The secularization of leisure

Certain institutions of leisure are basic to normative Judaism: the Sabbath, holidays, study and assembly. The viability of these traditional forms in modern Israel is examined within the context of an empirical study of how Israelis spend their leisure time. Conducted during the peaceful interlude of the early ’70s, this national audit of the consumption of culture and communications raises basic questions for Israel, and more generally, for the making of cultural policy in new and small nations. The study asks whether cultural self-determination is possible in a world dominated by sub-titled films and television programmes, and by translated theatre and books; whether indigenous popular culture, not just elite culture, can be cultivated and subsidized.