R Neriya-Ben Shahar
Biographic Data
| ID | 21173 |
|---|---|
| NAME | R Neriya-Ben Shahar |
| GIVEN NAMES | R Neriya-Ben |
| FAMILY NAME | Shahar |
| SIGNATURE | BEN SHAHAR R N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Sapir College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8909-4546 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 34 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Digital religion and blame attribution: Ultra-Orthodox new media framing of the Meron disaster
In this study, I examine blame attribution in the ultra-Orthodox new media following the Meron disaster using qualitative content analysis of the public digital sphere. Findings reveal a structural bifurcation between institutional news websites and social media counter-publics, in which marginalized groups negotiate communal boundaries. Institutional outlets maintain a positive social identity, while social media facilitate an internal moral rec…
A Women’s Ritual Economy: Amen Meals as a System of Material, Emotional, and Symbolic Capital
This study proposes a novel theoretical synthesis, bridging the sociology of lived religion with economic club good theory to explore the high-commitment dynamics in domestic spheres in the analysis of “Amen meals”, a rapidly spreading ritual among Jewish women. Using a qualitative–ethnographic methodology based on 23 participant observations and 53 in-depth interviews with a diverse spectrum of Jewish women in Israel, the research examines the w…
“I Would Consult a Doctor, But What the Rabbi Says Goes”: Ultra-Orthodox Jews’ Relationships with Rabbis and Doctors in Israel
We examine relationships among ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, their doctors, and rabbis when medical decisions are made. Analyzing excerpts from sixteen focus groups with 128 ultra-Orthodox Jews, we determine how their belief system affects their decisions about whom to trust and follow when the doctor’s instructions contradict the rabbi’s advice. We argue that the strict behaviors described here with regard to relations among doctors, rabbis, and …
The Capabilities Divide: ICT Adoption and Use among Bedouin in Israel
The Bedouin community, a subpopulation of the Arab minority in Israel, has been subject to systematic discrimination throughout the state’s history, including in accessibility to digital services. Based on 25 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Bedouin men and women residing in unrecognised villages – townlets that are not legally designated as municipal entities by the state and therefore lack basic infrastructure – this study asks whether…
There are only a few things that you cannot manage without internet”: Realization of capabilities through internet (non)use by ultra-Orthodox Jewish women
In this study we focus on internet nonuse among Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, members of a community that either refrains from using the internet or deploys content-filtering when it does access it in some situations. We conducted in-depth interviews to empirically answer two questions: First, how do ultra-Orthodox women perceive their internet nonuse? Second, what direct and indirect solutions do they create to realize their desired capab…
Mobile internet is worse than the internet; it can destroy our community”: Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women’s responses to cellphone and smartphone use
In this article I explore use patterns and perceptions of cellphone and smartphone use among Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women with participant observations, interviews, and a survey. My findings show that although they differ in their cellphone use (the Amish mostly do not use them and the Ultra-Orthodox only use those deemed to be “kosher”), they concur in their nonuse of smartphones – they see the smartphone as impure. Both view …
“We Need to Worship Outside of Conventional Boundaries”: Jewish Orthodox Women Negotiating Time, Space and Halachic Hegemony Through New Ritual
For We ascend in holiness and do not descend.” Jewish ultra-Orthodox women’s agency through their discourse about media
“Permission” and “prohibition” are key terms in Jewish religious discourse. For generations they have dominated as part of the primarily male, rabbinic discourse in talmudic literature. This paper will show that men no longer hold the monopoly on these terms because contemporary Israeli ultra-Orthodox women include them in their daily conversation in multiple and varied ways. The study examines exposure patterns and perceptions of 42 ultra-Orthod…
Negotiating agency: Amish and ultra-Orthodox women’s responses to the Internet
This study explores how women in two devout religious communities cope with the Internet and its apparent incompatibility with their communities’ values and practices. Questionnaires containing both closed and open-ended questions were completed by 82 participants, approximately half from each community. While their discourses included similar framings of danger and threat, the two groups manifested different patterns of Internet use (and nonuse)…
“At ‘Amen Meals’ It’s Me and God” Religion and Gender: A New Jewish Women’s Ritual
A forum of their own: Views about the Internet among ultra-Orthodox Jewish women who browse designated closed fora
The paper studies Internet uses and gratifications by ultra-Orthodox women who are members of closed online fora. The fora constitute a unique environment for ultra-Orthodox women, where they can talk amongst themselves anonymously using modern technology, for purposes that may be illegitimate in their community. It was found that the women perceive the Internet as harmful and dangerous to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, but as constructive and emp…
Negotiating agency: Amish and ultra-Orthodox women’s responses to the Internet
This study explores how women in two devout religious communities cope with the Internet and its apparent incompatibility with their communities’ values and practices. Questionnaires containing both closed and open-ended questions were completed by 82 participants, approximately half from each community. While their discourses included similar framings of danger and threat, the two groups manifested different patterns of Internet use (and nonuse)…
Mobile internet is worse than the internet; it can destroy our community”: Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women’s responses to cellphone and smartphone use
In this article I explore use patterns and perceptions of cellphone and smartphone use among Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women with participant observations, interviews, and a survey. My findings show that although they differ in their cellphone use (the Amish mostly do not use them and the Ultra-Orthodox only use those deemed to be “kosher”), they concur in their nonuse of smartphones – they see the smartphone as impure. Both view …
