Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
There has been a substantial contraction in the size of British Jewry since the Second World War. Very little of this contraction can be ascribed to emigration. In particular, emigration to Israel ...
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There has been a substantial contraction in the size of British Jewry since the Second World War. Very little of this contraction can be ascribed to emigration. In particular, emigration to Israel has remained small; at the end of the 1950s there were less than 3,000 Jews in Israel of British birth, though by 1972, under the impetus of the spur to aliyah generated by the Six Day War (1967), the number had more than doubled, and by the end of the following decade (1983) it exceeded 13,000. The Anglo–Jewish death rate has remained high as the population has contracted. During the period 1965–9 it averaged 4,751 annually; between 1975 and 1979 the average rose to 4,874; between 1980 and 1983 it fell, slightly, to 4,761. Overall, Anglo–Jewry has failed to reproduce itself in sufficient numbers to make good this shortfall, let alone provide for a net increase in population.Less
There has been a substantial contraction in the size of British Jewry since the Second World War. Very little of this contraction can be ascribed to emigration. In particular, emigration to Israel has remained small; at the end of the 1950s there were less than 3,000 Jews in Israel of British birth, though by 1972, under the impetus of the spur to aliyah generated by the Six Day War (1967), the number had more than doubled, and by the end of the following decade (1983) it exceeded 13,000. The Anglo–Jewish death rate has remained high as the population has contracted. During the period 1965–9 it averaged 4,751 annually; between 1975 and 1979 the average rose to 4,874; between 1980 and 1983 it fell, slightly, to 4,761. Overall, Anglo–Jewry has failed to reproduce itself in sufficient numbers to make good this shortfall, let alone provide for a net increase in population.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Both in numbers and in economic status the Jews of London exercised the preponderating influence in ordering the affairs of British Jewry. Until the very end of the 19th century provincial Jewries ...
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Both in numbers and in economic status the Jews of London exercised the preponderating influence in ordering the affairs of British Jewry. Until the very end of the 19th century provincial Jewries were not only small in absolute numbers, but much less well endowed in terms of infrastructure and personnel. Yet it was, perhaps, for this very reason that they could sometimes be fiercely independent, resisting subordination to the capital by refusing to bestow support — and hence legitimacy — upon the institutions and initiatives which emanated from their London coreligionists.Less
Both in numbers and in economic status the Jews of London exercised the preponderating influence in ordering the affairs of British Jewry. Until the very end of the 19th century provincial Jewries were not only small in absolute numbers, but much less well endowed in terms of infrastructure and personnel. Yet it was, perhaps, for this very reason that they could sometimes be fiercely independent, resisting subordination to the capital by refusing to bestow support — and hence legitimacy — upon the institutions and initiatives which emanated from their London coreligionists.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The period which began with the crisis triggered by the publication of Lord Passfield's White Paper on Palestine (October 1930) and which ended with British recognition of the State of Israel (April ...
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The period which began with the crisis triggered by the publication of Lord Passfield's White Paper on Palestine (October 1930) and which ended with British recognition of the State of Israel (April 1950) posed for the British Jewish communities problems of unprecedented complexity and severity. Against the background of Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany and later Austria, and then of the unassailable truth of the Final Solution, support for Zionism acquired a grim centrality — and urgency — in Anglo–Jewish affairs which at last made possible that which had not been achieved in 1917 (the Zionist conquest of the Board of Deputies). But it was acquired in an atmosphere in which it was difficult and finally impossible to sustain the myth that Zionism accorded with the interests of Jews as British citizens and as nothing else.Less
The period which began with the crisis triggered by the publication of Lord Passfield's White Paper on Palestine (October 1930) and which ended with British recognition of the State of Israel (April 1950) posed for the British Jewish communities problems of unprecedented complexity and severity. Against the background of Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany and later Austria, and then of the unassailable truth of the Final Solution, support for Zionism acquired a grim centrality — and urgency — in Anglo–Jewish affairs which at last made possible that which had not been achieved in 1917 (the Zionist conquest of the Board of Deputies). But it was acquired in an atmosphere in which it was difficult and finally impossible to sustain the myth that Zionism accorded with the interests of Jews as British citizens and as nothing else.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The underlying theme of the communal politics of British Jewry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the tension created by the desire of the established, Anglicized ruling elites to maintain ...
