Judaism (340-20300 & 344-20300)
Spring 2006
Judaism (340-20300 & 344-20300) |
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Other Alternatives |
Reform |
Conservative |
Modern Orthodox |
Sephardi/Mizrachi |
Hasidim |
Misnagdim |
Haskalah |
European Reform |
first indigenous American religious movement – combines the ideals of Orthodoxy and Reform by accepting the principle of progress while giving full weight to tradition roots are in Europe, with Zecharias Frankel’s “Historical-Positivism” |
Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-88), founder; reform of practice but Talmud is still authority. Inspiration and authority of the Bible, Talmud, and rabbinic law is an article of faith |
Sephardi – ancestors come from Spain & Portugal; settled in Balkans, Turkey, Greece, Morocco after 1492
Mizrachi – North Africa, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Central Asian states; strong mystical influence |
Ba’al Shem Tov (1700-1760), founder in Ukraine emphasis on prayer, rather than study; spontaneity; popularization of Jewish mysticism |
Gaon of Vilna (Lithuania), opponent of Hasidism |
Samuel Holdheim* (1806-60) transferred services to Sunday; abolished several festivals; officiated at intermarriages |
leader is the rebbe – charismatic leader who is the intermediary between God and human beings |
emphasis on learning of Talmud; scholarly aristocracy mysticism is reserved for the elite |
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Zionism – early rejected religion; nationalism instead (e.g., A.D. Gordon – return to the soil); in early 20th century, beginning of religious Zionism (also called “Mizrachi”) |
1818 – New Israelite Temple Association in Hamburg, Germany liturgical reforms – decorum, choral and organ music, prayers in German, German sermon, emphasis on Sat. morning service, not daily prayers |
1887 – founding of Jewish Theological Seminary, in reaction to excesses of Reform commitment to the people of Israel and its religious values; openness about how to enact them |
1851 becomes rabbi of Adass Yeshurun synagogue in Frankfurt |
19th century – traditional leadership; in Ottoman Empire, Hacham Bashi (chief rabbi) |
development of Hasidic dynasties & courts in towns of eastern Europe |
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Eventually, these two become very close, united in opposition to modernizing Jewish movements: Ultra-Orthodox/Traditionalist Haredi (“fearful before God”)/“Torah-true” |
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ReconstructionismMordecai Kaplan (1881-1983); Judaism is a religious civilization; rejects supernatural element in Jewish theology religious practices are “folkways”; all halakhah seems to acquire the status of custom tradition only has value to the extent that it contributes to the life of actual Jews certain folkways may be rejected and others introduced to render Jewish life “interesting and contentful” |
American Reform – more radical than in Europe; emphasis on individualism and initiative |
Solomon Schechter (1848-1915)– intellectual founder of the movement. He stressed the differences of approach to halakhah, for example between Ashkenazim and Sephardim |
attempts to combine traditional Judaism with modern western ideas and lifestyle; abandon outward signs of medieval Jewish life apply to Judaism what can be learned from scientific and technical progress of modernity |
later in 19th century – new ideas from Europe in European colonies (North Africa—French); educational influence of the Alliance Israelite Universelle (organization of French Jewry) |
Moses Sofer – “Torah forbids the new” – don’t change clothing, language (Yiddish), names |
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1845 – founding of Congregation Emanu-El in New York – men and women sat together; mixed choir; used their own prayerbook |
later in 19th century – gradual alliance between Hasidim and Misnagdim (Lithuanians) in opposition to Haskalah, Zionism, modernist movements doctrine of da’at Torah – sages have almost infallible authority to determine religious, political, and economic decisions |
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Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900), architect of American Reform 1854 – became a rabbi in Cincinnati |
Louis Jacobs (leader of the British Conservative Movement). Mitzvah as divine commandment is still valid when it fosters certain goods (rejection of fundamentalist approach) |
all of Torah (=Bible, Talmud, legal codes, especially Shulchan Aruch) is divinely revealed and immutable; little or no room for biblical criticism |
lack of polarization between tradition and modernism; openness of traditional rabbis to modern changes without challenge to their authority |
eventually the rosh yeshiva (head of the academy) of the Lithuanian yeshivas become more like Hasidic rebbes – charismatic leadership, follow his guidance in all of life the rebbes become more like the rosh yeshiva – change in type of study in Hasidic yeshivas to emphasize study of Talmud, still with an admixture of Hasidic thought & mysticism |
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Secular Jews – identify with Judaism but reject its religious dimension; e.g., secular kibbutz in Israel, which celebrate Jewish holidays and Shabbat as holidays of nature |
