Jewish custom and ritual, or their Hebrew equivalent, minhag, has
intrigued rabbis and scholars for generations. The majority of the
rabbinical works devoted to minhag primarily encompass lists of sources
and reporting of old and new customs. Some have explored the historical
development of the minhag. Here, Simcha Fishbane treats minhag from a
socio-anthropological perspective. The Shtiebelization of Modern Jewry
discusses the theory and model of minhagim using the Mishnah Berurah and
the Arukh Hashulkhan, analyzes rabbinic texts concerned with custom, and
describes current rituals from a socio-anthropological viewpoint,
enabling both scholars and general readers to come to a better
understanding of minhagim in Jewish culture.