The Jewish community had to choose a form of integration. It raised many burning questions: Adherence to or loss of traditional ways of life, decisions for or against "emancipation" and "assimilation" (and would not the former lead automatically to the latter?), as well as the question of adapting religion and religious practices to the modernization of society. But others struggled against religion and tradition and advocated a new definition of Jewish society.īecause of the Haskalah, modernity was seen as a real challenge by the Jewish minority. Naturally, the world of the Ashkenazim, united by traditional ways of life and customs which structured space and lent a unique rhythm to the passing of time, continued to exist 1 so that, for a part of the Jewish population, religious and social life remained closely connected. If the Berlin philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), who translated the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, into German, pioneered the movement, the legal framework began in France with the contemporary European process of Emancipation: On 27 September 1791 the Assemblée constituante granted Jews full citizenship. The Haskalah – literally "education" (the root word is related to the Hebrew "s-k-l", which means "to act with understanding") – marks a turning point in Jewish history whose effects, in a second and more diverse stage, extended into Eastern Europe, far beyond its spiritual birthplace in Prussia. The interaction of these movements must be regarded as the main phenomenon of Jewish modernity. The attempt to find an answer to this crisis led to the formation of various competing movements: Haskalah, Hasidism, the traditionalism of the followers of Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo (1720–1797), the Gaon of Vilnius (which were called the Mitnaggedim or "opponents" ). ![]() Inhaltsverzeichnis Table of Contentsĭuring the 18th century traditional Jewish society underwent a cultural crisis because of a process of fragmentation, the main symptom of which was the decline of rabbinical authority. Supported by a few Christian thinkers, and encouraged by "Enlightened despots" who wanted to assimilate their minority populations, the Maskilim tried, until the late 19th century, to harmonize the adherence to the Jewish religion and tradition with integration into the European societies. It spread eastwards to Galicia and was developed further in Russia. ![]() The movement began in Western Europe, pioneered by the Berlin philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Transformation reached the individual European Jewish communities at various times and in various ways. Its supporters, the so-called Maskilim, were active in various fields: in philosophy, education, culture, economics, politics and, last but not least, religion. Marie Schumacher-Brunhes Original auf Original in German,Ī result of the economic, social, and cultural change in the 18th century, the Haskalah emerged as the movement that brought the European Enlightenment to the Jewish world.
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