Еврейските фамилии Леви и Коен: взаимодействието между име и социален статус
Jewish Surnames Levi and Cohen: Interaction between Name and Social Status

Summary/Abstract: This article is focused on the problem of the criteria, on which social stratification in different societies is made. One of the principles, that presupposes such stratification, can be found in the religious sphere. The main problem discussed here is the religious principle for distinguishing people with high (vs. low) status in Jewish communities. According to Judaism, individuals who have surnames Levi or Cohen, are subjected to more obligations for preserving their Jewish identity. These individuals are obliged not only to remain Jews, but to be “the righteous” Jews. The interaction between name and social status, illustrated with the case of the surnames Levi and Cohen, is the basis for keeping the Jewish community alive. The symbolic reality that these two surnames create, whenever and wherever they are pronounced, continues to construct the Jewish community on a semantic level. This reality is the evident link between Jewish past and present

• Details
• Contents