Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism . Theologically , it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah , both Written and Oral , as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since.
139-607: The Middle Street Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue , located at 66 Middle Street, in the centre of Brighton , in the city of Brighton and Hove , Sussex , England , in the United Kingdom. The congregation was formed in c. 1820s as the Brighton Hebrew Congregation and since 1918, was known as the Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation , and worshiped in
278-608: A Congregational church and the residential development on the Wick Farm estate, and also the Bristol Road Methodist Church in Kemptown . After ten months of work at a cost of £12,000 (equivalent to £1.43 million in 2024), the dedication ceremony took place on 23 September 1875 and the synagogue was opened. Its capacity of 300 was six times higher than that of its predecessor. The Sassoon family ,
417-645: A personal God in his opening six articles. The six concern God's status as the sole creator, his oneness, his impalpability, that he is first and last, that God alone, and no other being, may be worshipped, and that he is omniscient. The supremacy of the God of Israel is even applied to non-Jews. According to most rabbinic opinions, non-Jews are banned from the worship of other deities. However, they are allowed to " associate " lower divine beings with their faith in God (mostly to allow contact with Christians , accepting that they were not idolaters with whom business dealings and
556-663: A Certified Place of Meeting for Religious Worship (Form 77), to the Superintendent General. Government advice states that this is a legal requirement, but research indicates that in practice not all disused places of worship are de-registered. Details of de-registered places of worship are recorded in The London Gazette . The Toleration Act 1688 granted most Protestant Nonconformist denominations freedom to worship in public buildings or rooms that were registered for this purpose. Registration
695-437: A building to be used for marriages it had to be registered for worship first (or at the same time). The Act stipulated that a list of all registered places of worship be published in 1856, "and also at such subsequent Periods as One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State shall from Time to Time in that Behalf order or direct" . In practice, neither full details of all registered places of worship nor extracts from
834-428: A consensus on the adaptation of halakha . Their initiative was thwarted by a combination of radical, secularist maskilim and leading conservative rabbis. This was highlighted during the battle that erupted after Moshe Leib Lilienblum 's 1868 call for a reconsideration of Talmudic strictures. Reines, Pines and their associates gradually formed the nucleus of Religious Zionism , while their conservative opponents adopted
973-519: A creed, although the 13 principles expounded by Maimonides in his 1160s Commentary on the Mishna , remained the most widely accepted. Various points were contested by many of Maimonides' contemporaries and later sages, such as the exact formulation and the status of disbelievers (either misinformed or expelled heretics). Similarly, Albo listed only three fundamentals, and did not regard the Messiah as
1112-491: A decade; the lifting of formal discrimination also strongly affected the Jews of independent Poland , Lithuania and other states. In the 1930s, it was estimated that no more than 20%–33% of Poland's Jews, the last stronghold of traditionalism where many were still living in rural and culturally-secluded communities, could be considered strictly observant. Only upon having become an embattled (though still quite large) minority, did
1251-419: A different response, which first arose in its very epicenter. Severe protests did not affect Temple congregants, eventually leading the wardens of Hamburg's Jewish community to a comprehensive compromise for the sake of unity. They replaced the elderly, traditional Chief Dayan Baruch Oser with Isaac Bernays . The latter was a university graduate, clean-shaven, and modern, who could appeal to the acculturated and
1390-510: A gentile play an organ on the Sabbath, were combined with theological issues. The Temple's revised prayer book omitted or rephrased petitions for the coming of the Messiah and renewal of sacrifices ( post factum , it was considered to be the first Reform liturgy). More than anything else, this doctrinal breach alarmed the traditionalists. Dozens of rabbis from across Europe united in support of
1529-592: A key tenet. Many who objected argued that the entire corpus of the Torah and the sayings of ancient sages were of canonical stature, rather than a few selected points. In later centuries, the 13 Principles became considered universally binding and cardinal by Orthodox authorities. During the Middle Ages, two systems of thought competed for primacy. The rationalist-philosophic school endeavored to present all commandments as serving higher moral and ethical purposes, while
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#17327808614351668-503: A learned few). The combination of religious conservatism and modernity in everything else was emulated elsewhere, earning the label " Neo-Orthodoxy ". Bernays and his like-minded followers, such as Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger , fully accepted the platform of the moderate Haskalah , taking away its progressive edge. While old-style traditional life continued in Germany until the 1840s, secularization and acculturation turned Neo-Orthodoxy into
1807-423: A list of all registered places of worship was published on the government's gov.uk website on 17 March 2015 and has subsequently been updated regularly. It includes a list of around 30,000 records, including addresses and whether they are also registered for the solemnisation of marriages (opposite- and same-sex). The fee for the registration of a place of worship has been revised upwards on many occasions. When
1946-521: A mistake of the common masses) was to be meticulously observed and revered. Sofer was frank and vehement about his stance, stating during the Hamburg dispute that prayers in the vernacular were not problematic per se , but he forbade them because they constituted an innovation. He succinctly expressed his attitude in wordplay he borrowed from the Talmud: "The new ( Chadash , originally meaning new grain)
2085-456: A modernized synagogue in Pressburg and other innovations, and his yeshiva was nearly closed by warden Wolf Breisach. But in 1822, three poor (and therefore traditional) community members, whose deceased apostate brother bequeathed them a large fortune, rose to the wardens' board. Breisach died soon after, and the Pressburg community became dominated by the conservatives. Sofer also possessed
2224-504: A partition. By 2005, that number went down to one, and ceased to exist when that synagogue resigned from the OU in 2015 after understanding that the OU was planning to expel it. In the postwar era, the vague traditional coalition came to a definite end. During and after the Holocaust , a new wave of strictly observant refugees arrived from Eastern and Central Europe. They typically regarded
2363-512: A polemic instigated by Hirsch. Lesser became a rallying point for conservative elements, concerned mainly with public standards of observance in critical fields such as marriage. A broad non-Reform, relatively traditional camp slowly coalesced as the minority within American Jewry, serving the nonobservant. Their synagogues liberalized their approach: omission of piyyutim from the liturgy; English-language sermons; secular education for
