Asaf Sharabi
Biographic Data
| ID | 101242 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Asaf Sharabi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Asaf |
| FAMILY NAME | Sharabi |
| SIGNATURE | SHARABI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Peres Academic Center |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3879-9183 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Local Traditions in Times of Change
In this chapter I focus on three ritual experiences related to Mahasu: the annual major festival (Jagra), animal sacrifices, and the movement in space of Mahasu and his followers. I show that some rituals and practices are currently in the process of change, and ask who is responsible for these changes in the context of discussing the agency of gods
Navigating Power and Identity
This article explores the fluid gender identity of a local deity in the Western Himalayas, contextualized within both divine and human societal structures from the 19th century to the present. Based on fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh, India, the study examines the transformation of the deity’s gender identity from a goddess to a male deity in the 19th century—a shift that locals strategically employed to support political and territorial claims. In…
Mediums, Objects, and the Problem of Presence in the Western Himalayas
In some religious contexts, mainly Protestant Christianity, anthropologists often contend with the problem of presence that preoccupies believers - the simultaneous presence and absence of God. However, in the Hinduism of the Western Himalayas the problem of presence is quite different. The royal deities in this region are profoundly present, embodied in mediums and palanquins. Thus, followers of these deities are not puzzled by the concept of an…
The Scientist, the Therapist, and the Conspiracy Theorist
The Biography of a God
Biography of a God
A male ethnographer's perspective on sexual harassment in fieldwork
This research note focuses on the sexual harassment experienced by the author during ethnographic fieldwork in India. Analysis of the event indicates that the fact that he is a man influenced his response to the sexual overtures made by his male informant and heightened his sense of fear. Thus while being of the masculine gender can be an advantage for the male ethnographer, it can also be a source of anxiety and carries some tangible risks. This…
The Politics of Madness and Spirit Possession in Northern India
Being a medium of a god is common and normative in the Western Himalayas. In this article I present a case of three mediums who were regarded with mixed feelings by society, because their mediumship strongly criticized religious practices and the caste system. The villagers in the study area have cultural-religious practices that help them cope with deviant forms of mediumship - patterns such as ignoring a person or gossiping about them to expres…
Omniscient gods and precision and intent in rituals
Social scientists who study the minds of gods claim that the omniscient gods of monotheistic religions are aware of the intent of their followers, unlike gods who are not omniscient. For this reason, omniscient gods do not place emphasis on their followers’ precision in carrying out rituals, focusing rather on the intent and/or identity of the practitioners. The present article challenges this perception by focusing on several spheres of Orthodox…
Textual healing
This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in a Jerusalem yeshiva, describes how the yeshiva, a traditional institute of religious studies, also serves as an institution of healing and personal therapy in which sacred religious texts assume a central place. The article focuses on personal sessions between the rabbi who heads the yeshiva, and his audience of believers who turn to him for help in coping with personal hardships and tribulations. The p…
Is it God Speaking? Agency of Deities in the Western Himalaya
In many ethnographies, deities reflect social structures, represent power relations, or serve as a resource for individuals. However, believers usually do not doubt the existence of deities and their agency: that is, their ability to act and initiate change. The gap between these points of view narrows in the religious experiences in the Indian Himalayas. There, the local population, who communicate with local deities via mediums, face an epistem…
Charismatic mediumship and traditional priesthood
In the Indian Himalayas, mediums who operate as channels through which deities can communicate with their devotees, function alongside priests who serve these deities. In this article, we examine the relationship between these two religious roles with regard to the deity Mahāsū. At the individual-personal level we examine how their roles are linked to different sources of authority – whereas the priests' source of authority is traditional, the me…
Sanskritization of the Upper Castes
Anthropos , Seite 248 - 258
Religion and Modernity
This article discusses the concept of zikui harabim (granting merit to the many) and attempts to show how it motivates and animates the religious renewal movements in Judaism (the teshuvah movements). I argue that zikui harabim is produced by "cycles of teshuva" in which the "repentant" person engages in facilitating the "return" of others to religious practice, even before he or she has undertaken the rigorous observance of religious commandment…
The holy contract
The article, based on fieldwork conducted among an extremist Hasidic group, demonstrates how religious fundamentalism may be linked to modernism through the way in which modern ideas infiltrate fundamentalist culture. The authors examine the contract that is signed annually by members of the group, which reaffirms their acceptance of stringent regulations. The contract is signed by every individual by means of a performative act that consolidates…
Deep healing
Based on an ethnographic analysis of religious healing rituals in Israel, this paper addresses the question of how healer-client relations are structured on these rituals. An examination of what takes place at the rallies held by Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak indicates that, apart from the regular blessings, which can be referred to as ordinary healing, there are some ritual events that can be referred to as 'deep healing'. The current paper demonstrates h…
