German Reform movement (Judaism)
Encyclopedia
The German Reform movement in Judaism
identifies a period of disputes and innovation during the first two thirds of the 19th century. The ideas, practices, and debates of this period lead to the current denominational structure of Judaism.
(Jewish Enlightenment
) movement, and the disarray created by the Sabbatian movement. As a result of these forces many Jews had minimal Jewish education; respect for rabbinic authority had been undermined; and the social extremes (very rich and very poor) had moved further and further towards assimilation.
In response to this situation, Jewish educators, scholars, and rabbis began to see the need to reform Judaism. The religious push for reforms took a number of different forms: philosophical reflection, moral suasion, educational initiatives, edicts from above, and separatism.
(1729-1786) proposed and instigated a campaign of reform. He sought to improve the quality of Jewish education. He believed Jewish observance was compatible with current non-Jewish trends in philosophy. By stressing Judaism's rationality he hoped to gain renewed respect for Judaism both within and without the Jewish community. Although Moses Mendelssohn is often viewed as the first Reform Jew, his attitude towards the relationship between philosophy and religious change was closer to today's Modern Orthodoxy. He lacked one essential element of the modern progressive perspective
: a developmental view of religion.
The Haskalah also introduced ideas that would later become important in the debates of this reform period:
, Schnaber argued that the mitzvot
of believing in God was immutable, but all other mitzvot could change over time because they developed from human belief in God.
and Joseph Wolf
. Articles in the journal presented ideas that often repeated in the discussions of the first and second generation reformers:
convinced Jerome, the king of the newly formed kingdom of Westphalia
to convene a central authority that would regulate religious life in Westphalia. The commission, called the Royal Westphalian Consistory of the Israelites (1808-1813), issued a series of edicts on synagogue ritual and the duties of rabbis. The consistory was also responsible for appointing rabbis, cantors, and support personal.
The committee was selected and led by Israel Jacobson
, who, in addition to being a successful businessman and court Jew, was also a Baal tefilla (leader of prayer services) and Darshan
(preacher).. The members consisted of a mix of rabbis and laymen: The three rabbis served: Rabbi Lob Mayer Berlin, the chief rabbi of Cassel
; Rabbi Simeon Isaac Kalkar from Stockholm; Rabbi Menaham Mendel Steinhardt, chief rabbi of Hildesheim
. Issacson, David Frankel
(editor of Sulamith), and Jeremiah Heinemann provided the lay membership.
The consistory instituted a number of reforms, intended to improve the religious quality of life and reduce disorder during synagogue services:
But attempts at change by edict were not lasting. Communities resisted the taxes charged by the consistory to support the rabbis and by 1812 the consistory was finding itself in financial difficulties. An edict permitting kitniyot
to Ashkenazi soldiers and poor arose international opposition. Opposition to reforms spurred the creation of informal minyan
im. Initially Jerome outlawed these and let the consitory levy heavy fines on the participants to such gatherings. However, by 1812 when the consistory complained about on-going passive resistance, Jerome made it clear that he was uncomfortable with the sectarianism the consistory seemed to be creating.. The consistory was disbanded in 1813 when the Kingdom of Westphalia collapsed.
Society of Friends, the bar mitzvah of Israel Jacobson's son, Jacob Herz Beer, Ruben Samuel Gumpertz, Leopold Zunz, Eduard Kley, Carl Sigfried Günsburg
Hamburg Temple
(Hamburg temple prayerbook) 1817 - 1938
Temple rabbis: Eduard Kley, Gotthold Salomon, Naphtali Frankfurter, Hermann Jonas, Max Sänger, David Leimdörfer
, Caesar Seligman, Paul Rieger, Jacob Sonderling
, Schlomo Rülf, Bruno Italiener
Temple hazzan:David Meldola, Joseph Piza, Ignaz Mandl, Moritz Henle
, Leon Kornitzer
, had no desire to start a separate movement. They identified with the term "reform" and periodically met in synods, but did not formally organize into an independent denomination or rabbinic association.
