From Hungarian Orthodoxy Separatism to Fervent Zionism

Yoav Sorek (b. 1970) is a prominent Israeli public intellectual and author of The Israeli Covenant (2015). After an extensive career editing Israel's leading journals and conducting PhD research on Hungarian Jewish Orthodoxy, he now leads curated historical tours. He is the founder and leader of the Lechatchila Israeli Jewish renewal enterprise.

• PrefaceA. The Structure of This WorkB. ConclusionsC. The State of the ResearchD. Glasner: SourcesE. Klausenburg: Studies and SourcesF. AcknowledgmentsPart One: PressburgChapter 1: Rabbi Avraham Glasner in ContextA. Hungary and Its Jews in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century1. Hungary: Regime, Ethnicity, and Modernizationa. Regimeb. Ethnicity and Languagec. ModernizationB. The Cultural Character of the Hungarian OberlandC. Pressburg and Hatam Sofer’s Circle1. Hatam Sofer (1762–1839)2. The Yeshiva3. The Ehrenfeld FamilyD. Rabbi Avraham GlasnerE. Klausenburg: Studies and Sources1. The History of the City2. The History of the Klausenburg Jewish CommunityF. Avraham Glasner’s Tenure and the Schism in Hungarian Jewry1. The Hungarian Community of Klausenburg2. Friedman, Fisher, and Green3. The Congress4. A Unified CommunityPart Two: KlausenburgChapter 2: Moshe Glasner’s Life Until the Turn of the CenturyA. Background1. Hungarian Orthodoxy at the End of the Nineteenth Centurya. The "Golden Age" of Hungarian Orthodoxyb. Hungarian Orthodoxy: Establishmentc. Hungarian Orthodoxy: EntrenchmentB. Childhood, Adolescence, and Intellectual DevelopmentC. The Appointment to the Rabbinate, the Fracture of the Community, and the Connection with Hasidim1. Discomfort and Secession of the Status Quo Community2. German, Yiddish, and HungarianD. The First Decades in the Rabbinate1. The Inner Circle: A Transylvanian Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva2. On Truth and Intellect3. Family Ties and Economic StatusE. In the Orthodox Arena1. In Service of Orthodoxy, Ideology, and Practice2. The Law of Reception and the Issue of Civil Marriages3. Interim Summary: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary CelebrationsChapter 3: From the Mizrachi Conference to the World War IA. Zionism and Hungarian Orthodoxy Before the Mizrachi Conference1. Starting Point: The Zionist Idea in Hungarian Orthodoxya. Jewish Nationalismb. Settlement of the Land of Israelc. A Jewish State2. The Reception of Zionism in Hungarya. A Cold Shoulderb. Peripheral—and Orthodox—ZionismB. The Polemic Leading up to the Mizrachi Conference, 19041. Background: The Organization of the Mizrachi and the Choice of Pressburg2. Background: The Roth-Breuer Dispute, from Pápa to Mainz3. The Argument in Tel Talpiot and the Ban on the Mizrachi CouncilC. Glasner’s PositionD. From 1904 to the End of World War I1. The Mikveh Dispute2. The Dispute of the Shochet of Sângeorz-Băi3. No to a World Orthodox Organization4. World War IE. SummaryPart Three: Jerusalem Introduction to Part ThreeChapter 4: From Hungarians to Jews. Transylvanian Jewry After World War IA. The Loss of the Motherland: The Crossroads of Transylvanian Jewry1. Transylvania 1918–1920: Demographics and Nationalist Tendencies2. The Practical Transfer of Power3. Romanian Antisemitism and Hungarian Alienation4. The Question of Identity: Essence5. The Question of Identity: OrganizationB. The National Jewish Movement in Transylvania, 1918–19241. The Inaugural Event of the National Union2. Új Kelet and Tarbut3. National, Zionist Jewish IdentityChapter 5: From Orthodoxy to Zionism: Glasner After World War IA. Glasner’s Zionist Activity 1. Rebirth2. Foundational Speeches3.The End of the Age of Orthodox Separatism4. The Dispute with Agudat Yisrael5. Partnership in the Establishment of Tarbut6. The Twelfth Zionist Congress and the Speaking Tour Across GermanyB. Struggle: Glasner Against Orthodoxy and His Community 1. Orthodoxy in the Successor States: The Mizrachi and Its Rejection2. With Us or Against Us: The Transylvanian Situation3. The Struggle in Klausenburg: The Secession of the Hasidim4. The End of His Tenure: From the Publication of Dor Revi'i Until Emigration to JerusalemC. From Orthodoxy to Renewal of the Torah and the Nation1. Zionism in the Light of Faitha. Orthodoxy as Denial of Judaismb. A People, Not a Religious Communityc. Religious Judaism as an Exilic Mutationd. The Drive for Improvement and Divine Providencee. Central European Religious Zionismf. The Justification of Orthodox Separatism2. Dor Revi'ia. The Preface: About Critical Thoughtb. The Introductionc. The Body of the WorkChapter 6: Living the DreamA. Jerusalem B. Glasner and Jerusalem Rabbis C. Sentimental Old Age D. Legacy: Religious Zionism in Transylvania E. Rounding Out the Story: Rabbi Akiva Glasner F. A Note on Glasner’s Philosophical LegacyChapter 7: ConclusionsA. Secondary ConclusionsB. Glasner as the Preserver of the Oberland ApproachC. From an Oberland Worldview to Zionism D. Orthodox Emancipation: Between Enthusiastic and Reluctant AdoptersAppendix A: Glasner Family TreeAppendix B: Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner’s Sermon in Herzl’s MemoryAppendix C: Zionism in the Light of FaithIllustrationsMapsBibliographyIndex