America, Judaism in
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
American Hebrew. The
Orientalism mid cxtn-nu' Rpform. It is to this mean Kxthat Anu'riran .Judaism as a whdlc is tending. piTieiice teaches that Oriental ortlioFuture Ele- dnw in a free country iloes not loni; ments and suicessrully withstand the rationali-
Problems.
ziiii;
inlluenee of
modern
eullure.
It
true, liowever, that the prineiph'sof Refonn Judaism have Ijeen frequently misunderstood by the masses and nilsa]iplled liy incompetent The error of disleaders, with detrimental results. proportionate demolition, as well as the evil of restis
lessness,
resultinir
held sjicred, are
in
irreverence for things once perceived and de-
Ixiriiuiin!; to lie
between Xevertheless. plored. leaders of reliirious Ihoujrhl arc no lonjrer known, each side havini; arrived at theconclusion that in an The restorainterchaii.iie of ideas lies trui' wisdom. tion of Sabbath sanctity, the systematic education of the younj;, jiublic worship well ordered aiui in the vernacular these are the problems in which both fanatical hostilities
—
sides are to-day joining liands for common elTort. In connection with the last-named field, the cilorts formed <if the National Council of Jewish Women Hcmarkable are noteworthy. in {'liieago in IKlKi Jllso have been the attcmjits to lend a reliirious tinge to the common leisure-day (Sunday) by holding worsliii> thereon in various Reform temples and the endeavors of the more conservative to similarly jirovidc religious editication for those engrossed in commerce •on the seventh day l)y holding special services late
—
—
on Friday
A
evenings. See Sind.^y Skkvices. Salibath (iliscrvance League was founded in
XewYorkin 1S6S. but it accomplished little. Re;suscitated under various auspices from time to time, results are not even yet tangible; but the growing dis|)osition in large cities to observe Saturday as a the commercial world, together with the percciition that the reputable Christian respects the Jew in direct jiroportion as, other things considered, he respects his ancestral religion, may yet achieve what formal attempts have failed to accomplish. While the rite of circumcision was violently denounced as barbarous by the early Reform rabbis of radical stripe (see L. Zuiiz on "Circumcision," Frankfort, l.H-14: also S. Iloldheim, Schwerin and Berlin, lS-44 Abraliam Gciger,"(!esam-
holiday
in
dawning
nieltc
Werke,"
v.
181,
2l)'.2,
and Einhorn, "Sinai."
the tenileney is now to listen to what medical science teaches of the pro|)hy lactic value of the rite from moral, mental, and sanitary standpoints (Brvant, " Phimosis" in "The Practice of Surgery," pp". <)33, 708; Savre, "Orthopedic Surgery," 1876; and T. Gaillard Thomas, "The Higher Functions of Medicine," pp. 7-10) and while to some extent not conforming to the rite. Reform is no longer Regarding the belief in the violently antagonistic. so stoutly disarestoration of Israel to Palestine vowed by earlier reform see the article Zionism. On the practical side any account of American Judaism would be incomplete without reference to the orders jieculiar to it (see Ohdeks). Perhaps the most potent agencies, in Orders and Aspoint of the greatest. good to the greatBociations. est number in llieeducational field, are institutions such as the Jewish Trade Schools (Xew York Technical Inslilutc, l.ss:5); the Baron de Ilirsch Trade School (founded in New York, 1890; enlarged, 1809); the Woodbine (N. J.) Agricultural School (founded 1894 by the Baron de Hirsch Fund); and the Natiimal Farm School at Doylestown. Pa. (founded 1896 liy Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf of Philadelphia). The practical work of all of these is leaveneil by Jewish religious instruction. Young Men's Hebrew Associations exist in ii.
6i)it,
iii.
7'J6),
—
—
516
many
—
cities. The parent association and by much the most consi>icuous of them is that in New York (founded 18741. which of late (1901) has exhibited renewed vitality ami vigor. Similar work on a very large scale has been for years aecmnplished in the lower portion of the city by the New York Kdu<'ational Alliance (founded ISSII), in a building erected
—
by communal elTort. but Jilaeed upon a permanent endowment footing by the wise muniticenee of Baron de Hirsch. All the.se institutions, to whi< h may be added the benevolent " Sisterhoods " organized in the congregations for personal i-IT<irt in philanthropic work (first suggested by Dr. (Justav (iotlheil, Feb.
- i.
1889). are destined to have an important inlluence in Americanizing a large number of the youth (of both sexes) born in the United States of European parentage, whose religious inclinations, on attaining adult age, are towarti the mean of American Judaism, rather than toward the e.vtremes of either the Oriental or the ultra Reform phases. In point of literary activity, the productiveness of American Juilaism has not been hitherto energetic. In addition to a very large number of periodicals, weekly and monthly (see Pkhiodicai.s). the purpo.scs of enlightenment have been served by the various successive publication societies (see Amkhicvn Jkwisi! PrBi,ir.TioN SoriK.TV and .IhwISH Pt'W.ic.Tio.N Society of Amekh a). The following is a list of works in various departments of Judaism (theoretical and practical), published in the United States: liihtr.-l. Leeser.
