Who Rules the Synagogue? explores how American Jewry in the nineteenth century transformed from a lay dominated community to one whose leading religious authorities were rabbis. Previously, scholars have chartered the religious history of American Judaism during this era, but Zev Eleff reinterprets this history through the lens of religious authority. Early in the century, American Jews consciously excluded rabbinic forces from playing a role in their community's development. By the final decades of the 1800s, ordained rabbis were in full control of America's leading synagogues and large sectors of American Jewish life, most notably in the commotion caused by the Pittsburgh rabbinic conference of 1885. Eleff weaves together the significant episodes and debates that shaped American Judaism during this formative period, and places this story into the larger context of American religious history and modern Jewish history.
Les mer
Who Rules the Synagogue? explores how American Jewry in the nineteenth century transformed from a lay dominated community to one whose leading religious authorities were rabbis.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: The Laity (1816-1845)
Chapter 1. "A Great Aversion to Priestly Domination"
Part 2: Intruders (1845-1860)
Chapter 2. Clericalism
Chapter 3. Textualism
Part 3: Interlude (1860-1869)
Chapter 4. Changing Currents
Part 4: The Rabbinate (1870-1885)
Chapter 5. Clericalism
Chapter 6. Textualism
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliographic Essay
Bibliography
Index
Les mer
Meticulously researched... Who Rules the Synagogue? contributes much toward understanding how religious authority has been constructed and negotiated over the span of American religious history." --Journal of Religion
"Eleff s scholarly and concise history of the struggle for power within American synagogues during the nineteenth century is a major contribution, and it is destined to take its
place alongside Davis s The Emergence of Conservative Judaism: The Historical School in Nineteenth-Century America (1963); Jick s The Americanization of the Synagogue, 1820 1870 (1976); and Sarna's American Judaism: A History (2004) in the historiography of nineteenth-century American Judaism."--Religious Studies Review
"This well-documented, well-reasoned, eminently readable account of transatlantic throughways for this dramatic transformation of Jewish religious life yields helpful context for understanding the contemporary state of American Judaism Recommended."--CHOICE
"This well-researched monograph is a fascinating and enlightening read...An absorbing read...For those with an interest in American Jewish history, Who Rules the Synagogue?: Religious Authority and the Formation of American Judaism should be part of their required reading list."--The Times of Israel
"This well-researched monograph is a fascinating and enlightening read and was recently nominated as a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in early January." -- Ben Rothke, Israel Times
Les mer
Selling point: Offers a fresh view of American Jewish history with the aid of never before researched sources
Selling point: Comprehensively reviews periodical material from this period
Zev Eleff is Chief Academic Officer of Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, IL. He earned his PhD in the field of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. Eleff is the author or editor of six books and more than thirty scholarly articles, and his most recent publication is Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History.
Les mer
Selling point: Offers a fresh view of American Jewish history with the aid of never before researched sources
Selling point: Comprehensively reviews periodical material from this period
