A New Model of Christian Interaction with the Jews: The Institutum Judaicum and Missions to the Jews in the Atlantic World

Abstract

The Institutum Judaicum represented a new movement in the realm of Christian interactions with the Jews. The mission, and the Pietist movement as a whole, proposed an alternative, non-supersessionist understanding of the Jews and their role in history. They made efforts to interact with that people and share with them the Pietist reading of the scriptures and a messianic vision for the End Times. While they considered their version of Christianity to be superior to the Jewish faith and maintained stereotypical images of Jews, they also militated for improvement of Christian treatments of Jewish minorities. The mission in Halle did not remain a local isolated development. Its activities took place in certain parts of continental Europe, but its ambitions were global, and much of its work was in the realm of publications intended for Jewish and Christian audiences beyond its immediate areas of operation. The mission’s heritage and long-range influence went further than the time and geographical scope of its activity. Following in the footsteps of the Halle Pietists, numerous Pietist and evangelical missions sprang up, mostly in the Atlantic region, but often extending their activities to other parts of the Jewish world. The evangelical movement, which eclipsed Pietists in the size and influence of its activity, adopted many elements of the Pietist understanding of and interaction with the Jews.