Abraham Geiger's Liberal Judaism: Personal Meaning And Religious Authority (Jewish Literature and Culture)

193 Pages·2006·2.42 MB·English

by  Ken Koltun-Fromm

interpretation, ritual and gender “Koltun-Fromm reveals the enduring
Jewish Studies / Religion relevance Geiger possesses for modern
practices, rabbinic authority,
Abraham Geiger’s religious life. Abraham Geiger’s
and Jewish education. This is Liberal Judaism: Personal Meaning
and Religious Authority is a crucial
essential reading for scholars, and imaginative academic study that
rabbis, rabbinic students, Abraham Geiger’s Liberal Judaism explores Liberal Judaism has profound communal and personal
meaning for scholars and laypersons
and informed Jewish readers how religious authority and personal meaning alike.”
—Rabbi David Ellenson
interested in Conservative and President and I. H. and Anna Grancell
interweave to produce a liberal mosaic of
Professor of Jewish Religion and Thought,
Reform Judaism.
Hebrew Union College
Jewish practice in Geiger’s religious works.
Discussing Geiger’s views of history, memory,
KEN KOLTUN-FROMM is
Associate Professor of Religion at
Haverford College and author of Moses text, education, ritual, gender, and the
Hess and Modern Jewish Identity
(Indiana University Press, 2001). rabbinate in nineteenth-century German Jewry, German rabbi, scholar, and
theologian Abraham Geiger
Koltun-Fromm uncovers Geiger’s appeal to
(1810–1874) is recognized as the
personal meaning to create religious authority
principal leader of the Reform
Jewish Literature and Culture for modern Jews.
movement in German Judaism.
series editor, Alvin H. Rosenfeld
In his new work, Ken Koltun-
Fromm argues that for Geiger,
personal meaning in religion—
rather than rote ritual practice or
acceptance of dogma—was the
key to religion’s moral authority.
In f ve chapters, the book explores
ISBN-13: 978-0-253-34744-2
ISBN-10: 0-253-34744-0 issues central to Geiger’s work
that speak to contemporary Jewish
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Jacket illustration: Abraham Geiger, circa 1860. INDIANA practice—historical memory, biblical
courtesy of the leo baeck institute, new 1-80-842-6796 Ken Koltun-Fromm
york.
Personal Meaning and Religious Authority
Koltun-Fromm Abraham Geiger’s Liberal Judaism
ABRAHAM GEIGER’S
LIBERAL JUDAISM
Jewish Literature and Culture
Alvin Rosenfeld, editor
ABRAHAM GEIGER’S
LIBERAL JUDAISM
Personal Meaning and Religious Authority
Ken Koltun-Fromm
indiana university press
bloomington and indianapolis
The author and the publisher wish to acknowledge the generous support of The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation.
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail
For David and Barbara Fromm
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments • ix
Introduction: Abraham Geiger, Religious Authority, and Personal
Meaning • 1
1. Historical Memory and the Authority of Religious Judaism • 12
2. The Practice of Hermeneutical Authority • 40
3. The Gendered Politics of Authority • 64
4. Rabbinic Authority • 85
5. Jewish Education and the Authority of Personal Meaning • 113
Conclusion: The Practice of Authority • 134
Notes • 141
Index • 173
Acknowledgments
A book like this attempts to acknowledge authority both more and less than
it should: more, because my debts to others are innumerable, yet less, for I could
never repay them. But I accept that burden of authority as my blessing. Indeed, that
blessing exceeds my own grasp to fully account for the authority of personal mean-
ing that informs my own life. Still, I am grateful for all the encouragement, sup-
port, and advice I have received in years past that helped to advance this project
forward. Members of the religion department at Haverford College—David Daw-
son, Tracey Huck s, Naomi Koltun-Fromm, John Lardas, Anne McGuire, and
Michael Sells—have all (in ways they may not even recognize) made this book
possible. I am so very much at home in this department, and my respect for its
faculty is sincere and binding. Haverford College too has been overly generous,
supporting leave requests and funding through faculty grants. For a liberal arts
college dedicated to teaching young students, Haverford cares mightily about aca-
demic excellence and the intellectual life. My colleagues in other departments
here—too many to mention—further and sustain that excellence, and I have be-
come the better scholar and teacher for it.
I have not been isolated within a small circle of friends and supporters, and
have sought guidance from beyond my more immediate surroundings. My col-
leagues in religious studies—Susannah Heschel and David Ellenson, chief among
them—have always extended their precious time to review and critique my work.
Members of the Works in Progress Group that meets yearly at the Association for
Jewish Studies Conference in December have read versions of chapters in this
book, and their counsel has been judicious and well received. My semester at the
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies during my year leave in 2000–2001
proved both rewarding and necessary for embarking on this book project. The se-
rene Oxford landscapes, bountiful libraries, and the elusive but real sense of sab-
batical time all encouraged a good life of friendship, research, and leisure. My
family enjoyed the international community at Yarnton Manor and Wolfson Col-
lege, together with punting on the river and, at least for me, local escapes to nearby
pubs. My friends at Indiana University Press, especially Janet Rabinowitch and
Joyce Rappaport, have guided this manuscript through some rather tortuous paths.
I am forever in their debt. The generous support from the Lucius N. Littauer Foun-
ix