There are certain formative periods of history when the past loses its hard and cut lines, but th... more There are certain formative periods of history when the past loses its hard and cut lines, but the future has yet to be firmly molded. Anthropologist call these periods "liminal". Rabbinic texts show that the sages did not perceive the time when the Jewish people came into being as a liminal period. They saw it ,rather, as a time when matters were fixed and settled. Yet, such liminal periods did exist, which may be defined in terms of development of the two prime signs of Jewish identification: circumcision and acceptance of the Torah. This period may be subdivided into the time of uncircumcision (until Abraham), circumcision without Torah (until Mt.Sinai). Torah without circumcision (in the Sinai Wilderness), and Torah and circumcision (from the time of entering to the Land of Israel and afterwards). In the Midrash the Sages erased these boundaries and create the impression that throughout the period, from the circumcision of Abraham until the enter to the Land, both identifying signs were already in existence. Such attempts to erase boundaries typify a society organized according to very finely defined categories. The Mitzvot establish daily behavior with no leeway; that which is beyond the limits of what is permitted is impure or forbidden. The structured existential perception of everyday reality is echoed in the perception of historic events.
One relates to existential reality through the lenses that one's culture supplies. The cultur... more One relates to existential reality through the lenses that one's culture supplies. The culture of each society, in turn, includes the way it relates to time and, as a result, to history. Time as a physical quantity would appear to be a neutral concept, but its measurement is arbitrary. Time is certainly not neutral in any culture. It assumes various qualities, depending on the symbolic meaning that persons attribute to it. One therefore finds different approaches to history or to the writing of history in different cultures. The Greeks in the Classical and Hellenistic eras and the Romans in the ancient world attempted to write history for its own sake and to satisfy intellectual curiosity. On the other hand, the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians wrote chronographies, but not history in the western sense. Ancient Israel lies between these: one finds historiography in the Bible, but not history for its own sake. The Bible presents a view of divine providence in history, with G...
This article suggests using social network theory to explain the varieties of mourning behavior i... more This article suggests using social network theory to explain the varieties of mourning behavior in different societies. This context is used to compare the participation in funeral ceremonies of members of different social circles in modern-American society and in the Israeli kibbutz. The two cases demonstrate the validity of concepts deriving from social network analysis in the study of bereavement, mourning behavior, and funerary practice. The approach suggested might serve as a basis for a cross-cultural analysis of the range of participation in mourning rituals.
While the study of Kabbalah is expanding in non-Orthodox circles both around the world and in Isr... more While the study of Kabbalah is expanding in non-Orthodox circles both around the world and in Israel, Kabbalah is also studied in Orthodox (mainly Sephardic) yeshivot concerned with tikkun (divine repair) of the world and of the individual. Tikkun of the world involves a special kabbalistic prayer method, while tikkun of the individual involves methods of healing and treatment of personal problems. This article, based on participant observation conducted for a year in a Jerusalem kabbalistic yeshiva, is a response to the appeal for an ethnographic study of those immersed in Kabbalah in the traditional locale. The fieldwork findings reveal that the yeshiva, the traditional institution of study, also serves as a place of healing and personal therapy in which the sacred text occupies a central place. In the yeshiva, instrumental use is made of the text as object. From a configuration of symbols subject to many alternate interpretations, the text is transformed into a pattern of icons and signals with only one meaning. The kabbalists as therapists use texts to create personalized symbols that assist their supplicants in coping with their personal hardships. This ability is a powerful cultural tool that provides support and solace to the community of believers, and is simultaneously a powerful instrument in the hands of the yeshiva institution. We conclude that a community whose members adopt a mystical worldview, also gradually attribute iconic significance to its texts.
There are certain formative periods of history when the past loses its hard and cut lines, but th... more There are certain formative periods of history when the past loses its hard and cut lines, but the future has yet to be firmly molded. Anthropologist call these periods "liminal". Rabbinic texts show that the sages did not perceive the time when the Jewish people came into being as a liminal period. They saw it ,rather, as a time when matters were fixed and settled. Yet, such liminal periods did exist, which may be defined in terms of development of the two prime signs of Jewish identification: circumcision and acceptance of the Torah. This period may be subdivided into the time of uncircumcision (until Abraham), circumcision without Torah (until Mt.Sinai). Torah without circumcision (in the Sinai Wilderness), and Torah and circumcision (from the time of entering to the Land of Israel and afterwards). In the Midrash the Sages erased these boundaries and create the impression that throughout the period, from the circumcision of Abraham until the enter to the Land, both identifying signs were already in existence. Such attempts to erase boundaries typify a society organized according to very finely defined categories. The Mitzvot establish daily behavior with no leeway; that which is beyond the limits of what is permitted is impure or forbidden. The structured existential perception of everyday reality is echoed in the perception of historic events.
One relates to existential reality through the lenses that one's culture supplies. The cultur... more One relates to existential reality through the lenses that one's culture supplies. The culture of each society, in turn, includes the way it relates to time and, as a result, to history. Time as a physical quantity would appear to be a neutral concept, but its measurement is arbitrary. Time is certainly not neutral in any culture. It assumes various qualities, depending on the symbolic meaning that persons attribute to it. One therefore finds different approaches to history or to the writing of history in different cultures. The Greeks in the Classical and Hellenistic eras and the Romans in the ancient world attempted to write history for its own sake and to satisfy intellectual curiosity. On the other hand, the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians wrote chronographies, but not history in the western sense. Ancient Israel lies between these: one finds historiography in the Bible, but not history for its own sake. The Bible presents a view of divine providence in history, with G...
This article suggests using social network theory to explain the varieties of mourning behavior i... more This article suggests using social network theory to explain the varieties of mourning behavior in different societies. This context is used to compare the participation in funeral ceremonies of members of different social circles in modern-American society and in the Israeli kibbutz. The two cases demonstrate the validity of concepts deriving from social network analysis in the study of bereavement, mourning behavior, and funerary practice. The approach suggested might serve as a basis for a cross-cultural analysis of the range of participation in mourning rituals.
While the study of Kabbalah is expanding in non-Orthodox circles both around the world and in Isr... more While the study of Kabbalah is expanding in non-Orthodox circles both around the world and in Israel, Kabbalah is also studied in Orthodox (mainly Sephardic) yeshivot concerned with tikkun (divine repair) of the world and of the individual. Tikkun of the world involves a special kabbalistic prayer method, while tikkun of the individual involves methods of healing and treatment of personal problems. This article, based on participant observation conducted for a year in a Jerusalem kabbalistic yeshiva, is a response to the appeal for an ethnographic study of those immersed in Kabbalah in the traditional locale. The fieldwork findings reveal that the yeshiva, the traditional institution of study, also serves as a place of healing and personal therapy in which the sacred text occupies a central place. In the yeshiva, instrumental use is made of the text as object. From a configuration of symbols subject to many alternate interpretations, the text is transformed into a pattern of icons and signals with only one meaning. The kabbalists as therapists use texts to create personalized symbols that assist their supplicants in coping with their personal hardships. This ability is a powerful cultural tool that provides support and solace to the community of believers, and is simultaneously a powerful instrument in the hands of the yeshiva institution. We conclude that a community whose members adopt a mystical worldview, also gradually attribute iconic significance to its texts.
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