Download The Chosen Wars How Judaism Became an American Religion Steven R Weisman 9781416573272 Books
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“An important beginning to understanding the truth over myth about Judaism in American history” (New York Journal of Books), Steven R. Weisman tells the dramatic story of the personalities that fought each other and shaped this ancient religion in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The struggles that produced a redefinition of Judaism illuminate the larger American experience and the efforts by all Americans to reconcile their faith with modern demands. The narrative begins with the arrival of the first Jews in New Amsterdam and plays out over the nineteenth century as a massive immigration takes place at the dawn of the twentieth century.
First there was the practical matter of earning a living. Many immigrants had to work on the Sabbath or traveled as peddlers to places where they could not keep kosher. Doctrine was put aside or adjusted. To take their places as equals, American Jews rejected their identity as a separate nation within America. Judaism became an American religion.
These profound changes did not come without argument. Steven R. Weisman’s “lucid and entertaining” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) The Chosen Wars tells the stories of the colorful rabbis and activists—including Isaac Mayer Wise, Mordecai Noah, David Einhorn, Rebecca Gratz, and Isaac Lesser—who defined American Judaism and whose disputes divided it into the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox branches that remain today. “Only rarely does an author succeed in writing a book that reframes how we perceive our own history. The Chosen Wars is...fascinating and provocative” (Jewish Journal).
Download The Chosen Wars How Judaism Became an American Religion Steven R Weisman 9781416573272 Books
"Loved the way this author writes and puts together information. Concise but interesting paragraphs. Am halfway through it and would recommend it to anyone, of any faith. I am not Jewish but really am treasuring this book."
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The Chosen Wars How Judaism Became an American Religion Steven R Weisman 9781416573272 Books Reviews :
The Chosen Wars How Judaism Became an American Religion Steven R Weisman 9781416573272 Books Reviews
- Former New York Times journalist Steven Weisman tells the story of how Judaism became Americanized largely through the lens of the disputes between the reformers and the traditionalists coming of age in the America of the 1800s. Much of the arguments then ring true through today as to the role of women, music, choirs, English versus Hebrew in services, peoplehood versus religion, the difference between awaiting a Messiah or Messianic Age, and the relative importance of prayer and study versus social action.
Much of his history takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, which in the 1820s had the largest Jewish community in America. In fact the struggle over an organ became so heated that it had to be settled in court. What interested me the most was that much of the arguments in South Carolina preceded the arrival of the mass immigration of German Jews in the 1840s and 50s who later became the back bone of Reform Judaism. And because there were so many Jews in the South, the Jewish community split over the issue of slavery with Judah P. Benjamin becoming the Confederacy’s secretary of state. Nevertheless when Lincoln died much of American Jewry viewed him as the second Moses.
Wiesman’s book is the history of the rise of the Reform movement and the traditionalist reaction against it against the backdrop of an America that was much different from Europe. To the reformers the synagogue was the new Temple and America was the New Jerusalem. Thus there was no need to pray for a rebuilding of the ancient temple and much of the ancient rules seemed out of place in the hustle and bustle to de Tocqueville’s America, especially on the frontier.
In America there was no formal rabbinic authority. In fact there were no Rabbis until the 1830s and no American ordained rabbis until the 1880s. As a result authority was vested in the individual congregations which meant that much of the argument took place among the laity. To be sure there were leading rabbis like Isaac Wise and Jacob Leeser, but they too were responsible to their congregations.
My problems with Weisman’s book are that it over emphasizes the intellectual divisions over the role of spirituality and over emphasizes social justice politics over a connection with G-d. In many respects religion represents the triumph of faith over reason. To be sure social justice is important, but Weisman’s definition is probably far from my own because it is my belief that much of the success that Jews have enjoyed in America has come not from political action, but rather from the blessings of the market economy. Thus, unfortunately there is some truth to the old joke that Reform Judaism is the Democratic Party with holidays. To be sure Jews should be “the light among nations,†but we should walk the walk with a great deal of humility. That said Weisman has given us a well-researched book on how the Jewish religion adapted and became of age in the new Promised Land. - An admirable attempt to describe the establishment of Judaism in America. Well documented and structured and yet always felt like am outsider's version of what was and what is. There is little prospect for a definitive history of these centuries of arrival with baggage and its transformation into the 3 major movements now established in America. Flux and change as well as hi story's ebb and flow will continue to challenge of not dismantle American Judaism.
- Well researched overview of 18th/29th century jewish history. Would have like some more attention to development of orthodox institutions in urban centers st end of 19th century and early 20th
- Thorough and pleasant reading. Nice story and history of about 500 years. Ones bit missing where we're the American jewry in between 1939 and 1945?
- Being a Christian Protestant, I welcomed the opportunity to learn about Judaism and it’s wide spectrum of believers. I learned not to generalize about Jews, as there are as many theologies in Judaism as there are in Christianity and Islam and possibly Hinduism. We are all seeking the Creator, and I suspect none of us are closer to that than others.
- This is an superb book. Excellent documentation and easy reading. This book was able support many things I had thought but had not researched. This is a must have book for any library seeking to understand Judaism today.
- Curious about why these people are not allowed to live peacefully among us? Me too. Interesting look at the history of our country through an important sector of our society that has given us so much in adding to the fabric of American culture as we know it today
- Loved the way this author writes and puts together information. Concise but interesting paragraphs. Am halfway through it and would recommend it to anyone, of any faith. I am not Jewish but really am treasuring this book.
