Hasidic People: A Place in the New World.

Abstract

Extreme piety, joyous intensity, and a unique social organization have distinguished the Hasidim from other Orthodox Jews since the latter half of the 18th century. After World War II, survivors of the once thriving communities of Eastern Europe began to settle in New York. Hasidic People is a social history of the New York community based on interviews, observation, newspaper files, and court records. Jerome Mintz, an anthropologist, combines historical study with investigation to provide an account of social and religious dynamics. He allows events to unfold through the reports and commentaries of the Hasidim and those in close association with them. Mintz's work offers insights into family life, succession in dynasties, social change, and conflicts concerning proselytizing, the State of Israel, and Messianic expectations. From Brooklyn enclaves to settlements in the suburbs, the reader is shown a people set apart and yet living in close proximity with other ethnic groups, including blacks and Latinos, facing competition for housing, economic development, and political representation. Hasidic People takes the reader from the various neighbourhood settlements through years of growth to the tragic riots in Crown Heights at the close of the summer of 1991.

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