Современный Израиль

Часть 1 Языки, социальные практики, межкультурные взаимодействия

The only commandment in Judaism regarding pilgrimage was the obligation to come to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem three times ayearatspecifictimes.Jerusalemwastheonlyphysicalareasanctified inJudaism.Therewerenopilgrimagestoothersacredsites.Therefore the obligation to make a pilgrimage ended with the destruction of the Second Temple, and was replaced with prayers and fast days. During thefirstcenturyCE,therearenodescriptionsofsanctifyinggravesites or pilgrimages to graves (Safrai 1987), although society was aware of the gravesites of biblical figures (Bar 2007).

The pilgrims are an important part of the process of sanctifying the area.Theyprovidethegraveswiththewidestpossiblepublicitythrough stories that extol the miracles they experienced after spending time at the sacred grave (Goodnow and Bloom 2017; Goodnow and Ruddell 2009). In recent centuries, pilgrimages have become a communal event organized by people from the religious establishment and extra-institutional religion entrepreneurs (Banica 2016; Katriel 1997; Nikolaisen2004;Turner1974,166–230).Manyresearchersdiscussthe connection between tourism and pilgrimages for religious and spiritual reasons (Collins-Kreiner 2010a). The tourists and pilgrims politically strengthen those who maintain the graves and provide them with an economic base through donations (Collins-Kreiner 2004, 2006, 2010b; Fleischer 2000; Weingrod 1990), since the prayers and supplications at the holy site are accompanied by a variety of commercial dealings. These include the sale of various items identified with the holy person, food, and drink (Ben Ami 1995; Feldman 2012a; Gonen 1998). Therefore, religion entrepreneurs work in cooperation with financiallyoriented tourist bodies (Collins-Kreiner 2000, 2010a; Hassan 2005).

The holy site also sees political negotiations between those controlling it and the pilgrims. This is a game of interests in which

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everyonegains–thepoliticiansmeetalargegroupofpotentialvoters. The representatives of the religious establishment have influence on the masses who would not have met them had they not gone on a pilgrimage. The pilgrims enjoy being close to the elite who covertly approveoftheiractivities.Andalloftheseimpartsociallegitimization to the religion entrepreneurs to create a cultural memory.

Memory as a Political Means

for Religion Entrepreneurs

The creation of a collective memory is a political activity of an ethnic community (Kertzer 1988) that sees the past as a unifying factor. Various researchers have discovered the historical component of group memory and its political use. These include Maurice Halbwachs (1992) who claims that historic knowledge gradually replaces group and individual memory, since memory is dynamic, subject to societal changes, and shaped by political intermediaries, whereas history is fixed. Pierre Nora (1989) corresponds with this opinion, details the differences between history and memory (7–24), and determines that they are not identical. Nora discusses three types of memories (16): Archive memory based on historic materials, duty memory which obligates the members of the community to remember particular events, and distance memory that combines history and memory.

Paul Connerton (1989) argues that social memory must be separated from history reconstruction, that it is independent of it. Connerton discusses three types of memory that are based on the past: Cognitive memory, personal memory, and habit memory. He discovered that modern elites who invent ceremonies as part

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of their construction base themselves on historic motifs and thus preserve the past (51).

Barry Schwartz (1982) believes that memory intermediaries make selective use of history to create a community with a new narrative. The State of Israel also makes political use of historic memory tocreateanewnationalnarrative,asshownbyYaelZerubavel(1995) and Udi Lebel (2013), even if not everyone is part of that history (Bar-On 2000; Eisenstadt 1999). Mordechai Bar-On (18) notes two types of community memory: (1) memory conservation – when the community experienced and remembers events of the past, and (2) establishing memory – creating a memory for a community, most of whose members are not familiar with the past. Such a situation possessesagreatdealofroomforpoliticalinterpretationoftheevents they wish to remember. Researchers have recognized the political importance of ancient traditions and religious ceremonies for leaders building new communities (Cannadianen 2003; Halbwachs 1992; Hobsbawm 2003; Mitchell 2005; Sivan 1991) and the importance of religious ceremonies and symbols in preserving values and social order (Durkheim 1972; Geertz 1973; Malinowski 1954).

Eisenstadt(2007)foundthatmostminoritycommunitieshaveethnic, religious and political continuity although the content and importance of these components changes over time.The ethnic-religious component has a double advantage in creating communities of memory (Barth 1969; Eisenstadt 1974; Katzir 1982). Firstly, members of other communitiessuchasgeographic,professionalorsportingcommunities can also join the community. Secondly, Halbwachs (1992, 50) claims that despite the fact that many people join communities of memory due to their ethnic heritage, religion gives them the illusion of their joining from free choice. Danièle Hervieu-Léger (2000, 83–100) sees

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religion as an important source of building communities of memory. She emphasizes that there is «a new call of the past» (88) since modernity is in constant conflict with tradition.

