Dein, Simon

About the author: Dr. Simon Dein is a Senior Lecturer in anthropology and medicine at University College London Medical School and holds a PhD in social anthropology. He is Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex. A joint editor for the journal, Mental Health, Religion and Culture, Dr. Dein has also published widely on religion and healing in Hesidism and the psychology of religion.

Religion and Healing Among the Lubavitch Community in Stamford Hill, North London: A Case Study of Hasidism

2004 0-7734-6371-2
This book focuses on two main areas – first, the response of British Lubavitchers to misfortune generally and sickness, in particular and the role of their religious leader the Rebbe in this process; and second, their response to the illness and ultimate death of the Rebbe. It addresses a number of issues in contemporary social and medical anthropology: the social construction of the body, the power of words in ritual, the relation between myth and praxis, religious texts as a charter for healing and the relation between the use of biomedicine and symbolic healing. This book will be of interest to students of social anthropology, medical anthropology, medical sociology, millennialism, religious studies and students of contemporary Judaism.