The Heretic Of London
Having been ruled a heretic, he was excluded, including by the current Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, from receiving honors on those occasions when he attended Orthodox services. Yet he was often described as "the greatest chief rabbi that British Jewry never had."
From Jewish Ideas Daily:
…[D]escribed as an "illui [prodigy] and a Gaon," Jacobs was born in Manchester and educated at the Gateshead Talmudic Academy. Once ordained, he held various pulpits before becoming a lecturer at Jews' College (today the London School of Jewish Studies) where he trained rabbinical students. As his reputation soared, his writings, beginning with We Have Reason to Believe (1957), drew critical notice for their deviation from Orthodox norms. Jacobs softly embraced the idea that the Torah was not literally dictated by God and recorded verbatim by Moses at Mt. Sinai; that a "human element" was involved in its composition.…
The rabbi was labeled a heretic (epikoros) by the Orthodox establishment, though he had his supporters in the pews. Not a few rank-and-file United Synagogue members were non-practicing Orthodox. Regardless of levels of observance, still more shared Jacobs's progressive theological bent and were not scandalized by historical biblical criticism—notwithstanding its conclusion that the Pentateuch was not the work of a single author.…
In his writing, one sees a traditionalist who rejects fundamentalism, a believer seeking a middle course between the anthropomorphized God of the Orthodox and the depersonalized Deity of the progressives. While holding Revelation to be real, he thought the creed of Torah min ha-shamayim, "Torah from Heaven," needed to be synthesized in order to remain tenable to moderns. The problem wasn't "Torah" or "Heaven" but, rather, the concept of "from." God's authentic voice, speaking through the Torah, "is is in no way affected in that we can only hear that voice through the medium of human beings."
In Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1999) Jacobs described his approach as "liberal supernaturalism," that is, adhering to traditional ritual practice and belief in revelation, yet open to what secular learning has to teach on the historicity of the Bible. On this point Jacobs parted company with modern Orthodoxy. His research had revealed that normative Judaism was the product of rabbis' astutely adjusting Jewish law to the ages. That is why in Tree of Life (1984) he had earlier promoted "a non-fundamentalist Halakhah" that interpreted rabbinic law as "a living corpus" which had evolved according to the needs of the age—not a code that had emanated in full at Mt. Sinai.…Having been ruled an epikoros, Jacobs was excluded, including by the current Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, from receiving honors on those occasions when he attended Orthodox services. Yet in 2005, readers of the Chronicle voted him "the greatest British Jew of all time." Jonathan Romain, a Reform rabbi, captured the popular sentiment in his eulogy: "Louis Jacobs was often described as the greatest chief rabbi that British Jewry never had."
I'm anticipating a Yochanan song with apologies to Warren Zevon.
Posted by: danny | July 12, 2011 at 05:09 PM
Interesting to note that he wrote extensively on Kabbalah, Hasidism & early Chabad in particular in a favorable manner.
IIRC, he was the first to use the term "Masorati" outside Israel.
He was less of a "heretic" than Mordechai Kaplan, but in the post-war shift to the right he could not survive in the Orthodox camp.
YZ"B
Posted by: ZIY | July 12, 2011 at 05:33 PM
In other late-breaking news, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run eclipsing Babe Ruth's single season record.
Posted by: Grain of Salt | July 12, 2011 at 05:43 PM
RESPONSA...
Since its founding, Conservative Judaism in the U.S. has defined itself in sharp contrast to Reform, pursuing a more religiously centrist and Zionist middle course. Its UK parallel, Masorti ("traditional") Judaism, was born as a secession movement from Orthodoxy—inspired by the writings of theologian Louis Jacobs.
Jacobs, whose fifth yahrzeit is observed this month, was practically "tenure track" to becoming Britain's Chief Rabbi, a post that was and remains under the auspices of the (Orthodox) United Synagogue. Jacobs's ascent was stymied in the early 1960's over his heterodox views on the divine origins of the Pentateuch. He died in 2006, the mostly-unwitting founder of Britain's fledgling Masorti movement.
A - I didn't know this. Very interesting. This is an excellent article to be posted on FM. I love philosophy and discussions on religion Well done Shmarya !
