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Abstract
This article compares marriage patterns in the formative years of the religious kibbutz movement (1929–1948) with those in secular kibbutzim at that time. It explores how members of religious kibbutzim, who adopted many of the revolutionary values embraced by secular kibbutzim, dealt with the issue of marriage while maintaining their religious way of life. This problem serves as a case study for understanding the unique complexities that arise when revolutionary ideas are combined with traditional values. The issue of marriage on religious kibbutzim had distinctive features in relation to both religious society and the secular kibbutz. At the same time it shows that in practice, the patterns of behavior on both types of kibbutzim were fairly similar.
Notes
1 CitationSobol, Leil ha-esrim, 28.
2 CitationNear, Rak shvil kavshu raglai.
3 Fishman, Between Religion and Ideology, 72.
4 On the establishment of the religious kibbutzim, see CitationKatz, The Religious Kibbutz.
5 CitationAdmanit, Betokh ha-zerem, 103; Fishman, Between Religion and Ideology, 22, 129.
6 CitationRoss, Armon ha-Torah, 60–68; CitationHyman, Gender and Assimilation, 126–27; CitationBarack Fishman, A Breath of Life, 201–5.
7 Admanit, Betokh ha-zerem, 103; Fishman, Between Religion and Ideology, 22, 164–79.
8 CitationAuerbach, Weiser, and Emanuel, eds., Ha-kibbutz ba-halakhah; CitationFishman, Bein dat ve-idiologiyah, 138–63.
9 Religious Zionist Archive, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan (hereafter RZA) (Ha-Po'el ha-Mizrahi), 267; CitationKatzburg, Ha-hityashvut ha-datit, 81.
10 Admanit, Betokh ha-zerem, 104.
11 Rivka, “She'elat ha-haverah ba-kibbutz” (The question of the female kibbutz member), Alim (April 1944): 11; Leah Ehrlich, 10 January 1937, RZA (Ha-po'alot), 8.
12 CitationKaplan, The Jewish Feminist Movement, 12.
13 The average age of women joining the kibbutz was 23–24; see lists of kibbutz members for 1940, Central Zionist Archive, Jerusalem (hereafter CZA), S15/9754; list of members of Bachad (the religious pioneers' movement in Germany), Berlin, 25 March 1937, RZA (Hityashvut), 113. For more details, see CitationRosenberg-Friedman, Mahapkhaniyot be'al korkhan.
14 CitationFogiel-Bijaoui, “Imahot ve-mahapekhah,” 152.
15 CitationHalamish, Merutz kaful neged ha-zman; for fictitious marriages, see CitationBernstein, Ishah be-Eretz-Yisrael, 31.
16 Letter from David Intriligator, 1 July 1932, Religious Kibbutz Movement Archive, Tel Aviv (hereafter RKA).
17 CitationHareven, Families; CitationBaumgarten, Mothers and Children.
18 This is seen already in Aristotle's writings. See CitationShahar, “Al toldot ha-mishpahah,” 15.
19 CitationShepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 5.
20 CitationShuchtman, “Ma'amad ha-ishah.”
21 Though this custom started to change at the beginning of the eighteenth century, it was still common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For more on this issue, see CitationRuppin, Ha-sotziologiyah shel ha-yehudim, 75–76; CitationMarmorstein, “Meha-shidukh ve-ad ha-hupah,” 75–76.
22 See, for example, CitationWeinberg, The World of Our Mothers; CitationHyman, “East European Jewish Women,” 270. Sometimes, the woman helped to earn money. See CitationRosman, “Lihiyot ishah yehudiyah,” 415–34; CitationBernstein, “Bein ha-ishah,” 32–36.
23 See Marmorstein, “Meha-shidukh ve-ad ha-hupah”; CitationFortune, “Mr. Jones' Wives,” 587–99; CitationKoren, “Kol ba-ramah nishma,” 57–60.