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The underlying theme of the communal politics of British Jewry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the tension created by the desire of the established, Anglicized ruling elites to maintain their control of communal organization and leadership, and the determination of the newer arrivals that these should ultimately fall under their sway. Oligarchy was confronted by democracy; laxity by orthodoxy; political conservatism by social radicalism; synagogal centralism by the independency of the chevrot; the numerical dominance of London by the jealous independence of provincial Jewries; the institutionalized charity of the Boards of Guardians by the communal self-help of the friendly societies. At some times the drama was played out through explicit issues, such as kashrut. At others, issues of great importance in themselves were none the less used for ulterior purposes: everyone knew what was ultimately at stake, but it suited both sides not to say so. Of these, by far the most fundamental was that of Zionism, the movement having as its goal the national self-determination of the Jewish people, expressed through the re-establishment of the Jewish State.Less
The underlying theme of the communal politics of British Jewry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the tension created by the desire of the established, Anglicized ruling elites to maintain their control of communal organization and leadership, and the determination of the newer arrivals that these should ultimately fall under their sway. Oligarchy was confronted by democracy; laxity by orthodoxy; political conservatism by social radicalism; synagogal centralism by the independency of the chevrot; the numerical dominance of London by the jealous independence of provincial Jewries; the institutionalized charity of the Boards of Guardians by the communal self-help of the friendly societies. At some times the drama was played out through explicit issues, such as kashrut. At others, issues of great importance in themselves were none the less used for ulterior purposes: everyone knew what was ultimately at stake, but it suited both sides not to say so. Of these, by far the most fundamental was that of Zionism, the movement having as its goal the national self-determination of the Jewish people, expressed through the re-establishment of the Jewish State.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
In an economic sense, British Jews prospered during the 1980s; they were, in truth, little affected by the economic problems which beset the manufacturing industry during Mrs Thatcher's premiership. ...
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In an economic sense, British Jews prospered during the 1980s; they were, in truth, little affected by the economic problems which beset the manufacturing industry during Mrs Thatcher's premiership. But the economic recession of the 1990s, in which the previously secure southeast of England and the professional classes experienced unemployment and economic insecurity, seems to have had a proportionately greater impact upon Anglo–Jewry than on any other ethnic minority. Jewish business people and professionals suffered bankruptcy and redundancy on a hitherto-unknown scale, an experience which may account in part for the move of Jewish voters back to Labour — or at least away from the Conservatives — in the May 1997 general election. Jewish charities and welfare organizations, themselves now short of funds, reported increasing poverty and hardship.Less
In an economic sense, British Jews prospered during the 1980s; they were, in truth, little affected by the economic problems which beset the manufacturing industry during Mrs Thatcher's premiership. But the economic recession of the 1990s, in which the previously secure southeast of England and the professional classes experienced unemployment and economic insecurity, seems to have had a proportionately greater impact upon Anglo–Jewry than on any other ethnic minority. Jewish business people and professionals suffered bankruptcy and redundancy on a hitherto-unknown scale, an experience which may account in part for the move of Jewish voters back to Labour — or at least away from the Conservatives — in the May 1997 general election. Jewish charities and welfare organizations, themselves now short of funds, reported increasing poverty and hardship.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The issue of political emancipation dominated the communal agenda of the Anglo–Jewish leadership during the middle years of the 19th century. There was, however, no unanimity of view as to the ...
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The issue of political emancipation dominated the communal agenda of the Anglo–Jewish leadership during the middle years of the 19th century. There was, however, no unanimity of view as to the strategy by which it might be attained, partly because those who ordered the affairs of the community were by no means united as to the degree of priority which it should be accorded. Nor was the issue one which agitated all — or even the majority — of Jews in Britain.Less
The issue of political emancipation dominated the communal agenda of the Anglo–Jewish leadership during the middle years of the 19th century. There was, however, no unanimity of view as to the strategy by which it might be attained, partly because those who ordered the affairs of the community were by no means united as to the degree of priority which it should be accorded. Nor was the issue one which agitated all — or even the majority — of Jews in Britain.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The world of emancipated British Jewry was turned upside down by the waves of immigration of Jews from Russia and eastern Europe that beat upon the shores of Britain in the quarter-century following ...
