Reform Judaism In The 19th Century

Reform Judaism in the 19th Century

The most extreme precursor to the Reform movement was a man by

the name of Samuel Holdheim. He was born in 1806 in Kempo in the

province of Posen. At a young age he studied at a yeshiva and received

a Talmudic education. He began to study German and secular subjects

after his marriage to a woman with a modern education. After their

divorce several years later, he began studying at the University of

Prague and Berlin and received a doctorate from the University of

Leipzig. Following service in Frankfurt -Am-Oder he became a

Landesrabbiner or chief Rabbi of Mecklenberg-Schewerin. In the year

1847 he became the rabbinate of a reform congregation in Berlin . At

this point he already disapproved of most liberal Rabbis and came to

be known as the most exemplar of reform Rabbis in all of Europe ( 241)

The question comes to mind as to what exactly triggered this

different belief in Judaism which differed significantly from previous

tenents. It started during the time of the French revolution, a time

when European Jews were (for the first time) recognized as citizens of

the countries in which they lived in. Ghettos were being abolished,

special badges were no longer required and Jews could dress the way

they wanted, settle were they pleased and work the occupations they

desired.

Many Jews settled outside of Jewish districts, and began to

live like their neighbors and speak the langu...

Reform Judaism In The 19th Century

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