19th-century Prague: tradition, modernization, and family bonds
The family unit is a powerful, and under-utilized, tool for measuring acculturation and retention of tradition in late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Ashkenazic (central and eastern European) Jewry. In evaluating modernization among Prague Jews, this article explores the careers and attitudes of...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
2017
|
| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 2016, Volume: 87, Pages: 279-334 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Prague
/ Intellectual history 1801-1900
/ Judaism
/ The Modern
/ Tradition
|
| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The family unit is a powerful, and under-utilized, tool for measuring acculturation and retention of tradition in late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Ashkenazic (central and eastern European) Jewry. In evaluating modernization among Prague Jews, this article explores the careers and attitudes of three generations of the prominent Landau family, starting with the towering Chief Rabbi, Ezekiel Landau (1713-1793), continuing with his son, the distinguished rabbinic judge, Samuel (ca. 1750-1834), and concluding with the third-generation communal leader, Moses (1788-1852). Through this intergenerational prism, this article uncovers both the dramatic as well as the plodding and fickle nature of change during this era of political and cultural transformation. Displaying a range of responses to the new Habsburg-imposed policies, as well as to the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) and liturgical innovations, the second- and third- generation Landaus nevertheless continued to maintain their stewardship of the community's major institutions and to promote talmudic study. They did so by negotiating a carefully wrought balance between traditional and modern ideals. This vertical study of the Landau family offers a rare and fascinating perspective on early modern Jewish society's multifaceted and uneven transition to modernity. |
|---|---|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.15650/hebruniocollannu.87.2016.0279 |