"JewMi Family
nitile," lH.>t; A.
ili'
Sciln,
" Bi'lii-Mintli lliuejneoth" U'ncleaii Aniiimls), mi< i*/<-;n. "Sanitary Insiiiuliiiris cif the Helirews." IStKi; I. M. Wise, "Pninaris to ii.ily Wril " M. Fliarel, " Spirit of Hlbllcal I-eiflnlntlon " : I. Katisti, "(iiiide for Ilallonal Imaiirles iiiio Itihllc-al Writlnjra"; B. S/okl, "Tlif Hook of Joli.nltli a New Coniiufnlarv " (Hi-lirew), ismi; M. Hellprln. "Historical I'lictrv of tlii' Ancient Helirews. Tninslutfcl aiiii(YlllcallvE.uinlnf(l," IHTlt; I!. Herkowltz. " The Open ISilile." ISili;; A. It. Ehrllcli. " MIkm kl-1'liescliuto" (ciiU feal notes la Hel>rev on the lilble), l.Hliit-lWKP. TaUiniil. I. Knllsli. Sketch of the Talmud": A Halin,
"A
" Raliblnlcal Dialectics." IsTlt; M. Mlelzlner. "Jewish Law of Marriage anil Divorce In Ancient anil Moiteni Times." 1SH4: idem, "Introilnctlon to the Talmml." ISiM S. Mi-mlelsohn, " Criminal .lurisprndence of the Ancient Hehrews," Isid B. (', Kemondino, " History of Clrcnmcl.sion " I). V. Amrani. "The Jewish Law of Dlvon-e." Isilit; M. Jastrow, "Iiliiioiiarv nf ihe Targnmim. theTalintiil Balitlanil Yerushalml.aml ihc .Nlidr.ishlc
Literature." isai; litem,
1S.S(1:
Manrolls,
Max
L.,
"CommeniariMs
Isiiiiciill.s,"
"The
Columlila Collesre MS. of Mi-ithllla." 1S92: of the .Vnimaic Iiilom fif the Babylonian Talmud." lltiK); M. L. liodklnson. "New Edition of the Babylonian Talmud" (Enclish translatloni. IKiH!; s. Sekles, "The I'oetryof thcTalniuil," IssO; A. Huelisch, "(ii'insof the orient," 18S0;'L. Wcis.s. "Talmudic and other Legends." IHSS; H. Polano. " Selections fi'oin the Talmud"; Alexander Kohut, "The Ettilcs of the Fathci's." 1S.S;-); A. S. Isaacs, "stories from the Ralilils," ISIPU; llcnrv Cohen, "TalmudicSaylnt'.s." 18114. Thiiiliiiiii.—l. LfcsiT. "The Jews and the Mosaic Law," IR.'B; L M. Wise. "I*:.ssi'nci' of Judaism," 1S57 iV/r/n, "The Cosmic Ood." isrn A. Hiihn, " Judaism and Christianity." ISKl itifin, " Aiviuiienls for Ihe F.vistence of Cod": F. de Siila Mendes. "A ('.
LeviiLs,
"(irammar
Hebrew's lii'iilv to the M issii miirles," ISTii; L. Grossman. "Judaism and the siiiiiieof l!eliL'i"n " K. Kohler. " Ethical Ba.sls of Judaism." l.-vsT ;M. Ualiblnowltz, " Ha-Mahanaim " iHebn-w), 18HK; J. H. Hertz, " iiadivii. ilie Jewish Thomas il Kempls," imi B. Drachman, " The .Nineteen Letters of Ben I'ziel," IWifl. Ji Irish lli.ttoni "'"f /.iVi-mdoc— History M. J. Itaphall, "Post-Biblical History of the Jews." lS.5ti; A. de Sola, "The Jews of Persia," ims; iilcm, "Shabbcthai Tsevi," 1S«!I: Mem, " The Jews of Poland," 187(1; iifcm, " The .lews of France," 1871 " History of the Isracbtish Nation," )R.t4 idem, I. M. Wise, " History of the Seeoiid Commonwealth." issd iilrm. " Martyrdom of jesiis of Nazan'th": H. S. Morals, " Eminent Israelites
!S.sii; iXtm, "Jewsof Pliiladelphia"; iidm, "'I'lie Diiixsratouiis," 18X2; I. Markeii.s. "The lletirews In . ierlca," l.s"^; E. Schreiljer, "lieform Judaism and Its Pioneers," ISifJ ; E. (i. Hirsch, "The Cnicillxion." IslC; M.J. Kohler, "lleliecca Franks," ISirt; l>. Phllipson, "European Jewries," 188(i; s. Wolf. "The American Jew as Patriot. Soldier, and Philanthropist," 1895 : iitcm, " Mordecal Manuel Noah," 18!I7; iilem. " Influence of the Jews on the Profresa of the World," isns; J. Krauskoiif, " The Jews anil Moor^ in Spain," IKsn c. P. Daly and Max J. Kohler. " Settlement of the Jews in North America," IH'M: M. Jahlomsteln, "Iiiliie Veme Arzot haBerit " Hebrew), Isaj ; ti. A. Kubut, " Correspondence between
of the Nineteenth Century,"
I
