The Growth of Reform Judaism: American and European Sources
416
The Growth of Reform Judaism: American and European Sources
416eBook
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Overview
This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s classic second volume on the history of the Jewish Reform Movement is a sourcebook of the original writings that shaped the second century of organized liberal Judaism. The Growth of Reform Judaism features a new introduction, a new epilogue, and important additional primary sources documenting the profound changes of the last fifty years.
Although the emphasis in this volume is chiefly on the American scene, where the movement had its most notable advances, selections of representative liberal Jewish thought in Europe and to a lesser degree in Israel are included as well. These selections help us to understand the emergence and character, problems and tensions of Reform Judaism as it developed and grew in modern times. In addition to the primary texts new to this edition, David Ellenson’s epilogue considers the developments of the last fifty years that have continued to shape the course of Reform Judaism.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780827612815 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Jewish Publication Society |
| Publication date: | 10/01/2015 |
| Series: | JPS Anthologies of Jewish Thought |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 416 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut (1912–2012) was a longtime rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. The author of more than twenty books on Jewish theology, history, and culture, he is best known for The Torah: A Modern Commentary. Rabbi Jacob K. Shankman (1904–86) was the rabbi of Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New York, and a leader in Reform Judaism. Rabbi Howard A. Berman is the executive director of the Society for Classical Reform Judaism. He lectures at congregations throughout the United States on behalf of the society and teaches regularly at Hebrew Union College. Rabbi David Ellenson is chancellor and past president of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and is the author of Jewish Meaning in a World of Choice: Studies in Tradition and Modernity (JPS, 2014).
Read an Excerpt
The Growth of Reform Judaism
American and European Sources
By W. Gunther Plaut
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS
Copyright © 1965 The World Union for Progressive Judaism, Ltd.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8276-1281-5
CHAPTER 1
American Beginnings
1. FIVE CITIES
The Spirit of German idealism and religious reform had a profound effect on the burgeoning Jewish society of America. German Jews were found in all major cities, and after the 1840's German rabbis came in increasing numbers to minister to them. With few exceptions the German language was the second, if not the first, tongue spoken in American Reform congregations during most of the 19th century, and thus the full weight of the Old World's religious emancipation was brought to bear on the New. Zunz and Geiger, Holdheim and Stein became household names in American synagogues, for men like David Einhorn, Samuel Hirsch, and Samuel Adler had been their colleagues and co-fighters in Germany before coming to America. But where the European environment, and especially German political conditions after 1848, tended to retard further religious reforms, the American scene was their natural setting. The second century of Reform shifted its center to America and the transference of the headquarters of the World Union for Progressive Judaism from London to New York, in 1960, was the final recognition of an established historic fact.
CHARLESTON — BETH ELOHIM
Charleston, S.C., was the first community to experience a break-away from established Jewish custom long before this occurred anywhere else in America. Certainly the leadership which men like Isaac Harby and, later, Hazan Gustav Poznanski were prepared to give, played a major role in the attempt to emulate the reforms of the Hamburg Temple (Vol. I, p. 31).
Preamble to the Constitution
Whereas, a correct understanding of Divine Worship is not only essential to our own happiness, and a duty we owe to the Almighty Disposer of events, but is well calculated, at the same time, to enlarge the mind and improve the heart; and whereas, also, with a view to this desirable end, a respectable Convention of Israelites met on the 21st day of November, 1824, in the City of Charleston, State of South Carolina, for the purpose of petitioning the Vestry of the Hebrew Synagogue for such alterations and improvements in the present mode of Worship as would tend to perpetuate pure Judaism, and enlighten the rising generation on the subject of their Holy Religion; and whereas, also, said petition, upon being submitted to the Vestry, was rejected by them as unconstitutional, inasmuch as the constitutionality of said petition depended upon the signatures of a certain number of subscribing members of the Congregation, which number it was impracticable to obtain, without including a large portion of the very body before whom it was to be laid; and whereas, also, no plan could be adopted to effect the purposes contained in said petition, unless the Convention by whom it had been presented, became organized; it was therefore resolved, on the 16th day of January, 1825, that a Society should be formed for the purposes of hereinafter mentioned....
