Conclusion
This example illustrates the process of producing a “sacred space” without missing out on the instrumental qualities of modernism. But the defense is not completely effective and its efficiency is limited by the fact that the instrumental and cultural cannot always be separated with ease. More dangerous and more acute, the defenses are permeable. People do go outside.
Outside, the Haredim, without their system of vigilance and defense are open to all the attractions which they fear so much. Such an example is provided by the swimwear advertisments that appeared at bus-stops in Jerusalem in 1985/86. These posters and the attention they attract cannot be prevented. In the eyes of the Haredim, the posters symbolized all that was perceived as evil in the secular world outside. Placed at bus-stops which the Haredim must use in the absence of alternative transport for most of them, they were seen as a direct threat to “sacred space”; the youth viewing the images brought them home with him. All this indicates that control can be exerted inside the “wall”.
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Shilhav, Y. The Haredi Ghetto the theology behind the geography. Cont Jewry 10, 51–64 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02965571
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02965571