A history of
Orthodox Judaism in America since World War II
By Moshe D. Sherman
The following article
is reprinted from the American Jewish Historical Society’s American
Jewish Desk Reference: The Ultimate One Volume Reference to the Jewish
Experience in America, published by
Random House.
Eminent Orthodox leaders among postwar Jewish refugees
American Orthodox Judaism in general and yeshiva education
in particular were transformed following World War II, when several
distinguished rabbis, rosh yeshivas [heads
of Jewish academies], and Hasidic rebbes fled Europe and relocated their
institutions in America. [A Hasidic rebbe is a religious leader of a particular
group of Hasidim, members of a pietist movement which originated in the first
half of the 18th century.]
Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch and Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz
established a Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland in 1941. Initially comprised of a
small number of European students who had escaped war- torn Europe, by the
1960s the Telshe yeshiva had developed a boys high school, post-high school
yeshiva, a kollel [for higher level
study], and a girl's seminary. In 1944, Rabbi Aharon Kotler established the
Beth Midrash Gevoha in Lakewood, New Jersey. After developing some outstanding
students of Talmud, the Lakewood yeshiva came to have an enormous influence on
American Orthodoxy and its graduates established new yeshiva schools and kollels throughout North America.
These transplanted European yeshivas were different from the
American institutions established prior to World War II. The American yeshivas
established prior to World War II encouraged secular study and promoted
programs in rabbinical ordination, while the Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland, Beth
Midrash Gevoha in Lakewood, and other postwar yeshivas founded by eminent
European rosh yeshivas, encouraged
Torah study exclusively, and eschewed accommodation with American mores.
A new era of leadership for modern Orthodoxy
Not all distinguished rosh
yeshivas agreed with this approach. A new era of leadership for modern
Orthodoxy began when Rabbi Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik, the eminent Talmud scholar,
was appointed Talmud instructor at RIETS in 1941. Inspired by Rabbi
Soloveitchik's brilliance in both secular and religious knowledge, modern
Orthodox Jews in particular looked to him for direction not only in matters of halacha [Jewish law], but also regarding
religious and political issues confronting Jewish life in general. Rabbi
Soloveitchik's leadership was crucial as modern Orthodoxy continued to grow in
America alongside a growing community of Haredim
[literally "those who fear [God], often referred to as ultra-Orthodox
Jews].
Hasidism in America
In addition to new yeshivas headed by prominent Talmud
scholars, American Orthodoxy following World War II was also influenced by the
arrival of Hasidic refugees. With few exceptions, notably Pinchas David
Horowitz, the Bostoner Rebbe, and Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Friedman, the Boyaner
Rebbe, there were no Hasidic leaders in America until the arrival of Rabbi
Joseph Isaac Shneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in 1940, and Rabbi Joel
Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe, in 1947.
While individual Hasidim had [immigrated] to America as
early as the 1880s, many had abandoned their attachment to Hasidic ways. With
no Hasidic leader or community of fellow pietists, immigrant Hasidim tended to
assimilate into the mainstream of Orthodoxy.
Since World War II, several Hasidic courts, including
Lubavitch, Satmar, Bobov, Skver, and others, have developed sizable communities
in Borough Park, Crown Heights, Williamsburg, Monroe, Monsey, New Square, and
Toronto. With great resourcefulness, they have built yeshivas, synagogues,
charities and other institutions of Orthodox Jewish life.
While Hasidim in America formally eschewed accommodation
with the modern world, and their distinct custom, dress, external appearance,
and exclusive neighborhoods set them apart form other Orthodox Jews, they have
adapted aspects of American society into their community. Modern technology,
business and public relations skills, and diverse occupations are some of the
ways in which Hasidim have been affected by American life.
The result: self-confident American Orthodox communities
The transplanting of Eastern European yeshivas and the
development of Hasidic courts were not the only features of American
Orthodoxy's development since World War II. The explosion of day schools and
yeshivas in cities with relatively small populations of Orthodox Jews, the
formation of kollels, the emergence
of religious returnees, or baalei teshuva,
are additional examples of an American Orthodoxy that has transformed itself
during the past few decades. Aided by an increasingly tolerant, multi-cultural
America, these achievements, together with a relatively high birthrate, has
brought about a growing self-confidence among America's Orthodox community.
Moshe D. Sherman is an
Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Touro College.
c. 1999 by The Philip Lief Group.
