Vanessa Ochs Explores the Evolution of Jewish Ritual

Vanessa Ochs
Photo by Melissa Maki

The landscape of religion in the U.S. is largely dynamic.  People shift their beliefs and affiliations over time and life changes, searching about for deeper meaning.  This individualization of faith has forced organized religions to evolve to keep pace with cultural change and new ideas. 

“In all religions there is innovation,” says Vanessa Ochs, associate professor of religious studies and former director of U.Va.’s Jewish Studies Program.  “If it weren’t for innovation, religions wouldn’t be living, breathing entities.” 

Ochs has long been investigating the evolution of Judaism through the lens of new Jewish rituals and the material culture linked to them.  She is interested in the process by which new rituals or objects are phased into practice.  This is typically a gradual process, but sometimes current events or compelling needs necessitate quicker action.  For instance, Ochs notes that within hours of the unfolding of the tragic events of 9/11, Jews had crafted liturgies on the Web making them immediately available for use in memorial services.

Ochs’ new book, Inventing Jewish Ritual, was recently recognized with a National Jewish Book Award.  The book, released by the Jewish Publication Society, catalogues many new and creative rituals such as baby-naming ceremonies for girls and Passover Seders that include the traditional cup for the prophet Elijah but now also include a cup for the prophetess Miriam.  According to Ochs, these practices, spurred by Jewish feminists since the 1970s to honor women’s contributions, were controversial at first but are now widely popular.

An external grant from the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and an internal Research Support in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences grant from the College of Arts & Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies will help Ochs to further one of Inventing Jewish Ritual’s research trajectories.  This summer Ochs plans to travel to Chicago, New York, and San Francisco to observe the ways Jewish, same-sex couples are adapting old traditions and innovating new ones for commitment ceremonies and marriages. 

Ochs welcomes the opportunity to observe novel ceremonies, since they could become the traditions of the future.  She has already been studying the phenomenon of Jewish wedding booklets and other emerging ceremonial practices for her next book on new Jewish wedding rituals, but since the Conservative movement of Judaism has only sanctioned the ordination of gay rabbis and the celebration of same-sex commitment ceremonies within the last year, she will be breaking even more ground with this research. 

Ochs suggests that by studying new rituals one can gain a better understanding of how older rituals might have developed.  She also sees creating new rituals as an “artistic, creative way of being human,” of making religion more meaningful to participants.  “It’s a form of artistry but it’s not limited—it’s an artistry of everyday life that all people can participate in and that all participants of the religion can express,” she says.