Book

Legends of the Hasidim: an introduction to Hasidic culture and oral tradition in the New World

University of Chicago Press • Chicago, Ill. • Published In 1968 • Pages:

By: Mintz, Jerome R..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

This work provides both an ethnographic study (ca. 1959-1961, 1963) of the Hasidim in the New York City area, as well as a collection of their oral traditions in the form of recorded legends. The document is divided into two major parts. Part I attempts to describe and analyze the Hasidic culture through its oral traditions -- a technique utilized by Franz Boas in the early twentieth century because he believed '…that the events, materials, and customs of daily life are reflected in tales' (p. 1). Although this study relies heavily on the analysis of the collected tales, it is further supplemented by data gathered through customary anthropological methods such as participant observation, interviews, photography, and the utilization of life history materials. Part II consists of the texts of the tales collected by Mintz in New York City primarily during the period of 1959-1961 and in the summer of 1963. Topics given specific emphasis in this work are the cultural history of the Hasidim in eastern and central Europe, their settlements in New York City, patterns of Hasidic life, youth and marriage, the Rebbe, the MITSVES or religious commandments, supernatural beings and magic, and general attitudes and relationships within the Hasidic community.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Literature

Literary texts

Priesthood

Congregations

Religious denominations

Missions

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

North American Hasidic Jews

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

1996

RegionThe area the document pertains to

North America

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

Book

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Ethnologist

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

5: Excellent Primary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

John Beierle ; 1995

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

collection of tales: 1959-61, 1963

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

variable

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Brooklyn, N.Y., United States

NotesAdditional notes

Jerome R. Mintz

Includes bibliographical references (p. {452}-457) and index

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

68016707

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Jews