ウマン巡礼の歴史 : ウクライナにおけるユダヤ人の聖地とその変遷

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The breeze of liberalization, which began in the second half of the 1980s in the former Communist bloc countries, has brought about the rivival of Jewish pilgrimages to the gravesites of Hasidic leaders. The pilgrimage made by the Breslover Hasidim to Uman (Uman') stands out among others. The Breslover Hasidim are one of the Hasidic sects that regard Rabbi Nachman of Braslav (1772-1810) as its spiritual leader. Their pilgrimage to Uman on the Jewish New Year has an ongoing tradition of some two hundred years. Today this ordinary Ukrainian city has become one of the biggest pilgrimage centers outside Israel, attracting more than 10,000 Jewish pilgrims annually. This article deals with the spatial and ideological issues reflected in the historical process of the pilgrimage. After a brief survey of the general background of saints' sanctuaries in Jewish culture, ideological issues concerning of the pilgrimage inherent in the life and teaching of Rabbi Nachman, will be examined. In 1802 Rabbi Nachman settled in Bratslav, where he founded his Hasidic movement. After he became aware of his fatal illness, the forcus of his teaching shifted to the perpetuation of his spiritual heritage. This is expressed in his unusual concern for his burial place. Uman is located near his disciples' dwelling places. It was chosen for his burial for two ideological reasons. First, he considered it his last mission to lead the spiritual struggle against the Jewish enlighteners living there. The second reason is related to the rectification souls of the martyrs, who were brutally murdered in Uman in the notorious pogrom in 1786. Paradoxically, the town became the ideal place that attracted the complete devotion of this greatest tzaddik (righteous man) of his generation so conscious of his divine mission. Not only did Rabbi Nachman express a strong desire for his followers to visit his grave, but he also gave them clear instructions as to the procedure and the reward for their devotion. The ten chapters of Psalms called "Tikun ha-Klali" and "Kibuts" ("the Gathering"), which had initially developed separately, were later to be interwoven into the pilgrimage to Uman. The simplified form of prayer present in the former seems to have opened up the potential for a more voluntary mass pilgrimage. In the latter, by extending the universal Hasidic tradition after the master's death, the obligatory aspect of a sect's tradition was retained. The paradoxical nature of Nachman's choice of Uman can be grasped in a more meaningful way by examining his teaching on the Land of Israel. According to his theology, the holiness of Israel can be extended beyond its boundaries and the tzaddik's residential place is seen as the equivalent to Israel. Thus, he succeeded symbolically in turning this marginal place into a center equivalent in its holiness to the Holy Land. The following chapters will depict the history of the Kibuts, dividing it into three major historical periods: 1) the period of establishment (1811-1917); 2) the period of dispersion (1917-1985); and 3) the period of revival (1985-present). The charisma of Rabbi Nachman was so great that his Hasidim have never elected any successor as is the practice in other Hasidic dynasties. The pilgrimage to Uman has played an important role in the continuity and solidarity of the group. Initially, Rabbi Nathan, the favorite desciple of Nachman, played a crucial role in diffusing Nachman's teachings and institutionalizing the Kibuts. By the end of the 19th century, the teaching of Rabbi Nachman spread to Poland and the pilgrimage to Uman reached the peak of its popularity. The outbreak of World War I and the October Revolution with its aftermath made pilgrimage to Uman extremely difficult. The new socio-political conditions caused many a Hasidim abroad to give up any idea of a pilgrimage, while the new reality stimulated the Hasidim's imagination and generated a more adventurous spirit. On the other hand, the Hasidim who remained in the Soviet Union, preserved the Kibuts under incredibly difficult circumstances. In this way the Soviet reality generated various alternatives for the Hasidim both inside and outside the country without extinguishing their hopes completely. During the last decade, this period of revival has fundamentally changed the nature of the pilgrimage. No longer forbidden, the authorities have made the pilgrimage legal. Second, accessibility to Uman has transformed the pilgrimage into a quasi-tourist mass event. Finally, the scale and publicity of the revived pilgrimage has generated a "contested landscape" between the Jewish pilgrims and their local gentile hosts. Paradoxically enough, the unstable nature of the pilgrimage to Uman was revealed when the revived tradition seemed to have built a firm foundation for further development. Serious antagonism concerning the place of worship (Uman or Jerusalem?) developed between the central Ashkenazi Hasidim and a marginal group called the "Nachnachim." Although the focal point of their disagreement concerned whether or not the grave should be transferred to Jerusalem, this difference seems to concern their attitudes and sentiments toward the place of the burial and their struggle for control over the master's grave. While the former group has always considered Uman an unpararelled sacred place and has tried to preserve its old tradition, the latter group has attempted to popularize Nachman's cult in Israel. Although Uman has won the battle for its holiness, the dispute revealed the essential uncertainty of Jewish sacred places outside Israel. Uman is inseparably bound to the collective memory of the Breslover Hasidim and it has always been considered more of a sacred place than any other in Diaspora. However, this centrality of Uman as a sacred place is essentially ambiguous. These facts underscore the unstable relationship between Jewish people and their places of residence in Diaspora. Thus the phenomenon of the pilgrimage to Uman serves as a thought-provoking example, which makes us contemplate the unique spatial identities of Jewish people in general.

ウマン巡礼の歴史 : ウクライナにおけるユダヤ人の聖地とその変遷

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