5/23/11
How did modern religious controversies develop in 19th century Western Europe?
v Origin of the “Reform” movement
¨ Jews wanted acceptance in the broader society
Ø Some Jews actually converted to Christianity
Ø Others wanted a more socially acceptable form of Judaism
¨ Loss of belief and lack of Jewish education- people wanted a religion they could feel more comfortable with
¨ Israel Jacobson
Ø Created a new style of synagogue
Prayers were in German
German sermon every week
¶ Traditionally at this time, Rabbis only spoke twice a year, and Christian leaders were the ones who gave uplifting lectures every week
¶ This is one idea of the Reform Jews that Orthodox Jews accept and practice today
Mixed choir, musical instruments- made the service more like Christian service
¨ Samuel Holdheim
Ø Intellectual basis for the Reform movement = Hashem did not give the Torah. It was written by various people at various times
Ø à We do not have to do any mitzvoth; there are no divine commandments. With this ideology, all of the mitzvoth were dropped at once
Ø Reform attitude of the Torah- it is a very good document written by wise people and should be respected, but it can and should be changed to keep up with the times (similar to how we treat the American constitution)
Ø Reform quickly dropped all mitzvoth between man and G-d. They kept mitzvoth between man and man (like Christianity but without Jesus- share the emphasis on ethics but do not believe in Jesus)
¨ Abraham Geiger
Ø Hold on to the “spirit” of Judaism while changing the forms
v Opposition to the Reform movement- R. Samson Raphael Hirsch
¨ Neo Orthodoxy
Ø Jews can be citizens in the secular world and fit in with society, but still have to keep all the mitzvoth
¨ How is neo-orthodoxy different from modern orthodoxy?
Ø Modern orthodoxy includes Zionism, while R. Samson Raphael Hirsch rejected Zionism and wanted to wait until Messiah
v Zechariah Frankel- Historical Judaism
¨ Agreed with the reform intellectually that the mitzvoth are man made and can change
¨ Less inclined to do make too much change in practice
Ø Jews have traditionally eat Kosher for thousands of years, why break the tradition now
Ø Major changes should not be made which go against tradition- changes should be consistent with a gradually evolving tradition
Ø You do mitzvoth not because it was what Hashem said, but because it is Jewish tradition
v America
¨ R. Isaac Mayer Wise was the leader of the reform movement in America
Ø Copied the German reforms
¨ 1885 Pittsburgh Platform
Ø Formally rejected Torah laws that did not adapt with modern society (Kosher, dress, Shabbat, etc)
Ø Jews are not a nation, they are a religion
Ø Anti-Zionistic- there will be no return to Israel (after Israel was created, they became Zionistic because that was a modern change that had to be adapted to)
Ø No world to come
Ø Use the word “temple” instead of “shul” or “synagogue” which shows they think it is not temporary because there won’t be another Beit HaMikdash
¨ Reform college to train reform rabbis had a graduation banquet- “treifa banquet”
Ø Everything was un-Kosher, and could not even begin Kosher (shrimp, pork, lobster, etc)
Ø They did this to make a statement that they did not believe in Kosher at all
Ø à More conservative reformers separated themselves from these reformers and became the “Conservative movement”
¨ Conservative- led by Solomon Schechter
Ø Started a new school to train conservative rabbis- Jewish Theological Seminary
Ø Borrowed a lot from Zechariah Frankel
Their changes are in accordance with halacha as they interpret it
¶ Ex: you can drive to temple on Shabbat because everyone lives too far, but you cannot drive anywhere else. In Israel, conservative Jews are not allowed to drive on Shabbat because everyone lives close enough to a shul
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