Sam Shuman

Of Mice and Hasidic Men examines what a global Jewish revival movement can teach us about the crisis of care in capitalist society. Over the past decade, Hasidic Jews have revived an obscure Hungarian miracle-worker, Shayele (1851–1925), as the patron saint of hospitality. 50,000 Jews receive free meals during the annual pilgrimage to his gravesite in Bodrogkeresztúr. Yet Shayele’s “hospitality” also takes other forms. Devotees wield his icon, amulets, and incantations in confrontations with state actors—in audits of unregistered schools, inspections of construction sites, and routine traffic stops. Like Trump, Shayele extends hospitality to his friends and protects his followers from their “enemies.” By invoking his sovereignty, Hasidic men can stand above the law. Theorists of care rarely engage with religion. My ethnography develops a postsecular account of care. Disillusioned by the corruption of their contemporary leaders, Hasidim have resurrected a dead saint who tends to their everyday needs.