He would have preferred a reformation of modern Orthodoxy.
An only child, described as an "illui [prodigy] and a Gaon," Jacobs was born in Manchester
A – During his crucial years of three and half to eight he would have lived in a reasonably academic Jewish part of working class Manchester. The decency of 1920’s Mancunians would have influenced him. I know an older Mancunian gent who has told me that there was some anti-semitism but it was not vicious. The twenties in England saw a great sense of egalitarianism and fairness flourish after the horrors of WW I. Everyone felt like they were in the same boat, it was before the Great Depression and the good old English stiff upper lip was on show. There would have been a certain level of dynamism and freedom in the city from 1924 to 1929. It is vital when assessing a person’s work and contriribution to look at a number of things. Three of the most important are : The parental conditioning in early childhood; The education received and social setting.
and educated at the Gateshead Talmudic Academy.
A - Obviously he parents were keen on him getting a good Jewish education and didn’t want him to assimilate like Disraeli did years earlier.
Once ordained, he held various pulpits before becoming a lecturer at Jews' College (today the London School of Jewish Studies) where he trained rabbinical students. As his reputation soared, his writings, beginning with We Have Reason to Believe (1957), drew critical notice for their deviation from Orthodox norms.
A - Again in early post WW II things were austere in England but as the fifties developed there was an upsurge in the economy. He would have felt the new freedoms and opportunities of the times. Ten years after WW II people were really looking forward to the future.
Jacobs softly embraced the idea that the Torah was not literally dictated by God and recorded verbatim by Moses at Mt. Sinai; that a "human element" was involved in its composition. In 1961,
A – Yes new ideas that challenge set institutions and frames of reference are often not revealed straight away. He was a wise man by his early forties and would have been aware of the prevailing power structures, mindsets and frames of reference of the leaders in his community. He was not the first to have this idea. The intelligent design theory best echoes his point. I came to the same conclusion about the Tanach after completely, and mean completely private and solitary inquiries and investigations.
The Tanach is part : Genealogy; Drama; Lawmaking and Interpretation; Jurisprudence; Romance; War Battles; Power Dynamics; Place Naming; Object Referencing; Chronology; Prophecy; Allegory; Metaphor ; VIP’s; Filler and Wise Counsel. Weighing up the relevance of the different pieces should be left to very wise souls. The shore of history is littered with the ugly flotsam and jetsam resulting from the terrible decisions made by various people who thought they understood the true meaning of the good book. The Tanach is the most important book in the world. The 79,976 words of the Pentateuch assume primacy.
The various parts of the Tanach were written by humans. They did not magically appear on a slab or a scroll of papyrus. Such a fact does not negate the supernatural aspect of revelation as outlined by the sixth article of faith.
I shouldn’t blow my own trumpet here. Back to Louis Jacobs...
Jacobs's advancement to college principal, considered a stepping stone to the chief's office, was blocked by then-Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie.
A – Watch “The Name of the Rose” !
Thus began what came to be known as the Jacobs Affair. The rabbi was labelled a heretic (epikoros)
Heretic... Origin:
1300–50; Middle English heretik < Middle French heretique < Late Latin haereticus < Greek hairetikós able to choose. —Synonyms
1. Apostate, backslider, recreant, protestant. 3. dissenter, sceptic, freethinker.
So the word is definitely not a pejorative. All new, better ways of interpreting the universe can first appear non-sensical and impossible to others.
Two great quotes comes to mind...
“Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk !”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
- William Bagehot
by the Orthodox establishment, though he had his supporters in the pews. Not a few rank-and-file United Synagogue members were non-practicing Orthodox. Regardless of levels of observance, still more shared Jacobs's progressive theological bent and were not scandalized by historical biblical criticism—notwithstanding its conclusion that the Pentateuch was not the work of a single author. The Jewish Chronicle newspaper, where for many years Jacobs wrote the "Ask the Rabbi" column, championed his elevation at Jews' College and kept the affair in the spotlight.
