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- Title
The aborted candidacy of Rabbi Asher Ginsburg: A failed attempt at modernization.
- Authors
Helfand, Jonathan
- Abstract
The Napoleonic edict of 1808 that established the consistorial system for French Jewry created a new rabbinate that was intended to differ from the ``old'' both in terms of its authority and its mission. When the first vacancy occurred in the rabbinical triumvirate that, together with two lay leaders, constituted the Central Consistory, it afforded the leadership an opportunity to shape the future of the French rabbinate and Jewish religious life. Their choice of Rabbi Asher Low Ginsburg, son of the late and distinguished rabbi of Metz (the Shaagat Aryeh ), signals an attempt to endow the new rabbinate with prestige and legitimacy. In addition, the consistorial leadership may have chosen R. Asher, a man with positive views on haskalah and secular learning, in the hope that his candidacy would help modernize the rabbinate and further the goal of ``regeneration'' for French Jewry set by both the French government and the enlightened Jewish leadership. Seen in this light, R. Asher's ultimate rejection of the post, followed by the appointment of Rabbi Emmanuel Deutz, was a setback for the consistory and the process of modernization.
- Subjects
GINSBURG, Asher Low; JEWISH leadership; FRENCH Jews; RABBINICAL office
- Publication
Jewish History, 2001, Vol 15, Issue 1, p41
- ISSN
0334-701X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1023/A:1011040801496