The Dilemmas of Moderate Reform. Some Reflections on the Development of Conservative Judaism in Germany 1840–1880

Abstract

From a historical perspective, Conservative Judaism can be best comprehended as a response to the specific experience of American Jewry in the 19th and 20th century. However, Jewish religious Conservatism sprang from roots planted in Western Europe a number of decades earlier. Repeatedly and in various contexts, scholars have emphasized the considerable impact of GermanJewish religious thought on the early development of Jewish spiritual and congregational life in the United States.2 Yet unlike in the Old World, the Conservative current which emerged from the so-called Historical School across the Atlantic successfully created an increasingly complex organizational structure to communicate its outlook. In addition to a college to train teachers and rabbis (Jewish Theological Seminary) for an impressive number of synagogue congregations, an extensive network of associations and institutions was established providing an array of services and assistance for Conservative Jew of all ages, male and female. In this manner, Conservative Judaism transformed from a smaller current within North American Jewry into a highly successful mainstream movement. Although it is best understood as a sacred cluster of core values rather than a clearly defined set of dogmas and doctrine, it has indeed created a