Boundary work' in a religious revival movement
The concept of 'boundary work' generally refers to class, community, gender and ethnicity. This article shows how 'boundary work' can be usefully applied to the religious arena as well. Drawing on fieldwork among two religious movements in Israel, I maintain that within Religious-Zionist teshuvah, 'return to religion' is construed through a binary with Sephardic-Haredi teshuvah, the former taken as intellectual/rational, the latter as traditional…
Teshuvah baskets’ in the Israeli teshuvah market
As opposed to the approach that makes a dichotomous distinction between ‘rigid religiosity’ and ‘soft religiosity’, I would like to point to a reality in which these boundaries are blurred. I shall do so by examining the case of the religious revival movement in Israel (the ‘teshuvah movement’), which offers a broad range of teshuvah styles, out of which hozrim beteshuvah (penitents) select ‘teshuvah baskets’, which they fill and pack themselves,…
Textual healing
This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in a Jerusalem yeshiva, describes how the yeshiva, a traditional institute of religious studies, also serves as an institution of healing and personal therapy in which sacred religious texts assume a central place. The article focuses on personal sessions between the rabbi who heads the yeshiva, and his audience of believers who turn to him for help in coping with personal hardships and tribulations. The p…
Boundary work' in a religious revival movement
The concept of 'boundary work' generally refers to class, community, gender and ethnicity. This article shows how 'boundary work' can be usefully applied to the religious arena as well. Drawing on fieldwork among two religious movements in Israel, I maintain that within Religious-Zionist teshuvah, 'return to religion' is construed through a binary with Sephardic-Haredi teshuvah, the former taken as intellectual/rational, the latter as traditional…
Charismatic mediumship and traditional priesthood
In the Indian Himalayas, mediums who operate as channels through which deities can communicate with their devotees, function alongside priests who serve these deities. In this article, we examine the relationship between these two religious roles with regard to the deity Mahāsū. At the individual-personal level we examine how their roles are linked to different sources of authority – whereas the priests' source of authority is traditional, the me…
Is it God Speaking? Agency of Deities in the Western Himalaya
In many ethnographies, deities reflect social structures, represent power relations, or serve as a resource for individuals. However, believers usually do not doubt the existence of deities and their agency: that is, their ability to act and initiate change. The gap between these points of view narrows in the religious experiences in the Indian Himalayas. There, the local population, who communicate with local deities via mediums, face an epistem…
Teshuvah baskets’ in the Israeli teshuvah market
As opposed to the approach that makes a dichotomous distinction between ‘rigid religiosity’ and ‘soft religiosity’, I would like to point to a reality in which these boundaries are blurred. I shall do so by examining the case of the religious revival movement in Israel (the ‘teshuvah movement’), which offers a broad range of teshuvah styles, out of which hozrim beteshuvah (penitents) select ‘teshuvah baskets’, which they fill and pack themselves,…
A male ethnographer's perspective on sexual harassment in fieldwork
This research note focuses on the sexual harassment experienced by the author during ethnographic fieldwork in India. Analysis of the event indicates that the fact that he is a man influenced his response to the sexual overtures made by his male informant and heightened his sense of fear. Thus while being of the masculine gender can be an advantage for the male ethnographer, it can also be a source of anxiety and carries some tangible risks. This…
Deep healing
Based on an ethnographic analysis of religious healing rituals in Israel, this paper addresses the question of how healer-client relations are structured on these rituals. An examination of what takes place at the rallies held by Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak indicates that, apart from the regular blessings, which can be referred to as ordinary healing, there are some ritual events that can be referred to as 'deep healing'. The current paper demonstrates h…
Mediums, Objects, and the Problem of Presence in the Western Himalayas
In some religious contexts, mainly Protestant Christianity, anthropologists often contend with the problem of presence that preoccupies believers - the simultaneous presence and absence of God. However, in the Hinduism of the Western Himalayas the problem of presence is quite different. The royal deities in this region are profoundly present, embodied in mediums and palanquins. Thus, followers of these deities are not puzzled by the concept of an…
Sanskritization of the Upper Castes
Anthropos , Seite 248 - 258
Religion and Modernity
This article discusses the concept of zikui harabim (granting merit to the many) and attempts to show how it motivates and animates the religious renewal movements in Judaism (the teshuvah movements). I argue that zikui harabim is produced by "cycles of teshuva" in which the "repentant" person engages in facilitating the "return" of others to religious practice, even before he or she has undertaken the rigorous observance of religious commandment…
Teshuvah baskets’ in the Israeli teshuvah market
As opposed to the approach that makes a dichotomous distinction between ‘rigid religiosity’ and ‘soft religiosity’, I would like to point to a reality in which these boundaries are blurred. I shall do so by examining the case of the religious revival movement in Israel (the ‘teshuvah movement’), which offers a broad range of teshuvah styles, out of which hozrim beteshuvah (penitents) select ‘teshuvah baskets’, which they fill and pack themselves,…
Boundary work' in a religious revival movement
The concept of 'boundary work' generally refers to class, community, gender and ethnicity. This article shows how 'boundary work' can be usefully applied to the religious arena as well. Drawing on fieldwork among two religious movements in Israel, I maintain that within Religious-Zionist teshuvah, 'return to religion' is construed through a binary with Sephardic-Haredi teshuvah, the former taken as intellectual/rational, the latter as traditional…
