Abstract
This qualitative study is an examination of the attitudes of national religious Jewish Israeli mothers toward their daughters’ singlehood. The daughters were in their mid to late twenties, when the religious and social expectation is that they be married. The study is designed to explore the main issues faced by the mothers, including perceived difficulties and advantages of their daughters' unmarried status. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 middle-class mothers, whose responses underwent content analysis and revealed a combination of traditional ideas with modern, liberal, and feminist values: internal and external concerns on behalf of the mothers, together with listing advantages and mothers supporting the daughters not to rush into marriage. The findings reveal that confronting social expectations means coping with the old norms while being aware of new possibilities and opportunities. Limitations of the study are discussed.
Highlights
Israeli Jewish national religious societyThe Jewish national religious population comprises approximately 20% of Israel’s Jewish (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2013)
Jewish Israelis - both secular and religious – place family values in high esteem In religious society this is basic to socialization, with the importance and centrality of the family being stressed in religious high schools, emphasizing the sanctity of family in Jewish tradition
According to the mothers who participated in the current study, it is not easy being part of a community that has clear expectations regarding every stage of life, in a society that gives you a feeling that you are under constant scrutiny, and expects certain things in a certain way
Summary
Israeli Jewish national religious societyThe Jewish national religious population comprises approximately 20% of Israel’s Jewish (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2013). The national religious society is less liberal than secular society, and its traditions and collectivist values shun premarital cohabitation or sexual intimacy. Jewish Israelis - both secular and religious – place family values in high esteem In religious society this is basic to socialization, with the importance and centrality of the family being stressed in religious high schools, emphasizing the sanctity of family in Jewish tradition. Religious high schools have programs to prepare students for family life, focusing on values such as the central place of marriage and family in one's life, the importance of procreation, ritual purity, and obeying religious Jewish law (Hermann et al, 2014; Salzberg & Almog, 2008). Singlehood, especially for women, is perceived in religious society as an inferior status, a personal disability, a problem, and a threat to married couples and to social order (Bartov, 2004)
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