We can say that the extra-institutional Israeli religion entrepreneurs’ choice of an ethnic-religious motif is intended to form new communities by using the characteristic with the broadest consensus, as Benedict Anderson (1991) discovered. In this article, I will argue thattheextra-institutionalreligionentrepreneurscreateethnicdistance memory (Bilu 2005; Feldman 2009, 2012b; Rubin 2009). They take religious-historical motifs, such as cabalistic study, and invent seeminglycabalisticceremoniesthattheyholdatgravesitesofrabbis. The entrepreneurs choose a religious-historical framework and create a new narrative within it using «a new call of the past» – meaning they create a memory for the communities of miracle seekers.

Religion and Belief in Israel – Challenging

the Secular Zionist Narrative

One of the splits in Eretz-Israeli society since the early days of Zionism has been the disagreement regarding the place of religion in the state (Gorny 1987; Katz 2011; Ravitzky 1997a, 1997b). Followingitsestablishmentin1948,anationalattemptbegantocreate a secular state, despite the fact that most of the Jewish immigrants from Islamic countries were religious (Ben-Refael and Leon 2006; Deshen 2006; Leon 2009; Shokeid and Deshen 1999; Yadger 2010). In the Zionist struggle for modernity, tradition was pushed aside in rapid, rather than evolutionary, modernization processes, which greatly harmed the cultural fabric of the Mizrahi immigrants (Deshen 1979; Katz 1984). The broad study regarding the second generation

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of those immigrants indicates a revival of the ethnic-religious memory and a rise in the popular culture that includes sacred rituals and pilgrimages by communities and individuals (Deshen 2006; Goodman and Fisher 2004; Lehmann and Siebzehner 2006; Leon 2003).

The ethnic-religious communities of memory in Israel operate similarly to the new religious communities in the United States.Their members are not faithful to one religious or community framework, but maintain concurrent connections with several social networks and religious communities. Putnam (2000, 65–79) found that from the 1970s onwards there was a drop in the number of people registered as members of religious communities. However, toward the end of the century they returned to their church communities, while defining themselves as «believers» rather than «religious». The concept «believers» means people who believe in the Creator, without necessarily engaging in daily religious practices. This is the «soft culture» community model (Appadurai 1997, 90) which does not present itself as an antithesis to modern secularism. It does not participate in the cultural struggle within Israeli society (Katz 1984, 223–224), nor compete ideologically with other groups of believers. In the twenty-first century, many of the second generation of Jewish immigrants to Israel from Islamic countries define themselves as more religious than their parents (Kaisar-Sugarman and Arian 2011; Levy, Levinson and Katz 2002). Goodman and Fisher (2004) found that modern religiosity develops in modern social structures and uses themtopreservethelocalculture,includingitsreligionandpremises. The result is a «post-traditional» society which includes modernization processes alongside preservation of religion and the existing culture. Nissim Leon (2007) describes a similar process that

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is occurring among the second generation of Mizrahi immigrants in Israel. Religious communities that had disbanded in Israel because of trends towards secularization and modernization created new traditional communities. The members of these communities wish to participate in the religious experience, but in less Orthodox frameworks.

I argue that the «soft model» (Appadurai 1997) of the ethnicreligious communities of memory allows many Israelis in the twentyfirst century to participate in spiritual-religious ceremonies without changing their lifestyle.

Characteristics of Communities

of Miracle Seekers and Religion Entrepreneurs

Fischer (1977, 1982) and Schwab (1992), who researched urban sociology in the United States, identified a constraint choice model. This is a sociological model that acknowledges the possibility of several simultaneous communal connections. Constraint choice often emanates from geographical proximity (Gray 2002), similar employment, shared leisure activities culture (Dawson 2002; Dyck 2002)orexperiencinganationaldisaster(ZinnerandWilliams1999). Thus the mobility and dynamics of communal structures and social networks are created, that impart their participants with shared values and goals and a sense of personal security (Appadurai 1997; Dubisch 2004; Power 2006; Wellman 1999).

Barnes(1985)examinedfifteennewreligiousleadersfromdifferent religions and found four common characteristics (1) the symbols of the religious establishment were interpreted unconventionally, and the interpretation was based on belief in the leader’s super-

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natural powers and his special connection with God; (2) a period ofsocialchange;(3)theleader’sabilitytobuildcommunalinstitutions and teach religious law, and (4) there was a relationship with the religious establishment despite the anti-establishment innovation.

These characteristics also fit the new religion entrepreneurs in Israel. There is cultural pluralism in twenty-first century Israel that makes it easy for the number of religion entrepreneurs and miracleseekerstoincrease.TheyarefreedoftheideologicalchainsofIsrael’s early years when their parents’ mystical beliefs were silenced and excluded from the political and religious establishment.

The religion entrepreneurs know their own limits and inability to force their believers to behave according to rules. Therefore they do not encourage the members of their communities to live a Jewish religious lifestyle or even live near them. Thus they can enjoy the believers’ monetary contributions without having to provide them with housing, educational institutions, and a livelihood. The limits of the power of the extra-institutional religion entrepreneurs are also the source of their power. Here is a political game of power and remuneration. The community members impart the leader with political, social, and economic power, and in turn he grants them hope for changing their fate, a personal miracle, and a better future. Therefore,thethirdcharacteristicofBarnes’(1985)theoryisreversed.

