Abraham Geiger’s Conception of a Jewish Theology as Institution

The article focuses on the theological study of teachers and rabbis as suggested by the philologist, theologian, and rabbi Abraham Geiger. It explores the nineteenth-century intent to give a grounded education to whoever was seriously interested in Jewish religion, history, and literature. While Leopold Zunz, the so-called father of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, saw the integration of ‘‘Jewish studies,’’ or ‘‘the emancipation,’’ Abraham Geiger’s predominant interest was the theological education of teachers and rabbis in a future institution capable of pledging scientific contents and critical method.