Although Reform Judaism is one of the major branches of the Jewish faith and a crucial phenomena in modern history, it has not, until now, received comprehensive, up-to-date historical study. Filling a critical gap in Jewish scholarship, Michael Meyer traces the development of the movement from its origins in the late 18th-century, through recent events such as the renewal of American Reform Judaism in the 1970s. With great range, extensive archival research, and colorful detail, Meyer sympathetically, yet judiciously, chronicles the spread of Reform Judaism across Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, France, England, and America. Demonstrating the influence of modernity, Protestant Christianity, Darwinism, and disputes over Zionism, this book places the Reform segment firmly within its religious, social, political, and intellectual context, to provide historians, religious leaders, and the general reader with an essential historical record.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In attempting to make Jewish observance more comprehensible and meaningful to modern adherents, the Reform branch of Judaism needed to devise a system of ritual and thought flexible enough to survive a fragmented, secularized world. Meyer, professor of Jewish history at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, traces the origins of the Reform movement to changes in temple services in Hamburg and Berlin in the early 1800s. In Europe, Reform had to contend not only with conservative Christians, who sided with Jewish traditionalists, but also with governmental intrusion into Jewish religious affairs. But, in the United States, the Reform movement found fertile soil, spreading rapidly after a dozen men in 1825 launched the Reformed Society of Israelites in Charleston, S.C. This dry, scholarly history follows the rabbinical rivalries, ideological polemics and innovations that have marked Reform Judaism. First serial to Reform Judaism.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Meyer, author of works on the religious and intellectual history of contemporary Jews, here presents a lucid and thorough history of the Reform movement in Judaism. After analyzing the precedents for reform, he shows how the movement developed slowly in late 18th- and early 19th-century Germany, then moves on to Europe, the United States, and such relatively unexplored areas as Eastern Europe and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The author lucidly describes the philosophies and motivations of the reformers, the relationship between Reform and Orthodoxy, and Judaism's context within the Christian world. For all collections with an interest in religion.Maurice Tuchman, Hebrew Coll. Lib., Brookline, Mass.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Discussion of Reform Origins and History,
This review is from: Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism (Paperback)
As a committed Progressive Jew who fluctuates between Reform and Reconstructionist affiliation, I was glad to stumble upon Michael Meyer's excellent history of the Reform Movement. Meyer traces the development of Reform from the early years in Hamburg and Berlin to recent decisions made the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In so doing, he explodes a number of horrific myths that Orthodox "Judaism" lobs at Reform: that significant numbers of Reform congregations shifted their main day of worship to Sunday; that the movement is simply "watered down" Judaism; that Reform Jews are simply "lapsed" Jews who would be Orthodox if they didn't find it difficult or knew more about Judaism. Meyer also shows that, just as there are and have been important movements and currents within "Orthodoxy", there were and are many different movements and currents within Reform. The discussions of the movement's growth and foment on German soil, and the transfer of that foment to the United States, are particularly enlightening.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A first-rate history of Reform Judaism,
By A Customer
This review is from: Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism (Paperback)
Professor Meyer's history of Reform Judaism is so rich, comprehensive, and lucid, that I cannot imagine that it has much serious competition as the best single-volume treatment of the subject. Highly recommended for those interested in gaining literacy on the topic, or much insight into the creation of a modern religion. Enthusiastically endorsed!
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating history of the Reform movement,
This review is from: Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism (Paperback)
Michael Meyer's clear-eyed history of the Reform (a.k.a. 'Progressive') movement should be read by anyone who wants to understand the current fragmented condition of modern Jewry. Meyer makes eminently clear that it is the Reformers who departed from the traditional faith of Judaism and thereby founded a new religion at odds with (what they came to call) Orthodoxy. (Meyer himself is clearly favourable toward this approach, but he is at least unblinkingly honest about it.) Anyone affiliated with Reform or Progressive 'Judaism' who has not read Meyer's careful and thorough historical exposition probably does not understand the real foundations of his or her own movement.
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