'בתי צעירות מזרחי' כבבואה לדיוקנן של נשים ציוניות-דתיות בתקופת היישוב

This article focuses on the Beit Ze'irot Mizrahi girls' homes established in Jerusalem (1933) and Tel Aviv (1939). These institutions, founded by the Mizrachi Women's Organization in the United States and Eretz-Israel, were intended to absorb religious pioneer girls, both veteran residents and new immigrants, and help them by providing vocational training, an academic education and cultural enrichment in the spirit of religious Zionism. However the primary goal of these institutions was to train young women to join in building the Land, in order to influence the religious character of the emerging society in general, and be involved in the shaping of the religious society in particular. The Beit Ze'irot Mizrahi homes embodied the outlook of the religious Zionist women who saw education as a tool to advance the young religious woman within the national enterprise. A survey of these institutions reveals an additional layer in the history of Hebrew education created during the Mandatory period, while also reflecting the character of religious Zionist women of the times, including their gender-based and educational viewpoints. With the founding of the Beit Ze'irot Mizrahi homes they hoped to realize their goals, promising support to meet the needs of the resident girls and allowing them to participate in the national enterprise as religious women without challenging their gender-traditional philosophy. However, the varied activities in these institutions, characterized by women's initiative and management, as well as the girls' education and vocational training, formed the basis for change in the gendered outlook of religious-Zionist women.