In 1963, the grandees at London's New West End Synagogue invited Jacobs to become their "minister." Brodie forbade it, setting the stage for a final schism. By chance, the congregation was already set to relocate, and Jacobs's admirers quietly purchased the current building and gave him the pulpit. Thus was born the New London Synagogue in the St. John's Wood neighbourhood, today the flagship of the nine Masorti synagogues in the country.
A – Very interesting. I have never been to a Masorti shul but have heard of them. BTW, the glaring fault with Conservative Judaism (and why I rejected regularly attending such a shul or Reform/Progressive, Reconstructionist, Liberal shuls as well for that matter), is that they don't believe in the Twelfth Article of Faith. Some Conservatives but it is not widespread. The thing the prophecies elude to the metaphor of a Messianic Age that doesn’t require an actual person on the scene who influences things and intervenes on G-d’s behalf.
Jacobs was foremost a scholar, not a rebel.
A – Nothing wrong with being both !
He devoted himself to his writing, instead of to leveraging his popularity to create an alternative to the United Synagogue.
A – Fair enough. We all have our different roles to play.
In his writing, one sees a traditionalist who rejects fundamentalism
A – Agree on this.
a believer seeking a middle course between the anthropomorphized God of the Orthodox and the depersonalized Deity of the progressives. While holding Revelation to be real, he thought the creed of Torah min ha-shamayim, "Torah from Heaven," needed to be synthesized in order to remain tenable to moderns. The problem wasn't "Torah" or "Heaven" but, rather, the concept of "from." God's authentic voice, speaking through the Torah, "is is in no way affected in that we can only hear that voice through the medium of human beings."
A – Correct ! Judaism states that no intermediary is required. Abraham also didn’t have a Torah to follow. His true inner self, self actualised in harmony with G-d’s wishes.
In Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1999) Jacobs described his approach as "liberal supernaturalism,"
A - I like the term but prefer traditional supernaturalism.
that is, adhering to traditional ritual practice and belief in revelation, yet open to what secular learning has to teach on the historicity of the Bible. On this point Jacobs parted company with modern Orthodoxy. His research had revealed that normative Judaism was the product of rabbis' astutely adjusting Jewish law to the ages. That is why in Tree of Life (1984)
A - Fascinating that Terence Malick one of my favourite film makers, and the director of the greatest movie of all time “The Thin Red Line” just released a film of the same name. Has Malick read the book or is this just another one of those fun, instances of chance interconnectedness when auditing the zeitgeist ?
he had earlier promoted "a non-fundamentalist Halakhah" that interpreted rabbinic law as "a living corpus" which had evolved according to the needs of the age—not a code that had emanated in full at Mt. Sinai.
A – More discussion needed on this. Not enough space here. Too slow a typist t as well. Would love to discuss the nature of revelation and prophecy with certain people.
While Jacobs was foremost a critic of the house from which he came, in Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1999) he described his aversion to Reform Judaism as "partly emotional and partly aesthetic"—it lacked soul.
A – I dropped into a Reform shul once and found the geometries “sloppy”. Nothing to push up against or be contained in.
A Talmudist, he found Reform's attitude toward that great work condescending. But he also expressed "unease" at modelling Britain's Masorti movement on the American Conservative model because it had become above all a reaction to Reform, while his response was to Orthodoxy.
A – Any sect or stream that dilutes the Thirteen Articles of Faith ends up becoming wishy washy.
In Beyond Reasonable Doubt he summed up his dilemma with a story about a professor friend who could daven with the Orthodox but not talk to them, and talk to the Reform but not daven with them. By default, he was most at home with observant Conservatives.
A – I can talk with any Jewish sect, be in their shul, yet I will pray my own certain way and observe my own certain way. When in Rome do as Romans do, but I am not going to rock back and forth for anyone except my future child.
Of course, we can only guess at what Jacobs and his friend would have to say about the left-wing theological drift of U.S. Conservativism today, which has made that stream increasingly hard to differentiate from Reform.
A - Haven’t studied this point and not interested in doing so. If you drive a Cadillac it is boring to read the smash repair manuals of an Edsel.
As for Jacobs' lasting impact? On the ground the results are modest.
A - Well his legacy may increase. Some hidden gems get exposed after they are dead. Van Gogh went unrecognized and lived in poverty most of his life.
As Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg noted in his eulogy, "he never wanted to establish a new movement."
A – I understand his position. He was probably very close to G-d and couldn’t care less about attracting followers, kudos or fame. The interesting thing though is that if your influence becomes so great you can’t help avoid fame. Like being the far more talented understudy that helps backstage, eventually someone will appreciate you and reward you in front of the audience.
According to a 2011 report, 73 percent of British Jewish households (population 300,000) register a synagogue affiliation: 66 percent belong to United Synagogue or still more rigorously Orthodox streams; most of the remainder belong to the Liberal and Reform branches; a minuscule 2.7 percent are Masorti. The best that can be said is that Jacobs's movement has almost doubled its total membership over the past 10 years, and that synagogues like Wittenberg's New North London are vibrant and bustling.
A – Its all pretty academic now as G-d is going to force the Jewish sects to work their priorities out very soon. Arguing over points of minutiae is ridiculous. There is way too much one-upmanship between the various sects. Recently an Adass group came to our shul and mocked the rounded arch over the Torah area. They said it was too flamboyant, did not respect Hashem and should have been square. How boring !
Having been ruled an epikoros, Jacobs was excluded, including by the current Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks,
A – There might be more to this. What was Louis Jacob’s political philosophy like ? He may have been a genius on the Tanach, Talmud history and ministry but poor on politics. I don’t know. Rabbi Sacks is doing an extremely good job. I don’t give compliments lightly.
from receiving honors on those occasions when he attended Orthodox services. Yet in 2005, readers of the Chronicle voted him "the greatest British Jew of all time."
A - Very good !
He must have been quite a man and it would have been good to meet him.
Jonathan Romain, a Reform rabbi, captured the popular sentiment in his eulogy: "Louis Jacobs was often described as the greatest chief rabbi that British Jewry never had."
A – Rabbi Sacks may just prove to be the greatest Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth ever. Time will tell who he works with. The point about Louis Jacobs is taken.
What an excellent article once again on FM. As Alain De Botton affirms, philosophy can be a real comfort.
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 12, 2011 at 06:06 PM
Has anyone every told you that you talk too much?
Posted by: skepticalyid | July 12, 2011 at 06:19 PM
I am from Manchester and went to school with his son Ivor. I know the rest of his family the Levi's who dont happen to be leviim as well. He was the rov of Central synagogue at the time. He was the main talmid of the old Manchester RY Rabbi Segal. He went afterwards to Gateshead Kollel. Although the chief Rabbi Brodie was not accepted in orthodox circles his wife did not cover her hair. He will forever be remembered for not accepting Jacobs and instead taking Lord Rabbi Jakobovits whose wife Lady J has recently died. The present chief rabbi now has the chance of deciding his successor. The present united synagogue is made up much better people than it was then. Then they were nearly all lords and baronets far removed from orthodoxy. We hope he will use his present office to make the sure next one is also orthodox.
Posted by: abc | July 12, 2011 at 06:19 PM
To skepticalyid,
Read it first before casting aspersions and yes some people are bored by certain subjects. Some people are just not interested in the goings on in the Middle East and would prefer to watch Big Brother. Someone wandering by FM may find the points I have raised interesting. Sometimes I also write or say things to help me clarify some issues.
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 12, 2011 at 06:31 PM
Some people write posts that are way too long, Adam.
Posted by: SkepticalYid | July 12, 2011 at 06:59 PM
Adam Neira. Give it a rest.
Posted by: fugly | July 12, 2011 at 07:08 PM
To fugly,
What is "it" ?
What should I give a rest ?
Your little aside is too open ended. Like a cluster bomb it is hard to respond to.
What's your real name and country of residence ? I'll give you a chance.
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 12, 2011 at 07:22 PM
To Skepticalyid,
The response is not "War and Peace" but I get your point. It is just I found the article so interesting I wanted to go through it point by point.
Have a good day !
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 12, 2011 at 07:31 PM
Adam you may have some good points but it is way to long to wade through... :(
Posted by: miracalism | July 13, 2011 at 02:52 AM
He was an extremely intelligent person, who knew that he was taking on the Rambams definition of an apikoros, he reaped what he sowed. Orthodoxy was always going to side with the Rambam.
