The Sociological Model of Haredi Rebbetzins: "Two-Person Single Career" vs. "Parallel-Life Family"

Abstract:This article discusses the biographies of two well-known ultra-Orthodox rebbetzins (rabbis' wives): Sarah Sonia Diskin (1816–1906) from the Old Yishuv of Jerusalem and Alte Feige Teitelbaum (1912–2001) from the Satmar court of New York. While reviewing the lives of Rebbetzins Diskin and Teitelbaum, the paper explores the function of the ultra-Orthodox rebbetzin and explores how this position allows some women a degree of freedom and recognition. The paper presents the sociological model of the "two-person single career," whereby a husband and wife jointly enhance the man's vocation, thereby also elevating the social status of his wife, and examines the extent to which this model is applicable in the case of the rebbetzins discussed in this paper.