Sect, Subsidy and Sacrifice: An Economist's View of Ultra-Orthodox Jews

The focus of this book is the messianic trend in Lubavitch hasidism. It demonstrates how hasidim who affirm the dead Rebbe's messiahship have abandoned one of Judaism's core beliefs in favour of adherence to the doctrine of a second coming. At the same time, it decries the equanimity with which the standard-bearers of Orthodoxy have granted legitimacy to this development by continuing to recognize such believers as Orthodox Jews in good standing. This abandonment of the age-old Jewish resistance to a quintessentially Christian belief is a development of striking importance for the history of religions and an earthquake in the history of Judaism. The book chronicles the unfolding of this development. It argues that a large number, almost certainly a substantial majority, of Lubavitch hasidim believe in the Rebbe's messiahship; a significant segment, including educators in the central institutions of the movement, maintain a theology that goes beyond posthumous messianism to the affirmation that the Rebbe is pure divinity. While many Jews see Lubavitch as a marginal phenomenon, its influence is in fact growing at a remarkable rate. The book analyses the boundaries of Judaism's messianic faith and its conception of God. It assesses the threat posed by the messianists of Lubavitch and points to the consequences, ranging from undermining a fundamental argument against the Christian mission to calling into question the kosher status of many foods and ritual objects prepared under Lubavitch supervision. Finally, it proposes a strategy to protect authentic Judaism from this assault.

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The PIOS among the pious: validity of the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity among Orthodox Jews

Mental Health Religion & Culture ◽

10.1080/13674676.2017.1381949 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 180-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steven Pirutinsky ◽

David H Rosmarin

Keyword(s):

Orthodox Jews ◽

Penn Inventory

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The Phenomenon of Sabbatarianism: Nature, Types, and Brief History

10.22250/2072-8662.2019.4.44-54 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 44-54

Author(s):

Tatiana I. Khizhaya ◽

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Religious Studies ◽

Orthodox Jews ◽

Religious Movement ◽

Early Church ◽

Religious Movements ◽

Radical Reformation ◽

The Reformation ◽

History Of ◽

Modern Era

The article focuses on the analysis of Sabbatarianism, i.e. on clarifying the meaning of the term, identifying various kinds of this phenomenon, as well as researching its history. The topicality of the work stems from both uncertainty of the definitions of the concept under consideration and the lack of works in Russian religious studies that deal with the problem of Sabbatarianism. During the study the author comes to the conclusion that the term “Sabbatarianism” is polysemantic. First, it implies special attention to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue in the Christian tradition, in which, since the period of the early Church, there were different practices of observing the first and/or the seventh day of the week in the East and West of the Christian world. Second, we call Sabbatarian specific religious movements that emerged in Europe during the Modern Era and had genetic connection with the Reformation. The author divides them into Christian (Protestant) and Judaizing, noting the challenge and even the failure of differentiating between both in some cases. The first type is subdivided, in turn, into the First-day Sabbatarians, who did not constitute a particular religious movement, and the Seventh-day ones, who made up separate Protestant denominations. The secon type includes sects that are guided to varying degrees by the Old Testament texts. The study of the Judaizers’ history reveals that their genesis is correlated to the Radical Reformation. They arose among the Anabaptists, Unitarians and Puritans, forming an ultraradical stream in the religious scene of the Modern Era. At the same time, these movements were often millenarian. The most vivid model of Judaizing Sabbatarianism was the phenomenon of Transylvanian Sabbath keepers, who evolved from the Protestant Anti-Trinitarians to the Orthodox Jews. The paper is the first attempt at a special research on the phenomenon of Sabbatarianism in Russian religious studies. Its results are significant for understanding the history of the Reformation, various religious trends within the latter (especially radical), as well as the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

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Cardiac and other Presentation and Clinical Outcomes of COVID-19 Pandemic among different ethnic and religious populations in the city of Jerusalem

10.22541/au.162506999.99797857/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elad Asher ◽

Tal Y Samuel ◽

Oren Yagel ◽

Arik Wolak ◽

Rivka Farkash ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Health Planning ◽

Orthodox Jews ◽

Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events ◽

Cerebrovascular Event ◽

Cultural Groups ◽

Admission Rates ◽

Presenting Symptoms ◽

Coronary Syndrome ◽

Religion And Ethnicity

Background: The COVID‑19 pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic. Jerusalem with its 919,400 inhabitants has a wide variety of populations, of which 62% are Jews (36% ultra-orthodox; 64% non-ultraorthodox) and 38% Arabs which were largely affected by the pandemic. The aim of our study was to understand the different presentations, course and clinical outcomes in these different ethnical and cultural groups in Jerusalem in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We performed a cohort study of all COVID-19 patients admitted between March 9 - July 16, 2020 to the two university medical centers in Jerusalem. Patients were divided according to their religion and ethnicity into 3 main groups: 1) Ultra-Orthodox Jews; 2) other (non-Ultra-Orthodox) Jews and 3) Arabs. Results: Six hundred and two patients comprised the study population. Of them the 361 (60%) were Ultra-Orthodox Jews; 166 (27.5%) non-Ultra-Orthodox Jews and 75 (12.5%) Arabs. The Arab patients were younger than the Ultra-Orthodox Jews and the non-Ultra-Orthodox Jews (51±18 year-old vs. 57±21 and 59±19, respectively, p<0.01), but suffered from significantly more co-morbidities. Moreover, hemodynamic shock, ischemic ECG changes and pathological chest x-ray were all more frequent in the Ultra-Orthodox patients as compared the other groups of patients. Being an Ultra-Orthodox was independently associated with significantly higher rate of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE) [OR=1.96; 95% CI (1.03-3.71), p<0.05]. Age was the only independent risk factor associated with increased mortality rate [OR=1.10; 95% CI (1.07 - 1.13), p<0.001]. Conclusions: The COVID-19 first phase in Jerusalem, affected different ethnical and cultural groups differently, with the Ultra-Orthodox Jews mostly affected by admission rates, presenting symptoms clinical course and MACE (Acute coronary syndrome, shock, cerebrovascular event or venous thromboembolism). It is conceivable that vulnerable populations need special attention and health planning in time of pandemic, to prevent rapid distribution and severe morbidity.

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Cosmopolitans and Parochials: Modern Orthodox Jews in America

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion ◽

10.2307/1387224 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 222

Author(s):

Barbara Strassberg ◽

Samuel C. Heilman ◽

Steven M. Cohen

Keyword(s):

Orthodox Jews ◽

Modern Orthodox

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