Hochschule Für Die Wissenschaft Des Judentums
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Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, or Higher Institute for Jewish Studies, was a
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
nical
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
established in
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in 1872 and closed down by the Nazi government of Germany in 1942. Upon the order of the government, the name was officially changed (1883–1923 and 1933–42) to Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judentums.


History

Abraham Geiger, who had been active in establishing
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
, wanted a university for Jewish studies in Berlin. Unable to become part of the
University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, he was involved in 1870 in creating a separate institution. Also involved were David Cassel, Israel Lewy, Moritz Lazarus and Heymann Steinthal, the Jewish "intellectuals" and professors at the University of Berlin. Geiger's "General Introduction to the Science of Judaism," "Introduction to the Biblical Writings" and "Lectures on Pirḳe Abot" were originally delivered as lectures at the seminary. Some of the best German-Jewish teachers taught there in the spirit of the '' Wissenschaft des Judentums'' movement: Hanoch Albeck, Ismar Elbogen, Julius Grünthal,
Julius Guttmann Julius Guttmann (born Yitzchak Guttmann, ; 15 April 1880 in Hildesheim – 19 May 1950 in Jerusalem), was a Germany, German-born rabbi, Jewish theologian, and philosopher of religion. Biography Julius was born to Jakob Guttmann (rabbi), Jakob Gu ...
, Franz Rosenthal, Harry Torczyner, and Leo Baeck. Moritz Steinschneider referred to the ''Hochschule'' as a "new ghetto of Jewish learning," which he felt could ultimately not produce the standards of scholarship achieved in the university setting. Officially the institution was not affiliated with a movement or denomination. It sought free inquiry and research without any restrictions. It stood for a conservative Judaism, but its main object was the scientific study of things Jewish, freed as far as possible from denominational disputes. There was no religious test for professors but it was assumed that all of the faculty lived according to the Jewish tradition and were fluent in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
. As the school was never dependent on any religious or public organization, the board was constantly engaged in raising money from wealthy contributors, sponsors of scholarly "chairs" and scholarships. In 1872, the first year, there were only 12 students, including four women. In 1921, there were 63 full-time and 45 part-time students enrolled in the ''Hochschule''. Many of the students came from Eastern European countries, notably
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, as graduates of Orthodox Yeshivot. By 1930–33 the school had achieved so great a reputation that many non-Jews, especially Christian clergy, enrolled.


Notable alumni

* Leo Baeck (1873–1956) as a student 1894–95; as a lecturer 1913–42. Baeck was a rabbi, scholar and theologian. He served as leader of
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi era. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he settled in
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, UK, where he served as the chairman 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 Judaism, Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based i ...
. * Arthur Biram (1878–1967), philosopher, philologist, and educator, who emigrated to Ottoman
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in 1913 * Aron Brand (1910– 1977) who became a pediatric
cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
in Israel, where he founded the Jerusalem Academy of Medicine * Mordecai Ehrenpreis * Emil L. Fackenheim * Abraham Joshua Heschel * Ellen Littmann * Regina Jonas *
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
* Alice Lucas * Philip Magnus * Arno Nadel *
Claude Montefiore Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, also Goldsmid–Montefiore or just Goldsmid Montefiore  (1858–1938) was the intellectual founder of Anglo-Liberal Judaism (UK), Liberal Judaism and the founding president of the World Union for Progress ...
* Samuel Poznanski * Herman Schaalman (1916–2017), who became senior rabbi at the Emanuel Congregation of Chicago and also an interfaith activist * Solomon Schecter * Max Schloessinger * Shmaryahu Levin (1867–1935),
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
activist. He was a member of the first elected Russian Parliament for the Constitutional Democratic Party in 1906. * Selma Stern (1890–1981), one of the first women in Germany to become a professional historian; a research fellow at the Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums which was founded at the Hochschule in 1919 * Manfred Swarsensky (1905–1981), who graduated from the Hochschule with a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 1929. He was rabbi, for 36 years, at Temple Beth El, a Reform synagogue in
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. * Israel Taglicht (1862−1943), Chief Rabbi of Vienna * Werner van der Zyl (1902–1984), who became a rabbi in Berlin and in London, where he was the prime mover and first director of studies of what was to become the Leo Baeck College * Miriam Yalan-Shteklis (1900–1984), writer and poet * Hermann Ostfeld, rabbi and jurist


References


Further reading

* ''Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums: Rückblick auf die ersten fünfundzwanzig Jahre (1872–97)'', Berlin, 1897. * Seidel, Esther (2002). ''Women Pioneers of Jewish Learning: Ruth Liebrecht and Her Companions at the 'Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums' in Berlin 1930–1934'', Jüdische Verlagsanstalt Berlin. .


External links


Popular article on the history of the institution
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Bookstamp of the Bibliothek der Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Rare Books of the Shimeon Brisman Collection in Jewish Studies, Washington University)

Bookstamp of the Bibliothek der Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Rare Books of the Shimeon Brisman Collection in Jewish Studies, Washington University)
{{Authority control 1872 establishments in Germany 1942 disestablishments in Germany Hochschule fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums Educational institutions established in 1872 Jewish German history Defunct Jewish seminaries Jews and Judaism in Berlin Jewish universities and colleges Hochschule fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums Educational institutions disestablished in 1942 Jewish studies research institutes