Table Of ContentMASCULINITY and the MAKING
of AMERICAN JUDAISM
M ASCULINIT Y and
the M AK ING of
A MER ICAN JUDAISM
Sarah Imhoff
Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
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1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress . indiana . edu
© 2017 by Sarah Imhoff
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Names: Imhoff, Sarah, author.
Title: Masculinity and the making of American Judaism /
Sarah Imhoff.
Description: Bloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press,
[2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016043928 (print) | LCCN 2016045536 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780253026064 (cl : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253026217
(pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253026361 (eb)
Subjects: LCSH: Masculinity— Religious aspects— Judaism. |
Masculinity— United States. | Jewish men— Religious life—
United States.
Classification: LCC BM725 .I44 2017 (print) | LCC BM725 (ebook) |
DDC 296.0811/0973— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2016043928
1 2 3 4 5 22 21 20 19 18 17
Contents
Acknowl edgments vii
Introduction 1
Part I . An American Religion 31
1 The Reasonableness of Judaism: An American Theology 35
2 Manly Missions: Jews, Christians, and American
Religious Masculinity 62
Part II. The Healthy Body and the Land 93
3 Go West, Young Jew: The Galveston Movement, Immigrant Men,
and the Pioneer Spirit 97
4 Indian-Israelite Identification: Claiming a Manly Past for
American Judaism 128
5 After noon Calisthenics at Woodbine: Jewish Agriculture,
Religious Ambivalence, and the Male Body 155
6 The Courageous Diaspora: Masculinity and the Development
of American Zionism 180
Part III. The Abnormal and the Criminal 199
7 Soft Criminals: Theodore Bingham and the Gender
of Jewish Crime 205
8 Leo Frank and Jewish Sexuality 225
9 Bad Jews: The Leopold and Loeb Hearing 244
Conclusion 270
Bibliography 277
Index 291
Acknowl edgments
R
abbi nachman of Breslov wrote “gratitude is the experience of heavenly en-
joyment and plea sure.” This proj ect has brought me im mense joy, and I feel it
most acutely when I think of the p eople who have helped me along.
A number of individuals read drafts and humored me by discussing my chal-
lenges and queries at length. Ben Berger, Annalise Glauz- Todrank, Kevin Houser,
Brandi Hughes, Jenna Joselit, David Koffman, Laura Levitt, Rachel Lindsay, Shaul
Magid, and Seth Perry all read and helped improve substantial portions of the
manuscript. I c ouldn’t ask for better colleagues, and my conversations with Judah
Cohen, Constance Furey, Guadalupe Gonzalez Dieguez, Patrick Michaelson, Mark
Roseman, and Jeff Veidlinger have made the book far more in ter est ing. Clark
Gilpin has long been quietly instrumental in helping me think through proj ects,
and this one is no exception. Winni Sullivan has been an unparalleled mentor
and friend, from reading a complete draft to discussing minutiae.
Institutional support has also been instrumental. I am grateful to the Asso-
ciation for Jewish Studies W omen’s Caucus, the Southern Jewish Historical Soci-
ety, and the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University for supporting
the proj ect. The staff of the American Jewish Archives, the American Jewish His-
torical Society, the Central Zionist Archives, the Dolph Briscoe Center for Amer-
ican History, and the Moody Bible Institute Archives each went out of their way
to help with archival materials.
The press reviewers offered generous and constructive feedback and made me
think about the proj ect in new ways. This, it seems to me, is the best experience
an author can hope for. I also have Dee Mortensen at Indiana University Press to
thank for the unambiguously positive experience and encouragement through-
out the publication pro cess.
Friends and family have buoyed me during the long days of writing and ed-
iting. Eva Mroczek offered unflagging enthusiasm, steadfast friendship, and sharp
scholarly insight. My life writing this book would have been far less bright with-
out her. Michael Dodson read and offered his insight on the entire manuscript,
encouraged me to write the best book I could, and made me cocktails. For these
things and others, he has my undying love. I want to thank my parents for their
love and support from a time long before this book was a twinkle in my eye, and
so I dedicate it to them.
vii
MASCULINITY and the MAKING
of AMERICAN JUDAISM