Memorial
(To the President and Members of the Adjunta of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim of Charleston, South Carolina)
Gentlemen —
... The Memorial of the undersigned, showeth unto your honorable body, that they have witnessed with deep regret the apathy and neglect which have been manifested towards our holy religion. As inheritors of the true faith and always proud to be considered by the world as a portion of "God's chosen people," they have been pained to perceive the gradual decay of that system of worship which, for ages past, peculiarly distinguished us from among the nations of the earth. Not unmindful, however, of the various causes which regulate human conduct; and at the same time, unwilling to shield themselves from any censure to which their actions may justly entitle them, they have ingeniously investigated the reasons which may have led them from the Synagogue, and are now seriously impressed with the belief, that certain defects which are apparent in the present system of worship are the sole causes of the evils complained of....
The Memorial next discusses at length the various supposed defects in the service then in vogue: the service is unintelligible to the worshippers, especially to the younger members; it is too long and hence is unduly hurried over; the offerings in Spanish are unwise and absurd — "the language of a people from whom we have suffered and continue to suffer so much persecution"; and finally, great stress is laid upon the necessity of appropriate English discourses in the service.
It is also worthy of observation, that a number of Israelites, whom it should be the special care of your honorable body to bring back under your immediate protection and influence, are now wandering gradually from the true God, and daily losing those strong ties which bind every pious man to the faith of his fathers. In these individuals your honorable body have fair subjeets for the holy work of reformation; by moulding your present form of worship to suit their comprehension, you will instantly receive them among you; they will collect together under your especial care and guardianship; they will aid in the pecuniary sources of your holy institution; and if, from among whole number now scattered about our city and state, either through irreligion, through disabilities imposed, or another cause, you are enabled to make but one convert, will add much to those laudable ends which it should be the principal desire of your honorable body to accomplish. It should also be remembered, that while other sects are tending the means of Divine Worship to the remote quarters of the habitable globe — while they are making the most zealous efforts to bring together the scattered of the flock, offering the most flattering inducements to all nominations — we, who may be termed the mere remnant of a great nation, are totally disregarding the fairest opportunities of increasing our numbers, and at the same time neglecting the brightest prospects of enlarging our resources, and effectually perpetuating our national character.
Your memorialists trust, that they have been perfectly understood by the foregoing observations, that they entirely disclaim any idea of wishing to abolish such ceremonies as are considered land-marks to distinguish the Jew from the Gentile; they are wholly influenced by a warm zeal to preserve and perpetuate the principles of Judaism in their utmost purity and vigor, and to see the present and the future generations of Israelites enlightened on the subject of their holy religion, so as by understanding, they may learn the nature of its Divine source, and appreciate its holy precepts; that they would not wish to shake the firmness of any man's faith, or take from his devotion towards it; that they will always fervently and zealously support it as the first and most ancient of religions.
The alterations above submitted, being all your memoralists can in reason and moderation require, they would beg leave, in concluding, to bring to the notice of your honorable body, the reformation which has been recently adopted by our brethren in Holland, Germany and Prussia. The following is an extract from a German paper entitled the Frankfort Journal.
The functions relative to Divine Service, such as the rite of taking the Law out of the Ark, the promulgation of the Law, etc., shall no longer be sold by auction in the Synagogue ... [they] must endeavor to put an end to the custom of see-sawing during the prayers, and to that of repeating the prayers in too loud a voice; all profane tunes during Divine Service are prohibited. The ceremony of striking the impious Haman at the festival of Purim, is most strictly prohibited. Children below the age of five years are not to be taken to the Synagogue. All unsuitable pleasantries, in which the young people sometimes indulge in the Synagogues on the eve of some festivals, or on the festivals themselves, as well as the distribution of sweetmeats by the women to each in the Synagogues, are strictly forbidden. Some of the religious ceremonies must be accompanied by a German discourse (that being the vernacular) on a Hebrew text, in which the meaning of these solemnities shall be explained, and on the Sabbath a discourse shall be held in German in every Synagogue after the reading of the prescribed passage of the Law, and a chapter of the Prophets!
