The Divine in Modern Hebrew Literature by Neta Stahl (review)

Abstract

of Jewish doubt in the first decade of the twentyfirst century, Hasidic communities began to express increased resistance to the Internet, seeing it explicitly as a moral threat to the sanctity of the Jewish home. Using language of addiction and mental illness to frame discourse around smartphones and technology, women experienced increased pressure to take an active role in protecting their homes from this danger and to ensure children were properly educated about the evils of the Internet. In one of the most emotional chapters of the book, Fader explores the impact of carrying “family secrets” and the struggles of those living adjacent to lifechanging doubt. Here, we see the profound struggles of those complicit in the double life of a spouse or parent, whether by enabling it or ignoring it. What is it like for a child or spouse to hold a family secret that they know might jeopardize their standing in the community? And what are the ethical implications of “rearing children to participate in a dominant public ideology, while simultaneously and secretly undermining that ideology” (207)? The tension Fader’s subjects experience between the desire to conform alongside a deep longing for personal autonomy and selfexpression are very modern and profoundly relatable for all of us living with contradiction in this digital age. Amid a global pandemic where so much of our lives has shifted to online spaces, it is normal to navigate between “real lives” and virtual spaces in a reality that is shaped by social media curation, fake news, and “deepfakes.” What does Jewish doubt look like in an age ruled by doubt where the simulacra of digital media mock any attempt to hold on to absolutes? Indeed, the story of Jewish doubt Fader presents in Hidden Heretics is so compelling and relatable precisely because in some ways, we have all become double lifers.