Research seminar paper on Aliyah for Tombs of the Righteous

Van Genf (1960) argued that the transition from one age to another is not so trivial, since each age as a distinct and differentiated stage is not natural, but a consequence of a social act. The more central transitions - the "crisis", stand at the center of transition rituals. According to him, every ceremony dealing with change has a fixed structure with three stages:

• Disconnection - disconnection from the identity components of the past.
• Margins - the stage where the exchange takes place and during which the person is symbolically placed outside society while being required to observe strict taboo rules.
• Reconnection - reintegration and switching to the new status