2502-581: A rabbinic ordination and limited knowledge would have marked him as a heretic by European standards . In 1845 he introduced the words "Orthodox" and "Orthodoxy" into the American Jewish discourse, explicitly to oppose Reform. Leeser was a staunch proponent of Zecharias Frankel , whom he considered the "leader of the Orthodox party". at a time when Positive-Historical and Orthodox positions were hardly distinguishable. In 1861, Leeser defended Frankel in
2641-680: A rabbinical seminary including secular studies. The progressives viewed him as too conservative. After four years of constant strife, he lost faith in the possibility of reuniting the Jewish public. In 1851, a group in Frankfurt am Main that opposed the Reform character of the Jewish community turned to Hirsch. He led them for the remainder of his life, finding Frankfurt a hospitable site for his unique ideology, which amalgamated acculturation, dogmatic theology, thorough observance, and strict secession from
2780-400: A remnant of the past and lending credit to their own rival ideology. Thus, the term Orthodox is often used generically to refer to traditional (even if only in the sense that it is unrelated to modernist movement) synagogues, rites, and observances. Academic research noted that the formation of Orthodox ideology and organizations was itself influenced by modernity. This was brought about by
2919-546: A salvific Messiah -King who will restore the Temple in Jerusalem and gather the people to Zion . Orthodox Judaism is not a centralized denomination. Relations between its different subgroups are often strained, and the exact limits of Orthodoxy are subject to intense debate. Very roughly, it may be divided between Haredi Judaism (ultra-Orthodox), which is more conservative and reclusive, and Modern Orthodox Judaism , which
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#17327808614353058-405: A strong base in the form of his yeshiva , the world's largest at the time, with hundreds of students. And crucially, the large and privileged Hungarian nobility blocked most imperial reforms in the backward country, including those relevant to the Jews. Hungarian Jewry retained its pre-modern character well into the 19th century, allowing Sofer's disciples to establish a score of new yeshivas , at
3197-485: A symbol of Reform in Germany since 1818, so much that Hildesheimer seminarians had to sign a declaration that they would never serve in a synagogue that introduced one – was accepted with little qualm by the French Consistoire in 1856, as part of a series of synagogue regulations passed by Chief Rabbi Salomon Ulmann . Even Rabbi Solomon Klein of Colmar , the leader of Alsatian conservatives who partook in
3336-405: A time when these institutions were rapidly closing in the west, and a strong rabbinate to appoint them. A generation later, a self-aware Orthodoxy was well entrenched in the country. Hungarian Jewry gave rise both to Orthodoxy in general, in the sense of a comprehensive response to modernity, and specifically to the traditionalist, militant ultra-Orthodoxy . The 1818–1821 controversy also elicited
3475-496: A united observant pro-Zionist front would be formed, were dashed between 1897 and 1899, as both the Eastern European nationalist intellectuals and Theodor Herzl himself revealed an uncompromising secularist agenda, forcing traditionalist leaders to pick sides. In 1900, the anti-Zionist pamphlet Or la-Yesharim , endorsed by many Russian and Polish rabbis, largely demarcated the lines between the proto- Haredi majority and
3614-538: A venue for marriages. Under the terms of the Act, buildings, rooms or other premises can be registered as meeting places for religious worship upon payment of a fee; a record of their registration is then kept by the General Register Office for England and Wales , and the place of worship is assigned a "Worship Number". Registration is not mandatory, but an unregistered place of worship cannot be used for
3753-592: A wealthy Jewish dynasty with links to Brighton and Hove, funded various expansions and improvements over the next few decades, especially in respect of the internal fittings, which are very elaborate for a synagogue. Electric lighting was installed in 1892, making it the first electrically lit synagogue in Britain. Although the Jewish community in the city numbered 4,000 by 2004, the Middle Street Synagogue fell out of regular use at that time, although it
3892-421: A year. German Neo-Orthodoxy, in the meantime, developed a keen interest in the traditional Jewish masses of Russia and Poland; if at the past they were considered primitive, a disillusionment with emancipation and enlightenment made many young assimilated German Orthodox youth embark on journeys to East European yeshivot , in search of authenticity. The German secessionists already possessed a platform of their own,
4031-411: Is a large rose window in the west-facing frontage. The façade consists of five bays, alternately projecting and recessed; on the ground floor the layout of windows (protected since the 1960s with translucent safety panels) is two in each end bay and one each in the two recessed bays, with the wooden entrance door on the centre bay (between two pink columns with ornamented capitals ). On the first floor,
4170-525: Is forbidden by the Torah anywhere." Regarding the new, ideologically-driven sinners, Sofer commented in 1818 that they should have been anathemized and banished from the People of Israel like earlier heretical sects. Unlike most, if not all, rabbis in Central Europe, who had little choice but to compromise, Sofer enjoyed unique circumstances. He, too, had to tread carefully during the 1810s, tolerating
4309-402: Is often described as extremely conservative, ossifying a once-dynamic tradition due to the fear of legitimizing change. While this was sometimes true, its defining feature was not forbidding change and "freezing" Jewish heritage, but rather the need to adapt to the segment of Judaism in a modern world inhospitable to traditional practice. Orthodoxy often involved much accommodation and leniency. In
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4448-417: Is relatively open to outer society and partakes in secular life and culture. Each of those is itself formed of independent streams. These are almost uniformly exclusionist, regarding Orthodoxy as the only legitimate form of Judaism. While adhering to traditional beliefs, the movement is a modern phenomenon. It arose as a result of the breakdown of the autonomous Jewish community since the late 18th century, and
4587-416: Is still opened regularly for educational and architectural tours of the interior, especially during the annual Brighton Festival . Urgent structural repairs, including a new roof, were required by that time. A combination of fundraising concerts, auctions and a grant of several hundred thousand pounds from the government agency English Heritage enabled restoration work to take place. Middle Street Synagogue
4726-421: Is top-lit via a stained glass half-dome. The surrounding rails, menorah and pulpit are all brass. There is late-19th century stained glass in all of the windows, much of it by Campbell & Smith. Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism therefore advocates a strict observance of Jewish Law, or halakha , which is to be interpreted and determined only according to traditional methods and in adherence to
4865-656: The Ashkenazi rite . The synagogue building was the centre for Jewish worship in Brighton and Hove for more than a century. The West Hove Synagogue, located at 29-31 New Church Road in Hove , also owned by the Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation, has been the congregation's main synagogue since the early 1960s. Although the Middle Street Synagogue is not in full-time use, the building is opened at certain times, and cultural events and weddings frequently take place. The building
5004-641: The Church of England (that country's established church ) which is exempt from the act's requirements. Nor does it affect the Church in Wales , which remains part of the Anglican Communion although it is no longer the Established Church in Wales. Registration is not compulsory, but it gives certain financial advantages and is also required before a place of worship can be registered as
