שיווק עלוני השבת במגזר הדתי-לאומי: פחות דברי תורה ופרשנות, יותר אקטואליה ופרסום

Parshah sheets – pamphlets responding to the weekly Torah portion – have become a major form of print media in Israeli religious communities due to their relatively wide circulation. Dozens of editions are distributed weekly in synagogues, especially those belonging to the national religious stream of Judaism. Yet, despite their high popularity, little is known about how the contents of these leaflets affect worshippers’ reading decisions. Consequently, the goal of this article is twofold: first, to assess the influence of content on worshippers’ choice of parshah sheets to read on the Sabbath; second, to investigate the influence of print advertising on individuals’ buying intentions. For this purpose, the study employs data collected from a sample consisting of 213 respondents obtained from across the national religious population. The empirical results support our claim that the contents of parshah sheets play a significant role in understanding worshippers’ reading behavior. Specifically, the analysis provides evidence for the effect of content on worshippers’ choice of material to read each Sabbath. Moreover, results point to many worshippers who increasingly show more interest in reading “secular” content, such as current affairs and local politics, and less in reading Torah commentaries. Additionally, the study’s findings indicate a positive relationship between advertising in leaflets and buying intention.