24 For example, the transition from the village to the city during the industrial revolution also brought about changes in marriage, expressed, among others, in the age at marriage. See CitationOris, “The Age at Marriage,” 391–414; CitationYewlett, “From Manuscript to Database,” 1–12.
25 CitationBernstein, Nashim ba-shulayim, 98–101; for the age of marriage, see ibid., “CitationDaughters of the Nation,” 291–92; CitationAlroey, “Nashim be-Eretz-Yisrael,” 97–101; CitationRazi, “Re'uyah ha-mishpahah,” 23.
26 For the family between nationalism and socialism, see Razi, “Re'uyah ha-mishpahah,” 37.
27 See CitationEvans, The Feminists.
28 CitationCarter, The Importance of Being Monogamous; CitationAugustine-Adams, “She Consents Implicitly.”
29 CitationSievens, Stray Wives.
30 For the case in Germany, 1841–48, see CitationVick, “Liberalism and Gender Dichotomy”; see also CitationLogan, “The 1899 Cuban Marriage Law Controversy.”
31 For example, marriages between Europeans and Asians in Soviet nationalism; CitationEdgar, “Marriage, Modernity and the ‘Friendship of Nations.’”
32 See, for example, Fortune, “Mr. Jones' Wives,” 587–99; Oris, “The Age at Marriage,” 391–414; Carter, “The Importance of Being Monogamous.”
33 CitationSemidyorkin, “Family Law Reform,” 87–97.
34 For the consequences of social, economic, and cultural changes on marriage, from a historical and current perspective, see, for example, CitationCartwright, “Shotgun Weddings,” 1–22; CitationEngel, “Peasant Morality,” 695–715; CitationScherbov and Van Vianen, “Marital and Fertility Careers,” 129–43.
35 CitationDurkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, 40–41.
36 See, for example, CitationYadgar, Ha-masortiyim be-Yisrael.
37 CitationShapira, “The Religious Motifs of the Labor Movement,” 253–54.
38 CitationShoham, “Hagigot Purim be-Tel Aviv,” 11.
39 Shapira, “The Religious Motifs of the Labor Movement,” 254. For a discussion on the meaning of folklore, see CitationHasan-Rokem, “Al heker ha-tarbut ha-amamit.”
40 For the complexity of the relationship between Zionism and religion in the given period and the distinction between religion, tradition, and folklore, see CitationAlmog, Reinharz, and Shapira, eds., Zionism and Religion. According to Anita Shapira, pioneers' were suspicious of religion and ambivalent towards tradition. Folklore, however, was regarded positively and given legitimization; see Shapira, “The Religious Motifs of the Labor Movement,” 253–54.
41 CitationBiale, Eros and the Jews, 176–82; CitationBoyarin, Carnal Israel; CitationMelman, “Min ha-shulayim,” 246; CitationGluzman, “Ha-kmihah le-heteroseksu'aliyut,” 148.
42 Razi, “Re'uyah ha-mishpahah,” 30–31.
43 CitationHazan, “Bein ha-zmanim,” 146–55.
44 CitationZeira, Kru'im anu; CitationSoker, Ha-kibbutz, 19–23.
45 Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 51.
46 CitationBat-Rachel, Ba-nativ she-halakhti, 93.
47 See, for example, CitationFogiel-Bijaoui, Ba'ot mi-shtikah; CitationLamdan, Mi-shtikah le-za'akah.
48 See, for example, CitationFogiel-Bijaoui, “Miriam Baratz,” 148–54; Bernstein, “Bein ha-ishah,” 88; Near, Rak shvil kavshu raglai, 278.
49 Fogiel-Bijaoui, “Miriam Baratz,” 163.
50 Fogiel-Bijaoui, “Miriam Baratz,”, 153.
51 CitationTzur, “Ha-kvutzah,” 149–56.
52 For the opinion on this issue of Meir Ya'ari, leader of Hashomer Hatza'ir, see CitationHalamish, Meir Ya'ari, 113–43.
53 Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 22; Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 5, 12; Zeira, Kru'im anu, 265.
