The Rise of Reform Judaism
A Sourcebook of Its European Origins
The Jewish Publication Society · Print & ebook · October 1, 2015
This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s classic volume on the beginnings of the Jewish Reform Movement is updated with a new introduction by Howard A. Berman.
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- Who it’s for
- Plaut traces Reform Judaism’s first century through founders’ writings and the questions they debated.
- Themes
- Origins of Reform Judaism, Jewish religious practice and theology, Debates over religious reform
- Genres
- Reform Judaism, Jewish History
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Start with this bookAbout this book
This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s classic volume on the beginnings of the Jewish Reform Movement is updated with a new introduction by Howard A. Berman. The Rise of Reform Judaism covers the first one hundred years of the movement, from the time of the eighteenth-century Jewish Enlightenment leader Moses Mendelssohn to the conclusion of the Augsburg synod in 1871.
Continue reading
In these pages the founders who established liberal Judaism speak for themselves through their journals and pamphlets, books and sermons, petitions and resolutions, and public arguments and disputations. Each selection includes Plaut’s brief introduction and sketch of the reformer. Important topics within Judaism are addressed in these writings: philosophy and theology, religious practice, synagogue services, and personal life, as well as controversies on the permissibility of organ music, the introduction of the sermon, the nature of circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, the rights of women, and the authenticity of the Bible.
Reformers’ Own Words
Plaut traces Reform Judaism’s first century through founders’ writings and the questions they debated.
Come here for
- Founders’ journals, pamphlets, sermons, petitions, and public arguments
- Debates over Sabbath observance, organ music, women’s rights, and biblical authenticity
Expect
- Selections with Plaut’s brief introductions and reformer sketches
- Coverage from Moses Mendelssohn to the 1871 Augsburg synod
Where it sits
| Reform Judaism | 93% |
|---|---|
| Jewish History | 72% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- History of Religion
- Reform Judaism
- Authors
- W. Gunther Plaut
- Publisher
- The Jewish Publication Society
- Published
- October 1, 2015
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Origins of Reform Judaism · Jewish religious practice and theology · Debates over religious reform
- Reading lane
- History of Religion