Confessions of the Shtetl

Converts from Judaism in Imperial Russia, 1817-1906

Nonfiction, History, Jewish
Cover of the book Confessions of the Shtetl by Ellie R. Schainker, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ellie R. Schainker ISBN: 9781503600249
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: November 16, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Ellie R. Schainker
ISBN: 9781503600249
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: November 16, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

Over the course of the nineteenth century, some 84,500 Jews in imperial Russia converted to Christianity. Confessions of the Shtetl explores the day-to-day world of these people, including the social, geographic, religious, and economic links among converts, Christians, and Jews. The book narrates converts' tales of love, desperation, and fear, tracing the uneasy contest between religious choice and collective Jewish identity in tsarist Russia. Rather than viewing the shtetl as the foundation myth for modern Jewish nationhood, this work reveals the shtetl's history of conversions and communal engagement with converts, which ultimately yielded a cultural hybridity that both challenged and fueled visions of Jewish separatism.

Drawing on extensive research with conversion files in imperial Russian archives, in addition to the mass press, novels, and memoirs, Ellie R. Schainker offers a sociocultural history of religious toleration and Jewish life that sees baptism not as the fundamental departure from Jewishness or the Jewish community, but as a conversion that marked the start of a complicated experiment with new forms of identity and belonging. Ultimately, she argues that the Jewish encounter with imperial Russia did not revolve around coercion and ghettoization but was a genuinely religious drama with a diverse, attractive, and aggressive Christianity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Over the course of the nineteenth century, some 84,500 Jews in imperial Russia converted to Christianity. Confessions of the Shtetl explores the day-to-day world of these people, including the social, geographic, religious, and economic links among converts, Christians, and Jews. The book narrates converts' tales of love, desperation, and fear, tracing the uneasy contest between religious choice and collective Jewish identity in tsarist Russia. Rather than viewing the shtetl as the foundation myth for modern Jewish nationhood, this work reveals the shtetl's history of conversions and communal engagement with converts, which ultimately yielded a cultural hybridity that both challenged and fueled visions of Jewish separatism.

Drawing on extensive research with conversion files in imperial Russian archives, in addition to the mass press, novels, and memoirs, Ellie R. Schainker offers a sociocultural history of religious toleration and Jewish life that sees baptism not as the fundamental departure from Jewishness or the Jewish community, but as a conversion that marked the start of a complicated experiment with new forms of identity and belonging. Ultimately, she argues that the Jewish encounter with imperial Russia did not revolve around coercion and ghettoization but was a genuinely religious drama with a diverse, attractive, and aggressive Christianity.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Memoirs of a Grandmother by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Theater of State by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Figuring Korean Futures by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Your Money and Your Life by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Simple Habits for Complex Times by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Race Defaced by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Effective Human Resource Management by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Essays on Philosophy, Politics & Economics by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Risky Shores by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book People's Science by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Dolores del Río by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book The One-State Condition by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book The Power of Life by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Guilt by Ellie R. Schainker
Cover of the book Contested Welfare States by Ellie R. Schainker
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy