Judaism was a loosely connected network of congregations whose rabbis
endorsed a varied range of religious innovations. By the mid-1840s, a search
for uniformity and a desire to create a movement out of the scattered Reform
congregations led to the convening of three conferences where rabbinic adher-
ents to Reform Judaism hammered out the ideological framework of this
movement. At the heart of this ideology was an expansion of the basic princi-
ples of the Hamburg temple, manifest most vividly in liturgical changes:
deleting from the liturgy all references to the messianic return to Zion and
resurrection of the dead; replacing Hebrew with German as the language of
prayer; and maintaining a general decorum through the use of a professional
cantor and choir. In addition, the participants at these conferences redefined
the ideal reform rabbi as well versed in rabbinic literature but also with a
strong secular education; most Reform rabbis had earned a doctorate from a
major European university in addition to rabbinic ordination.
These liturgical changes reflected the larger redefinition of Judaism pro-
pounded by the founders of Reform Judaism, in particular Abraham Geiger.
Judaism, Geiger believed, had to be purged of its irrational elements, hence
the removal of reference to and the belief in the messianic resurrection of the
dead, for which there was no scientific foundation. The messianic return to
Zion, insofar as it suggested a putative dual allegiance to Germany and the
Land of Israel, was eliminated for patriotic reasons.
More broadly, Geiger argued that Judaism, in order to survive as a viable
religion, had to adapt to the Zeitgeist. In an age of universal enlightenment
and emancipation, he argued, this meant defining the essence of Judaism as
its most universal elements: ethical monotheism plus a few key rituals:
prayer, the Sabbath and festivals, and circumcision. Other Jewish rituals, such
as the dietary restrictions, had ceased to be relevant and thus could be rede-
fined as voluntary or abandoned entirely. In addition, Geiger redefined some
particularistic aspects of Judaism in universal terms. Chosenness and mes-
sianic redemption, hallmarks of Jewish distinctness and peoplehood, became
pillars of a divinely ordained Jewish mission to spread monotheism and
morality to all of humanity. This universalist redefinition of Judaism brought
Geiger face to face with Spinoza’s claim that there was no essential difference
between Judaism and other monotheistic religions. To oppose this claim,
Geiger arrogated for Judaism a position of moral and theological superiority
by arguing that Jesus was a Jew who was the original expositor of Jewish
beliefs and values for non-Jews.
As the ideology of Reform Judaism took shape, dissent emerged within
the ranks of its adherents, first and foremost over the language of prayer.
Zecharias Frankel objected to the elimination of Hebrew from much of the
service to the point that in 1845 he walked out of the conference and
founded a new movement: Positive-Historical Judaism. In contrast to
Reform Judaism, Positive-Historical Judaism maintains that certain aspects
The age of enlightenment and emancipation, 1750–1880 157