Lubavitcher messianism : what really happens when prophecy fails? / Simon Dein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dein, Simon, 1959- author.

Series:

Continuum Studies in Jewish Thought

Coninuum studies in Jewish thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Schneerson, Menachem Mendel, 1902-1994.

Church history--Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600.

Habad--History--21st century.

Messiah--Judaism.

Prophecy--Judaism.

Crown Heights (New York, N.Y.)--Religious life and customs--21th century.

Stamford Hill (London, England)--Religious life and customs--21th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (193 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Continuum, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In 1994 the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Schneerson, died leaving no successor. For many years his followers had maintained that he was Moshiach -the Jewish Messiah and would usher in the Redemption. After his death Lubavitch divided into two opposing groups. While some messianists hold that the Rebbe died but is to be resurrected as the messiah, others hold that he is still alive, but concealed. The anti-messianists maintain that the Rebbe could have been Moshiach if God had willed it, but they disagree vehemently that as such he could come back from the dead. Using ethnographic data obtained by the author through twenty years of fieldwork, this book presents a social-psychological account of Lubavitcher Messianism and moves beyond the typical scholarly preoccupation with 'belief' and 'dissonance' to examine the role of rhetoric, religious experience and ritual in maintaining counterintuitive convictions. Through examining the parallels between early Christianity and messianism in Lubavitch this book provides a comprehensive perspective for examining messianism generally"--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

When a prophecy fails: from cognition to performance

Ethnography in Stamford Hill and in Crown Heights

Lubavitch and its messianism

The death of the Rebbe

Messianism in Stamford Hill

Ritualizing the Rebbe in Crown Heights

The convert's zeal

Making the Rebbe present through the media

The Lubavitcher Rebbe and the early church

Conclusion: what really happens when a prophecy fails?

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9786613015815

9781472548627

1472548620

9781283015813

1283015811

9781441151759

1441151753

OCLC:

705538263