Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood and Current Trends in American ultra-Orthodoxy

• In Event: American Haredi Orthodoxy in Transition

Abstract

According to the registrar’s office at Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, NJ, in 1965 there were less than 300 students in the Yeshiva. As of 2014 there are just under 7000 students at the Yeshiva. Beth Medrash Govoha, otherwise known simply as “BMG” or “Lakewood” is the crown jewel of the American charedi, or ultra-Orthodox, educational system. For ultra-Orthodox students, attending Lakewood is a rite of passage that both acts as a signifier of ultra-Orthodox orientation, and an enculturating force, and its vast number of students ensures its influence over Orthodox society beyond the Lakewood Jewish community as well as within it.

This paper uses Lakewood as a point of entry into current changes in American ultra-Orthodox life. Very little empirical research has been conducted on American ultra-Orthodox communities, and still less on Lakewood itself.These communities are often casually assumed to promote an ideology of isolation from the broader world, and avoidance of male employment outside the Yeshiva, in deference to the goal of lifelong Torah study. However, in other work (Krakowski, 2012) I have shown that this assessment, at least in some ultra-Orthodox contexts, is far from accurate, with ultra-Orthodox community members working in a range of occupations, and expressing openness to secular education.

The data that I am collecting at BMG (ostensibly the most right-wing non-Chassidic ultra-Orthodox environment in America) further challenge the perception of an isolated community that rejects education, engagement in society, and work outside the Yeshiva. The administration of the Yeshiva keep detailed and sophisticated logs (updated regularly) of its alumni’s education and occupations, including those who may have only been in the Yeshiva for one semester. These logs, along with interviews of members of the administration, reveal a much more complex reality: even while sometimes promoting isolationist rhetoric, both students and members of the administration recognize the value and necessity of secular education, engagement outside of the community, and male employment. Senior administrators were explicit and adamant that the future of the ultra-Orthodox community is only sustainable with an open, robust, and educated workforce.

author

• Moshe Krakowski, Yeshiva University