5143-578: The Czar 's government all had little influence. School modernization under Max Lilienthal , the growth of rabbinical seminaries and the mandating to appoint clerks known as "official rabbis" all had little impact. Communal autonomy and the rabbinic courts' jurisdiction were abolished in 1844, but economic and social seclusion remained, ensuring the de facto authority of Jewish institutions and traditions. In 1880, only 21,308 Jewish pupils attended government schools, out of some 5 million Jews; In 1897, 97% of
5282-643: The Freie Vereinigung für die Interessen des Orthodoxen Judentums , founded by Samson Raphael Hirsch in 1885. In 1912, two German FVIOJ leaders, Isaac Breuer and Jacob Rosenheim , managed to organize a meeting of 300 seceding Mizrahi, proto- Haredi and secessionist Neo-Orthodox delegate in Katowice , creating the Agudath Israel party. While the Germans were a tiny minority in comparison to
5421-484: The French Revolution , was more and more inclined to tolerate Jews as a religious sect, but not as an autonomous entity, and sought to reform and integrate them as "useful subjects". Jewish emancipation and equal rights were discussed. The Christian (and especially Protestant ) separation of "religious" and "secular" was applied to Jewish affairs, to which these concepts were alien. The rabbis were bemused when
5560-545: The Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis formed the classical Orthodox response to Higher Criticism. Hoffman declared that for him, the unity of the Pentateuch was a given, regardless of research. Hirsch often lambasted Hoffman for contextualizing rabbinic literature. All of them stressed the importance of dogmatic adherence to Torah min ha-Shamayim , which led them to conflict with Rabbi Zecharias Frankel , Chancellor of
5699-509: The Hamburg Temple in 1818 mobilized the conservative elements. The organizers of the synagogue wished to appeal to acculturated Jews with a modernized ritual. They openly defied not just the local rabbinic court that ordered them to desist, but published learned tracts that castigated the entire rabbinical elite as hypocritical and obscurant . The moral threat they posed to rabbinic authority, as well as halakhic issues such as having
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5838-493: The Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau . Unlike the Reform camp, Frankel insisted on strict observance and displayed great reverence towards tradition. But though appreciated by conservatives, his practice of Wissenschaft left him suspect to Hirsch and Hildesheimer. They demanded again and again that he state his beliefs concerning the nature of revelation. In 1859, Frankel published a critical study of
5977-490: The Mishnah , and added that all commandments classified as " Law given to Moses at Sinai " were merely customs (he broadened Asher ben Jehiel 's opinion). Hirsch and Hildesheimer seized the opportunity and launched a public campaign against him, accusing him of heresy. Concerned that public opinion regarded both neo-Orthodoxy and Frankel's "Positive-Historical School" centered at Breslau as similarly observant and traditionalist,
6116-502: The Royal Pavilion . The exterior, executed in pale Sussex brick by the builders George Cheesman and son, is in an eclectic blend of Italian Renaissance and Byzantine Revival styles. The west-facing elevation to Middle Street uses yellow bricks in an English bond pattern , while the other walls are of brown brick. The arched windows are surmounted by contrasting red and blue tiles, and are flanked by red coloured columns. There
6255-495: The Sabbateans or Frankists , against whom sanctions were levied. Their attitudes did not fit the criteria set when faith was a normative and self-evident part of worldly life, but rested on the realities of the new, secularized age. The wardens' class, which wielded most power within the communities, was rapidly acculturating and often sought to oblige the state's agenda. Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles , who returned to Prague from
6394-565: The Sabbath and holidays, consuming only kosher food, praying thrice a day, studying the Torah often, donning head covering and tassels for men and modest clothing for women, and so forth. Other key doctrines include belief in a future bodily resurrection of the dead , divine reward and punishment for the righteous and the sinners, the Election of Israel as a people bound by a covenant with God , and an eventual Messianic Age ruled by
6533-587: The Sages . The more radical among the Wissenschaft rabbis, unwilling to limit critical analysis or its practical application, coalesced around Rabbi Abraham Geiger to establish Reform Judaism . Between 1844 and 1846, Geiger organized three rabbinical synods in Braunschweig , Frankfurt and Breslau , to determine how to refashion Judaism for present times. The Reform conferences were met with uproar by
6672-491: The historical-critical study of scripture and the dominant philosophies of the day, especially Kant and Hegel . Influenced by the critical " Science of Judaism " ( Wissenschaft des Judentums ) pioneered by Leopold Zunz , and often in emulation of the Liberal Protestant milieu, they reexamined and undermined beliefs held as sacred in traditional circles, especially the notion of an unbroken chain from Sinai to
6811-896: The stuccoed building in the Classical style still stands; an inscription on the outside, including the Hebrew calendar year of opening (5598), can still be seen on the entablature , but it is now in commercial use. The Chanukah menorah at the Middle Synagogue was brought from the Brighton Regency Synagogue. Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler attended the start of construction work in Middle Street on 19 November 1874. The architect, Thomas Lainson , had been responsible for many buildings in Hove, including
6950-455: The "zealots" were shocked by the demise of the traditional world into which they had been born. Like Moses Sofer a generation before them, these Orthodox émigrés moved east, to a pre-modern environment that they were determined to safeguard. Lichtenstein ruled out any compromise with modernity, insisting on maintaining Yiddish and traditional dress. They considered the Neologs as already beyond
7089-530: The "zealots"' cause, dismissed their legal arguments. In 1865, the ultra-Orthodox convened in Nagymihály and issued a ban on various synagogue reforms, intended not against the Neologs but against developments in the Orthodox camp, especially after Samuel Sofer violated his father's expressed ban and instituted vernacular sermons in Pressburg. Schick, the country's most prominent decisor, and other leading rabbis refused to sign, though they did not publicly oppose
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#17327808614357228-707: The 5.2 million Jews in the Pale of Settlement and Congress Poland spoke Yiddish their mother tongue, and only 26% were literate in Russian. Though the Eastern European Haskalah challenged the traditional establishment, it flourished from the 1820s until the 1890s. Unlike its western counterpart, it thrived despite ongoing acculturation. The leading rabbis maintained the concept of communal unity: in 1882, when an Orthodox party in Galicia appealed for
7367-432: The Act was passed, registration cost 2 s .6 d . (equivalent to £14.75 in 2023). The most recent piece of legislation setting the fee at £28.00 was The Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Fees) Order 2002, which came into effect from 1 April 2003. What counts as a place of worship has been the subject of litigation. An application by the Church of Scientology to have a chapel registered at Saint Hill Manor
