Presence

A while back I meant to compose a post about the paucity of religious Jewish fiction. I did a little research and found very little in the way of serious, introspective literature that dealt with life as a contemporary Orthodox (or even traditional/affiliated) Jew.

Then I found an article by Yoel Finkelman entitled, "Medium and Message in
Contemporary Haredi Adventure Fiction" (via the now-defunct AJHistory, who also links to a bunch of good reads). I was all in a twitter. I read the article two weeks ago, and was very impressed; I would say that this article is about 40% as important as Rupture and Reconstruction. It provides a very cogent analysis and deconstruction of modern haredi culture by focusing on the kind of literature (and, by extension, popular culture) it supports. In addition, the insight into the idiom of Yair Weinstock is fascinating; when first approaching this subject, I dismissed Weinstock's work as insignificant due to it's pop/pulp nature. After reading this article, I think Weinstock's works are central to understanding modern haredi popular culture (and, if you read the article, you're spared having to read any of it).

Anyway, give the article a read, it provides excellent insight into modern haredi culture, as well as affirms and presents what I have been thinking for a while about the Orthodox Jewish world. Triumphilism be damned. Good stuff.