Thus, it appears from the above abstract, that no climes, not even tyranny itself, can forever fetter or control the human mind; and that even amidst the intolerance of Europe, our brethren have anticipated the free citizens of America in the glorious work of reformation. Let us then hasten to the task with harmony and good fellowship. We wish not to overthrow, but to rebuild; we wish not to destroy, but to reform and revise the evils complained of; we wish not to abandon the institutions of Moses, but to understand and observe them; in fine, we wish to worship God, not as slaves of bigotry and priestcraft, but as the enlightened descendants of that chosen race, whose blessings have been scattered throughout the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And your memorialists will ever pray.
(Signed by 47 Israelites of the City of Charleston)
The Charleston Creed
I believe, with a perfect faith, that God Almighty (blessed be His name!) is the Creator and Governor of all creation; and that He alone has made, does make, and will make, all things.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator (blessed be His name!) is only One in Unity; to which there is no resemblance; and that He alone has been, is, and will be God.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator (blessed be His name!) is not corporeal, nor to be comprehended by any understanding capable of comprehending only what is corporeal; and that there is nothing like Him in the universe.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator (blessed be His name!) is the only true object of adoration, and that no other being whatsoever ought to be worshiped.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the soul of man is breathed into him by God, and is therefore immortal.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator (blessed be His name!) knows all things, and that He will reward those who observe His commands, and punish those who transgress them.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the laws of God, as delivered by Moses in the Ten Commandments, are the only true foundations of piety towards the Almighty and of morality among men.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that morality is essentially connected with religion, and that good faith towards all mankind is among the most acceptable offerings to the Deity.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the love of God is the highest duty of His creatures, and that the pure and upright heart is the chosen temple of Jehovah.
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator (blessed be His name!) is the only true Redeemer of all His children, and that He will spread the worship of His name over the whole earth.
What Is It We Seek? (Isaac Harby)
Harby (1788–1828) was a Charleston journalist and dramatist who supported the Reform society from the beginning. The following is an excerpt from a lecture delivered on the first anniversary of the Society.
What is it we seek? The establishment of a new sect? No; never. Let other systems of religion split into a thousand schisms; let other modes of faith present to your eyes the motley scene at which philosophy may smile, and true piety must weep; brethren, instructed in a religion of mercy, warring against each other by the arm of flesh, and the weapon of theological pride. Let these examples of human error be seen in other religions; but it is the glory and test of the Jewish faith, that its followers worship one God; that when they raise their hands to veil their eyes, and repeat, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One," they regard only the God of their fathers, the Lord of all creation, the Supreme Jehovah. This be your boast, this be your bond of union.
What is it then we ask of the Hebrew Vestry? The abolition of the ancient language and form of Jewish worship? Far from it. Those who have thoughtlessly opposed our efforts are well aware that neither in the petition which first convened this respectable assemblage of Israelites, nor in the constitution which grew out of the rejection of that petition, unheard and uncanvassed, and which constitution stands at once the monument of your firmness and your moderation, was any such abolition contemplated. They well knew that every prayer, every ceremony calculated to add dignity to external worship, and warmth to true devotion, was the ardent wish of the members who compose your society. Our desire is to yield everything to the feelings of the truly pious Israelite, but to take away everything that might excite the disgust of the well informed Israelite. To throw away Rabbinical interpolations; to avoid useless repetitions; to read or chant with solemnity; to recite such portions of the Pentateuch and the Prophets, as custom and practice have appointed to be read in the original Hebrew; but to follow such selections with a translation in English, and a lecture or discourse upon the law, explanatory of its meaning, edifying to the young, gratifying to the old, and instructive to every age and class of society. Is it abolishing our mode of sacred worship? Is this sapping the foundations of our venerable faith? No, my friends; this is stripping it of foreign and unseemly ceremonies; divesting it of rubbish, and beautifying that simple Doric column, that primeval order of architecture, which raises its plain but massive head amid the ruins of time and the desolation of empires.