7506-502: The Breslau School, who don silk gloves at their work, and Geiger who wields a sledgehammer . During the 1840s in Germany, as traditionalists became a clear minority, some Orthodox rabbis, such as Salomo Eger of Posen , urged the adoption of Moses Sofer 's position and to anathemize the principally nonobservant. Eating, worshipping or marrying with them were to be banned. Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger , whose journal Treue Zionswächter
7645-602: The Eastern Europeans, their modern education made them a prominent elite in the new organization, which strove to provide a comprehensive response to world Jewry's challenges in a strictly observant spirit. The Agudah immediately formed its Council of Torah Sages as supreme rabbinic leadership body. Many ultra-traditionalist elements in Eastern Europe, like the Belz and Lubavitch Hasidim, refused to join, viewing
7784-464: The Frankfurt community, and decreed that all Orthodox should do the same. However, unlike the heterogeneous congregations of Hungary, which often consisted of recent immigrants, Frankfurt and most German communities were close-knit. The majority of Hirsch's congregants enlisted Rabbi Seligman Baer Bamberger , who was older and more conservative. Bamberger was concerned with the principal of unity among
7923-410: The Hamburg rabbinic court, banning the major practices enacted there and offering halakhic grounds for forbidding any changes. Most historians concur that the 1818–1821 Hamburg Temple dispute , with its concerted backlash against Reform and the emergence of a self-aware conservative ideology, marks the beginning of Orthodox Judaism. The leader and organizer of the Orthodox camp during the dispute, and
8062-603: The Hungarian ultra-Orthodox struggled to provide strong halakhic arguments. Michael Silber wrote: "These issues, even most of the religious reforms, fell into gray areas not easily treated within Halakha. It was often too flexible or ambiguous, at times silent, or worse yet, embarrassingly lenient." Schlesinger was forced to venture outside of normative law, into mystical writings and other fringe sources, to buttress his ideology. Most Hungarian Orthodox rabbis, while sympathetic to
8201-517: The Land of Israel. The particularly decorative and ornate interior, funded by the generosity of the Sassoon family and visitors from outside Brighton, was built mostly of iron, but the surfaces that meet the eye are lavishly stenciled, gilded, or made of brass, marble, and mosaics. The Torah Ark sits on a marble-stepped dais in the centre of the apse , below an arch supported by elaborate columns. It
8340-454: The Law and commandments rests on coercion, enabling to force obedience and punish the transgressor. Denying this fact is akin to denying the sun at noon. However, maskilic '-rabbinic rivalry ended in most of Central Europe, as governments imposed modernization upon their Jewish subjects. Schools replaced traditional cheders , and standard German began to supplant Yiddish . Differences between
8479-561: The Middle Ages, Maimonides and his contemporaries reported that anthropomorphic conceptions of God were quite common in their time. Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 ( 18 & 19 Vict. c. 81) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which governs the registration and legal recognition of places of worship . It applies only in England and Wales, and does not cover
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#17327808614358618-566: The Middle East region. Thomas Lainson's design for the interior followed the Byzantine Revival style. The building takes the form of a basilica . There are ladies' galleries on three sides, held up by cast-iron columns decorated with imitation marble-effect paintwork. The capitals are fashioned of hammered copper and iron, each one is individually worked to show a different one of the species of plants, fruit, flowers and crops from
8757-553: The Mizrahi minority, and terminated dialogue; in 1911, when the 10th World Zionist Congress voted in favour of propagating non-religious cultural work and education, a large segment of the Mizrahi seceded and joined the anti-Zionists. In 1907, Eastern European proto- Haredi elements formed the Knesseth Israel party, a modern framework created in recognition of the deficiencies of existing institutions. It dissipated within
8896-529: The Orthodox need to tolerate the nonobservant majority: Many of their own congregants were far removed from strict practice. For example, he allowed congregants to drink wine poured by Sabbath desecrators, and to ignore other halakhic sanctions. Yet German neo-Orthodoxy could not legitimize nonobservance, and adopted a hierarchical approach, softer than traditional sanctions, but no less intent on differentiating sinners and righteous. Reform rabbis or lay leaders, considered ideological opponents, were castigated, while
9035-592: The Orthodox seceded from the Congress and appealed to Parliament in the name of religious freedom. This demonstrated the internalization of the new circumstances: Twenty years before, in 1851, Orthodox leader Meir Eisenstaedter petitioned the authorities to restore the old coercive powers of the communities. In 1871 the government recognized a separate Orthodox national committee. Communities that refused to join either side, labeled "Status Quo", were subject to Orthodox condemnation even when impeccably conservative. However,
9174-437: The Orthodox tolerated nonobservant Jews as long as they affiliated with the national committee: Adam Ferziger claimed that membership and loyalty, rather than beliefs and ritual behavior, emerged as the definitive manifestation of Jewish identity. The Hungarian schism was the most radical internal separation among the Jews of Europe. Hildesheimer returned to Germany soon after, disillusioned though not as pessimistic as Hirsch. He
9313-535: The Orthodox. Warden Hirsch Lehren of Amsterdam and Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger of Altona both organized anti-Reform manifestos, denouncing the new initiatives, signed by scores of rabbis from Europe and the Middle East. The tone of the signatories varied considerably along geographic lines: letters from traditional societies in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire implored local leaders to petition
9452-502: The People Israel and dismissive of Hirsch, whom he regarded as unlearned and overly assimilated. He decreed that since the mother community was willing to finance Orthodox services and allow them religious freedom, secession was unwarranted. Eventually, less than 80 families from Hirsch's 300-strong congregation followed their rabbi. The vast majority of the 15%–20% of German Jews affiliated with Orthodox institutions cared little for
9591-483: The Superintendent General of the General Register Office or a local Superintendent Registrar. A fee of £ 28.00 is payable. Details required on the form include the name, address and physical layout of the building or rooms, the Christian denomination or other faith group to which it belongs, an overview of the services that will take place, and details of the applicant. There is great flexibility in relation to
9730-659: The Talmudic exegesis , which derived laws from the Torah 's text by employing hermeneutics , was binding d'Oraita . Geiger and others presented exegesis as an arbitrary, illogical process, and consequently defenders of tradition embraced Maimonides ' claim that the Sages merely buttressed already received laws with biblical citations, rather than actually deriving them. Jay Harris commented, "An insulated orthodox, or, rather, traditional rabbinate, feeling no pressing need to defend
9869-424: The Temple leaders. He introduced secular studies for children, wore a cassock like a Protestant clergyman, and delivered vernacular sermons. He forbade the spontaneous, informal character of synagogue conduct typical of Ashkenazi tradition, and ordered prayers to be somber and dignified. Bernays' style re-unified the Hamburg community by accommodating their aesthetic demands (but not theological ones, raised by only
