Prayer is a performative act to construct religious identity, express faith in God and sense of belonging to the community. In Judaism, reciting the Sh’ma Yisrael prayer is one of the most important commandments which identifies commitment and belief. It is practiced by the worshiper twice a day. According to the Jewish law, women are not obligated to recite the Sh’ma, but non-Orthodox communities, which support gender equality, view this issue differently and promote their participation. In this ethnographic study, I demonstrate how Sh’ma Yisrael prayer, conducted by women and LGBTQ members in Reform Jewish congregations, is constructed as a performance of gender-sexual recognition and empowerment. By changing the text of the prayer, experiencing the setting, and performing various bodily gestures, this religious declaration is charged with a political call for gender equality. Reciting the traditional prayer is not only dedicated to express religiosity or faith, but also an egalitarian ideology of excluded sexual-gender identities and life experiences. It transforms the focus from God to the self.
{"title":"Ethnography of the Sh’ma Yisrael Prayer","authors":"Elazar Ben-Lulu","doi":"10.1558/firn.20949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.20949","url":null,"abstract":"Prayer is a performative act to construct religious identity, express faith in God and sense of belonging to the community. In Judaism, reciting the Sh’ma Yisrael prayer is one of the most important commandments which identifies commitment and belief. It is practiced by the worshiper twice a day. According to the Jewish law, women are not obligated to recite the Sh’ma, but non-Orthodox communities, which support gender equality, view this issue differently and promote their participation. In this ethnographic study, I demonstrate how Sh’ma Yisrael prayer, conducted by women and LGBTQ members in Reform Jewish congregations, is constructed as a performance of gender-sexual recognition and empowerment. By changing the text of the prayer, experiencing the setting, and performing various bodily gestures, this religious declaration is charged with a political call for gender equality. Reciting the traditional prayer is not only dedicated to express religiosity or faith, but also an egalitarian ideology of excluded sexual-gender identities and life experiences. It transforms the focus from God to the self.","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42327683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article presents a new method for the study of antiquity: ethnographic fieldwork results combined with studies of ancient sources. The study addresses the interrelationship between oral and written sources. The pilgrimage centre located on the island of Tinos, which houses a miraculous holy icon (image) of the Annunciation of the Panagia (“the All-Holy One”, or the Virgin Mary), is central here. Many dedications in the sanctuary are memorials linked to the most famous miracle cures worked by the icon. These are written down in a church pamphlet distributed to pilgrims, and this aspect of the miracles is further illustrated by examining the sanctuary’s archive housing letters from several categories of believers, including white and black magic. We also meet the activities that most often are performed by female pilgrims, including vows, prayers and offerings, accompanied by oral sharing of stories of miracles. Women reproduce written miracles in their own way too, as they likewise do with miracles they have heard from others. Many of these share similarities to what we read about in ancient sources, generally authored by men, as well as in inscriptions telling us about the healing miracles of Epidauros, where ancient pilgrims journeyed. The article discusses some of these through a comparison in order to shed new light on the ancient world. The male-produced texts must be deconstructed and considered from a gyno-inclusive perspective by examining them in conjunction with information from the female sphere, such as the few sources authored by ancient women and the oral stories shared by modern women.
{"title":"Fieldwork and Ancient Sources","authors":"E. J. Håland","doi":"10.1558/firn.21304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.21304","url":null,"abstract":"The article presents a new method for the study of antiquity: ethnographic fieldwork results combined with studies of ancient sources. The study addresses the interrelationship between oral and written sources. The pilgrimage centre located on the island of Tinos, which houses a miraculous holy icon (image) of the Annunciation of the Panagia (“the All-Holy One”, or the Virgin Mary), is central here. Many dedications in the sanctuary are memorials linked to the most famous miracle cures worked by the icon. These are written down in a church pamphlet distributed to pilgrims, and this aspect of the miracles is further illustrated by examining the sanctuary’s archive housing letters from several categories of believers, including white and black magic. We also meet the activities that most often are performed by female pilgrims, including vows, prayers and offerings, accompanied by oral sharing of stories of miracles. Women reproduce written miracles in their own way too, as they likewise do with miracles they have heard from others. Many of these share similarities to what we read about in ancient sources, generally authored by men, as well as in inscriptions telling us about the healing miracles of Epidauros, where ancient pilgrims journeyed. The article discusses some of these through a comparison in order to shed new light on the ancient world. The male-produced texts must be deconstructed and considered from a gyno-inclusive perspective by examining them in conjunction with information from the female sphere, such as the few sources authored by ancient women and the oral stories shared by modern women.","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45966558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Feds and Locals: Stages of Fieldwork in Applied Anthropology","authors":"A. Burns","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"309 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77631321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contrasting Experiences in Fieldwork","authors":"D. T. Hughes","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84528455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-09-30DOI: 10.4324/9781003209539-11
P. S. Weibust
{"title":"Filipinos Were My Teachers","authors":"P. S. Weibust","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-11","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"232 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80130801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Come Ahead, If You Dare”","authors":"Victor A. Liguori","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80232183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-09-30DOI: 10.4324/9781003209539-12
C. Keyes
{"title":"The Observer Observed: Changing Identities of Ethnographers in a Northeastern Thai Village","authors":"C. Keyes","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-12","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"170 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73335666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Field Experience in Three Societies","authors":"Enya P. Flores‐Meiser","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76411302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Between Being Near and Distant: Reflections on Initial Approaches and Experiences of an Indian Anthropologist","authors":"R. Khare","doi":"10.4324/9781003209539-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209539-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41468,"journal":{"name":"Fieldwork in Religion","volume":"96 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83370794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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