2008 Woodie Awards
Researchers Investigate Ritual Purity in Orthodox Homes
Daniel Bukingolts
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: Features
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The issue of Jewish family purity has currently received attention by the organization JewishSurveys.org. Dedicated to psychological and sociological research on Judaism, the researchers working for the website hope that Jews around the country will participate in their anonymous survey which they believe will provide significant insight into the condition of Modern Orthodox Jewry.
The objective of this study is to gain an understanding of Jewish adherence to the practices of family purity as they are performed by a variety of Jews worldwide. Included in this, researchers are studying Modern Orthodox Jews' adherence of laws restricting premarital physical interaction and how these halakhic limitations play a role within Modern Orthodox Judaism.
The researchers, Farleigh Dickinson University PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology Mark Guterman and University of California at Berkeley PhD candidate in Sociology Orit Avishai have conducted previous research in this field of study with both American and Israeli Jews.
Mr. Guterman told The Commentator that the questions in the survey deal with a number of areas relating to married life. The specific sexual questions come from a published sexual activity questionnaire.
Mr. Guterman explained that collection of handbooks on this topic grows from year to year, yet we know very little about how Jewish couples, men, and women experience and observe ritual purity. Researchers say that anecdotal evidence and previous research have led to conclude that many couples and individuals are experiencing difficulties with this aspect of the halakha.
The current research is the third such study that Mr. Guterman has undertaken relating to family purity. The first study (published in Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Volume 18, Issue 1) was an initial scouting. Mr. Guterman explained that it was a very specific sample - one Modern Orthodox community and only 53 respondents. Nevertheless, it was groundbreaking in nature as no one had looked at the actual observance and adherence to the laws of family purity. The second study, completed this past summer (and under review for publication), was an online survey, again for Modern Orthodox Jews. It asked very similar questions to the first research study, and found similar results in a much larger sample (the sample was about 5 times as large). The primary achievement of the second article was that it showed a statistically significant difference was found between the 'bleeding days', and the 'clean days' of the Niddah cycle where the Halakha is less stringent. The article concluded that many more couples were less scrupulous in their observance of the later part of the Niddah cycle.
The objective of this study is to gain an understanding of Jewish adherence to the practices of family purity as they are performed by a variety of Jews worldwide. Included in this, researchers are studying Modern Orthodox Jews' adherence of laws restricting premarital physical interaction and how these halakhic limitations play a role within Modern Orthodox Judaism.
The researchers, Farleigh Dickinson University PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology Mark Guterman and University of California at Berkeley PhD candidate in Sociology Orit Avishai have conducted previous research in this field of study with both American and Israeli Jews.
Mr. Guterman told The Commentator that the questions in the survey deal with a number of areas relating to married life. The specific sexual questions come from a published sexual activity questionnaire.
Mr. Guterman explained that collection of handbooks on this topic grows from year to year, yet we know very little about how Jewish couples, men, and women experience and observe ritual purity. Researchers say that anecdotal evidence and previous research have led to conclude that many couples and individuals are experiencing difficulties with this aspect of the halakha.
The current research is the third such study that Mr. Guterman has undertaken relating to family purity. The first study (published in Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Volume 18, Issue 1) was an initial scouting. Mr. Guterman explained that it was a very specific sample - one Modern Orthodox community and only 53 respondents. Nevertheless, it was groundbreaking in nature as no one had looked at the actual observance and adherence to the laws of family purity. The second study, completed this past summer (and under review for publication), was an online survey, again for Modern Orthodox Jews. It asked very similar questions to the first research study, and found similar results in a much larger sample (the sample was about 5 times as large). The primary achievement of the second article was that it showed a statistically significant difference was found between the 'bleeding days', and the 'clean days' of the Niddah cycle where the Halakha is less stringent. The article concluded that many more couples were less scrupulous in their observance of the later part of the Niddah cycle.
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