54 Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 22.
55 See, for example, CitationSchatz, Al gvul ha-dmamah, 100.
56 Fogiel-Bijaoui suggests that the concept that the kibbutz as a substitute for the family was accepted by kibbutz founders primarily because they did not have families or children. Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 13.
57 Fogiel-Bijaoui suggests that the concept that the kibbutz as a substitute for the family was accepted by kibbutz founders primarily because they did not have families or children. Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 12.
58 CitationShepher, Mavo, 66–67.
59 Near, Rak shvil kavshu raglai, 280.
60 Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 29.
61 For example, Z. Gordon, “Le-she'elat ha-nisu'in” (On the question of marriage), Alim, nos. 16–17, April 1943, RKA.
62 David Sh., “Le-she'elat ha-mishpahah” (On the family issue), Alim (July–August 1942): 2–3, RKA; Yaakov D., “Le-she'elat ha-nisu'in ba-kvutzah,” (On the question of marriage in the kvutzah), Alim (June–July 1942), RKA.
63 In some Christian communes, men could have sexual relations with any woman as long as there was mutual agreement. Procreation was perceived as a communal goal, and the leaders decided on couples. By contrast, the Bruderhof commune saw the family as a positive base for society and rejected the idea that there was a contradiction between family and the commune. For more details and examples, see CitationOved, Edut ha-ahim, 53.
64 Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 16–17.
65 Near, Rak shvil kavshu raglai, 280; Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 17; CitationTalmon-Gerber, Yehid ve-hevrah, 17–18; Biale, Eros and the Jews, 192–95.
66 Gordon, “Le-she'elat ha-nisu'in.”
67 Admanit, Betokh ha-zerem, 103.
68 See, for example, Shlomo Milt, “Le-she'elat ha-haverah ba-kibbutz” (On the question of the female member in the kibbutz), Alim, no. 12 (October–November 1941): 4, RKA; R. Shkolnik, “Le-she'elat ha-haverah ba-kibbutz” (On the question of the female member in the kibbutz), Alim, no. 11 (September–October 1941): 13, RKA; Y.B., “Be-kori et ha-iton” (When I read the newspaper), Alim, no. 13 (November 1941): 4, RKA.
69 R.A., “Mi-yomani” (From my diary), Alim, no. 13 (November 1941): 3, RKA.
70 Biale, Eros and the Jews,195; Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 17.
71 Milt, “Le-she'elat ha-haverah ba-kibbutz.”
72 My interviews with Tova Ilan (29 August 1999), Lea S. (26 October 1999), and Tova D. (9 July 2000).
73 H. Klooni, Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 37, 7 February 1941, RKA.
74 Yo'el Sh., Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 35, 31 January 1941, RKA.
75 Yo'el Sh., Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 35, 31 January 1941, RKA
76 Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 12–22; Zeira, Kru'im anu, 265.
77 Yo'el Sh., Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 35, 31 January 1941; Binyamin K., Kvutzat Emunim, no. 37, 14 February 1941, RKA.
78 Klooni, Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 36, 7 February 1941, RKA.
79 Rudy Hertz File, RKA.
80 Binyamin K., Kvutzat Emunim, Tziyunim, no. 37, 14 February 1941, RKA.
81 Rachela, “Hesped al Miriam” (Eulogy for Miriam), Gush Etzion Archive (hereafter GEA).
82 El-Arida, Shavu'on, no. 26, 16 February 1940, 1, Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu Archive.
83 Tz. Porsher, “Be'ayot be-hayei mishpahah” (Problems in family life), Alim (August–September 1942): 2, RKA.
84 Rudy Hertz File, RKA.
85 Rudy Hertz File, RKA
86 Kvutzat Alumim, “Ha-matzav ha-pnimi” (The internal situation), Alim (September 1942): 6, RKA; Report, November 1944, GEA 8, 3.
