A Traditional Revolution: The Emergence of the Religious Kibbutz (1929-1948) from a Women's and Gender Perspective

The first religious commune was established in Palestine in 1929 by religious pioneers from Germany. By 1948 (the formation of the State of Israel), 15 already existed, their members seeking to integrate religion, nationalism, and socialism. While maintaining a traditional Jewish lifestyle, they also adopted the revolutionary mores embodied by the secular kibbutz. This approach led to economic, social, and gender conflicts. Although gender equality constituted a prominent socialist principle, Jewish tradition strictly separates and segregates the sexes. Adopting new gender perceptions thus challenged the religious kibbutzim. This lecture illustrates the way in which gender issues illuminate their unique character.

While the religious kibbutz was theoretically committed to women’s participation in kibbutz life and contribution to the shaping of its character, most women remained in their traditional roles in practice, working in the kitchen and children’s houses and shunning ideological debates. The dominant discourse remained male.

One of the ways in which the religious kibbutzim sought to integrate revolutionary ideas with a traditional way of life was via gender division, the men generally assuming the new roles and the women preserving the traditional model. This circumstance engendered a further conflict, however, the men seeking both to preserve the women’s traditional place and create a new egalitarian settlement. The women resolved this issue by keeping silent and accepting their status and role. For many, this was a form of sublimation rather than sacrifice, the national purpose the kibbutz served overriding their desire for gender equality. They viewed themselves as contributing to the revolution by their traditional role. Yet, as this lecture presents, traditional gender perceptions nevertheless changed as a function of the new lifestyle. The religious communes in this period can be regarded as helping to pave the way for the introduction of socio-gender changes based on a synthesis between tradition and innovation.