19th Century Jewish Culture Essay

Since the beginning of the Judaism, the Jewish people have been subject to hardships and discrimination. They have not been allowed to have a stabile place of worship and have also faced persecution and atrocities that most of us can not even imagine. Three events that have had a big impact on the Jewish faith were the building and destruction of the First Great Temple, the Second Great Temple and the events of the Holocaust. In this paper, I will discuss these three events and also explain and give examples as to why I feel that the Jewish people have always been discriminated against and not allowed the freedom of worship.

Racial antisemitism was born in the Nineteenth Century when laws were passed in many European countries posing the Jewish people as second-class citizens, not receiving the same rights as others in society. While they had reached a level of religious emancipation in some countries, Judaism had become recognized as an ethnicity as well, and this ethnic difference from the Aryans therefore made them “inferior.” Pogroms began across Eastern Europe in the late 1800’s which resulted in

Early modern Jewish history is filled with depth and knowledge that captivated and cultivated the religion into what it would become. An important part of the history were the ideologies and philosophies of Moses Mendelssohn. Considered the first modern Jewish philosopher and a shaper of Judaism, Mendelssohn was the start of what would become the Jewish Enlightenment. Being the first person to translate the Bible from Hebrew to German, he opened up the door for Jews to rediscover and enhance their knowledge. A writer and philosopher, several of Mendelssohn's writings were highly successful and considered a herald to a new way of thinking. While many of his writings received praise from people of different parts, critiques arose, including

The intended audience for this article was towards readers who don’t recognize what is actually happening with the Jews and Anti-Semitism, and what could occur from it. This forms a teacher/student relationship between the author and her readers because she is teaching them from her own experience, and what she knows about the Holocaust and Jewish mistreatment. I will use this article to answer my GRQ because I believe it provides me with clear and concise evidence, and connects the treatment of Jews in modern day to the time of World War 2 efficiently. This article specifically relates to my GRQ by providing me with an evident answer for my question on how the treatment of Jews has evolved since World War 2. The author does this by saying “The horror of the Holocaust cleansed our society of anti-Semitism at the official level but the simmering resentment of a group that is different, that maintains its identity, that has been pilloried throughout history by religious and political leaders, remains” (Rebrik

As assimilation transformed into a pipe dream, and with anti-Semitism on the rise, the progressive spirit of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, was shattered by the suspicious nature of secular society. Such progressive spirit, inspired by the much larger European Enlightenment, which incorporated ideas such as reason and inherent freedom, gave hope to the Jews ostracized by modern society. At its core, the Haskalah supported adopting these enlightenment values, pushing for more integration into European society and increasing secular, rather than religious, education. When, however, integration ceased to become foreseeable reality, the new solution became the widespread search for a Jewish home. Therefore, rather than increasing the desire

In New York, United States a new wave of Jewish refugees is going to create a new American identity among society. To the skepticism of the grand percent of the Jewish community, America was indeed the gateway from dictatorship, prejudice, persecution, and death to Jews. An impressive 85% of Jews have experienced or witnessed anti-Semitic remarks at some point in their lives, according to a poll by the World Zionist Organization’s International Center for Countering Anti-Semitism. During the early 20th century, Jews are going to experience hardships in their daily life that will force them to evacuate or adapt to new rules. Peter Knight expresses in his book that during the nineteenth century American Jews “rarely [experienced]

In this reflection paper I will be reflecting on the Jewish Americans making America their home and Americans response to the Holocaust. I will first address how the Jewish Americans emigrated from other nations into the United States. Once they got here what they had to do to become Americans but also keeping their Jewish identity visible. I will then talk about the Americans Response to the Holocaust and supply information about Jews in the Holocaust also including my thoughts on the Holocaust by ending in my conclusion. The reason for immigrating to America is the endless opportunities and immense freedom.

Throughout the history of the world, the Jewish people have been persecuted and oppressed because of their religious beliefs and faith. Many groups of people have made Jews their scapegoat. Jews have suffered from years of intolerance because people have not understood what the religion really means. They do not understand where and why the religion began, nor the customs of it's people. For one to understand the great hardships, triumphs, and history of the Jewish people one must open-mindedly peruse a greater knowledge of the Jewish people and faith.

In Germany, like most countries of Europe, the Anti-Semitism acquired more followers during the late 1880’s the first anti-Semite was elected for the parliament. The 1890’s was a time of social and economic problems in Germany; the most affected was the lower middle class. Many people used the nationalism and anti-Semitism as the answer to most of the problems in Germany.