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The world of emancipated British Jewry was turned upside down by the waves of immigration of Jews from Russia and eastern Europe that beat upon the shores of Britain in the quarter-century following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. There was no facet of Anglo–Jewish life which was not affected by this immigration, just as there was no communal institution which could avoid responding, positively or negatively, to its imperatives. Ultimately, the State itself was compelled to take notice. The Jewish immigrants changed the shape of the British polity as surely as they changed the structure of British Jewry: the Jewish experience and the British experience merged and affected each other in a manner far more central than that offered by emancipation itself.Less
The world of emancipated British Jewry was turned upside down by the waves of immigration of Jews from Russia and eastern Europe that beat upon the shores of Britain in the quarter-century following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. There was no facet of Anglo–Jewish life which was not affected by this immigration, just as there was no communal institution which could avoid responding, positively or negatively, to its imperatives. Ultimately, the State itself was compelled to take notice. The Jewish immigrants changed the shape of the British polity as surely as they changed the structure of British Jewry: the Jewish experience and the British experience merged and affected each other in a manner far more central than that offered by emancipation itself.
Geoffrey Alderman
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207597
- eISBN:
- 9780191677731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207597.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The dislocation which the great immigration from eastern Europe caused to the established structures of British Jewry went beyond mere numbers and extended into areas far removed from those of ...
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The dislocation which the great immigration from eastern Europe caused to the established structures of British Jewry went beyond mere numbers and extended into areas far removed from those of religious observance and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The immigrants, whether orthodox or not in the Judaism they practised, were practically without representation in the institutional framework of British Jewry. The participation of immigrant congregations in the supervision of shechita arrangements was a matter contentious on several grounds, touching as it did upon the authority of the Chief Rabbi, the presumed autonomy of local rabbinates, and the distribution of financial resources; for the fees customarily imposed by Jewish communities in respect of the slaughter of meat and poultry and the supervision of butchers' shops constituted a major form of communal taxation, the profits derived therefrom being distributed among the participating congregations.Less
The dislocation which the great immigration from eastern Europe caused to the established structures of British Jewry went beyond mere numbers and extended into areas far removed from those of religious observance and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The immigrants, whether orthodox or not in the Judaism they practised, were practically without representation in the institutional framework of British Jewry. The participation of immigrant congregations in the supervision of shechita arrangements was a matter contentious on several grounds, touching as it did upon the authority of the Chief Rabbi, the presumed autonomy of local rabbinates, and the distribution of financial resources; for the fees customarily imposed by Jewish communities in respect of the slaughter of meat and poultry and the supervision of butchers' shops constituted a major form of communal taxation, the profits derived therefrom being distributed among the participating congregations.
Stephan E. C. Wendehorst
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199265305
- eISBN:
- 9780191730849
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199265305.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
The purpose of this book is to explore the relationship between British Jewry and Zionism from 1936 to 1956, during a, if not the, crucial period in modern Jewish history, encompassing both the shoah ...
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The purpose of this book is to explore the relationship between British Jewry and Zionism from 1936 to 1956, during a, if not the, crucial period in modern Jewish history, encompassing both the shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel. The book attempts to provide an answer to what, at first sight, appears as a contradiction, the undoubted prominence Zionism had reached among British Jews by the end of the period under investigation on the one hand and its diverse expressions, ranging from aliyah to making a donation to a Zionist fund, on the other. The main argument put forward in this book is that the ascendancy of Zionism in British Jewry is best understood as a particularly complex, but not untypical variant of the nineteenth- and twentieth‐century trend to reimagine communities in a national key. The book explores the relationship between British Jewry and Zionism on three levels, the transnational Jewish sphere of interaction, the British‐Jewish community, and the place of the Jewish community in British state and society. The introduction adapts theories of nationalism so as to provide a framework of analysis for diaspora Zionism. Part I addresses the question of why British Jews became Zionists, Part II how the various quarters of British Jewry related to the Zionist project in the Middle East, Part III Zionist nation-building in Britain, and Part IV the impact of Zionism on Jewish relations with the larger society. The Conclusion modifies the original argument by emphasizing the impact that the specific fabric of British state and society, in particular the Empire, had on British Zionism.Less
The purpose of this book is to explore the relationship between British Jewry and Zionism from 1936 to 1956, during a, if not the, crucial period in modern Jewish history, encompassing both the shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel. The book attempts to provide an answer to what, at first sight, appears as a contradiction, the undoubted prominence Zionism had reached among British Jews by the end of the period under investigation on the one hand and its diverse expressions, ranging from aliyah to making a donation to a Zionist fund, on the other. The main argument put forward in this book is that the ascendancy of Zionism in British Jewry is best understood as a particularly complex, but not untypical variant of the nineteenth- and twentieth‐century trend to reimagine communities in a national key. The book explores the relationship between British Jewry and Zionism on three levels, the transnational Jewish sphere of interaction, the British‐Jewish community, and the place of the Jewish community in British state and society. The introduction adapts theories of nationalism so as to provide a framework of analysis for diaspora Zionism. Part I addresses the question of why British Jews became Zionists, Part II how the various quarters of British Jewry related to the Zionist project in the Middle East, Part III Zionist nation-building in Britain, and Part IV the impact of Zionism on Jewish relations with the larger society. The Conclusion modifies the original argument by emphasizing the impact that the specific fabric of British state and society, in particular the Empire, had on British Zionism.
