Abstract: Религиозная идентичность, даже в рамках одного течения прогрессивного иудаизма, является неоднородной и во многом зависит от культурного, политического и социального контекстов, в котором находится та или иная община. Прогрессивное течение призвано гармонизировать современный мир и традицию иудаизма в соответствии с запросами индивида. Основная проблема предлагаемого исследования связана с тем, что на уровне идеологии — учения прогрессивного иудаизма — существует определенный набор маркеров идентичности, но на практике — в отдельных общинах — этот набор может трансформироваться. Для выявления устойчивой модели идентичности в прогрессивном иудаизме необходимо рассматривать отдельные кейсы — российский случай является одним из них и заслуживает тщательного научного анализа
(автор рассматривает общину «Ле-Дор Ва-Дор»). Реконструируемая на основе идей Клода Монтефиоре и Лили Монтегю философия прогрессивного иудаизма сравнивается в настоящей статье с российским вариантом прогрессивного иудаизма. В результате исследования автор приходит к выводу о том, что идентичность в общине «Ле-Дор Ва-Дор» конструируется за счет философской идеи универсализма, которая позволяет людям нееврейского происхождения становиться членами общины. Философское обоснование модификации ритуалов основано на концепции Informed choice. Сравнение общей философской мысли в прогрессивном иудаизме с учением в общине «Ле-Дор Ва-Дор» показывает, что сообщество
вырабатывает определенные стратегии идентичности исходя из культурного контекста. Влияние культурного контекста отразилось в отношении к однополым бракам, а также в некоторых ритуальных сторонах жизни указанной общины в России
Abstract: Исследование посвящено роли семейной памяти и семейной трансмиссии в построении идентичности русскоязычными евреями Франции и потомками иммигрантов из России первой половины ХХ в. (второе и третье поколение). Определенную сложность в изучении русскоязычной еврейской диаспоры во Франции всегда представляла гетерогенность и дисперсность общины [Gousseff 2001, 4–16]. Во Франции, где большинство современного еврейского населения, — сефарды, выходцы из североафриканских
стран, представляется интересным более подробно узнать варианты самопрезентации постсоветских еврейских иммигрантов: как еврея, русского/украинца/«советского человека», русского/украинского еврея, или через профессию, социальный статус, а также взаимоотношения с другими евреями Франции, религиозные практики, вопросы воспитания детей, в том числе двуязычие/трехъязычие,
семейные практики, брак и т.д. Мы также обращаем внимание на то, что семейная трансмиссия играет ключевую роль в построении информантами еврейской идентичности и проводим параллель между
понятием «йихес» и социологическими терминами «габитус», «социальный капитал», «культурный капитал», «первичная социализация». Каждое интервью состоит из двух частей. Первая часть — глубинное неформализованное интервью. Целью интервью является определение спонтанных, естественных репрезентаций. Именно
Abstract: В статье рассматривается история и современное состояние краснодарских еврейских некоммерческих организаций, деятельность которых имеет светский, а не религиозный характер. Таковыми являются две институции – общество еврейской культуры «Шалом» и благотворительная организация «Хэсэд».
История данных объединений начинается в 1990-е гг., когда тяжесть социально-экономической жизни евреев города, относящихся к социально незащищенным категориям населения, побудила еврейских активистов к созданию обществ, которые способствовали бы консолидации евреев. В статье описывается процесс создания каждой из организаций, особенности их работы. Общество «Шалом» нацелено прежде всего на просвещение и репрезентацию еврейской общины в городе, для «Хэсэда» главные задачи сосредоточены в социальной сфере: оказание помощи нуждающимся еврейским семьям, материальная
поддержка. Кроме того, автор указывает на важность сотрудничества «Хэсэда» с международной благотворительной организацией «Джойнт» и описывает, как оно складывалось, а также рассматривает отношения «Хэсэда» и «Шалома» с религиозной общиной города. В настоящее время две рассмотренные в статье организации являются ядром светской еврейской общины Краснодара
Abstract: On the materials of the field expedition in the Biešankovičy rajon of Vitebsk region of Belarus in 2016, dedicated to the relations between Belarusians and Jews, there was a reconstruction of the history of Shtetlekh on the basis of oral testimonies of Jewish and non-Jewish population. The tragic events of the Second World War and the Catastrophe of the Jews that took place in Belarus along with the direct inter-ethnic relations served the main object rather than the background of the research work.
According to the research results we can state that the Belarusian official discourse of the politics of memory about the Catastrophe creates a model of non-identification, denial and mitigation of certain problems of the historical memory related to this tragedy. In the Belarusian ideological rhetoric it is still spoken only about the tragedy of the Soviet people and about the national socialist policy of genocide, which was aimed at the destruction of the Slavs and other peoples. Sometimes under the “others” Jews are meant. Moreover, often in the official discourse at the highest level, the “peculiar nature” of the final solution to the question and the specific
genocide of the Jews are denied, and their “victims” are ranked together with the losses of Belarusians etc.