The holy contract
The article, based on fieldwork conducted among an extremist Hasidic group, demonstrates how religious fundamentalism may be linked to modernism through the way in which modern ideas infiltrate fundamentalist culture. The authors examine the contract that is signed annually by members of the group, which reaffirms their acceptance of stringent regulations. The contract is signed by every individual by means of a performative act that consolidates…
Deep healing
Based on an ethnographic analysis of religious healing rituals in Israel, this paper addresses the question of how healer-client relations are structured on these rituals. An examination of what takes place at the rallies held by Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak indicates that, apart from the regular blessings, which can be referred to as ordinary healing, there are some ritual events that can be referred to as 'deep healing'. The current paper demonstrates h…
Religion and Modernity
This article discusses the concept of zikui harabim (granting merit to the many) and attempts to show how it motivates and animates the religious renewal movements in Judaism (the teshuvah movements). I argue that zikui harabim is produced by "cycles of teshuva" in which the "repentant" person engages in facilitating the "return" of others to religious practice, even before he or she has undertaken the rigorous observance of religious commandment…
Charismatic mediumship and traditional priesthood
In the Indian Himalayas, mediums who operate as channels through which deities can communicate with their devotees, function alongside priests who serve these deities. In this article, we examine the relationship between these two religious roles with regard to the deity Mahāsū. At the individual-personal level we examine how their roles are linked to different sources of authority – whereas the priests' source of authority is traditional, the me…
Sanskritization of the Upper Castes
Anthropos , Seite 248 - 258
Textual healing
This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in a Jerusalem yeshiva, describes how the yeshiva, a traditional institute of religious studies, also serves as an institution of healing and personal therapy in which sacred religious texts assume a central place. The article focuses on personal sessions between the rabbi who heads the yeshiva, and his audience of believers who turn to him for help in coping with personal hardships and tribulations. The p…
Is it God Speaking? Agency of Deities in the Western Himalaya
In many ethnographies, deities reflect social structures, represent power relations, or serve as a resource for individuals. However, believers usually do not doubt the existence of deities and their agency: that is, their ability to act and initiate change. The gap between these points of view narrows in the religious experiences in the Indian Himalayas. There, the local population, who communicate with local deities via mediums, face an epistem…
Omniscient gods and precision and intent in rituals
Social scientists who study the minds of gods claim that the omniscient gods of monotheistic religions are aware of the intent of their followers, unlike gods who are not omniscient. For this reason, omniscient gods do not place emphasis on their followers’ precision in carrying out rituals, focusing rather on the intent and/or identity of the practitioners. The present article challenges this perception by focusing on several spheres of Orthodox…
The Politics of Madness and Spirit Possession in Northern India
Being a medium of a god is common and normative in the Western Himalayas. In this article I present a case of three mediums who were regarded with mixed feelings by society, because their mediumship strongly criticized religious practices and the caste system. The villagers in the study area have cultural-religious practices that help them cope with deviant forms of mediumship - patterns such as ignoring a person or gossiping about them to expres…
A male ethnographer's perspective on sexual harassment in fieldwork
This research note focuses on the sexual harassment experienced by the author during ethnographic fieldwork in India. Analysis of the event indicates that the fact that he is a man influenced his response to the sexual overtures made by his male informant and heightened his sense of fear. Thus while being of the masculine gender can be an advantage for the male ethnographer, it can also be a source of anxiety and carries some tangible risks. This…
The Biography of a God
Biography of a God
The Scientist, the Therapist, and the Conspiracy Theorist
Local Traditions in Times of Change
In this chapter I focus on three ritual experiences related to Mahasu: the annual major festival (Jagra), animal sacrifices, and the movement in space of Mahasu and his followers. I show that some rituals and practices are currently in the process of change, and ask who is responsible for these changes in the context of discussing the agency of gods
Navigating Power and Identity
This article explores the fluid gender identity of a local deity in the Western Himalayas, contextualized within both divine and human societal structures from the 19th century to the present. Based on fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh, India, the study examines the transformation of the deity’s gender identity from a goddess to a male deity in the 19th century—a shift that locals strategically employed to support political and territorial claims. In…
Mediums, Objects, and the Problem of Presence in the Western Himalayas
In some religious contexts, mainly Protestant Christianity, anthropologists often contend with the problem of presence that preoccupies believers - the simultaneous presence and absence of God. However, in the Hinduism of the Western Himalayas the problem of presence is quite different. The royal deities in this region are profoundly present, embodied in mediums and palanquins. Thus, followers of these deities are not puzzled by the concept of an…
Sociology (15 works) · Philosophy (13 works) · Aesthetics (12 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · History (6 works) · Indian and Buddhist Studies (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)