Richard Bolchover
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774808
- eISBN:
- 9781800340022
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774808.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
How did British Jewry respond to the Holocaust, how prominent was it on the communal agenda, and what does this response tell us about the values, politics, and fears of the Anglo-Jewish community? ...
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How did British Jewry respond to the Holocaust, how prominent was it on the communal agenda, and what does this response tell us about the values, politics, and fears of the Anglo-Jewish community? This book studies the priorities of that community, and thereby seeks to analyse the attitudes and philosophies which informed actions. It paints a picture of Anglo-Jewish life and its reactions to a wide range of matters in the non-Jewish world. The book charts the transmission of the news of the European catastrophe and discusses the various theories regarding reactions to these exceptional circumstances. It investigates the structures and political philosophies of Anglo-Jewry during the war years and covers the reactions of Jewish political and religious leaders as well as prominent Jews acting outside the community's institutional framework. Various co-ordinated responses, political and philanthropic, are studied, as are the issues which dominated the community at that time, namely internal conflict and the fear of increased domestic antisemitism: these preoccupations inevitably affected responses to events in Europe. The latter half of the book looks at the ramifications of the community's socio-political philosophies including, most radically, Zionism, and their influence on communal reactions. The book raises major questions about the structures and priorities of the British Jewish community.Less
How did British Jewry respond to the Holocaust, how prominent was it on the communal agenda, and what does this response tell us about the values, politics, and fears of the Anglo-Jewish community? This book studies the priorities of that community, and thereby seeks to analyse the attitudes and philosophies which informed actions. It paints a picture of Anglo-Jewish life and its reactions to a wide range of matters in the non-Jewish world. The book charts the transmission of the news of the European catastrophe and discusses the various theories regarding reactions to these exceptional circumstances. It investigates the structures and political philosophies of Anglo-Jewry during the war years and covers the reactions of Jewish political and religious leaders as well as prominent Jews acting outside the community's institutional framework. Various co-ordinated responses, political and philanthropic, are studied, as are the issues which dominated the community at that time, namely internal conflict and the fear of increased domestic antisemitism: these preoccupations inevitably affected responses to events in Europe. The latter half of the book looks at the ramifications of the community's socio-political philosophies including, most radically, Zionism, and their influence on communal reactions. The book raises major questions about the structures and priorities of the British Jewish community.
Todd Endelman
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520227194
- eISBN:
- 9780520935662
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520227194.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The history of British Jewry in the modern period is characterized in this book by a curious mixture of prominence and inconspicuousness. British Jews have been central to the unfolding of key ...
