Communities of Mourning: Mountain Jewish Laments in Azerbaijan and on the Internet

Abstract

This article explores two sites of Mountain Jewish mourning - Krasnaia Sloboda, the more traditional location of Mountain Jewish customs - and the Mountain Jewish Online Center. Investigating how lamentations expressed in both spaces create Mountain Jewish community, the paper argues that the development of alternative places of lamentation ultimately challenges gender expectations of emotionality and grief work, as well as the texts of mourning themselves.