The Politics of Jewish Orthodoxy: The Case of Hungary 1868–1918

INTRODUCTION

In its early days at the turn of the nineteenth century, Jewish Orthodoxy (henceforth: Orthodoxy) was no more than an abstract notion shared by a few European rabbis who dreaded the consequences of modern values, opposed the idea that Jewish children should be taught secular subjects and resisted the introduction of religious reforms. Only a century later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, were two global Orthodox organizations—Ha-Mizrahi and Agudath Israel—established. These were fully-fledged political movements, one of which operated within the frame of the Zionist movement, while the other, although willing to cooperate with the Zionist leadership, never became a part of it.¹

While the link between religion and politics has occupied academia worldwide, the history of the relations between Orthodoxy and politics has gained far less attention. Most available studies address the historical processes and events that occurred after the establishment of the two major Orthodox movements, i.e. during the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. Only a handful of studies has examined the early stages of the evolution of Orthodoxy’s political forms, and even less attention has been paid to Orthodoxy’s inner politics.² Although this article deals with occurrences that took place more than a century ago, many of the political and social issues it discusses are as relevant to Orthodoxy today as they were back then.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1800–1868

Compared to Jewish societies in other countries in eastern Europe in the early nineteenth century, Hungarian Jewry was newer and smaller and its population had just crossed the 100,000 mark. In the following decades it became clear that Hungarian Jews were divided into several currents and camps according to their views on Jewish religious tradition.³ The Jewish reform movement, which in Hungary was called Neology, was divided between those who proposed mild amendments to the Jewish Halacha (corpus of religious laws) and those who demanded fundamental changes. The radical reformists, for example, sought to declare Sunday the day of rest instead of the Sabbath and to abolish ritual circumcision. Both customs were, and still are, fundamental to traditional Jewish identity.⁴

The Orthodox, non-reformist Jews were also divided into two major groups: The Haredi camp, to which most of the Hasidim belonged, was the smaller one. It shunned all modern novelties and clung to the traditions that were passed from generation to generation. The larger camp of non-Hasidic Jews, which in Hungary was called Ashkenazi,⁵ adopted more modern characteristics and was in some ways closer to a mild version of Neology.⁶

The various religious groups that existed in Hungary were divided not only by ideology but also by geography, as a result of migration and settlement patterns. Most immigrants to the north-eastern Hungarian provinces came from nearby eastern Galicia. By and large, these were simple, poor and ill-educated Hasidic Jews who stuck to their ancestors’ tradition and shunned any element of modernity. Immigrants to the western provinces came from central-European territories, such as western Galicia, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. These Ashkenazi Jews were not exposed to Hasidism and were more receptive to a modern lifestyle.⁷

The tension between the Haredi and the reform groups first arose in the early nineteenth century following the pro-reform activities of Rabbi Aharon Chorin (1766–1844) of Arad.⁸ The two leading rabbis at the time did their best to fight the reform movement, but were unable to stop its proliferation. These were Rabbi Moshe Sofer (1762–1839, also known by his pen-name Hatam Sofer) of Pressburg (later: Bratislava), and Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (1758–1841) of Sátoraljaújhely. It was through their struggle that the abstract concept of Orthodoxy, which at the time was still a vague notion of resistance to religious reforms and to modernity, crystallized.⁹

The Neolog leaders embraced modern political practices and established a network of institutions in all the major cities. They also published newspapers that promoted their ideas and created a sense of collective identity. The Orthodox rabbis, who refrained from any collective...