It inspired and caused the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment, which in turn caused the Reform movement which steered many Jews away from G-d and gave way to assimilation as it permitted intermarriage. One of the most famous victims to this degeneration was Moses Mendelssohn, the father of reform. He became a “secular philosopher, applying his brilliance to the philosophy of the Enlightenment”. Once exposed to such theories like secularism, the belief that the world can be understood from a scientific perspective rather than a G-dly perspective, he became less confident in his Jewish identity. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that his motto was “fully German in the street, fully Jewish at home”. Mendelssohn lost his Gaon Yaakov, another catastrophic result of the Enlightenment. The fact that Judaism became something to be ashamed of quickly caused assimilation. Mendelssohn is a prime example of this. Since he was too ashamed to exhibit his Jewish identity in public, his children understood Judaism to be something unnecessary and undesirable and they hastily thrust off the yoke of Heaven. By the third generation not a single one of Mendelssohn’s descendants remained Jewish. Furthermore, historian Rabbi Berel Wein believes that the aim of the emancipation, a direct result of the Enlightenment, was “to have them [the Jews] disappear entirely by means of total assimilation, intermarriage, and conversion”. This statement is in agreement with a similar statement made by the Alter Rebbe “if Bonaparte should be victorious Jews would prosper economically and politically their hearts would be alienated from their Father in Heaven”. The Enlightenment threatened to annihilate Jews by way of

Jews have a fairly long history in Hungary. It is believed that the first Jews settled in Hungary in the 2nd century CE (World Jewish Congress). In 1251 there was a Jewish charter that put all the Jews under royal protection. After this, there was a large number of Jews that moved to Hungary which led to the development of historical communities. After the annexation of Hungary by the Ottoman Turks, Jews lived in peace, as long as they paid taxes. Along with the expulsion of the Ottoman Turks, the Jews disappeared from Hungary. It was not until the 18th century where Ashkenazi Jews starting arriving from Czech and German territories (World Jewish Congress). By the end of the 18th century there were just under 100,000 Jews living in

In the American society, the immigrant Jewish women initially shared a common heritage, institutions, values, and aspirations with their husbands and brothers. Nevertheless, they created their own organized community that was different from the community of Jewish men. Jewish women community was primarily defined and limited by their gender and class, and in the broader society, they had to confront the disability conferred unto them by their ethnicity. Unlike other women who had migrated to Europe and United Sates, and whom the Jewish women shared many characteristics with, women of the Jewish origin were more affected out of the mere fact that they were Jews. In America, most of the Jewish Immigrants were from the traditional Eastern Europe Jewish culture, where roles of both men and women were clearly differentiated. Public positions, sacred spheres, as well as seats of power within the community were exclusively reserved for men, same as it was the study of any written text. Out of this established culture, boys were raised to be masters, whereas girls were raised with little or no education other than what they learned from their mother’s skills, skills that were only useful in sustaining a family. Urbanization, influence of

Understanding the circumstances that caused a growth rate in the Jewish population of 170% between 1880 and 1920 is fundamental to dissecting these communities (Jewish Population in the United States, Nationally). During this time, there was a rush of anti-Semitic sentiment weaving its way through numerous eastern European countries. The unfair laws involving enlistment in the army, the burning of Jewish villages called pogroms, and May Laws made Jewish life a daily struggle. Enlistment laws or quotas were much different for Jews than others and at times used to impel to feel the necessity for Jews to convert to Christianity. A story quoted in Moore’s book about Golda Meir grandfather’s experience in the Russian army.

Tsar Alexander II was assassinated during the midst of a reformation movement in Russia toward the end of the nineteenth century. At this time, the Russian lower class blamed Jews for their poor living conditions. When Tsar Alexander III came into power he was paranoid of being a target of an assassination. So he created a secret police to suppress civil and revolutionary outbreaks, and also introduced anti-Semitic legislations to satisfy the enraged lower class. Government officials managed to use Jews as scapegoats, often saying that Jews exploited the population, especially the impoverished classes. This anti-Semitic movement led to unity in the lower class, and from this unity, anti-Semitic nationalism increased in late nineteenth century Russia.

There are many different cultures that surround us everyday; each one with its own unique customs and lifestyles. The Jewish culture contains some of the oldest traditions and customs that date back thousands of years. This culture has survived everything from exile to almost being diminished during the Holocaust. The Jewish culture has a unique culture, that has much to share with the world around them.