Jerusalem and Sao Paulo
The New Jewish Orthodoxy in Focus
Marta F Topel author James A R Allen translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University Press of America
Published:11th Sep '08
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Jerusalem and Sao Paulo is a pioneering work of over four years of anthropological research on the "repentance", or return to Jewish roots phenomenon, in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The return-to-Jewish-roots phenomenon is identified by its Hebrew name of teshuvah, and the individuals involved are called "baalei teshuvah" (repentants). Jerusalem and Sao Paulo describes the long process these young people undergo in their choice of Jewish Orthodoxy. Due to the fact that Judaism is an ortho-practical religion, which emphasizes praxis over belief and dogma, the conversion to Orthodoxy is radical, traumatic, and more encompassing than that experienced by other Brazilians who adopt religions such as Neo-Pentacolism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Afro-Brazilian creeds. The book examines the following processes and contexts and their interrelationships: Globalization of religion, the Brazilian market of religious goods, the History of the Jewish community in Sao Paulo, and the teshuvah movement in Israel and the United States.
I recommend the translation and publication of the excellent book by Dr. Topel—Jerusalem and Sao Paulo—into English. The book deals with a most fascinating and enigmatic phenomenon that has not been studied until now: the emergence of a new orthodoxy in the stronghold of secular Jewry in Latin America. This transformation is particularly noticeable in Sao Paulo, where Jews form part of the upper middle class and are well integrated in the Brazilian society. -- Margalit Bejarano, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Contemporary Jewry
Dr. Topel researched during four years the phenomenon of the adoption of orthodoxy by young secular Jewish people. . . . Her volume is undoubtedly an important contribution to the understanding of the world-wide phenomenon of the new-Jewish orthodoxy. For the English reader, who is generally very poorly informed about Jewish life in Brazil, her work will be of particular importance. -- Haim Avni, Professor Emeritus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Director, Division for Latin America, Spain and Portugal
ISBN: 9780761841555
Dimensions: 232mm x 155mm x 22mm
Weight: 322g
212 pages