Jewish Historiography Between Past and Future: 200 Years of Wissenschaft des Judentums

Description

From its modest beginnings in 1818 Berlin, Wissenschaft des Judentums has burgeoned into a scholarly discipline pursued by a vast cadre of scholars. Now constituting a global community, these scholars continue to draw their inspiration from the determined pioneers of Wissenschaft des Judentums in nineteenth and twentieth Germany. Beyond setting the highest standards of philological and historiographical research, German Wissenschaft des Judentums had a seminal role in creating modern Jewish discourse in which cultural memory supplemented traditional Jewish learning. The secular character of modern Jewish Studies, initially pursued largely in German and subsequently in other vernacular languages (e.g. French, Dutch, Italian, modern Hebrew, Russian), greatly facilitated an exchange with non-Jewish scholars, and thereby encouraging mutual understanding and respect. The present volume is based on papers delivered at a conference, sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem, by scholars from North American, Europe, and Israel. The papers and attendant deliberations explored ramified historical and methodological issues. Taken as a whole, the volume represents a tribute to the two hundred year legacy of Wissenschaft des Judentums and its singular contribution to not only modern Jewish self-understand but also to the unfolding of humanistic cultural discourse. Contents Introduction Rabbinic Antecedents and Parallels to Wissenschaft des Judentums Acknowledging the Past and Envisioning the Future: The Founders of Wissenschaft des Judentums (Science of Judaism) “A Jewish Philosophy”: On the Background of Leopold Zunz’s Historical Definition The Intellectual Networks of Rabbi Marco Mortara (1815–1894): An Italian “Wissenschaftler des Judentums” Abraham Berliner and the Making of Orthodox Wissenschaft des Judentums Wissenschaft des Judentums, Postmodernism, and Digital Humanities 2.0 History, Science, and Social Consciousness in the German Jewish Public Discourse during the First Years of the Nazi Regime A Voyage in the Enchanted House: A Family History from the Personal Perspective Wissenschaft des Judentums at the Fin-de-Siècle Ludwig Philippson on Biblical Monotheism: Jewish Religious Philosophy between Mendelssohn and Hermann Cohen Jewish Studies Index