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How did Neo-Orthodoxy seek to combine Orthodox religious life with Western society?
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Judaism
The Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, all that remains of the retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount.
Neo-Orthodoxy, a 19th-century movement led by Samson Raphael Hirsch, sought to demonstrate that a fully observant Orthodox life was compatible with complete integration into Western society.12
The movement achieved this balance through two primary strategies:
- Theoretical Division: Neo-Orthodoxy posited a distinction between religion and culture. Adherents were encouraged to remain strictly faithful to the Torah and traditional religious law while simultaneously adopting Western manners, language, and cultural norms.2
- Educational Reform: Hirsch advocated for an educational program that combined rigorous, traditional training in the Torah with a modern secular education. This approach was designed to equip Orthodox Jews to engage with the modern world and withstand the intellectual challenges posed by Reform Judaism.1
Unlike other movements that sought to modify religious observance to fit modern life, Neo-Orthodoxy maintained that the essentials of belief and practice remained immutable. By sanctioning modern dress and the use of the vernacular in sermons, the movement provided an intellectual model that allowed Orthodox Jews to participate in Western civilization without compromising their religious integrity.32