Jewish Orthodoxy’s First Rabbinical Conference*

The early stages in the formation of the movement that would subsequently become known as Jewish Orthodoxy have been well researched. This article, however, reviews the circumstances around a specific episode, a rabbinical conference held in Paks, Hungary, in 1844. The review of this failed conference opens the door for a discussion on three key questions related to the understanding of Jewish Orthodoxy: (a) Why were the Hungarian rabbis the first to react to religious reforms? (b) Why did they become so instrumental in the establishment of Jewish Orthodoxy? and (c) Why, despite this, Orthodoxy practically lost the war against modernism, religious reforms, and secularism. Analyzing the reasons for the conference’s failure suggests that Jewish Orthodoxy, which is committed to a traditionalist worldview, contains a major intrinsic flaw. Hailing conservatism also implies rejecting initiatives based on modern modes of operation. This, however, undermined Jewish Orthodoxy’s capability to swiftly and decisively confront the numerous social and religious challenges it has faced since the early nineteenth century. The Paks conference was convened in response to several conferences of modernized rabbis that led to the establishment of the Reform Movement; its failure allowed the Reform movement to expand without any significant resistance on behalf of the more conservative rabbis, who remained unorganized for many years.