Premium
Voices of Outreach: The Construction of Identity and Maintenance of Social Ties Among Chabad‐Lubavitch Emissaries
Author(s) -
Berman Elise
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01430.x
Subject(s) - outreach , face (sociological concept) , sociology , ideal (ethics) , judaism , identity (music) , utterance , interpersonal ties , gender studies , action (physics) , aesthetics , law , theology , political science , social science , philosophy , linguistics , physics , quantum mechanics
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.