This article adopts the paradigm that claims the non-disappearance of the ritual and ritual changes in modern and postmodern society. A wedding is an event in which a group of people speaks to itself and about itself. Images of the social structure and cultural content, of couplehood, family and personal and group identity surface through this cultural act. Weddings and their customs thus comprise a window through which the social values of a group can be observed, be it a modern or a traditional society. The anthropological study of the prenuptial rituals of immigrants from Georgia to Israel, and my experience with the ethnic pride of the celebrators, most of them young, lead me to conclude that these rituals serve as collective ethnic definitional ceremonies for them, where crossing between ethnicity, culture and identity takes place. The new ritual tradition in Israel fulfills an important role in the identity of the youths of this community and in the solidarity of the Georgian family and community. Tradition was processed anew and interpreted through the renewed ritual patterns, and became intertwined with modernity. A process of syncretism was thus created.
Abramov, O. O. (in press). Mountain Jews Immigrants from the Caucasus in Israeli Society: From Challenges of Immigration to an Identity Discourse. In A. Raub, D. Shapira, & R. Sharaby (Eds.), The Jews of Georgia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Tbilisi, Georgia and Ramat-Gan, Israel: Tbilisi State University and Bar-Ilan University. (In Hebrew)
Anteby-Yemini, L. (2003). Urban Ethiopian and Black Culture: New Models of Identity among Immigrant Youths from Ethiopia in Israel. In R. A. Eisikovits (Ed.), On Cultural Boundaries and between Them: Young Immigrants in Israel (pp. 11-31). Tel-Aviv, Israel: School and Society Series, Ramot Publishing House. (In Hebrew)
Arbel, R., & Magal, L. (1992). Tradition Customs and Way of Life. In R. Arbel, & L. Magal (Eds.), In the Land of Golden Fleece: History of the Jews of Georgia and Their Culture (pp. 85-166). Tel-Aviv: Beit Hatefutzot. (In Hebrew)
Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bell, C. (1997). Ritual: Perspective and Dimensions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ben-Oren, G. (2000). The Great Immigrations from the Countries of the East: Georgia. Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute. (In Hebrew)
Berkowitz, L., Gochenberg, S., & Almog, O. (2011). Immigrants from Georgia in Tirat Hacarmel. Document for the Shmuel Neeman Institute for National Policy at the Technion. Haifa: The Technion. (In Hebrew)
Bocock, R. (1974). Ritual in Industrial Society. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Bram, C. (2003). Recognition, Lack of Recognition and Erroneous Recognition in Groups of Immigrants from the Soviet Union. In N. Ohad (Ed.), Multiculturalism in the Test of Israeliness (pp. 163-193). Jerusalem: Magnes. (In Hebrew)
Chase, S. E. (2005). Narrative Inquiry: Multiple Lenses, Approaches, Voices. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 651-679). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cheal, D. (1988). The Postmodern Origin of Ritual. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 18, 269-291. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1988.tb00127.x
Comb-Schilling E. M. (1991). Ethnic Partriarchal Rule: Ritual Dye Erotic Potency and Moroccan Monarchy. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 1, 658-681.
David, I. (1992). Jewry of Georgia and the Land of Israel. In R. Arbel, & L. Magal (Eds.), In the Land of Golden Fleece: History of the Jews of Georgia and Their Culture (pp. 71-85). Tel-Aviv: Beit Hatefutzot. (In Hebrew)
Doron, S. (2006). Rites of Passage and Personal Definitional Ceremonies in the Process of “Becoming a Believer” versus “Becoming a Non-Believer”. Ph.D. Thesis, Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University. (In Hebrew)
Doron, S. (2013). Those Walking between Two Worlds: “Becoming a Believer” and “Becoming a Non-Believer” in Israeli Society. Tel-Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad. (In Hebrew)
Douglas, M. (1973). Natural Symbols: Explanations in Cosmology. New-York: Vintage Books.
