Jewish Ann Arbor
Jewish Ann Arbor

Author: Rich Adler

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13:

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The earliest Jewish settlers arrived in Michigan during the mid-18th century. Primarily traders associated with the burgeoning fur industry, few of these entrepreneurs remained permanently. During the early 1840s, the five Weil brothers, farmers and tanners from Germany, became the first prominent Jewish settlers in Washtenaw County. By the end of that decade, a Jewish cemetery was established on what is now the site of the Horace Rackham Building on the University of Michigan campus. Though the Weil family eventually moved west, the cemetery remained as a marker for what was then a miniscule Jewish presence. In the early 20th century, Osias Zwerdling and the Lansky family arrived. In addition to reestablishing a Jewish presence in Ann Arbor, they helped form what became Beth Israel Congregation. Growth of the Ann Arbor Jewish community coincided with the evolution of the university, as well as the city. By the end of the 20th century, a vibrant community representing all facets of Judaism had been established.

Hasidism Beyond Modernity
Hasidism Beyond Modernity

Author: Naftali Loewenthal

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2019-12-18

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 1789628202

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The Habad school of hasidism is distinguished today from other hasidic groups by its famous emphasis on outreach, on messianism, and on empowering women. Hasidism Beyond Modernity provides a critical, thematic study of the movement from its beginnings, showing how its unusual qualities evolved. Topics investigated include the theoretical underpinning of the outreach ethos; the turn towards women in the twentieth century; new attitudes to non-Jews; the role of the individual in the hasidic collective; spiritual contemplation in the context of modernity; the quest for inclusivism in the face of prevailing schismatic processes; messianism in both spiritual and political forms; and the direction of the movement after the passing of its seventh rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1994. Attention is given to many contrasts: pre-modern, modern, and postmodern conceptions of Judaism; the clash between maintaining an enclave and outreach models of Jewish society; particularist and universalist trends; and the subtle interplay of mystical faith and rationality. Some of the chapters are new; others, published in an earlier form, have been updated to take account of recent scholarship. This book presents an in-depth study of an intriguing movement which takes traditional hasidism beyond modernity.