87 For example, in June 1940, 28% of the religious kibbutz population were married;, while in October 1945 this figure had risen to 44.3%. RKA, file 39: 230–235.
88 For example, in June 1940, 28% of the religious kibbutz population were married;, while in October 1945 this figure had risen to 44.3%. RKA, file 39; Alonim, no. 3 (June–July 1941), RKA; report from the third council of the Religious Kibbutz, 1944, RKA; data from Kvutzot Avraham, Herut-Herut, and Emunim, 1940, CZA S15/9754.
89 Bernstein, Nashim ba-shulayim, 11; CitationKaplan, The Making of the Jewish Working Class, 44; Ruppin, Ha-sotziologiyah shel ha-yehudim, 166–77.
90 Bernstein, Nashim ba-shulayim, 11; Kaplan, The Making of the Jewish Working Class, 44.
91 In my interview with Elisheva Vagenberg, 23 November 1999, she noted that it was hard for single women to find their place on kibbutzim comprised of couples.
92 Koren, “Kol ba-ramah nishma,” 14. On the complexity of the term “rite” and its connotations, see CitationRubin, Simhat ha-hayim, 23–34; CitationHelman, Or ve-yam hekifu'ah, 67.
93 Rubin, Simhat ha-hayim, 24–28; CitationAdar-Bunis, Mishpahot, 36.
94 Koren, “Kol ba-ramah nishma,” 17, 21. See also CitationDunak, “Ceremony and Citizenship,” 402–24; CitationHoward, “A ‘Real Man's Ring.’”
95 Halamish, Meir Ya'ari, 116; for more examples, see: Zeira, Kru'im anu, 267.
96 Zeira, Kru'im anu, 267.
97 CitationKaminski, “Neshot Ein Harod,” 60. I would like to thank Tammi Kaminski for this information.
98 Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 22, 32; Zeira, Kru'im anu, 267–72.
99 For the wedding ceremony and the tension between the new reality and the traditional ceremony, see Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 51; Zeira, Kru'im anu, 265–72.
100 Auerbach, Weiser, and Emanuel, eds., Ha-kibbutz ba-halakhah, 172–73, 275–76.
101 CitationAlfassi, Torah ve-avodah, 315.
102 Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 17; Zeira, Kru'im anu, 269.
103 Sometimes, the kibbutz delayed the wedding until the future spouse became a member of the kibbutz. See “Nisu'in” (Marriage), Alim (May–June 1944): 3; Kibbutz Kfar Etzion discussed the question of whether a couple could marry before they became members. See Alim, 4 November 1944; Reports, 31 October 1943; Protocol, Council meeting (29 August 1947), GEA.
104 Reports on Kvutzat Emunim, 22, 28 February 1941, RZA H 132; on Hanukkah (December) 1947, five weddings were held in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, GEA, 8b.
105 My interview with Tzipora Bilig, 26 October 1999.
106 Rudy Hertz File, RKA.
107 My interviews with Tova D., 9 July 2000, and Hannah Yair, 6 March 2001.
108 Soker, Ha-kibbutz, 26–44; Zeira, Kru'im anu.
109 Zeira, Kru'im anu, 272.
110 Near, Rak shvil kavshu raglai, 280; Shepher and Fogiel-Bijaoui, Ha-hevrah ha-kibbutzit, 25.
111 CitationBassewitz, “Ha-haverah ba-kibbutz,” 163.
112 CitationShaham, “Bein neshot dor ha-meyasdim,” 211.
113 CitationOpaz, Sefer ha-kvutzah, 119.
114 CitationTzur, Tair, and Porat, eds., Kan al-pnei ha-adamah, 177.
115 From CitationPoznansky and Shchori, “Haverot ba-kibbutz,” 6.
116 Shaham, “Bein neshot dor ha-meyasdim,” 213.
117 CitationEven-Shushan, ed., Bat-Sheva Haikin, 186, 179, 201.