The Anthropology of Shneur Zalman and Hayim of Volozhin

ENThis article will present Laqueur’s idea of the traditional representation of the body as an outer shell that merely marks a being’s position in the cosmic hierarchy and the social functions attendant on that position. There is, as well, his notion that an essential change occurred in these representations during the epoch of Enlightenment, when anatomy was “discovered” and anatomic data provided a foundation for the physiological representation of sex distinctions as being essential, innate and inalienable. These notions will be further developed as a context and a basis for probing into certain anthropological conceptions of Shneur Zalman and Hayim of Volozhin, using other examples and parallels from various non-Western cultures. [Extract, p. 220]