| This thesis explores the construction of theological and social boundaries within contemporary Orthodox Judaism---an ideological subset of the Jewish religion known for its strict (and sometimes stringent) practice of Halacha (Jewish religious law), coupled with its ideological fidelity to a divinely inspired tradition. To achieve such a goal, this thesis first undertakes a discourse analysis of three separate epistemic encounters between what is commonly perceived as 'traditional Torah', and what is commonly perceived as 'Science'. It then relates the differing reactions to each encounter to various historical and sociological trends within contemporary Orthodox Judaism. It will be shown that the recent popular focus on such encounters (i.e. theological 'crises' and 'controversies'), function as a sociological response to an emergent form of 'Post-Orthodoxy', wherein the very definition of an Orthodox boundary is brought into question. |
