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Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the charismatic leader of the Chabad Hasidic movement and its designated Messiah. Yet when he died in 1994, the messianic fervor he inspired did not subside. Through traditional means and digital technologies, a group of radical Hasidim, the Meshichistim, still keep the Rebbe palpably close—engaging in ongoing dialogue, participating in specific rituals, and developing an ever-expanding visual culture of portraits and videos. With Us More Than Ever focuses on this group to explore how religious practice can sustain the belief that a messianic figure is both present and accessible. Yoram Bilu documents a unique religious experience that is distinctly modern. The rallying point of the Meshichistim—that the Rebbe is "with us more than ever"—is sustained through an elaborate system that creates the sense of his constant and pervasive presence in the lives of his followers. The virtual Rebbe that emerges is multiple, visible, accessible, and highly decentralized, the epicenter of a truly messianic movement in the twenty-first century. Combining ethnographic fieldwork and cognitive science with nuanced analysis, Bilu documents the birth and development of a new religious faith, describing the emergence of new spiritual horizons, a process common to various religious movements old and new.

Hasidism --- Book Keywords: Messianism. --- Chabad. --- Meshichist cosmology. --- Meshichist phenomenology. --- Meshichistim. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. --- media studies. --- virtuality. --- Chasidism --- Hassidism --- Jewish sects --- Schneerson, Menachem Mendel, --- Cult. --- Schneersohn, Menaḥem Mendel, --- Admor M. ha-M., --- Admor Melekh ha-Mashiaḥ, --- Admor mi-Lyubaṿiṭsh, --- Admor Sheliṭa, --- Lubavitcher Rebbe, --- Lyubaṿiṭsh, Admor sheliṭa mi-, --- M. ha-M., --- Melekh ha-Mashiaḥ, --- Menaḥem Mendl, --- Rabi mi-Lyubaviṭsh, --- Schneerson, Menachem M. --- Schneerson, Mendel, --- Sheneʼursohn, Menaḥem Mendel, --- Shneersohn, Menahem Mendel, --- Shneerson, Menakhem Mendel, --- Shneʼorsohn, Menaḥem, --- Shneursohn, Menahem Mendel, --- Li︠u︡bavichskiĭ Rebe --- אדמו׳׳ר, --- אדמו״ר --- אדמו״ר שליטא, --- אדמו״ר שליט״א --- אדמו״ר, --- אדמו״ר מלך המשיח --- אדמו״ר מליובאאיטש --- אדמו״ר מליובאווטש --- אדמו״ר מליובאוויטש --- רבי --- רבי מליובאוויטש --- רבי, --- שנאורסאהן, מנחם מענדל --- שניארסאהן, מנחם מנדל, --- שניארסאהן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסאנן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסאן, מנחם --- שניאורסאן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מנדל --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מנדל, --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מענדל, --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מענדל בן לוי יצחק --- שניאורסאהן, מנחם מענדך, --- שניאורסאהן, יוסף יצחק, --- שניאורסן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסון, מנחם מנדל --- שניאורסון, מנחם מנדל, --- שניאורסון, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורסוהן, מנחם מענדל --- שניאורדאהן, מנחם מענדל --- מנחם מנדל שניאורסאהן --- מנחם מנדל שניאורסון --- מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן --- מנחם מענדל, --- הרבי מליובאוויטש --- Любавичский Ребе --- Шнеерсон, Менахем-Мендел