Sanctity, Security and Gender: Jewish Pilgrimages to Uman in 2020-2023

• In Event: Three Perspectives on Jewish Religious Life

Abstract

This talk focuses on the most popular Jewish pilgrimage destination in Europe, located in Uman, Central Ukraine. The Hasidic shrine - the tomb of Rebbe Nachman from Bratslav - has evolved from a meeting place for his most devoted followers, known as Bratslav (Breslov) Hasidim, into a site that attracts a broader Jewish audience. Even under extraordinary circumstances such as the global pandemic or Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the pilgrimage has persisted, continuing until today.
The central idea is that the understanding of security and threats related to the pilgrimage among various groups of interest, including pilgrims and local residents, is formed by many factors, where gender aspects and stereotypes play important role. I aim to answer the following research questions: How have perceptions of threats and security in relation to the pilgrimage changed from 2020 to 2023? What role did gender aspects connected to pilgrims play in those perceptions among various groups of interest? I emphasize that the instrumentalization of the pilgrimage to Uman during Russian information warfare against Ukraine became an important context for security. I explore how the intergroup threat theory, where threats are considered destructive for intergroup relations (Stephan 2009), helps explain the results.
Research methods include content analysis and critical discourse analysis of texts related to the pilgrimage and security during 2020-2023, namely official documents and public interviews of officials on both national and local levels, as well as pilgrimage organizers and implementers. I include popular groups connected to Uman on social media to analyze the reactions of both local residents and pilgrims to the aforementioned documents, as well as to security measures implemented or proposed. Additionally, I include fieldwork materials from my observations, interviews, and informal talks with female pilgrims in Uman in 2023.
Overall, the pilgrimage to the Hasidic shrine in Uman during times of turbulence serves as a case study highlighting substantial differences in the understanding of threat and security among various groups. I plan to reflect on the potential consequences of current trends for the future of the pilgrimage, with a specific focus on its gender aspects.

Author

• Alla Marchenko, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem