Well Deep: The Jewish “Ultra-Orthodox” Relationship with the Divine Explored through the Lifeworld of the Breslov Chasidic Community in Safed Author of Notice: Dr Zevic Mishor Date of Notice submission: 2nd May 2019 Errata: With the aid of Heaven") to top') בס"ד Title page: Add Hebrew acronym right-hand corner, as per standard practice in the Jewish tradition for written material. Page ix (Table of Photographs): Amend Figure 6 entry to: “The Breslov Magen Avot boys school in Safed” Page 86: Amend Figure 6 caption to “The Breslov Magen Avot boys school in Safed” Page 287: Add thesis closing quotation in Hebrew: ״...כי הכל הבל – לבד הנשמה הטהורה, שהיא עתידה לתן דין וחשבון לפני כסא כבודך״ (ברכות השחר) [English translation: “… for all is vain – except for the pure soul that is destined to give justification and reckoning before the throne of Your glory” (Morning blessings)] Digging the Well Deep The Jewish “Ultra-Orthodox” Relationship with the Divine Explored through the Lifeworld of the Breslov Chasidic Community in Safed A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) at The University of Sydney by Zevic Mishor October 2016 Supervisor: Professor Jadran Mimica ii Abstract The Jewish Charedi (“ultra-orthodox”) community is an example of a contemporary social group whose lifeworld is dictated almost entirely by the tenets of its religious beliefs. This thesis seeks to illuminate the physical, psychological, social and metaphysical structures of that Charedi world, using the Breslov Chasidic community in the town of Safed, northern Israel, as its ethnographic anchor.
    [Show full text]