10008-732: The UOR as overly Americanized. Typical of these was Rabbi Aaron Kotler , who established Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey in 1943. Alarmed by the American innovations, Kotler turned his institution into an enclave, around which a community slowly evolved. It was unlike his prewar yeshiva at Kletsk , Poland , whose students mingled with the rest of the population. Lakewood pioneered the homogeneous, voluntary and enclavist model of postwar Haredi communities, which were independent entities developing their own subculture. The new arrivals soon dominated
10147-556: The affluent wardens' class ( parnasim ), judicially subject to rabbinical courts , which governed most civil matters. The rabbinical class monopolized education and morals, much like the Christian clergy. Jewish Law was considered normative and enforced upon transgressors (common sinning was rebuked, but tolerated) invoking all communal sanctions: imprisonment, taxation, flogging, pillorying, and, especially, excommunication . Cultural, economic, and social exchange with non-Jewish society
10286-546: The attributes of God in Judaism : one and indivisible, preceding all creation, which God alone brought into being, eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, absolutely incorporeal, and beyond human reason. This basis is evoked in many foundational texts, and is repeated often in daily prayers, such as in Judaism's creed-like Shema Yisrael : "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." Maimonides delineated this understanding of
10425-494: The authorities and have them ban the movement. Signers from Central and Western Europe used terms commensurate with the liberal age. All were implored by the petitioners to be brief and accessible; complex halakhic arguments, intended to convince the rabbinic elite in past generations, were replaced by an appeal to the secularized masses. The struggle with Wissenschaft criticism shaped the Orthodox. For centuries, Ashkenazi rabbinic authorities espoused Nahmanides ' position that
10564-700: The castigation of Zecharias Frankel, allowed the instrument in his community. In England, Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler 's United Synagogue shared a similar approach: It was vehemently conservative in principle and combated ideological reformers , yet served a nonobservant public – as Todd Endelman noted, "While respectful of tradition, most English-born Jews were not orthodox in terms of personal practice. Nonetheless they were content to remain within an orthodox congregational framework" – and introduced considerable synagogue reforms. The slow pace of modernization in Russia, Congress Poland and Romanian principalities delayed
10703-407: The clergy; and many did not partition men and women. In 1885, the antinomian Pittsburgh Platform moved conservative religious leaders to found the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS). Orthodoxy never became consistent and was mainly motivated by a rejection of Reform. They variously termed their ideology as "Enlightened Orthodoxy" or " Conservative Judaism ". The latter gradually became
10842-568: The common mass was to be carefully handled. Some German neo-Orthodox believed that while doomed to minority status in their native country, their ideology could successfully confront modernity and unify Judaism in more traditional communities to the east. In 1847, Hirsch was elected Chief Rabbi of Moravia , where old rabbinic culture and yeshiva s were still extant. His expectations were dashed as traditionalist rabbis scorned him for his European manners and lack of Talmudic acumen. They became enraged by his attempts to reform synagogues and to establish
10981-445: The continuum of received precedent through the ages. It regards the entire halakhic system as ultimately grounded in immutable revelation, essentially beyond external and historical influence. More than any theoretical issue, obeying the dietary , purity , ethical and other laws of halakha is the hallmark of Orthodoxy. Practicing members are easily distinguishable by their lifestyle, refraining from doing numerous routine actions on
11120-488: The countryside in 1783, recalled that he first faced there "new vices" of principled irreverence towards tradition, rather than "old vices" such as gossip or fornication. In Hamburg , Rabbi Raphael Cohen attempted to reinforce traditional norms. Cohen ordered the men in his community to grow a beard, forbade holding hands with one's wife in public, and decried women who wore wigs, instead of visible headgear , to cover their hair; Cohen taxed and otherwise persecuted members of
11259-529: The crisis of traditional society for decades. , Harsh discrimination and active persecution of Jews continued there until 1917. Old-style education in the heder and yeshiva remained the norm, retaining Hebrew as the language of the elite and Yiddish as the vernacular. The defining fault-line of Eastern European Jews was between the Hasidim and the Misnagdic reaction against them. Reform attempts by
11398-474: The decree. On the other end of the spectrum, Hildesheimer's planned seminary was too radical for the same mainstream rabbis, and he became marginalized and isolated by 1864. The internal Orthodox division was complicated by growing tension with the Neologs. In 1869, the Hungarian government convened a General Jewish Congress that was aimed at creating a national representative body. Fearing Neolog domination,
11537-505: The divinely revealed status of the Torah and a strict observance of halakha , separating it from Conservative ideology. Physically separate seating (symbolized by gender partitions ) became the distinguishing mark of Orthodox/Conservative affiliation in the 1950s, and as pushed by the RCA. However, many Modern Orthodox followers were barely observant, and many synagogues did not use a gender partition. As late as 1997, seven OU congregations lacked
11676-418: The eight windows are arranged in pairs on the three projecting bays, with one in each of the recesses. Sharman Kadish remarks that "Nothing prepares the visitor for the sumptuousness of Middle Street's interior." There are ladies' galleries on three sides, held up by cast-iron columns decorated with imitation marble-effect paintwork with gilded metalwork capitals depicting plants, fruit, flowers and crops from
11815-494: The emergence of distinctly Orthodox communities and ideologies, were the exception rather than the rule in Central and Western Europe. France, Britain, Bohemia, Austria and other countries saw both a virtual disappearance of traditional Jewish life, and no serious interest in bridging Judaism and modernity. The official rabbinate remained technically traditional, in the default sense of not introducing ideological change. The organ –
11954-694: The epithet Haredim (generic term for the observant and the pious). Jewish nationalism, particularly Zionism , with its nonobservant if not staunchly secular partisans, was the key question facing Eastern European traditionalists, although it was tangled with modernization. Salmon claimed that the future Zionists were: supportive of a national agenda; motivated by criticism of Jewish society; supportive of modernity; tolerant of nonobservance; and approving of traditional faith and practice. Their proto- Haredi opponents sharply rejected all he former positions and espoused staunch conservatism, which idealized existing norms. Any illusion that differences could be blanded and
12093-571: The establishment and the Enlightened became irrelevant, and the former often embraced the views of the latter (now antiquated, as more aggressive modes of acculturation replaced the Haskalahs program). In 1810, when philanthropist Israel Jacobson opened what was later identified as the first Reform synagogue in Seesen , with modernized rituals, he encountered little protest. The founding of
