The Precursors of Ultra-Orthodoxy in Galicia and Hungary: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Torem of Rymanów and his Disciples

INTRODUCTION

Ultra-Orthodoxy, commonly referred to as “Haredi” Judaism, is a prominent phenomenon today in both Israel and the Diaspora. Its presence is felt in the Israeli street, in politics, and in the educational system. Nevertheless, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism has received a minute amount of attention in historical research. In contrast, sociological studies have dealt with this subject a great deal but have focused primarily on “Haredi” Judaism during the period following the establishment of the State of Israel. The central issues of its origins, its leading thinkers, the historical context in which it emerged and developed, its theology, its social outlook, and its isolationist and exclusive lifestyle, have not received sufficient attention. This article is designed to initiate a discussion of these issues in order to bring to light the preliminary insights on this topic.¹ It identifies Rabbi Menachem Mendel Torem of Rymanów as the “father” of Ultra-Orthodoxy, and examines the development of his ideology and its ultimate spread from Galicia throughout Eastern Europe.

Menachem Friedman was the first to dedicate a book to the study of Haredi society in Israel.² Friedman characterizes Haredi society as neo-traditional, in the sense that it clings to a pre-modern Jewish lifestyle. There are various streams in Haredi Judaism, but all are characterized by the absolute valuation of Torah study to the exclusion of any other academic pursuits, the demand for uncompromising observance of the commandments, the negation of the Zionist idea as antithetical to the essence of Judaism, and the development of the yeshiva as the over-arching communal institution that provides a safe environment and is the central educational institution, replacing the conventional community structure.³ In addition, the Ultra-Orthodox community strives to separate itself from the Jewish majority that is not committed to its values, as reflected both in its housing and its apparel.⁴ This phenomenon is the result of the trauma caused by the erosion of tradition, and the resulting fear of losing control of the younger generation and its possible abandonment of Haredi society in favor of secularism and modernity.

Another researcher, Michael Silber, has published a comprehensive article on Ultra-Orthodoxy in mid-nineteenth century Hungary,⁵ in which he characterized Ultra-Orthodoxy as an anti-modern movement. This definition is correct but insufficient since it would be a good definition of any Orthodox position. The sociologist Samuel Heilman categorized the Ultra-Orthodox as rejectionists and neo-rejectionists.⁶ Heilman focused in his definition on the self-perception of the rejectionist, who views any human phenomenon outside of Orthodoxy as inferior. The difference between the rejectionist and the neo-rejectionist is that the rejectionist arrived at his Orthodox position from within the traditional religious world, while the neorejectionist arrived at his position based on previous encounters with the modern world. In this article, we will focus in depth on the distinction between Orthodoxy and Ultra-Orthodoxy in order to sharpen our understanding of the varied aspects of the phenomenon of Ultra-Orthodoxy.⁷

At the outset, we can state that the difference between these related movements is in the nature of their reaction to modernity. We refer to modernity as it manifests itself in enlightened education based on critical rational thought, and even more so in the phenomenon of secularization. The reaction to modernity extends to dress, interactions between the sexes, political conduct, and even to the use of technology. In contrast to Orthodoxy that seeks to protect its institutions and values—such as the Halachah, the rabbinate, Orthodox education, and Torah study—from modernity and the secularization that often accompanies it, Ultra-Orthodoxy actively attacks modernity itself. It incorporates norms of thought that are completely anti-modern, and its primary goal is to build walls between Jewish life and modern life. These goals require going beyond the halachic realm to the meta-halachic realm, i.e. practices that do not derive from the written Halachah, but rather from the halachic tradition. While the lines that divide Orthodoxy and Ultra-Orthodoxy are, in many...