The Yom Kippur balls were countercultural, antireligious festivities held by

Jewish anarchists This is a list of Jewish anarchists. Individuals See also *Jewish anarchism Notes References * * * * * * * Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Jewish Anarchists Jewish * Anarchists Anarchism is a political p ...

and

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

, the holiest day of the Jewish year and day of atonement. Revelers sang, danced, ate, and heard speeches from famous anarchists. The tradition began in England in 1888 and, under the

Pioneers of Liberty The Pioneers of Liberty (Pionire der Frayhayt) was the first Jewish anarchist organization in the United States. The group was known for its Yiddish-language publications and antireligious social events, such as Yom Kippur balls. Their club's mod ...

, recurred annually from New York the year after. By 1891, six other American cities held their own balls.

History

In the late 1880s, anarchism was the largest movement among Jewish–American radicals. Alongside government and capitalism, this counterculture took aim at religion as incompatible with their principles of reason and science, though they retained their secular Yiddish culture. Among the radicals' provocations was the Yom Kippur ball, a joyous event sacrilegiously held during the somber Jewish

day of atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's o ...

. The provocation stirred the ire of the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

community, who saw the act as directly offensive to their faith. The tradition began in 1888 with British Jewish anarchists in Whitechapel under

Benjamin Feigenbaum Benjamin Feigenbaum (August 12, 1860 – November 10, 1932) was a Polish-born Jewish socialist, newspaper editor, translator, and satirist. Feigenbaum was an associate editor of the Yiddish language ''The Forward'', its predecessor ''Di Arbe ...

, but became a significant annual tradition in New York under the

. On the occasion of the first ball, held in 1889, more conservative elements of the Jewish community persuaded the hall owner to break its contract with the anarchists. The ball moved to the Fourth Street Labor Lyceum. The festivities included singing, dancing, readings in Yiddish, Russian, and German, and orations from

Johann Most Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 – March 17, 1906) was a German-American Social Democratic and then anarchism, anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the dee ...

, Saul Yanovsky, and Roman Lewis. The balls continued annually in New York and spread to other American cities: by 1891, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Providence, and St. Louis. Festivities in New York included music, dancing, buffet, and "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

". In 1890, Most delivered the

Kol Nidre Kol Nidre (also known as Kol Nidrey or Kol Nidrei; Aramaic: ''kāl niḏrē'') is a Hebrew and Aramaic declaration which is recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"). Strictly ...

, and in 1891,

Hillel Solotaroff Hillel Solotaroff (1865–1921) was a doctor known for his leadership in the New York Jewish/Yiddish anarchist movement. Solotaroff emigrated from Elizabetgrad in 1882 and while he pursued medical school, wrote for anarchist publications and w ...

and Lewis spoke. In New England,

Moshe Katz Moshe Katz (1885–1960) was an anarchist and translator of multiple anarchist classics: '' Conquest of Bread'', '' Moribund Society and Anarchy'', and '' Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist''. He was an editor of the Yiddish-language anarchist newsp ...

gave a Kol Nidre sermon on religion's evolution, and in Philadelphia, a police raid on the event led to two arrests for incitation to riot. Historian of anarchism

Paul Avrich Paul Avrich (August 4, 1931 – February 16, 2006) was a historian of the 19th and early 20th century anarchist movement in Russia and the United States. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for his entire career, from 1961 ...

concluded that the balls were "counterproductive", estranging both devout Jews and those who viewed the festivities as a caustic attack on their traditions. Insurrectionary zeal declined over the next decade, and by the turn of the 20th century, Jewish anarchists had adopted a more pragmatic, piecemeal approach towards change. This included a détente towards antireligious confrontation, which had been a hallmark of the initial movement. In effect, Yom Kippur balls continued but fewer in number and not as flagrantly wielded. The Kishinev and other Russian

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

from 1903 to 1906 sobered some Jewish anarchists from radicalism and towards Zionism.

References

Bibliography

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