For We ascend in holiness and do not descend.” Jewish ultra-Orthodox women’s agency through their discourse about media
“Permission” and “prohibition” are key terms in Jewish religious discourse. For generations they have dominated as part of the primarily male, rabbinic discourse in talmudic literature. This paper will show that men no longer hold the monopoly on these terms because contemporary Israeli ultra-Orthodox women include them in their daily conversation in multiple and varied ways. The study examines exposure patterns and perceptions of 42 ultra-Orthod…
The Capabilities Divide: ICT Adoption and Use among Bedouin in Israel
The Bedouin community, a subpopulation of the Arab minority in Israel, has been subject to systematic discrimination throughout the state’s history, including in accessibility to digital services. Based on 25 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Bedouin men and women residing in unrecognised villages – townlets that are not legally designated as municipal entities by the state and therefore lack basic infrastructure – this study asks whether…
A forum of their own: Views about the Internet among ultra-Orthodox Jewish women who browse designated closed fora
The paper studies Internet uses and gratifications by ultra-Orthodox women who are members of closed online fora. The fora constitute a unique environment for ultra-Orthodox women, where they can talk amongst themselves anonymously using modern technology, for purposes that may be illegitimate in their community. It was found that the women perceive the Internet as harmful and dangerous to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, but as constructive and emp…
“At ‘Amen Meals’ It’s Me and God” Religion and Gender: A New Jewish Women’s Ritual
Negotiating agency: Amish and ultra-Orthodox women’s responses to the Internet
This study explores how women in two devout religious communities cope with the Internet and its apparent incompatibility with their communities’ values and practices. Questionnaires containing both closed and open-ended questions were completed by 82 participants, approximately half from each community. While their discourses included similar framings of danger and threat, the two groups manifested different patterns of Internet use (and nonuse)…
“We Need to Worship Outside of Conventional Boundaries”: Jewish Orthodox Women Negotiating Time, Space and Halachic Hegemony Through New Ritual
For We ascend in holiness and do not descend.” Jewish ultra-Orthodox women’s agency through their discourse about media
“Permission” and “prohibition” are key terms in Jewish religious discourse. For generations they have dominated as part of the primarily male, rabbinic discourse in talmudic literature. This paper will show that men no longer hold the monopoly on these terms because contemporary Israeli ultra-Orthodox women include them in their daily conversation in multiple and varied ways. The study examines exposure patterns and perceptions of 42 ultra-Orthod…
Mobile internet is worse than the internet; it can destroy our community”: Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women’s responses to cellphone and smartphone use
In this article I explore use patterns and perceptions of cellphone and smartphone use among Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women with participant observations, interviews, and a survey. My findings show that although they differ in their cellphone use (the Amish mostly do not use them and the Ultra-Orthodox only use those deemed to be “kosher”), they concur in their nonuse of smartphones – they see the smartphone as impure. Both view …
There are only a few things that you cannot manage without internet”: Realization of capabilities through internet (non)use by ultra-Orthodox Jewish women
In this study we focus on internet nonuse among Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, members of a community that either refrains from using the internet or deploys content-filtering when it does access it in some situations. We conducted in-depth interviews to empirically answer two questions: First, how do ultra-Orthodox women perceive their internet nonuse? Second, what direct and indirect solutions do they create to realize their desired capab…
“I Would Consult a Doctor, But What the Rabbi Says Goes”: Ultra-Orthodox Jews’ Relationships with Rabbis and Doctors in Israel
We examine relationships among ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, their doctors, and rabbis when medical decisions are made. Analyzing excerpts from sixteen focus groups with 128 ultra-Orthodox Jews, we determine how their belief system affects their decisions about whom to trust and follow when the doctor’s instructions contradict the rabbi’s advice. We argue that the strict behaviors described here with regard to relations among doctors, rabbis, and …
The Capabilities Divide: ICT Adoption and Use among Bedouin in Israel
The Bedouin community, a subpopulation of the Arab minority in Israel, has been subject to systematic discrimination throughout the state’s history, including in accessibility to digital services. Based on 25 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Bedouin men and women residing in unrecognised villages – townlets that are not legally designated as municipal entities by the state and therefore lack basic infrastructure – this study asks whether…
Digital religion and blame attribution: Ultra-Orthodox new media framing of the Meron disaster
In this study, I examine blame attribution in the ultra-Orthodox new media following the Meron disaster using qualitative content analysis of the public digital sphere. Findings reveal a structural bifurcation between institutional news websites and social media counter-publics, in which marginalized groups negotiate communal boundaries. Institutional outlets maintain a positive social identity, while social media facilitate an internal moral rec…
A Women’s Ritual Economy: Amen Meals as a System of Material, Emotional, and Symbolic Capital
This study proposes a novel theoretical synthesis, bridging the sociology of lived religion with economic club good theory to explore the high-commitment dynamics in domestic spheres in the analysis of “Amen meals”, a rapidly spreading ritual among Jewish women. Using a qualitative–ethnographic methodology based on 23 participant observations and 53 in-depth interviews with a diverse spectrum of Jewish women in Israel, the research examines the w…
Sociology (8 works) · Judaism (7 works) · Media, Religion, Digital Communication (6 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (5 works) · The Internet (5 works) · Theology (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Gender Studies (4 works) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (4 works)