Aviad Kleinberg (2000, 164) terms the relationship between the ChristiansaintandhisbelieversintheearlyChristianperiod,a«clientpatron» relationship. Within this relationship, the saint is expected to predict the future, heal, and solve problems. He also gives rebuke and promises the redemption. The role of the believers is to publicize the patron’s name, defend him from criticism, and make sure he has a livelihood. The religion entrepreneurs in our times behave like

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saints during the early days of Christianity. They also provide «services»ofholiness,mysticism,andhope.Inexchange,themiracle seekers provide them with a livelihood.

Despite the ritual innovation, the religion entrepreneurs in Israel take care not to act openly against the religious establishment, since their believers are the same group as those who attend synagogue and honor the state rabbis. The other side of the picture is that the religious establishment is afraid of losing «clients», and therefore ignores the very unconventional rites of the religion entrepreneurs. This space allows them to grow and increase the community of those who seek miracles.

Methodology

This study will examine three graves that have been turned into holy sites outside Israel (the graves of Rabbi Nachman in Uman, Ukraine; Yaakov Abuchatzeira in Damanhur, Egypt, and Eliezer Papo in Silistra, Bulgaria). They were selected because they are currently centers for miracle-seekers, and because they share several common characteristics that teach about the phenomenon ofmiracle-seekingandtheextra-institutionalreligionentrepreneurs: They are based on historical figures who were unimportant in their own times, but were sanctified by religion entrepreneurs after their deaths;theeventsheldtherefeaturereligiousritesbasedontradition and historical memory; they began to operate in the 1990s but greatly expanded during the twenty-first century; they do not have a geographic community, and lastly the religious rites are directed by extra-institutionalleadersand notby theIsraeli religiousorpolitical establishment.

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The study will be based mainly on media articles and hagiographic books, since no academic research has been written about them, aside from one book about the grave of Rabbi Nachman in Ukraine (Weinstock 2011).

Iwillanalyzethissocialphenomenonusinggroundedtheory(Denzin and Lincoln 2000). Grounded theory looks for new understandings of social processes in their natural surroundings (Hutchinson 1988, 124). With the research questions seeking to «reveal any covert social mechanism, balance of power, agenda, and worldview» (Gibton 2006, 202). This study is part of the branch of grounded theory called phenomenological research that studies human experience (Creswell 2003) and the significance of social phenomena based on the cultural experiences of individuals and groups (Denzin and Lincoln 2000).

Findings

Ancient Holy Sites and Modern Religion Entrepreneurs

Rabbi Ya’shiyahu Pinto – the grave of Rabbi Eliezer Papo – Silistra – Bulgaria

Rabbi Eliezer Papo (1786–1827) was born, grew up, and studied Torah in Bosnia. He served as the rabbi of the Sephardic community in Silistra, Bulgaria, where he died and was buried.

In the 1990s, the young Israeli rabbi, Ya’shiyahu Pinto who was born (1973) and grew up in Israel, established a large educational campus in the city in southern Israel where he resides. The campus includesayeshivaformen,schools,andasynagogue,whichhefunds with his believers’ donations. He also owns a home, educational institutions, and a synagogue, in New York, that are financed by his followers. He divides his time between the two cities. However,

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his followers do not live together as a geographic community. The educational institutions and charity organization he founded are intended for all the residents of the city and the region.

In 2003, Rabbi Pinto began to make pilgrimages to the grave of Rabbi Papo in Bulgaria. He cleaned and renovated the small, neglected building where the grave was housed, situated at the edge of a poor neighborhood alongside derelict multi-story buildings and a small industrial area. Prior to the ceremony, the rabbi and his followers immerse in the ritual bath, open only to men, that Rabbi Pinto had built close to the grave. After the purification in the ritual bath, the rabbi prays and delivers an address to his followers. Rabbi Pinto sits inside the large tent for men that is erected only for the hilulah. He is surrounded by Jewish businessmen from Israel and other countries, politicians, rabbis, former and current police officers, and journalists. The hundreds of men without political or financial standing are not allowed into the tent. The women sit in a separate tent. Rabbi Pinto delivers his main address from a large dais.The hundreds of believers pray with him and request to be saved from their troubles by the connection between the two rabbis – living and dead. After the prayers, the rabbi and his followers dance with a Torah scroll. They are entertained by a singer and band, who came on the rabbi’s plane, during the dancing and meal that is held near the grave. After the ceremony, the tents and dais are dismantled. The grave remains desolate until the following year.

The attendees fly to the pilgrimage at Rabbi Papo’s grave and pay for their flight. Most are from Israel, although there are also some from other countries, mostly the United States where Rabbi Pinto has been spending a large part of his time for many years. The airlift brings the believers straight to Bulgaria. There in the airport, buses

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