The laity was more impatient with the process of reform. When the German government authorized the establishment of officially recognized separatist congregations, radical lay people in Frankfurt and Berlin formed their own congregations. In 1842 a radical group of lay people in Frankfurt formed the ReformFreunde (Friends of Reform). In the summer of 1845, a group of lay people in Berlin, led by Sigmund Stern formed the Association for Reform in Judaism and held High Holiday services using a liturgy designed by the association. In 1850 the association renamed itself the Jewish Reform Congregation of Berlin.. This attempt at congregational separatism, however, failed to flourish. No other official congregations were established and prominent reformers, such as Abraham Geiger, refused to serve them.
One of the intellectual leaders of the opposition to reformers was the German Orthodox Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
. Although a friend of Abraham Geiger
, he criticized the Reform movement thus:
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
identifies a period of disputes and innovation during the first two thirds of the 19th century. The ideas, practices, and debates of this period lead to the current denominational structure of Judaism.
The Stirrings of Change
The roots of the 19th century German reform movement lie in the increasing secularization of Europe, the HaskalahHaskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
(Jewish Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
) movement, and the disarray created by the Sabbatian movement. As a result of these forces many Jews had minimal Jewish education; respect for rabbinic authority had been undermined; and the social extremes (very rich and very poor) had moved further and further towards assimilation.
In response to this situation, Jewish educators, scholars, and rabbis began to see the need to reform Judaism. The religious push for reforms took a number of different forms: philosophical reflection, moral suasion, educational initiatives, edicts from above, and separatism.
Secular origins
It was in this environment of increasing Jewish disarray that Moses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
(1729-1786) proposed and instigated a campaign of reform. He sought to improve the quality of Jewish education. He believed Jewish observance was compatible with current non-Jewish trends in philosophy. By stressing Judaism's rationality he hoped to gain renewed respect for Judaism both within and without the Jewish community. Although Moses Mendelssohn is often viewed as the first Reform Jew, his attitude towards the relationship between philosophy and religious change was closer to today's Modern Orthodoxy. He lacked one essential element of the modern progressive perspective
Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism , is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life...
: a developmental view of religion.
The Haskalah also introduced ideas that would later become important in the debates of this reform period:
- a belief that the goal of religion was personal spiritual fulfillment
- a move away from law and obedience to love and community as the defining features of religion
- a move away from the talmud towards the bible as a focal religious document
- an increased concern with the aesthetics of worship
- a distrust of superstitions
- the idea that the fundamental purpose of prayers was communication with God
Philosophical reflection
Mordecai Gumpel Schnaber (1741-1797), also known as George Levisohn, began developing the theoretical basis for the developmental understanding of religion that fueled many of the debates between reformers and traditionalists of the early 19th century. Relying on the thought of Moses Maimonides and John LockeJohn Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, Schnaber argued that the mitzvot
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
of believing in God was immutable, but all other mitzvot could change over time because they developed from human belief in God.
Moral suasion
Starting in 1806, the journal Sulamith provided a forum for Jewish educators to discuss their vision of religious reform. The journal was started by two teachers of Judaism in Dessau, David FrankelDavid Frankel
David Frankel is an American director, screenwriter and executive producer. He is the son of Max Frankel, a former executive editor of The New York Times...
and Joseph Wolf
Joseph Wolf
Joseph Wolf was a German artist who specialized in natural history illustration. He moved to the British Museum in 1848 and became the choice of illustrator for numerous explorers and collectors. He depicted animals accurately in life-like postures and has been considered one of the great pioneers...
