ABSTRACT
Relationships between the communal settlements and the society around them were of a very special nature; it is doubtful whether their like existed in systems of interrelationships developed between small communities, unique in nature, and the society around them. The relationships that developed moved between two diametrically opposed extremes: seclusion and isolation at one end, and active involvement at the other. The various religious communes took no drastic steps to close their gates and sever relations with their neighbors. Commercial relations with the outside world continued to expand and intensify despite self-imposed limitations and reservations. Such relationships were being maintained concomitantly with the isolation of the religious, cultural, and social aspects of their life, and they continued to develop as the economic success of the communes increased. The relationships developed between society at large and the communes were unbalanced and in a state of constant fluctuation.