1873 – founding of Union of American Hebrew Congregations; soon afterwards Hebrew Union College |
in Israel, four holy cities principally Sephardic communities – Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias |
Agudas Israel – political party (in Israel; outside of Israel, an alliance of ultra-Orthodox groups), with a Council of Torah Sages |
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Humanistic JudaismJewish identity and culture without religion; there are Humanistic rabbis and services (e.g., a bar/bat mitzvah that centers on |
1883 – Pittsburgh Platform: modern advances in science, morality, and social behavior must take precedence over the Bible; hope for a return to Palestine is abandoned |
1940s-50s – mass immigration to Israel from Arab/Muslim nations |
principal institution – yeshiva; concentrates on Talmud study; in Israel, yeshiva students are exempt from the military draft growth of women’s yeshivas even in the Haredi world |
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Havurah Judaism emphasis on small-scale community; innovations in prayer, influenced greatly by Hasidism & Kabbalah; strong emphasis on equality of men and women |
1937 – Columbus Platform – more positive approach to ceremonial and observance; more openness to Zionism |
Committee on Law and Standards decides upon halakhic(Jewish legal) possibilities for the movement |
in Israel, some Sephardim go to Haredi yeshivas, beginning of phenomenon of Sephardi Ultra-Orthodoxy; in 1980s, formation of Shas, Sephardi Haredi party, uniting ethnicity & religion |
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KashrutReconstructionists importance of the role played by the dietary laws in the life of the Jewish people |
classical Reformers rejected the dietary laws as outmoded and harmful to good relations between Jews and non-Jews |
Conservative rejects adherence to traditional norms typical of Orthodoxy and the radicalism of Reform; in practice could mean adherence to traditional Halakhah or a more selective approach |
Modern Orthodox, Sephardi/Mizrachi, Ultra-Orthodox traditional halakhah is binding – determined by biblical and rabbinic law which animals may and may not be eaten prohibition of eating milk and meat together; special rules for Passover |
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ShabbatReconstructionism ultimate criterion for observance is the self-fulfillment of the individual – permitted work is that which is a way of enjoying life |
Reformday is set apart, but the detailed rules have been abandoned; it’s up to the individual how to celebrate the Sabbath |
Conservativefocus attention on positive practices associated with Sabbath experience: lighting candles, Shabbat meals, synagogue service; warm and pleasant Shabbat in the home The Law Committee has permitted the use of electricity and driving to attend services |
Modern Orthodox, Sephardi/Mizrachi, Ultra-Orthodox traditional halakhah forbids all work; 39 categories of forbidden labors in the Mishnah; includes manual work, commerce, travel, and lighting of fire Shabbat should be a day of joy use of electricity falls into category of making a fire (so forbidden to flip a switch on Shabbat) Shabbat is a “period out of time” – excludes cooking, most household chores, and many recreational activities – driving, gardening, playing musical instruments, any use of money |
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Problems in Halakhah for Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox communitesmamzer (“bastard,” who can only marry another mamzer, a proselyte, or a freed slave) agunah (“chained” woman, whose husband has disappeared) |
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Samuel Holdheim – even if the law has a divine origin, “the present age requires the clear enunciation of the principle that a law, even though divine, prevails only so long as the situations and conditions for which it was framed continue to exist; when these change the law too must be abrogated, even if its author was God.”
dogma of the immutability of the law was at odds with the views of the early rabbis
Abraham Geiger – while recognizing that circumcision is a “time-honored” practices, attacks it as “a barbaric, gory rite”; dietary regulations are “devoid of rationale and at the same time a hindrance to the development of social relationships
other reformers affirmed the divine origin of the Bible but denied the divine authority of Mishnah and Talmud
Pittsburgh Platform – no distinction between Mosaic and rabbinic laws, but makes a distinction between different types of law – moral, ceremonial, and civil/criminal; only the moral law is binding; ceremonies are maintained only to elevate and sanctify Jewish life. Mosaic and rabbinic laws that regulate diet, priestly purity, and dress originated in bygone days.
Centenary Perspective (1976) – emphasis on duty and obligation; begins with ethical obligations but extends to other aspects of Jewish living: Jewish home, lifelong study, private prayer and public worship, daily religious observance, keeping the Sabbath and holy days; there is a need to confront the claims of Jewish tradition and to choose by exercising individual autonomy
This page maintained by: Rebecca Lesses
Last revised January 12, 2006