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World Jewish News
Ukrainian Scholars Begin to Study the "Chabad Phenomenon"
24.04.2009
The first thesis on Chabad-Lyubavich movement was successful defended at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
This work was done in the Department of Religious Studies at Grigory Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, and its full name is "Hassidic movement Chabad in the process of adaptation to the socio-political and socio-cultural realities of the Ukrainian society."
The author of the thesis, Valeriya Androsova, despite her youth, has already been recognized in the academic world of Ukraine as one of the leading specialists in religious sphere.
More than ten articles have been published by her in the years 2007-2008 in various scholar collections on the topics Hassidism, Jewish mysticism and the current state of Judaism in Ukraine.
Many of the articles by Valeriya Androsova were devoted to Chabad, different aspects of Lyubavichesky movement.
For the sake of justice, it should be noted that Valeriya Androsova is not the first Ukrainian academic researcher, interested in Hassidism, and in the modern Judaism in Ukraine in general.
In 2003, Zoya Shved defended a thesis on the topic "Peculiarities of formation of mental and religious structures in Judaism (Ukrainian context)", and in 2004
Victoria Furkalo chose the topic "The phenomenon of Hassidism: its nature and historical transformation" for her thesis.
But Valeriya Androsova is the first Ukrainian scientist, who defended a PhD thesis, entirely devoted to Chabad and its role in the Ukrainian society. The thesis provides a professional study of the "Chabad phenomenon," its history
and evolution, its various aspects. The greatest attention is paid to the modern stage of Lyubavichesky movement under the leadership of the sixth and seventh Chabad Rebbe and its activities in Ukraine and in post-Soviet space. Valeriya Androsova comes to the unequivocal conclusion - "Chabad Lyubavich offers a compelling socio-psychological and socio-cultural model of transition from an uncertain identity of the "Soviet Jew" to a new cultural and religious
community, which is characterized by distinct religious criteria, and, simultaneously, provides an opportunity to adapt to rapid socio-cultural changes...
Chabad Lyubavich represents the value of orthodox Judaism, where traditionalism and conservatism are not transformed into aggressive fundamentalism and xenophobia."
The religious studies specialist Valeriya Androsova highly evaluates and role of Chabad structures in the revival of religious tradition, stressing its absolute leadership.
"At the beginning of the third millennium, the Chabad Lyubavich becomes the main force of the revival of religious traditions in the post-Soviet states, including Ukraine.
Using the experience gained over several decades, Chabad Lyubavich was able to implement the mechanisms of involving secular Jews to religious life into the modern Ukrainian context, as well as to actualize the spiritual, cultural and
social role of a religious community, which it plays in the life of a modern person.
The focus on an active dialogue with society allows the Chabad Lyubavich movement to compete successfully and win over the other representatives of Judaism in Ukraine - not only with respect to the new reform movements, but also
the traditional Orthodox communities in Ukraine."
The work of Valeriya Androsova became a major event in the academic world of Ukraine and caused a lively reaction of both academic and Jewish circles. Most people share the point of view of her scientific supervisor, President of
the Ukrainian Association of Religious Freedom, Ph.D. Victor Yelensky.
"The work of Valeriya Androsova offers an integrated, and largely unexpected, discovery of Lyubavich Hassidism phenomenon, the representatives of which are focused on realization of a daring idea - to return thousands of assimilated and secularized Jews to the faith of their ancestors, to awaken in their hearts and souls the God's spark, and make them look into the immense depth of intellectual traditions of Judaism ."
The representatives of Jewish communities also highly praised the thesis by Androsova. The head of a major Ukrainian Jewish media holding "ALEF" Oleg
Rostovtsev stressed:
"We are very pleased that Ukrainian academic science is beginning to perceive the Jewish component of the Ukrainian society. In any case, we hope that this is not a separate case, but a trend.
I am very glad that the pleiad of talented students, raised by the head of the Center for religious studies and international spiritual relations of State
University of Informatics and Artificial Intelligence, Igor Kozlovsky, enters the field so successfully, and declares themselves so loudly".
Valeriya Androsova is now preparing a full-fledged book on the most numerous religious sect of Ukrainian Judaism, which will be available both to the scientific community and the general public, and which aims to become the
first serious study of Lyubavich Hassidism phenomenon in Ukraine.
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