Jews, Judaism, and Modernity Part 2
Join Rabbi Jeffrey Saks for an overview of major topics in Modern Jewish history, including Emancipation and Enlightenment, and their impacts on Jewish life, culture, and observance; Zionism and the State; Modern anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. This ambitious agenda will be pursued through an encounter with primary sources, and with thinking about how our lives as contemporary, religious Jews is affected by the events of the past 250 years
Jews, Judaism, and Modernity Part 2: Lesson 4
CONGRESS OF VIENNA : Some “homework” for the next meeting of the Jewish History course at WebYeshiva: After the defeat of Napoleon, the European powers met at the Congress of Vienna to redraw the map of Europe. See the great interactive map at http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome01/index.php. You might also want to look at an encyclopedia article on the Congress (e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna) for background. In the attached document are the draft resolutions on the “Jewish Question” – try to compare them and determine what might have been going on as the delegates wrestled with the problem of (as one of you pointed out) the attempt was made to put the genie back in the bottle – or not. The distinctions between the drafts is very fine, but with profound impacts. Read carefully.
Jews, Judaism, and Modernity Part 2: Lesson 7
19 LETTERS: Speaking of the influence of Rav S.R. Hirsch – see this link. I doubt we’ll have time to properly study the important role of R Azriel Hildesheimer, who I mentioned in passing last session. Interested readers should see this essay. For next time we will study Rav Hirsch’s 17th of the “19 Letters” – attached here – re Reform.
Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the founding director of ATID – The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. He is the Editor of the journal Tradition, Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, and Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem. A three-time graduate of Yeshiva University (BA, MA, Semicha), Rabbi Saks has published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature (see https://www.webyeshiva.org/rabbisaks/).