This City Our Jerusalem (Gustav Poznanski)
In 1841 Beth Elohim dedicated a new building. The Charleston Courier reported the event in detail, including the full text of the hymns sung at the services, and even reproduced some words in Hebrew characters.
Poznanski (1805–1879) had been educated in Hamburg and was deeply influenced by the progressive tendencies of its Reform temple. He served Beth Elohim as Hazan and spiritual leader for many years.
The following report is from the Courier.
The dark clouds of sectarian prejudice and religious intolerance seem everywhere to be fast fading away, before the widely spreading lights of right, reason and philosophy. Thus, in the instance of this consecration, we find the event the more remarkable for the novelty of the introduction of instrumental music in a Jewish Synagogue, contributing much by its sweet and majestic harmony to hallow the ceremonies of the occasion. Deeming the connection of music with sacred service, not only strictly admissible, but in this age indispensable, we expect its divine influence to be attended with the most salutary results.
The various topics were so managed as to keep a crowded audience deeply and attentively engaged from the beginning to the end. He [Poznanski] spoke chiefly in vindication, on grounds of plain reason and scripture, of the restoration of instrumental music, in his congregation, as an auxiliary to divine worship, and of the beautiful and salutary, as well as cultural propriety of "praising Him with stringed instruments and with organs," and defended, with equal success, the reformed practice of conducting certain portions of the service in the vernacular language of the people instead of a tongue unintelligible to most of them.
In dwelling on the plenitude of civil and religious privileges, enjoyed by the House of Israel in this land of liberty and equal rights, he kindled with a noble and generous enthusiasm, and declared, in behalf of himself and all grateful Israel, that "this synagogue is our temple, this city our Jerusalem, this happy land our Palestine, and as our fathers defended with their lives that temple, that city and that land, so will their sons defend this temple, this city, and this land...."
BALTIMORE — HAR SINAI (Dedication Service)
While in Congregation Beth Elohim, in Charleston, reforms were introduced into an established Orthodox congregation, Har Sinai in Baltimore was the first American synagogue founded ab initio on a Reform basis. When David Einhorn (see Vol. I, p. 96) assumed its pulpit in 1855, Baltimore became the spearhead of what came to be known as "radical reform."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Growth of Reform Judaism by W. Gunther Plaut. Copyright © 1965 The World Union for Progressive Judaism, Ltd.. Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
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Table of Contents
Contents
INTRODUCTION TO THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION by Howard A. Berman,FOREWORD by Jacob K. Shankmanzz,
PREFACE,
INTRODUCTION,
PART 1 — REFORM IN TWO WORLDS,
CHAPTER I : AMERICAN BEGINNINGS,
CHAPTER II : CONGREGATIONAL UNION IN AMERICA,
CHAPTER III : RABBINIC UNION IN AMERICA,
CHAPTER IV : SEMINARIES,
CHAPTER V : REALIGNMENT IN EUROPE,
PART 2 — THE AGE OF CRISES,
CHAPTER VI : THE FIRST WAR,
CHAPTER VII : THE CHANGING MOVEMENT,
CHAPTER VIII : THE SOCIAL CONSCIENCE,
CHAPTER IX : GERMANY: DREAM AND NIGHTMARE,
CHAPTER X : ZION: THE GREAT DEBATE,
CHAPTER XI : THE SECOND WAR,
CHAPTER XII : THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT,
PART 3 — REFORM IN TRANSITION,
CHAPTER XIII : THEOLOGY IN TRANSITION,
CHAPTER XIV : PRACTICE IN TRANSITION,
EPILOGUE—REFORM JUDAISM AFTER 1948,
EPILOGUE TO THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION by David Ellenson,
SELECT DOCUMENTS, 1975–2008,
BIBLIOGRAPHY,
INDEX,