Voices of Outreach: The Construction of Identity and Maintenance of Social Ties Among Chabad‐Lubavitch Emissaries

Abstract

Fundamentalists typically avoid influences from the outside world and form intense social bonds with members of their own group. Yet, active fundamentalists must create relationships with the objects of their missionary action, the Other. In this article I address the connections between the cultural practice of missionary work and the formation and maintenance of social ties among ultra-Orthodox Jewish missionaries belonging to the fundamentalist Hasidic sect Chabad-Lubavitch. These missionaries attempt to bring Jews to the beliefs and practices of Chabad by hosting Jews at Sabbath meals. This missionary act is an utterance that "speaks" with multiple voices, indexing the missionaries as both friendly members of their local Jewish community and ideal Lubavitchers. Through these meals, the missionaries engage not only the local Jews but also other Lubavitchers in dialogue, constructing a community that transcends face-to-face interaction.

Symbolic Filtering: Selectively Permeable Evangelical Boundaries in an Age of Religious Pluralism

“…The second advantage lies in the sampling used: the method by which the data were obtained, to be discussed below, allows for the analysis of: (1) a source of data that ties together, through readership and ongoing topical discourse, a much wider and interconnected body of evangelical boundary agents than small‐ N interviews and ethnographies would permit; and (2) the entire range of relevant articles from the EMQ and IJFM in a given time frame, thus allowing for results that, even if not necessarily representative of the entire American population of evangelical boundary agents, nevertheless reflect issues that are of clear importance to this community. In this way, this study avoids the occasional tendency of social science studies on missions to restrict themselves to extremely small, highly specific case studies (e.g., Arrington ; Berman ; Martin ; Wellman and Keyes ) or missionary populations that existed decades or even centuries ago (e.g., Bateman ; Martin ; Raymond ).…”

On beauty, usefulness, and holiness: attitudes towards languages in the Habad community

“…Habad Hasidim believes he can have no successor, and some even believe he will return as the Messiah (Bilu 2013;Maoz and Bekerman 2009). The Rebbe claimed that all Jews should strive for the arrival of the Messiah and, to hasten his coming, they should comply with two obligations: study Torah and observe its commandments according to the teachings of the movement, and increase the number of Jews in the world through outreach work (Baumel 2003;BenYosef 2011;Berman 2009;Heilman 1992;Heilman and Friedman 2010). For this purpose, Habad emphasises an inclusivist paradigm.…”

The consumption of alcohol in the Lubavitch Movement in Buenos Aires. Diversity of meanings

“…Shandler (2009) highlights the significance behind the circulation of Schneerson's image as a means of creating a sense of community. These communication technologies allow for ties to be maintained amongst emissaries separated from the core of religious life (Berman, 2009). The translation of books from English into Spanish and their commercialization in Argentina correlates with the production of a transnational field of circulation of discourse (Baredes and Tribisi, 2013).…”