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The history of British Jewry in the modern period is characterized in this book by a curious mixture of prominence and inconspicuousness. British Jews have been central to the unfolding of key political events of the modern period, especially the establishment of the State of Israel, but inconspicuous in shaping the character and outlook of modern Jewry. Their story, less dramatic perhaps than that of other Jewish communities, is no less deserving of this comprehensive and finely balanced analytical account. Even though Jews were never completely absent from Britain after the expulsion of 1290, it was not until the mid-seventeenth century that a permanent community took root. The book devotes chapters to the resettlement; to the integration and acculturation that took place, more intensively than in other European states, during the eighteenth century; to the remarkable economic transformation of Anglo-Jewry between 1800 and 1870; to the tide of immigration from Eastern Europe between 1870 and 1914 and the emergence of unprecedented hostility to Jews; to the effects of World War I and the turbulent events up to and including the Holocaust; and to the contradictory currents propelling Jewish life in Britain from 1948 to the end of the twentieth century. We discover not only the many ways in which the Anglo-Jewish experience was unique but also what it had in common with those of other Western Jewish communities.Less
The history of British Jewry in the modern period is characterized in this book by a curious mixture of prominence and inconspicuousness. British Jews have been central to the unfolding of key political events of the modern period, especially the establishment of the State of Israel, but inconspicuous in shaping the character and outlook of modern Jewry. Their story, less dramatic perhaps than that of other Jewish communities, is no less deserving of this comprehensive and finely balanced analytical account. Even though Jews were never completely absent from Britain after the expulsion of 1290, it was not until the mid-seventeenth century that a permanent community took root. The book devotes chapters to the resettlement; to the integration and acculturation that took place, more intensively than in other European states, during the eighteenth century; to the remarkable economic transformation of Anglo-Jewry between 1800 and 1870; to the tide of immigration from Eastern Europe between 1870 and 1914 and the emergence of unprecedented hostility to Jews; to the effects of World War I and the turbulent events up to and including the Holocaust; and to the contradictory currents propelling Jewish life in Britain from 1948 to the end of the twentieth century. We discover not only the many ways in which the Anglo-Jewish experience was unique but also what it had in common with those of other Western Jewish communities.
Richard Bolchover
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774808
- eISBN:
- 9781800340022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774808.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This introductory chapter centres the volume's discussion on the Anglo-Jewish community during World War II. Here, the major themes lie not within the Holocaust itself, but in the Anglo-Jewish ...
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This introductory chapter centres the volume's discussion on the Anglo-Jewish community during World War II. Here, the major themes lie not within the Holocaust itself, but in the Anglo-Jewish response to it. The chapter briefly discusses the history of the Anglo-Jewish community, explaining in particular the East End/West End divide of the London Jewish community, which by the time of the war had since faded away. Additionally, the chapter provides an overview of the historical documents, sources, and other materials which focus largely on the Anglo-Jewish community, taking care to exclude materials which focus on the Holocaust in particular. What emerges here then is an argument that the Jews constituted a people who, even after emancipation, remained united by strong cultural bonds.Less
This introductory chapter centres the volume's discussion on the Anglo-Jewish community during World War II. Here, the major themes lie not within the Holocaust itself, but in the Anglo-Jewish response to it. The chapter briefly discusses the history of the Anglo-Jewish community, explaining in particular the East End/West End divide of the London Jewish community, which by the time of the war had since faded away. Additionally, the chapter provides an overview of the historical documents, sources, and other materials which focus largely on the Anglo-Jewish community, taking care to exclude materials which focus on the Holocaust in particular. What emerges here then is an argument that the Jews constituted a people who, even after emancipation, remained united by strong cultural bonds.
Louis Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774587
- eISBN:
- 9781800340305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774587.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter introduces traditional Judaism that can be compatible with the findings of modern research on how the Jewish religion has come to be. Many religious Jews still hold fast to belief in the ...
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This chapter introduces traditional Judaism that can be compatible with the findings of modern research on how the Jewish religion has come to be. Many religious Jews still hold fast to belief in the Torah as the word of God but have come to realize that the whole idea of divine revelation must be understood to mean that, while there is a divine element in the Torah, there is also a human element. It emphasizes the acceptance of the dogma “The Torah is from Heaven,” pointing out that one should understand the meaning of “from” in a more sophisticated manner than is commonly done. The chapter also provides a speedy glance at the religious history of British Jewry. By the start of the twentieth century, Jews were divided on religious lines into Orthodoxy and Reform.Less
This chapter introduces traditional Judaism that can be compatible with the findings of modern research on how the Jewish religion has come to be. Many religious Jews still hold fast to belief in the Torah as the word of God but have come to realize that the whole idea of divine revelation must be understood to mean that, while there is a divine element in the Torah, there is also a human element. It emphasizes the acceptance of the dogma “The Torah is from Heaven,” pointing out that one should understand the meaning of “from” in a more sophisticated manner than is commonly done. The chapter also provides a speedy glance at the religious history of British Jewry. By the start of the twentieth century, Jews were divided on religious lines into Orthodoxy and Reform.