Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, also Goldsmid–Montefiore or just Goldsmid Montefiore
(1858–1938) was the intellectual founder of Anglo-
Liberal Judaism and the founding president of the
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...
, a scholar of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic w ...
and
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
. He was a significant figure in the contexts of modern Jewish religious thought,
Jewish-Christian relations
Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian Era. Differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most import ...
, and Anglo-Jewish socio-politics, and educator. Montefiore was President of the
Anglo-Jewish Association and an influential anti-Zionist leader, who co-founded the anti-Zionist
League of British Jews in 1917.
Family
Claude Montefiore was the youngest son of Nathaniel Montefiore and
Emma Goldsmid. He had two sisters,
Alice Julia and Charlotte Rosalind and one brother, Leonard (1853-1879). He was the great-nephew of
Sir Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...
.
Montefiore's first wife was Therese Alice Schorstein, who had been a student at
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college sta ...
. She died in 1889 and, two years later, he endowed a prize in her memory – the Therese Montefiore Memorial Prize.
Their son was
Leonard G. Montefiore. Montefiore remarried at the
West London Synagogue on 24 July 1902. His second wife was Florence Fyfe Brereton Ward, daughter of Richard James Ward, and a Vice-Mistress at Girton, having started there as Librarian.
[
]
Education
Part of Montefiore's childhood was spent at his family's Coldeast estate in Sarisbury Green
Sarisbury is a village to the west of Park Gate within the borough of Fareham, Hampshire, in the south of England. Its focal point is Sarisbury Green (the two names are interchangeable) and the parish church of St Paul, formerly part of Tit ...
, Hampshire.
He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
, where he obtained a first-class honours degree in the classical final examination, and where he came under the influence of Benjamin Jowett
Benjamin Jowett (, modern variant ; 15 April 1817 – 1 October 1893) was an English tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian, an Anglican cleric, and a translator of Plato and Thucydides. He was Master o ...
and T. H. Green
Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was infl ...
. Intended originally for the ministry of the West London Synagogue, he studied theology in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constit ...
, but finding himself unable to sympathise with the arrest of the Reform Movement
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
, he devoted himself instead to scholarly and philanthropic pursuits. He nevertheless continued to be a spiritual teacher and preacher, though in a lay capacity, and published a volume of sermons, in conjunction with Israel Abrahams
Israel Abrahams, MA ''(honoris causa)'' (b. London, 26 November 1858; d. Cambridge, 6 October 1925) was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of his generation. He wrote a number of classics on Judaism, most notably, ''Jewish Life in the ...
, entitled "Aspects of Judaism" (London, 1894). In 1886, he was selected by the Hibbert Trustees to deliver their course of lectures for 1892 ("The Origin of Religion as Illustrated by the Ancient Hebrews"). In these lectures, Montefiore made a permanent contribution to the science of theology. In 1896, he published the first volume of his "Bible for Home Reading," forming a commentary on the Bible with moral reflections from the standpoint of the "higher criticism
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...
"; the second volume appeared in 1899. In 1888 Montefiore founded and edited, in conjunction with Israel Abrahams
Israel Abrahams, MA ''(honoris causa)'' (b. London, 26 November 1858; d. Cambridge, 6 October 1925) was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of his generation. He wrote a number of classics on Judaism, most notably, ''Jewish Life in the ...
, the "Jewish Quarterly Review
''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of Pe ...
", a journal that stood on the very highest level of contemporary Jewish scholarship, and in which numerous contributions from his pen have appeared.
Teachings and positions
Among Jewish religious leaders, Montefiore was unusual for the time and energy he devoted to the study of Christianity. He provoked considerable controversy for what was perceived by many to be an overly sympathetic attitude towards Jesus and Paul of Tarsus
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. Inter alia, he wrote a two-volume commentary on the ''Synoptic gospels'' in the early part of the twentieth century, ''What A Jew Thinks about Jesus'', published in 1935, and ''Judaism and St. Paul'' (1914).
He assisted Rev. Simeon Singer in preparing the standard Anglo-Jewish prayer book. This was acknowledged in the original preface, but his name was removed from the preface of the second edition.
