Antony Polonsky
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781904113836
- eISBN:
- 9781800341067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781904113836.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explores how most of the Jews of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth remained observant in the traditional sense throughout the nineteenth century. This period saw important ...
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This chapter explores how most of the Jews of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth remained observant in the traditional sense throughout the nineteenth century. This period saw important developments in Jewish religious life. Hasidism emerged as a major force, but as it expanded it began to modify itself and to shed its more extreme character in an attempt to win over its Orthodox opponents. In its initial form it aroused strong opposition from those who feared its messianic and antinomian character. These ‘mitnagedim’ (‘opponents’, i.e. of hasidism) also changed significantly in the course of the nineteenth century. While maintaining their stress on halakhah (Jewish law) and talmudic study, they now also began to emphasize the importance of ethical principles and meditation. The two groups were united in their opposition to the maskilim and their reforms, and to the corrosive effect of secularization on normative Jewish observance, particularly as ‘reformed’ versions of Jewish religious practice began to obtain a degree of support among the integrationist minority. This led not only to a significant reduction in the level of conflict between the two groups, but also to the creation of an Orthodox religious culture.Less
This chapter explores how most of the Jews of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth remained observant in the traditional sense throughout the nineteenth century. This period saw important developments in Jewish religious life. Hasidism emerged as a major force, but as it expanded it began to modify itself and to shed its more extreme character in an attempt to win over its Orthodox opponents. In its initial form it aroused strong opposition from those who feared its messianic and antinomian character. These ‘mitnagedim’ (‘opponents’, i.e. of hasidism) also changed significantly in the course of the nineteenth century. While maintaining their stress on halakhah (Jewish law) and talmudic study, they now also began to emphasize the importance of ethical principles and meditation. The two groups were united in their opposition to the maskilim and their reforms, and to the corrosive effect of secularization on normative Jewish observance, particularly as ‘reformed’ versions of Jewish religious practice began to obtain a degree of support among the integrationist minority. This led not only to a significant reduction in the level of conflict between the two groups, but also to the creation of an Orthodox religious culture.
Shalom Sabar
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774730
- eISBN:
- 9781800340732
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774730.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter assesses the production of Jewish postcards in the early twentieth century. The fact that the Jews in this period wanted to participate in the postcard phenomenon carries an important ...
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This chapter assesses the production of Jewish postcards in the early twentieth century. The fact that the Jews in this period wanted to participate in the postcard phenomenon carries an important social message, and, as is implied in the common Hebrew term for the postcard at the time, mikhtav galui (open letter), this desire was clear for all to see. The printing and acquisition of postcards signified acceptance of and support for the public image portrayed upon them. They are therefore a mirror of the ideology and values of turn-of-the-century Jewish society as that society wished to present them. At the same time, the postcards contain valuable ethnographic information about the lives of Jews during those years. The production of Jewish postcards was concentrated in three centres: two in Europe (Germany and Poland) and one in the United States (primarily New York). Germany may be considered the birthplace of the Jewish illustrated postcard: the earliest examples known were produced there in the 1880s. The chapter then considers the portrayal of Jewish religious practices in the postcards.Less
This chapter assesses the production of Jewish postcards in the early twentieth century. The fact that the Jews in this period wanted to participate in the postcard phenomenon carries an important social message, and, as is implied in the common Hebrew term for the postcard at the time, mikhtav galui (open letter), this desire was clear for all to see. The printing and acquisition of postcards signified acceptance of and support for the public image portrayed upon them. They are therefore a mirror of the ideology and values of turn-of-the-century Jewish society as that society wished to present them. At the same time, the postcards contain valuable ethnographic information about the lives of Jews during those years. The production of Jewish postcards was concentrated in three centres: two in Europe (Germany and Poland) and one in the United States (primarily New York). Germany may be considered the birthplace of the Jewish illustrated postcard: the earliest examples known were produced there in the 1880s. The chapter then considers the portrayal of Jewish religious practices in the postcards.
François Guesnet, Benjamin Matis, and Antony Polonsky (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781906764739
- eISBN:
- 9781800343306
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781906764739.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
With its five thematic sections covering genres from cantorial to classical to klezmer, this pioneering multi-disciplinary volume presents rich coverage of the work of musicians of Jewish origin in ...
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With its five thematic sections covering genres from cantorial to classical to klezmer, this pioneering multi-disciplinary volume presents rich coverage of the work of musicians of Jewish origin in the Polish lands. It opens with the musical consequences of developments in Jewish religious practice: the spread of hasidism in the eighteenth century meant that popular melodies replaced traditional cantorial music, while the greater acculturation of Jews in the nineteenth century brought with it synagogue choirs. Jewish involvement in popular culture included performances for the wider public, Yiddish songs and the Yiddish theatre, and contributions of many different sorts in the interwar years. Chapters on the classical music scene cover Jewish musical institutions, organizations, and education; individual composers and musicians; and a consideration of music and Jewish national identity. One section is devoted to the Holocaust as reflected in Jewish music, and the final section deals with the afterlife of Jewish musical creativity in Poland, particularly the resurgence of interest in klezmer music. The chapters do not attempt to define what may well be undefinable—what “Jewish music” is. Rather, they provide an original and much-needed exploration of the activities and creativity of “musicians of the Jewish faith.“Less
With its five thematic sections covering genres from cantorial to classical to klezmer, this pioneering multi-disciplinary volume presents rich coverage of the work of musicians of Jewish origin in the Polish lands. It opens with the musical consequences of developments in Jewish religious practice: the spread of hasidism in the eighteenth century meant that popular melodies replaced traditional cantorial music, while the greater acculturation of Jews in the nineteenth century brought with it synagogue choirs. Jewish involvement in popular culture included performances for the wider public, Yiddish songs and the Yiddish theatre, and contributions of many different sorts in the interwar years. Chapters on the classical music scene cover Jewish musical institutions, organizations, and education; individual composers and musicians; and a consideration of music and Jewish national identity. One section is devoted to the Holocaust as reflected in Jewish music, and the final section deals with the afterlife of Jewish musical creativity in Poland, particularly the resurgence of interest in klezmer music. The chapters do not attempt to define what may well be undefinable—what “Jewish music” is. Rather, they provide an original and much-needed exploration of the activities and creativity of “musicians of the Jewish faith.“