Durkheim, E. (1965 [1922]). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New-York: Free Press.
Elam, Y. (1975a). Jewish Georgian Wedding as an Expression for Broad Social Alliance. Megamot, 22, 33-55. (In Hebrew)
Elam, Y. (1975b). Patterns of Organization of Immigrants from Georgia: Use of Force as a Means for Social Solidification. Megamot, 21, 377-395. (In Hebrew)
Elam, Y. (1980). The Georgians in Israel: Anthropological Aspects. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University. (In Hebrew)
Elam, Y. (1991). The Mona Lisa as a Symbol of Georgian Matrifocality. In R. Bar-Yosef (Ed.), Families in Israel (pp. 357-378). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University. (In Hebrew)
Evans-Pritchard, E. (1975). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Geertz, C. (1990). Interpretation of Cultures. Jerusalem: Keter. (In Hebrew)
Goldstein, J. (1985). Iranian Ethnicity in Israel: The Performance of Identity. In A. Weingrod (Ed.), Studies in Israeli Ethnicity (pp. 237-258). New York: Gordon and Breach.
Goldstein-Gidoni, O. (2001). Hybridity and Distinctions in Japanese Contemporary Weddings. Social Science Japan Journal, 4, 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/4.1.21
Habermas, J. (1987). The Theory of Communication Action (Vol. 2, pp. 43-76). Boston: Beacon Press.
Handelman, D. (1990). Models and Mirrors: Toward an Anthropology of Public Events. Oxford: Berghahm Books.
Information Center (1981). Know Your People—Georgian Jewry. Jerusalem: The Government Press. (In Hebrew)
Juergensmeyer, M., & Clark-Roof, W. (Eds.) (2012). Encyclopedia of Global Religion (pp. 1250-1252). Entry: Syncretism by S. Mayaram, Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10581839
Lamont, M., & Molnar, V. (2002). The Study of Boundaries in the Social Sciences. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 167-195. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.141107
Leach, E. (1976). Culture and Communication: The Logic by Which Symbols Are Connected. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511607684
Leopold, A. M., & Jensen, J. S. (2004). General Introduction. In A. M. Leopold, & J. S. Jensen (Eds.), Syncretism in Religion (pp. 2-12). New York: Routledge.
Levitt, P. (2001). The Transnational Villagers. Berkley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Marcus, I., & Barash, M. (1981). Social Pluralism in Israel (Vol. 2). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University. (In Hebrew)
Mauss, M. (1990 [1922]. The Gift. Routledge, London.
Melzer-Geva, M. (2012). There Is No Anti-Semitism in Georgia: Construction of the Georgian Identity in Israeli Society as a Process of Inter-Cultural Learning. Mifgash Leavoda Chinuchit-Sozialit, 20, 37-54. (In Hebrew)
Melzer-Geva, M. (in press). Jews-Georgians-Israelis: Integrating or Colliding Identities? In A. Raub, D. Shapira, & R. Sharaby (Eds.), The Jews of Georgia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Tbilisi, Georgia and Ramat-Gan, Israel: Tbilisi State University and Bar-Ilan University. (In Hebrew)
Mikdash-Shmailov, L. (1996). Life Cycle. In L. Mikdash-Shmailov (Ed.), The Mountain Jews (Vol. 1, pp. 87-102). Jerusalem: The Israel Museum. (In Hebrew)
Mosko, Y. (2001). To Make a Match for Zaza. Yediot Aharonot, 12 November: 38-40. (In Hebrew)
Muir, E. (2005). Ritual in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Myerhoff, B. (1982). Life History among the Elder: Performance, Visibility and Remembering. In J. Ruby (Ed.), A Crack in the Mirror: Reflexive Perspectives in Anthropology (pp. 99-117). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512806434-006
Myerhoff, B. (1986). Life Not Death in Venice: It’s Second Life. In H. Goldberg (Ed.), Judaism Viewed from Within and from Without (pp. 143-171). New York: State University Press.
Neistat, M. (1970). The Jews of Georgia. Tel-Aviv: Am Oved. (In Hebrew)
Olshtain, E. (1998). An Additional Language in Infancy. Hed Ha’Gan, 62, 392-395. (In Hebrew)
Peacock, J. (1968). Rites of Modernization: Symbolic and Social Aspects of Indonesian Proletarian Drama. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
Pinsky, Y. Y. (2006). Christian Immigrants in a Jewish State: Identity of Non-Jewish Immigrants of the 1990s from the Soviet Union. M.A. Thesis, Haifa: Haifa University. (In Hebrew)
Portes, A., Guarnizo, L. E., & William, J. H. (2002). Transnational Entrepreneurs: An Alternative Form of Immigrant Economic Adaptation. American Sociological Review, 67, 278-298. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088896
Prashizky, A. (2006). Performativity and Ritualization: Comparative Analysis of Weddings in Israeli Society. Ph.D. Thesis, Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University. (In Hebrew)
Prashizky, A. (2014). Beyond Jewish Religious Laws: Traditionalism, Secularism and the New Age Culture in Israel. Iyunim Be’tkumat Israel, 7, 242-283. (In Hebrew)
Purkayastha, B. (2005). Negotiating Ethnicity: Second-Generation South Asians Traverse a Transnational World. Paperback, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Remennick, L. (2002). Transnational Community in the Making: Russian Jewish Immigrants of the 1990s in Israel. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 28, 515-530. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830220146581
Rubin, N. (2004). Joy of Life: Betrothal and Marriage Rites in the Rabbinical Literature. Tel-Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad. (In Hebrew)
Rubin, N. (2009). New Rituals, Old Societies: Invented Ritual in Contemporary Israel. Boston, MA: Academic Studies Press.
Rubin, N., & Peer, D. (1999). Rites of Retirement from the IDF—Formal Rites and Private Rites. Megamot, 40, 103-130. (In Hebrew)
Rubin, N., Shmilovitz, C., & Weiss, M. (1994). The Obese and the Slim: Personal Definitional Rites of Identity Change in a Group of Obese People Who Became Slim after Gastric Reduction Surgery. Megamot, 36, 5-19. (In Hebrew)
Sabar, S. (2006). The Cycle of Life. Jerusalem: Keter. (In Hebrew)
Sharaby, R. (2006). The Bride’s Henna Ritual: Symbols, Meaning and Changes. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, 11, 11-42. https://doi.org/10.2979/nas.2006.-.11.11
Shkedi, A. (2003). Words That Try to Touch: Qualitative Research—Theory and Application. Tel-Aviv: Ramot. (In Hebrew)
Stewart, C. (2004). Relocating Syncretism in Social Discourse. In A. M. Leopold, & J. S. Jensen (Eds.), Syncretism in Religion (pp. 264-285). New York: Routledge.
Stewart, C., & Shaw, R. (1994). Introduction. In C. Stewart, & R. Shaw (Eds.), Syncretism/Anti Syncretism (pp. 1-26). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203451090
Taylor, E. (1873). Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art and Custom. London: John Murray.
Turner, V. (1967). The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Turner, V. (1969). The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New York: Aladine De Gruyter.
Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Spector-Marzel, G. (2010). Introduction: Narrative Research— Definitions and Contexts. In R. Tuval-Mashiach, & G. Spector-Marzel (Eds.), Narrative Research (pp. 7-42). Jerusalem: Magnes. (In Hebrew)
Van Gennep, A. (1960). The Rites of Passage. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Zamir, B. (1972). Georgian Jewry. Tel-Aviv: The Unit for Community Work. (In Hebrew)
Zhou, M. (1997). Segmented Assimilation: Issues, Controversies, and Recent Research on the New Second Generation. The International Migration Review, 31, 975-1008. https://doi.org/10.2307/2547421