. Articles in the journal presented ideas that often repeated in the discussions of the first and second generation reformers:
- an appreciation for Kantian universalism as a universal religion
- the belief that Judaism represented the highest form of morality but was backwards in other ways
- a distinction between ceremony and "true religion"
- envisioning reform as a separation of the wheat from the chaff
- concern that traditional Jewish customs made Jews too different from their neighbors
Change by edict
Sulamith discussed ideas and tried to stimulate change through discussion. But there were also attempts to force changes by edict. Shortly after the Treaty of Tilsit was signed in 1807, Israel JacobsonIsrael Jacobson
Israel Jacobson was a German philanthropist and, according to Borowitz and Patz in Explaining Reform Judaism , is considered the "father" of the Reform movement in Judaism.-Origins:...
convinced Jerome, the king of the newly formed kingdom of Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
to convene a central authority that would regulate religious life in Westphalia. The commission, called the Royal Westphalian Consistory of the Israelites (1808-1813), issued a series of edicts on synagogue ritual and the duties of rabbis. The consistory was also responsible for appointing rabbis, cantors, and support personal.
The committee was selected and led by Israel Jacobson
Israel Jacobson
Israel Jacobson was a German philanthropist and, according to Borowitz and Patz in Explaining Reform Judaism , is considered the "father" of the Reform movement in Judaism.-Origins:...
, who, in addition to being a successful businessman and court Jew, was also a Baal tefilla (leader of prayer services) and Darshan
Darshan
or Darshan is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" , vision, apparition, or glimpse. It is most commonly used for "visions of the divine" in Hindu worship, e.g. of a deity , or a very holy person or artifact...
(preacher).. The members consisted of a mix of rabbis and laymen: The three rabbis served: Rabbi Lob Mayer Berlin, the chief rabbi of Cassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
; Rabbi Simeon Isaac Kalkar from Stockholm; Rabbi Menaham Mendel Steinhardt, chief rabbi of Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
. Issacson, David Frankel
David Frankel
David Frankel is an American director, screenwriter and executive producer. He is the son of Max Frankel, a former executive editor of The New York Times...
(editor of Sulamith), and Jeremiah Heinemann provided the lay membership.
The consistory instituted a number of reforms, intended to improve the religious quality of life and reduce disorder during synagogue services:
- rabbis were expected to present sermons and talks at least twice a year, preferably in the vernacular
- weddings must take place in a synagogue under a chuppahChuppahA chuppah , also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the...
placed in front of the arkArk (synagogue)The Torah ark or ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekhál amongst most Sefardim. It is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogue's Torah scrolls...
- the tradition of outside weddings was forbidden - only the appointed cantor was allowed to read from the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, even at Bar Mitzvahs - the number of piyyutim used in the liturgy was reduced
But attempts at change by edict were not lasting. Communities resisted the taxes charged by the consistory to support the rabbis and by 1812 the consistory was finding itself in financial difficulties. An edict permitting kitniyot
Kitniyot
Kitniyot, qit'niyyoth are a category of foods which are defined by Jewish law and tradition that Ashkenazi Jews avoid eating during the Biblical festival of Passover....
to Ashkenazi soldiers and poor arose international opposition. Opposition to reforms spurred the creation of informal minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
im. Initially Jerome outlawed these and let the consitory levy heavy fines on the participants to such gatherings. However, by 1812 when the consistory complained about on-going passive resistance, Jerome made it clear that he was uncomfortable with the sectarianism the consistory seemed to be creating.. The consistory was disbanded in 1813 when the Kingdom of Westphalia collapsed.
Early temple movement
Berlin Tempel 1815 - 1817Society of Friends, the bar mitzvah of Israel Jacobson's son, Jacob Herz Beer, Ruben Samuel Gumpertz, Leopold Zunz, Eduard Kley, Carl Sigfried Günsburg
Hamburg Temple
Hamburg Temple
The Hamburg Temple was the synagogue of the Jewish reform movement in Hamburg from 1818 to 1938. It was the first reform synagogue in Germany....
(Hamburg temple prayerbook) 1817 - 1938
Temple rabbis: Eduard Kley, Gotthold Salomon, Naphtali Frankfurter, Hermann Jonas, Max Sänger, David Leimdörfer
David Leimdörfer
Dr. David Leimdörfer was a rabbi born in Hliník nad Hronom , Kingdom of Hungary, 17 September 1851.He was educated at his native place and at Zsolna , Waitzen , Budapest, Pressburg , and Vienna...
, Caesar Seligman, Paul Rieger, Jacob Sonderling
Jacob Sonderling
Jacob Sonderling was a German and American Rabbi. He was born in a chassidic family and was an early Zionist . His aim was to combine art and religion....
, Schlomo Rülf, Bruno Italiener
Temple hazzan:David Meldola, Joseph Piza, Ignaz Mandl, Moritz Henle
Moritz Henle
Moritz Henle was a prominent German composer of liturgical music and cantor of the Jewish reform movement....
, Leon Kornitzer
Development of the Historical-Critical School
- Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
, BiuristsBiuristsThe Biurists were a class of Jewish Biblical exegetes, of the school of Moses Mendelssohn. The Biurists laid the foundation of a critical historical study of the Bible among the modern Jews.... - Leopold ZunzLeopold ZunzLeopold Zunz was a German Reform rabbi and writer, the founder of what has been termed "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies" , the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual...
, Wissenschaft des JudentumsWissenschaft des JudentumsWissenschaft des Judentums , refers to a nineteenth-century movement premised on the critical investigation of Jewish literature and culture, including rabbinic literature, using scientific methods to analyze the origins of Jewish traditions.-The Verein für Cultur und Wissenschaft der Juden:The ... - Abraham GeigerAbraham GeigerAbraham Geiger was a German rabbi and scholar who led the founding of Reform Judaism...
Liturgical Reform
- Abraham GeigerAbraham GeigerAbraham Geiger was a German rabbi and scholar who led the founding of Reform Judaism...
- conservative, change from within - Samuel HoldheimSamuel HoldheimSamuel Holdheim was a German rabbi and author, and one of the more extreme leaders of the early Reform Movement in Judaism. A pioneer in modern Jewish homiletics, he was often at odds with the Orthodox community.- Early life :...
- radical, separatist
Organizational activity
In the first half of the 19th century, reform-minded Jews in Germany identified with the name "Reform". Early rabbinic reformers, such as Abraham GeigerAbraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger was a German rabbi and scholar who led the founding of Reform Judaism...
, had no desire to start a separate movement. They identified with the term "reform" and periodically met in synods, but did not formally organize into an independent denomination or rabbinic association.
The laity was more impatient with the process of reform. When the German government authorized the establishment of officially recognized separatist congregations, radical lay people in Frankfurt and Berlin formed their own congregations. In 1842 a radical group of lay people in Frankfurt formed the ReformFreunde (Friends of Reform). In the summer of 1845, a group of lay people in Berlin, led by Sigmund Stern formed the Association for Reform in Judaism and held High Holiday services using a liturgy designed by the association. In 1850 the association renamed itself the Jewish Reform Congregation of Berlin.. This attempt at congregational separatism, however, failed to flourish. No other official congregations were established and prominent reformers, such as Abraham Geiger, refused to serve them.
Orthodox opposition
Traditionalists expressed vocal criticism of the reformers and refused to attend their synods. In areas where reformers were chief rabbis or controlled the official positions, more traditional rabbis formed break-away congregations.One of the intellectual leaders of the opposition to reformers was the German Orthodox Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
. Although a friend of Abraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger was a German rabbi and scholar who led the founding of Reform Judaism...
, he criticized the Reform movement thus:
- "It is foolish to believe that it is the wording of a prayer, the notes of a synagogue tune, or the order of a special service, which form the abyss between [Reform and Orthodoxy]... It is not the so-called Divine Service which separates us, [rather it] is the theory - the principle [of faithfulness to Jewish lawHalakhaHalakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
]... if the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
is to you the Law of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
how dare you place another law above it and go along with God and His Law only as long as you thereby "progress" in other respects at the same time?"