“At ‘Amen Meals’ It’s Me and God” Religion and Gender: A New Jewish Women’s Ritual

Abstract

New ritual practices performed by Jewish women can serve as test cases for an examination of the phenomenon of the creation of religious rituals by women. These food-related rituals, which have been termed ''amen meals'' were developed in Israel beginning in the year 2000 and subsequently spread to Jewish women in Europe and the United States. This study employs a qualitative-ethnographic methodology grounded in participant-observation and in-depth interviews to describe these nonobligatory, extra-halakhic rituals. What makes these rituals stand out is the women's sense that through these rituals they experience a direct connection to God and, thus, can change reality, i.e., bring about jobs, marriages, children, health, and salvation for friends and loved ones. The ''amen'' rituals also create an open, inclusive woman's space imbued with strong spiritual-emotional energies that counter the women's religious marginality. Finally, the purposes and functions of these rituals, including identity building and displays of cultural capital, are considered within a theoretical framework that views ''doing gender'' and ''doing religion'' as an integrated experience.

“We Need to Worship Outside of Conventional Boundaries”: Jewish Orthodox Women Negotiating Time, Space and Halachic Hegemony Through New Ritual

“…27 (50%) of the interviewees self-defined as from the Ultra-Orthodox sector, 18 (34%) as Modern Orthodox, 3 (6%) as traditional, and 5 (10%) as secular. While the multiple and varied voices of the amen meal participants are recorded in other articles about the amen ritual (Neriya-Ben Shahar 2014, 2015, 2018Taylor-Guthartz 2016, in progress) this article specifically focuses only on the 45 Ultra-Orthodox and Modern Orthodox women, comprising 84% of the interviewees. I've focused on this sector because their perceptions about rabbinic attitudes and the male/rabbinic halachic hegemony are relevant to the questions and the arguments here.…”

“…This ritual began in Israel at the beginning of the millennium, spreading from there to other places. It is practiced among a broad spectrum of Jewish women, from the Ultra-Orthodox to secular communities (Neriya-Ben Shahar 2014, 2015, 2018Taylor-Guthartz 2016, in progress), as explained in the methods.…”

“…Beyond this basic model, amen rituals incorporate a variety of other components, such as narrating stories of miracles, halachic learning, reading psalms, learning Torah portions, and singing religious songs (Neriya-Ben Shahar 2014, 2015, 2018Taylor-Guthartz 2016, in progress). Some also include another renewed ritual -taking of challah in public (El-Or 2006).…”