12232-616: The form of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement which came to the fore in 1782. Hartwig Wessely , Moses Mendelssohn , and other maskilim called for a reform of Jewish education , abolition of coercion in matters of conscience , and other modernizing measures. They bypassed rabbinic approval and set themselves, at least implicitly, as a rival intellectual elite. A bitter struggle ensued. Reacting to Mendelssohn's assertion that freedom of conscience must replace communal censure, Rabbi Cohen of Hamburg commented: The very foundation of
12371-571: The heir of late Hatam Sofer, considered appointing Hildesheimer as his assistant-rabbi in Pressburg and instituting secular studies in the city's great yeshiva . The rabbi of Eisenstadt believed that only a full-fledged modern rabbinical seminary could fulfill his neo-Orthodox agenda. In the 1850s and 1860s, however, a radical reactionary Orthodox party coalesced in the northeastern regions of Hungary . Led by Rabbi Hillel Lichtenstein , his son-in-law Akiva Yosef Schlesinger and decisor Chaim Sofer ,
12510-505: The importance of daily practice and adherence to halakha (Jewish law) mooted theoretical issues. Others dismissed this view entirely, citing ancient rabbinic debates that castigated various heresies with little reference to observance. However, even without a uniform doctrine, Orthodox Judaism is basically united in its core beliefs. Disavowing them is a major blasphemy . . Several medieval authorities attempted to codify these beliefs, including Saadia Gaon and Joseph Albo . Each composed
12649-423: The issues raised by modernization. They themselves often disliked the name that was earlier adopted by eastern Christianity, preferring titles such as "Torah-true" ( gesetztreu ). They often declared they used it only as a convenience. German Orthodox leader Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch referred to "the conviction commonly designated as Orthodox Judaism"; in 1882, when Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer became convinced that
12788-428: The like are forbidden.) The utter imperceptibility of God, considered as beyond human reason and only reachable through what he chooses to reveal, was emphasized among others in the ancient ban on making any image of him . Maimonides and virtually all sages in his time and thereafter stressed that the creator is incorporeal, lacking "any semblance of a body". While incorporeality has almost been taken for granted since
12927-518: The list have routinely been published by the General Register Office, but the full list was published online in 2010 in response to a Freedom of Information Request . It lists all places of worship registered under the terms of the Act (excluding those subsequently deregistered), and gives their local government district , Worship Number (their unique reference number), name, address and the denomination to which they belong. Also,
13066-471: The local traditionalists complete their transformation into Orthodox, albeit never as starkly as in Hungary or Germany. Eastern European Orthodoxy, whether Agudah or Mizrahi, always preferred cultural and educational independence to communal secession, and maintained strong ties and self-identification with the general Jewish public. Within its ranks, the 150-years-long struggle between Hasidim and Misnagdim
13205-432: The mid-1980s, research on Orthodox Judaism became a scholarly discipline, examining how the need to confront modernity shaped and changed its beliefs, ideologies, social structure, and halakhic rulings, separating it from traditional Jewish society. Until the latter half of the 18th century, Jewish communities in Central and Western Europe were autonomous entities, with distinct privileges and obligations. They were led by
13344-442: The most influential figure in early Orthodoxy, was Rabbi Moses Sofer of Pressburg , Hungary . Historian Jacob Katz regarded him as the first to grasp the realities of the modern age. Sofer understood that what remained of his political clout would soon disappear, and that he had largely lost the ability to enforce observance; as Katz wrote, "obedience to halakha became dependent on recognizing its validity, and this very validity
13483-485: The movement as a dangerous innovation; and the organized Orthodox in Hungary rejected it as well, especially after it did not affirm a commitment to communal secession in 1923. In the Interwar period , sweeping secularization and acculturation deracinated old Jewish society in Eastern Europe. The October Revolution granted civil equality and imposed anti-religious persecutions, radically transforming Russian Jewry within
13622-447: The movement both tolerated and advocated modernization: Traditionally rare formal religious education for girls was introduced; modesty and gender separation were relaxed to match German society; men went clean-shaven and dressed like Gentiles; and exclusive Torah study virtually disappeared. Basic religious studies incorporating German Bildung provided children with practical halakhic knowledge for thriving in modern society. Ritual
13761-475: The mystical tradition, exemplified in Kabbalah , assigned each rite with a role in hidden dimensions of reality. Sheer obedience, derived from faithfulness to one's community and ancestry, was believed sufficient for the common people, while the educated chose one of the two schools. In the modern era, the prestige of both declined, and "naive faith" became popular. At a time when contemplation in matters of belief
13900-747: The naming of the faith group for which the building is being registered: for example, the register contains entries for "Quaker", "Quakers", "Friends" and "Religious Society of Friends", all of which refer to the Quaker denomination. Furthermore, some faith groups do not have a name, or specifically reject the concept of denominational names. They are allowed to use the descriptions "Christians not otherwise designated" or "[a congregation or assembly of persons] who object to be designated by any distinctive religious appellation" respectively. As of 2010 there were more than 1,500 places of worship registered to "Christians not otherwise designated", representing more than 5% of
14039-442: The national total. If a registered place of worship is demolished and rebuilt on a different site, it must be re-registered under its new identity and assigned a new Worship Number, but more minor structural alterations do not affect the registration. Changes of name must also be notified to the Superintendent General. A place of worship which falls out of use should be de-registered by submitting another form, Notice of Disuse of
14178-404: The nature of the buildings; meetings may in fact have taken place in private houses. The Brighton Regency Synagogue was built in 1823 on land leased from a hotel, and enlarged by David Mocatta (architect of Brighton railway station , and member of the prominent Jewish Mocatta family) in 1836. It was used until the new synagogue was opened in Middle Street in 1875. Situated on Devonshire Place,
14317-521: The need to defend the very concept of tradition in a world where that was no longer self-evident. When secularization and the dismantlement of communal structures uprooted the old order of Jewish life, traditionalist elements united to form groups that had a specific self-understanding. This, and all that it entailed, constituted a notable change, for the Orthodox had to adapt to modern society no less than anyone else; they developed novel, sometimes radical, means of action and modes of thought. "Orthodoxization"
14456-670: The non-Orthodox. That year, Hildesheimer visited Hungary. Confounded by urbanization and acculturation – and the rise of Neology , a nonobservant laity served by rabbis who mostly favoured the Positive-Historical approach – the elderly local rabbis at first welcomed Hildesheimer. He opened a modern school in Eisenstadt that included secular studies in the curriculum. Traditionalists such as Moshe Schick and Yehudah Aszód sent their sons to study there. Samuel Benjamin Sofer ,