Montefiore was one of the leading authorities on questions of education. Montefiore was mainly instrumental in enabling Jewish pupil teachers at elementary schools to enjoy the advantages of training in classes held for the purpose at the universities.
Montefiore showed great sympathy with all liberal tendencies in Jewish religious movements in London and was president of the Jewish Religious Union. He was president of the Jewish Historical Society of England in 1899–1900.
He ranked as one of the leading philanthropists in the Anglo-Jewish community and held office in various important bodies.
Group involvement
As a revered scholar, philanthropist and spiritual authority, Claude Montefiore belongs to that important group of learned laymen who have sought to revolutionise Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. He was a founder of British Liberal Judaism at the turn of the 20th century, considered to be the most original Anglo-Jewish religious thinker of his day, and still remains a highly controversial figure. Montefiore infuriated his enemies and often alienated his supporters with his radical agenda in which he applied the findings of historical and literary analysis to the Jewish scriptures, attempted to radically systemise rabbinic thought, and by his desire to learn from and re-express aspects of Christian theology. The extent to which he incorporated the teachings of Jesus and Paul into his own ethical and theological musings makes him unique among Jewish reformers. In his dealings with Christians and Christian thought, he can also be regarded as a forerunner to those who would later fully partake in Jewish-Christian dialogue.
Functions
*Member of the School Board for London
*President of the Froebel Society and the Jews' Infant School, London (1904), and a member of numerous other educational bodies.
*Member of the council of Jews' College
The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
*Member of the Jewish Religious Education Board
*Acting President of University College Southampton (1910-1913) and the President from 1913 to 1934.[''Papers of C.J. Goldsmid-Montefiore''](_blank)
archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk
*President of the Anglo-Jewish Association (1892-1921)
*Member of the Council of the Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA, Yiddish ייִק"אַ), in America spelled Jewish Colonization Association, is an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigrati ...
.Anglo-Jewish Association
at JewishEncyclopedia.com. See last paragraph
Works
* ''The Hibbert Lectures; On the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews'' (London: Williams & Norgate, 1893).
* ''The Bible for Home Reading'' (London: Macmillan, 1899).
* ''Some Elements in the Religious Teaching of Jesus'' (London: Macmillan, 1910).
* ''Outlines of Liberal Judaism'' (London: Macmillan, 1912).
* ''Judaism and St. Paul; Two Essays'' (London: Max Goschen Ltd, 1914).
* ''Liberal Judaism and Hellenism and Other Essays'' (London: Macmillan, 1918).
* ''Race, nation, religion and the Jews'' (Keiley: Rydal Press, 1918)
* ''The Old Testament and After'' (London: Macmillan, 1923).
* ''The Synoptic Gospels'', 2nd edn, 2 vols (London: Macmillan, 1927).
* ''Studies in Memory of Israel Abrahams'' (New York: Jewish Institute of Religion, 1927).
* ''Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teachings'' (London: Macmillan, 1930).
* ''The Synoptic Gospels'' (New York: K.T.A.V. Publishing House, 1968), with ‘Prolegomenon’ by Lou H Silberman.
* ''A Rabbinic Anthology'' (ed., w. Herbert Loewe, London: Macmillan, 1938).
References
*
Daniel Langton, ''Claude Montefiore: His Life and Thought ()'' (London: Vallentine Mitchell Press, 2002).
*Dunia Garcia-Ontiveros, Treasures from the London Library: Claude Montefiore: a cautious revolutionary, History Today, http://www.historytoday.com/dunia-garcia-ontiveros/treasures-london-library-claude-montefiore-cautious-revolutionary
*Edward Kessler, Claude Montefiore and Liberal Judaism, European Judaism, Vol. 34, No.
*Steven Bayme, Claude Montefiore, Lily Montagu and the Origins of the Jewish Religious Union, Jewish Historical Society of England, Vol. 27, (1978–1980), pp. 61–71
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montefiore, Claude
1858 births
1938 deaths
English Sephardi Jews
English educational theorists
Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)
Claude
Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni