Jewish Religious Organization

Publication Date: January 1998

Publisher: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Author(s): Daniel J. Elazar

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Jewish Organizations; Communal Organization; Orthodox Judaism; Congregations

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author explains that every contemporary Jewish community is organized through a mixture of territorial and non-territorial (ideological) based organizations. He argues against viewing the organizational makeup of the Jewish community as hierarchical and instead maintains that there is a matrix of organizations and institutions linked by a shared communications network and stronger or weaker training institutions. As well, he contends that the institutions and organizations of the Jewish polity group themselves in five major spheres of public activity. He focuses the second section of his report on the religious-congregational sphere. He provides information on how synagogues in the Diaspora and Israel organize on both the local and countrywide level.