14595-590: The norm. Separation of church and state and dynamic religiosity along the Protestant model shaped synagogue life. In the mid-19th century, Reform Judaism spread rapidly, made popular by formally abandoning traditions that few upheld. The United States was labeled the Treife Medina , or "Profane Country", in Yiddish . Isaac Leeser was an ultra-traditionalist in the American context, although his lack of
14734-576: The notion that the Oral and Written Law were intertwined and inseparable. Wissenschaft posed a greater challenge to the modernized neo-Orthodox than to the traditionalist. Hirsch and Hildesheimer divided on the matter, anticipating modernist Orthodox attitudes to the historical-critical method. Hirsch argued that analyzing minutiae of tradition as products of their historical context was akin to denying its divine origin and timeless relevance. Hildesheimer consented to research under limits, subjugating it to
14873-505: The now-lost communal autonomy, the Neo-Orthodox turned Judaism from an all-encompassing practice into a private religious conviction. In the late 1830s, modernist pressures in Germany shifted from the secularization debate, moving into the "purely religious" sphere of theology and liturgy. A new generation of university-trained rabbis (many German states required communal rabbis to possess such education) sought to reconcile Judaism with
15012-427: The observant community lest any compromise legitimize the progressives' claim that the law was fluid or redundant. He was unwilling to trade halakhic opinions for those he considered to be pretending to honor the rules of rabbinic discourse, while intending to undermine them. Sofer regarded traditional customs as equivalent to vows; he warned in 1793 that even the "custom of ignoramuses" (one known to be rooted solely in
15151-523: The pale of Jewishness, and were more concerned with neo-Orthodoxy, which they regarded as a thinly-veiled gateway for a similar fate. Chaim Sofer summarized their view of Hildesheimer: "The wicked Hildesheimer is the horse and chariot of the Evil Inclination ... All the heretics in the last century did not seek to undermine the Law and the Faith as he does." In their struggle against acculturation,
15290-680: The polemics. They did not secede over reasons of finance and familial relations. Only a handful of Secessionist, Austrittorthodox , communities were established in the Reich; almost everyone remained Communal Orthodox, Gemeindeortodox , within Liberal mother congregations. The Communal Orthodox argued that their approach was true to Jewish unity and decisive in maintaining public standards of observance and traditional education in Liberal communities. The Secessionists viewed them as hypocritical middle-of-the-roaders. The conflicts in Hungary and Germany, and
15429-409: The predetermined sanctity of the subject matter and accepting its results only when they accorded with the latter. More importantly, while he was content to engage academically, he opposed its practical application in religious questions, requiring traditional methods to be used. Hildesheimer's approach was emulated by his disciple Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann , a scholar and apologetic. His polemic against
15568-661: The preferred term. Strictly traditionalist Eastern European immigrants formed the Union of Orthodox Rabbis (UOR) in 1902, in direct opposition to the Americanized OU and JTS. The UOR frowned upon English-language sermons, secular education and any acculturation. In 1897, an old-style yeshiva , Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), was founded in New York. Its students rebelled in 1908, demanding rabbinic training more like that of their JTS peers. In 1915, RIETS
15707-486: The priestly caste who left the city to marry divorcees, men who appealed to state courts , those who ate food cooked by Gentiles , and other transgressors. Hamburg's Jews repeatedly appealed to the civil authorities, which eventually justified Cohen. However, the unprecedented meddling in his jurisdiction profoundly shocked him and dealt a blow to the prestige of the rabbinate. An ideological challenge to rabbinic authority, in contrast to prosaic secularization, appeared in
15846-436: The public understood that his philosophy and Liberal Judaism were radically different, he removed the word Orthodox from the name of his Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary . By the 1920s, the term had become common and accepted even in Eastern Europe. Orthodoxy perceives itself as the only authentic continuation of Judaism as it was until the crisis of modernity. Its progressive opponents often shared this view, regarding it as
15985-464: The right of secession, the Netziv and other Russian rabbis forbade it for contradicting the idea of Israel's unity. In the 1860s and 1870s, moderate maskilic rabbis like Yitzchak Yaacov Reines and Yechiel Michel Pines called for inclusion of secular studies in the heder s and yeshiva s, anticipating a communal disintegration as in the west. Instead they proposed a careful modernization, based on
16124-631: The solemnisation of marriages. There are also financial advantages: under the terms of the Charitable Trusts Act 1853 (as amended), registered places of worship are 'excepted charities', and do not have to subject their funds to inspection. Also, Council Tax is not levied on their premises. This exemption has applied since 1955. Since the passing of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 , places of worship have not had to pay business rates ; registration under
16263-481: The state expected them to assume pastoral care, foregoing their principal judicial role. Of secondary importance, much less than the civil and legal transformations, were the ideas of Enlightenment that chafed at the authority of tradition and faith. By the end of the 18th century, the weakened rabbinic establishment was facing a new kind of transgressor: they could not be classified as tolerable sinners overcome by their urges ( khote le-te'avon ), or as schismatics like
16402-454: The strict right-wing of German Jewry. It was fully articulated by Bernays' mid-century disciples Samson Raphael Hirsch and Azriel Hildesheimer . Hirsch, a Hamburg native who was ten during the Temple dispute, combined Orthodox dogmatism and militancy against rival interpretations of Judaism, granting leniency on many cultural issues and embraced German culture. The novel mixture termed Neo-Orthodoxy spread. While insisting on strict observance,
16541-537: The term Orthodox Jews was made in the Berlinische Monatsschrift in 1795. The word Orthodox was borrowed from the general German Enlightenment discourse, and used to denote those Jews who opposed Enlightenment. During the early and mid-19th century, with the advent of the progressive movements among German Jews, and especially early Reform Judaism , the title Orthodox became the epithet of traditionalists who espoused conservative positions on
16680-488: The terms of the 1855 Act, while apparently not essential to gain exemption, "is an additional piece of evidence that the property is actively used as a place of worship". "Any person who is able to represent the congregation" of the place of worship—for example, a pastor , minister or trustee—may fill in a form published by the Home Office , Certifying a Place of Meeting for Religious Worship (Form 76), and send it to
16819-567: The traditionalist wing of American Jewry, forcing locals to adopt their views. The younger generation in the JTS and the Rabbinical Assembly concurrently demanded greater clarity, theological unambiguity and halakhic independence from the Orthodox veto on serious innovations. In 1935, for example, the RA shelved its proposal for a solution to the agunah predicament. "Conservative Judaism"
16958-430: The two stressed that the difference was dogmatic and not halakhic . They managed to tarnish Frankel's reputation in the traditional camp and delegitimized him for many. The Positive-Historical School is regarded by Conservative Judaism as an intellectual forerunner. While Hildesheimer distinguished Frankel's observant disciples from Reform proponents, he wrote in his diary: how meager is the principal difference between