Posted by: dimlat | July 13, 2011 at 03:06 AM
The next Chief Rabbi: Louis Jacobs would have probably kept the United Synagogue more in line with what it was - middle of the road. It has veered to the right mostly by black-hatted Rabbis. There is not a lot of Chabad left in London (as opposed to the provinces where they are dominant). But there are plenty of black hats and very few modern orthodox.
There was an election the other day for the President of the United Synagogue. The one man who everyone thought would walk it, lost, by a landslide. This is mostly because everyone knew he was standing on a platform of implementing his preferred choice of Chief Rabbi with whom he is very close. While this Rabbi is very talented, a Chief Rabbi he is not. The landslide loss of a leading contender is a referendum against his choice chief rabbi as well. And that guy is charedi (though recently looked to change his image to be seen as more modern orthodox).
Anglo-Jewry might yet live to see another day.
Posted by: Moshe Zuchmere | July 13, 2011 at 03:18 AM
To Dimlat,
Apikoros is an interesting word. The true intent if it is anyone denying the Thirteen Articles of Faith. When it had been used to label someone who didn't agree with a particular Rabbi or sect then it is just a cheap shot. Thus it loses it's real meaning, like when sports callers call every player a champion after he has kicked a goal. As at 2011 language has largely been degraded. This is why etymology is so important. By going right back to the original use of the word you will get a clearer idea why G-d put in the head of the first speaker anyway. The Chinese Whispers phenomenon punctuates the landscape.
Another interesting question for anyone out there reading this is...
Did Louis Jacobs believe in the Twelfth Article of Faith ?
Posted by: Adam Neira | July 13, 2011 at 04:50 AM
shmrya
Do I have permission to consider R' Jacobs a gadol of the Masorti movement?
"we can only guess at what Jacobs and his friend would have to say about the left-wing theological drift of U.S. Conservativism today,"
American CJ is theologically diverse. Its left on gender issues (I can go look up where Masorti UK is on those) and gradually growing more ritually traditional on non gender/human rights issues.
UK Masorti is part of Masorti Olami, of which USCJ continues to be the largest part by far. My kid was at the Con Yeshiva in J, where she met young people from UK Masorti. While there are certainly slightly different positions, and taken in our pluralist movement (and sometimes there are tensions), the notion that there is some kind of schism between USCJ and the other components of Masorti Olami (of which Masorti in Israel and the UK are among the most important non-North American parts) is incorrect.
Posted by: masortiman | July 13, 2011 at 09:37 AM
adam
Im not sure where you got the idea that CJ rejects the idea of a moshiach. We retain all the prayers (AFAICT) that mention moshiach, prayers for the restoration of the descendants of David, etc, etc. We may not all agree on how to interpret the nature of moshiach and the messianic age, but thats a different question.
Posted by: masortiman | July 13, 2011 at 10:11 AM
interesting take on the Jacobs Affairs - scroll halfway down:
http://www.oztorah.com/2008/02/kovno-oxford-israel-brodie-his-rabbinical-career/
Posted by: Johny Seel | July 13, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Adam and masortiman might want to consider posting links to these long pieces or asking people who want to see this lengthy material to email them requesting it. Just a thought.
Sarah K
Posted by: Sarah K | July 13, 2011 at 10:55 AM
ive read his stuff. its rubbish. normal rantings of an over bright guy caught in the trap of evaluating one system using a foreign epistemology and not realizing it.
Really boring and badly put together actually.
Im sure the "Ill do anything to get off the derech" guys lap him up, but its not all that good, really.
If I had been cheif rabbi i would have denied him an aliya for being boring, and a touch arrogant. I would not have regarded his arguments as coherent enough to label him an apikorus:)
Posted by: ahpee | July 13, 2011 at 11:08 AM
"Adam and masortiman might want to consider posting links to these long pieces or asking people who want to see this lengthy material to email them requesting it. Just a thought.
Sarah K"
okee doke. Google "emet ve emunah" for the CJ statement, and then look for the section on messianic hopes.
Posted by: masortiman | July 13, 2011 at 03:30 PM