Hasidic Monism Analysis

The first ethnographic example presented is the case of the Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn. He cites Ayala Fader and her book, Mitzvah girls: Bringing up the next generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn. Here, he explains how Hasidic Monism is “ a monism that does not fail to recognize values other than its paramount one, nor to assign them levels of their own, but that appears wholly to subordinate all these other values and their levels under a single paramount one” (Robbins, 2013:106). The meaning of monism in this case presents a distinct contrast between the super value and its lesser values or in this case, the sacred and secular world. There are no levels within the lesser values in Hasidic monism. The values are simply subordinated to the

The research is focus on the Urapmin community of Papua New Guinea and is one of the most unique examples in my opinion due to its element of external influence of Christianity. This example shows a conflict and struggle between the old and new way of a community. The clash is between individualism (personal connection to God) and relationships with the outside world and society in general. It depicts the development and globalization of the community and how Christianity brought forth new values and perceptions, which in a way contrasted what the Urapmin previously considered to be an important factor in fulfillment of life. This example shows the community’s newly found supreme value of achieving salvation. In route to this achievement, people must “spend a good deal of time disciplining themselves in the hope of avoiding sin, and they practice a vigorous ritual life designed to help them in their efforts and to address the effects on individuals of the sins they do commit” (Robbins, 2013: 110). Robbins emphasizes on the “individual” aspect of these aspirations and religious activities and points out how this value conflicts with the previous element of social bond and importance of relationships within the community. This indeed creates a conflicted situation of value pluralism, which encompasses duality and opposition. Here he concludes a pluralistic perspective, similar to the earlier illustrated “Equality and Liberty” example, which is that when we put more worth on realization of a value; there is an instantaneous neglect of the other, therefore leading to lesser realization of value. (Robbins, 2013,