The Jews of Germany: A Historical Portrait (review)

Book Reviews 123 chapter, following the studies of Baer, Soloveitchik, and Ta-Sh'ma, Kanarfogel describes the educational theory of the Ashkenazi Hasidim as a general attack on the approach of the Tosafists, from every point of view. In particular, they spoke out "against the uncontrolled use of dialectic by those who were inspired by, or wise to imitate, the methodology of the Tosafists." The book closes with two appendices: 1) The original text of Seier Huqqei HaTorah, a source describing the organization of, maintenance of, and teaching in a higher educational institution, which Kanarfogel attributes to the period in question. 2) The Ashkenazic Education Initiation ceremony: a description of the ceremony in which the child is introduced to his first educational experience. Simha Goldin Department ofJewish History Tel-Aviv University The Jews of Germany: A Historical Portrait, by Ruth Gay. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. 297 pp. $35.00. Ruth Gay, author of Jews in America: A Short History, has now compiled an impressive array of sources on German Jewish history. Her book is replete with document facsimiles, colored pictures, editorial cartoons, maps, and photographs. In addition, she traces the history of Jews in the German lands from their beginning on the Rhine in the fourth century until the Nazi period. This is a unique work in that it is valuable for both experts in the field and novices, although it is geared for the general reader. Gay's study is encyclopedic in scope, which has the advantage of giving a panoramic view of the rich history of German Jews, but has the disadvantage of not delving into anyone aspect at great length and of leaving some gaps, both topical and chronological, in an effort to be comprehensive. Gay weaves her story around the perennial theme of the dual existence that German Jews faced. On the one hand, Jews sought to maintain their own traditions, customs, and way of life. Yet on the other hand, they attempted to integrate into German society, a society which sent mixed signals during the seventeen centuries in which Jews resided in German territories. The author illustrates that this internal tension caused a relatively united community to splinter. In the early modern 124 SHOFAR Winter 1994 Vol. 12, No.2 period as Jews gradually became more accepted, various internal disputes concerning language, religious rituals, conversion and intermarriage, Zionism, and ultimately emigration emerged. It would be tempting to write a teleological history whereby history would progress linearly from the time of the first crusade to the Nazi era. Gay eschews such an approach that sees antisemitism as a constant theme, opting instead to take each epoch in context. Peter Gay, the prominent German historian, writes in the introduction that "to reduce German Jewish History to an unrelieved sequence of outrages is to slight the times of tranquillity and the reality ofJewish achievement." This is not a history of German antisemitism nor is it a story that lionizes Jewish accomplishments in Germany; rather, it is a book that tries to balance the two. Gay divides the volume into seven sections; the first three deal with the pre-modern era and discuss selected aspects ofsocial history, including an interesting passage on Gliickel of Hamelin. The next two chapters examine the pressures for change both within and outside the community. Gay shows that the quest for emancipation was led by a combination of Jewish and Gentile leaders. The apparent success of emancipation, however, presentedJews with new problems which the author treats in the final two lengthy chapters. This last section is well trod by historians, and Gay does not uncover much new material. She is surprisingly brief about the Nazi period and even more succinct about the Holocaust. Moreover, there is nothing about the small post-war Jewish community. The book is most interesting when Gay focuses on the internal workings of the Jewish community, and in her glimpses of the early ghetto and the role of women and the ritual ceremonies. The community that Gay portrays is remarkable. Given the enmity toward Jews that existed for much ofGerman history, the devotion to their German Heimat and insistence on being included in the German Yolk is intriguing...