17097-484: The validity of the Oral Law, could confidently appropriate the vision of most medieval rabbinic scholars; a defensive German Orthodoxy, by contrast, could not. ... Thus began a shift in understanding that led Orthodox rabbis and historians in the modern period to insist that the entire Oral Law was revealed by God to Moses at Sinai." 19th-Century Orthodox commentaries, like those authored by Malbim , attempted to amplify
17236-401: The young. Bernays signified a new era, and historians marked him as the first modern rabbi, fitting the demands of emancipation: his contract forbade him to tax, punish, or coerce, and he lacked political or judiciary power. He was forbidden from interfering in the Temple's conduct. Conservative in the principal issues of faith, in aesthetic, cultural, and civil matters, Bernays was a reformer and
17375-412: Was listed as a Grade II* building in 1971. A Jewish community existed in the Brighton area for nearly a century before Middle Street synagogue was built in 1874. A Bavarian settler, Emanuel Hyam Cohen, established a Jewish school on the seafront in the 1780s and a place of worship between 1789 and 1792. The latter moved from Jew Street (off Bond Street) to West Street in 1808, but there is no record of
17514-538: Was a contingent process, drawing from local circumstances and dependent on the threat sensed by its proponents: a sharply-delineated Orthodox identity appeared in Central Europe, in Germany and Hungary, by the 1860s; a less stark one emerged in Eastern Europe during the Interwar period . Among the Jews of the Muslim lands , similar processes on a large scale began only around the 1970s, after they immigrated to Israel. Orthodoxy
17653-484: Was adopted as an exclusive label by most JTS graduates and RA members, became a distinct movement. In 1950, the Conservatives signaled their break with Orthodoxy by acceptance of a far-reaching legal decision, which allowed one to drive to the synagogue and to use electricity on Sabbath. Judaism never formulated a conclusive credo ; whether it reflects a dogma remains controversial. Some researchers argued that
17792-474: Was appointed rabbi of the Orthodox sub-community in Berlin (which had separate religious institutions but was not formally independent of the Liberal majority), where he finally established his seminary. In 1877, a law enabling Jews to secede from their communities without baptism was passed in Germany. It was a stark example that Judaism was now confessional, not corporate. Hirsch withdrew his congregation from
17931-526: Was associated with secularization, luminaries such as Yisrael Meir Kagan stressed the importance of simple, unsophisticated commitment to the precepts passed down from the Beatified Sages. This became standard in the ultra-Orthodox world. Judaism adheres to monotheism , the belief in one God. The basic tenets of Orthodoxy, drawn from ancient sources like the Talmud and later sages, chiefly include
18070-435: Was challenged by those who did not obey". He was deeply troubled by reports from his native Frankfurt and the arrival from the west of dismissed rabbis, ejected by progressive wardens, or pious families, fearing for the education of their children. These émigrés often became ardent followers. Sofer's response to the crisis of traditional Jewish society was unremitting conservatism, canonizing every detail of prevalent norms in
18209-585: Was done at a local level by a Clerk of the Peace or the local bishop. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 extended this freedom, and the obligation to register, to the Catholic Church . The Places of Religious Worship Certifying Act 1852 superseded these Acts and gave the General Register Office the responsibility for maintaining the record of registered places of worship, but registration remained compulsory. The Act of 1855 made it optional, but for
18348-663: Was largely subsided; the latter were even dubbed henceforth as "Litvaks", as the anti-Hasidic component in their identity was marginalized. In the interwar period, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan emerged as the popular leader of the Eastern European Orthodox, particularly the Agudah-leaning. American Jewry of the 19th century was small and lacked traditional institutions or strong rabbinic presence due to its immigrant-based nature. This informality allow religious innovation to flourish. Voluntary congregations were
18487-473: Was limited and regulated. This state of affairs came to an end with the rise of the modern, centralized state, which appropriated all authority. The nobility, clergy, urban guilds, and all other corporate estates were gradually stripped of privileges, inadvertently creating a more equal and secularized society. The Jews were one of the groups affected: excommunication was banned, and rabbinic courts lost almost all their jurisdiction. The state, especially following
18626-472: Was listed as a Grade II* building by English Heritage on 20 August 1971, one of seventy Grade II*-listed buildings and structures in the city of Brighton and Hove , as of February 2001. It was also licensed for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 and had the registration number 30824. The synagogue was described as Brighton's second most important historic building, behind
18765-558: Was much shaped by a conscious struggle against the pressures of secularization , acculturation and rival alternatives. The strictly observant Orthodox are a definite minority among all Jews, but there are also numerous semi- and non-practicing persons who are officially affiliated or personally identify with the movement. In total, Orthodox Judaism is the largest Jewish religious group, estimated to have over 2 million practicing adherents, and at least an equal number of nominal members or self-identifying supporters. The earliest known mention of
18904-475: Was reformed to match prevalent aesthetic conceptions, much like non-Orthodox synagogues though without the ideological undertone, and the liturgy was often abbreviated. Neo-Orthodoxy mostly did not attempt to reconcile its conduct and halakhic or moral norms. Instead it adopted compartmentalization, de facto limiting Judaism to the private and religious spheres, while otherwise yielding to outer society. While conservative Rabbis in Hungary still thought in terms of
19043-662: Was rejected by the Registrar General in 1967. This rejection was upheld by the Court of Appeal in the case of R v Registrar General, ex p Segerdal . In 2013, the UK Supreme Court overturned Segerdal in the case of R (on the application of Hodkin and another) v Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages , which concerned whether a marriage could be conducted at a Scientology property in London. Following
19182-618: Was reorganized as a Modern Orthodox institution, and a merger with the JTS was discussed. In 1923, the Rabbinical Council of America was established as the OU's clerical association. Between the ultra-Orthodox and Conservatives, Modern Orthodoxy emerged as a distinct movement. Its postwar leader, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik , left Agudas Israel to adopt a positive, if reserved, attitude toward Western culture. As dean of RIETS and honorary chair of RCA's halakha committee, Soloveitchik shaped Modern Orthodoxy for decades. RCA stressed
19321-485: Was the first regular Orthodox newspaper, signifying the coalescence of a distinct Orthodox millieu, rejected their call. Ettlinger, and German neo-Orthodoxy in his wake, chose to regard the modern secularized Jew as a transgressor rather than a schismatic. He adopted Maimonides' interpretation of the Talmudic concept tinok shenishba (captured infant), a Jew by birth who was not raised as such and therefore could be absolved for not practicing, and greatly expanded it to serve
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