Though the return of the memory of the Shoah happens to be in today’s Belarus, this process is quite slow and faces a number of difficulties connected with the integration of the memory of the Belarusian and Jewish historical narratives regarding the Second World War. These difficulties of integration of the memory of the Belarusian and Jewish historical narratives regarding World War II in general and the Shoah in particular happen in the consequence of the emergence of the strategies of the “national commemoration”, in the framework of which cultural memory and the conflict of the interpretations of the Catastrophe are constructed.
Contrary to the official Belarusian politics of memory, residents of Beshankovichy, Ula and their surroundings identify the Jews as victims of the German occupation authorities. What is different about it is that this determination takes place against the background of sustainable practice of suppression or mitigation and, paradoxically, sometimes even denying of the tragedy of the Catastrophe, which came as a result of the official Soviet and post-Soviet state policies of memory that has been active for decades in the background of a traumatic experience which occurred due to the reluctance of some Belarusians to admit both guilt for the participation in the events of the Shoah and the responsibility for its consequences.
Abstract: Problems of religious and ethnic identity are especially pertinent for people of Jewish heritage in post-Soviet states. Radical changes of the 20th century made the society more secular, put distinctions between definitions of being “Jew” and “Judaist”; the number of mixed marriages grew, and the young generations now learn traditions not from parents but from public lectures in Jewish communities. In this paper we have tried to find out what has brought young people to the Jewish community of Smolensk, why they choose to remain there, and whether they consider themselves Jewish. We have been especially interested in understanding how much does religious identity influence the choice of ethnic identity, and vice versa.
The research is based on 8 in-depth interviews collected during Sefer Center’s trip to Smolensk Oblast in 2016. The interviewees were selected according to the following criteria: regular visits to the synagogue (twice a month or more) and age between 14 and 35.
The working hypothesis is that the number, the frame of mind, and the identity of the young people who visit the synagogue are influenced by the following factors: 1) ethnic and religious identity of the family members and close people of the respondents and their disposition towards various confessions and ethnicities; 2) the rabbi’s policy in ethnic issues and traditions, how loyal he is to rule bending and now active he is in attracting the youth to the synagogue; 3) the environment: the influence of historically significant places of Smolensk Oblast and memories of remarkable historical events that occurred on its territory.
After analyzing the data we have drawn the following conclusions. The main reason for the interviewees to choose the Jewish identity is the prevailing of such identity in their parents. For those whose parents are both Jewish this argument is sufficient. If only parent is Jewish, a young person starts seeking for additional arguments to “allow” himself/herself be Jewish. Such reasons may be their sympathy towards Judaism and/or Jewish customs and the feeling of one’s “distinction”. Sometimes for the final integration into the Jewish environment the interviewees conduct Giyur or circumcision, the latter being not only for religious reasons. If the young people don’t feel such sympathies or don’t perform the special rituals for integration, they leave the community because they don’t feel enough “Jewishness” to remain there. The forming of one or another religious identity depends mostly on which identity is considered the right one in the family. Also, in contrast to ethnic identity, religious identity changes more often and is dependent on the person’s environment and period of time.
Thus, the working hypothesis has been confirmed in a number of points. 1) The forming of identities is indeed influenced by the identities of parents and social circles of the interviewees and the rabbi’s policy towards the youth and other members of the community. 2) It is also influenced to a lesser extent by which religious and ethnic identity is prevalent and considered normal in a particular region. Historical events and places have basically no influence on the identity formation.
Abstract: The article considers the features of the correlation of ethnic and religious identifiers in the process of “revival” of the activities of the Jewish community of Perm in the post-Soviet period. Both types of identifiers which due to the specificity of Judaism as a nationally oriented religion analyzed as significant in the process of defining of phenomenon of the community. The main problem is that the cultural component of Judaism is the most important consolidating factor in the construction of the Jewish community. At the 1990’s. the community was a consolidated group, where Judaism is the connecting element. The cultural component of this system comes to the fore, and activities in this area contribute to the position of the community in the intercultural and urban space. Mass public events attested relevance of the cultural component of Judaism. Social and cultural activity had due to enter the Jewish community into the social space of the city, legitimizing its activity. Change of eras of the turn of the 1990s has contributed rise of appeal to the cultural component of the Jewish tradition. At the same time, cultural identity did not always fully coincide with the confessional one. Interviews with members of the community confirmed that the “revival” took place in Jewish cultural life, and the religious component played the role of an external occasion for the consolidation of the community. The emergence of religion from the “social ghetto” facilitated the observance of rites and norms of cult practice, accelerated the process of legitimizing the ethno-confessional community. The cultural component of Judaism is also a factor of internal communication in the community. The number of Jews who visited religious events and do not attend prayers, indicates the relevance of events that emphasize national identity. Getting a free meal by the older generation is also an economic factor that contributes to the consolidation of the community. The cultural activities of the community described by the respondents testify to the inclusion of Judaism in the inter-confessional sphere of the city. Project activity gives an opportunity to familiarize the population with Jewish culture, contributes to the regulation of interethnic relations within the society, and the formation of tolerant attitudes towards representatives of different faiths. Members and representatives of the Jewish community actively participate in religious events, which take place both in the walls of the synagogue and on city sites. The development and implementation of projects aimed at increasing the religious literacy of the population contributes to the formation of a tolerant society.
