Bogen
Member
Heimish/Yeshivish/Ashkenaz
cantoresq: Can you explain (to the non-Hungarians) who/what the Neolog’s where? Are they somewhat akin to todays Conservative/Mosarati’s? What were there beliefs? (And what about the “Status Quo”? When did they disappear, why, how where they different?) Do they still exist in meaningful numbers? Were they only in Hungary?
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Neolog refers to the Hungarian Liberal Jewish community. At it’s inception, it was identified with the Positivist Historical School established by R. Zecharias Fraenkel of Breslau. It never went as far as Geiger’s Hochshule fur Wissenschaft des Judentums. Currently the seminary is affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminay (Conservative Judaism). As to their beliefs, I recomend that you read Moshe Carimilly Weinberger’s centenary festschrift about the Seminary. The status quo congregations were kehillot that declined to join the seperatist Orthodox after the Congress of 1868. Thier reasons for not joining were many, but in most cases it boiled down to their resentment of the rabbinic control of the kehillot amongst the Orthodox congregations and money. They saw no benefit to their individual kehilla in joining. these were however fully Halachik communities. The Maharam Schik placed a cherem on Orthodox rabbis and shochtim ministering to them, but as far as I know, they never lacked for klei kodesh.