cults, the anticult movement, academia, the scientific discourse, objectivity, values, predisposition, Nurit Zaidman
"A good story is never just a story. A good story is a founding story; it is a basis for identity, for action; it creates a network of meanings in which we cling to in our lives - as individuals, as a group." With these word the essay opens, dealing with the renewal of cultural values in contemporary Israeli Judaism - the transformation of our national story and our hero/ines. The text (about 500 words, in Hebrew) was incorporated into the "Israeli Talmud - Tractate of Independence", edited by Dov Elbaum, with the support of BINAH. It is included in Unit D of the anthology, entitled "The Israeli Traditionalism in the Present and Its Vision for the Future".
"Don't give us the old, but the ancient. And instead of the future, we'll discover the present. Instead of a plow, give us a hug. Let's flow and connect... We'll find our ways and turn back, return to ourselves - dive into the depths of our Selves." In this article, Ruach-Midbar describes the shift in values and narratives that accured in the Jewish-Israeli story within the New Age realm, as a replacement for the Zionist story that was cast in the image of the Enlightenment. The text (about 500 words, in Hebrew) was incorporated into the "Israeli Talmud - Tractate of Independence", edited by Dov Elbaum, with the support of BINAH.
In the postmodern condition, it's already cleae that there is no objective academic research. This is all the more truer when the research object is culturally disputed. Thus, one shouldn't expect New Age scholars to have no interests or agendas. This lecture surveys the public debates regarding the New Age in which its scholars are involved, and inquires the leaning and predispositions of the cintemporary research discourse of the field. It's full title was: "What Should One Expect When One Can’t Expect Objective Academic Research on Contemporary Spiritualities?"
"There's no finding the border between acting and hypnotizing" - thus is said in an Israeli verdict in the case of White accused in using hypnosis while violating the law. If the Israeli law forbids using hypnosis (except of limited cases), and one doesn't know why actually hypnosis is - how can the law be enforced?! The lecture deals with the juristic and enforcemental problematicalness in Israel, in light of studying the sceintific discourse that has a "hard time" agreeing on the definition of "hypnosis".
This lecture, for the general public, addressed the story of the hippies at Old Rosh Pinna, the history of the community they've created, and their influence on the character of the whole settlement till this day.
This study (some 10,500 words, in Hebrew) is a comparative research of two Israeli pafan movements from the last centurt: the Canaanites and the Neopagans. Some surprising similarities, as well as salient differences are revealed, while focusing on questions of land, Identity, politics, gender, and more. The article ends with a table that summarizes the comparison.
What is "hypnosis"? It seems we all know the answer… but - do we indeed? In this research the sceintific discourse (of hypnosis) becomes an object of critical examination. It appears that the scientific controversy revolvong the simple question of "what hysnosis is" is so fierce, that in fact the answer isn't clear at all. Actually, the spiritual-religious sphere is a "significant other" that influences the formation of the sceintific discourse. The sceintific definitions bear significat implications both on the therapuetic aspect and the public and legal ones. The lecture's title at the conference was: "Science as Religion – A Critical Outlook at the Scientific Discourse of Hypnosis and Its Correlation with Religious and Spiritual Phenomena".
This lecture describes the sanctification process of a (historically Christian) site in the Land of Israel, by the Alternative Spirituality, or Neo-Pagans/Shamans, and analyses the invention of tradition revolving Kursi. In addition to this lecture, there is another one, as well as two articles (in English and Hebrew) that describe different aspects of the sanctification process of Kursi. See links below. The lecture takes part in a research project that deals with the Alternative Sacred Geography of the Land of Israel, by Ruah-Midbar Shapiro. The lecture was included in a session dedicated to "A Geography of Memory", chaired by Anat Kidron, held at the 60th conference of the Israeli Geographical Association - 2020, at the University of Haifa.
A critical study of the struggle revolving "cults" in the Israeli society, through an analysis of formal Israeli reports - lectures on the subject of this research project featured in various forums (in English and Hebrew), and some articles were published in this project's framework.