Jerusalem And Sao Paulo

Introduction

Chapter 1. Hansen’s Law: What A Grandfather Wants To Forget, His Grandson Wants To Remember

Chapter 2. The Brazilian Jewish Community’s Pikuach Nefesh, Or The First Seeds Of The Teshuvah Movement In The Tropics

Chapter 3. Teshuvah As A Fundamental Idea Within Judaism

Chapter 4. Recruiting New Members

Chapter 5. The Yoke Of The Mitzvot: A Long Journey

Chapter 6. On The Baalot Teshuvah And The Many Challenges They Face In Becoming Good Jewesses

Chapter 7. Judaism, Religious Identity And Globalization. On The Consolation Of The Orthodox Community In Sao Paulo

Additional Info
Jerusalem and Sao Paulo is a pioneering work of over four years of anthropological research on the “repentance”, or return to Jewish roots phenomenon, in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The return-to-Jewish-roots phenomenon is identified by its Hebrew name of teshuvah, and the individuals involved are called “baalei teshuvah” (repentants).

Jerusalem and Sao Paulo describes the long process these young people undergo in their choice of Jewish Orthodoxy. Due to the fact that Judaism is an ortho-practical religion, which emphasizes praxis over belief and dogma, the conversion to Orthodoxy is radical, traumatic, and more encompassing than that experienced by other Brazilians who adopt religions such as Neo-Pentacolism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Afro-Brazilian creeds. The book examines the following processes and contexts and their interrelationships: Globalization of religion, the Brazilian market of religious goods, the History of the Jewish community in Sao Paulo, and the teshuvah movement in Israel and the United States.