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This paper is one of a series of background papers
that have been commissioned for the 20th anniversary
meeting of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture
this summer in Jerusalem.
The papers relate to "The
Cultural Condition of the Jewish People," which is the
theme of the symposium of the meeting.
Dr. Joseph Dan is a Professor of Jewish Studies
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and formerly Head
of the School of Jewish Studies.
©
1984 Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture
The history of Jewish studies can be divided into three major periods,
each of which has its own characteristics and each reflecting the historical
circumstances in which it developed.
The first is the "hochmat Yisrael" movement of the nineteenth century;
the second Is the emergence and the establishment of "mada'ey ha-Yahadut"
in the early part of the present century, its main period of development
being the decades between the two world wars.
The third began immediately
after the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel.
The history of nineteenth-century Jewish scholarship Is itself a
popular subject of contemporary study within the framework of modern Jewish
history.
There was very little organized research in Jewish studies in the
nineteenth century.
The scholars were scattered all over Europe.
were a few in the United States.
There
The subjects the scholars concentrated
their efforts on, and the nature of their studies, were influenced by the
spiritual and political needs of their times.
The works of the "hochmat
Yisrael" scholars were written mostly in German.
They were intended to
present before the non-Jewish community of scholars a face of Judaism that
seemed necessary at the time.
It so happened that this period produced the works of some of the
greatest minds that ever took part in Jewish studies.
Thus the scholarly
conclusions of Graetz, Zunz and Steinschneider far transcend the original
contemporary intentions of their creators, and are still studied with great
care and deep respect by the scholars in Jewish studies today.
To understand and appreciate the current situation in Jewish studies,
one should constantly compare the second period, the first four decades of
the twentieth century, with the nearly four decades of Jewish studies after
the Holocaust.
The most important developments in the last generation and a half in
Jewish studies can be highlighted as follows:
1. The institutionalization of Jewish studies and their Inclusion
within a regular academic, university framework in Israel,
America and Europe.
2. The emergence of Jewish studies from their isolation and their
integration in faculties of humanities.
3. The rapid decline of the apologetic and ideological elements in
the choice of subjects and the character of the studies themselves.
4. The rapid development of new subjects and new fields of research
within Jewish studies.
5. The increasing dominance of Jewish scholars in most of the fields
of Jewish studies when compared to non-Jewish scholars.
6.
The integration of Jewish studies in the dally life of Jewish communities, both in Israel and in the diaspora, and the leadership
role that the Jewish public expects from scholars in Jewish studies.
7.
The replacement of "great names," great individual scholars, with
groups of specialists, sometimes becoming a "school" in the study
of specific subjects.
8.
The Increasing role of the great number of university graduates who
have studied Judaism in the professions and social circles.
9.
The special role of works of Jewish scholarship in shaping the
attitude of academic and non-academic non-Jewish circles towards
Judaism and Israel.
10. The almost universal acceptance, among Jews in the diaspora and in
Israel, that there is a connection between the study of the Jewish
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past and the successful struggle for the development of contemporary
Jewish culture and for Jewish national survival In the modern world.
This essay 1s more concerned with the developments within Jewish studies
than with the impact they have on Jewish society and the non-Jewish academic
world.
The emphases are, of course, somewhat subjective and the examples
given may be completely subjective,* yet it is hoped that a general picture
will emerge from the following analysis.
II
More than a decade ago, the Encyclopaedia Judalca, with the assistance
of the Memorial Foundation, was published in Jerusalem, being the central
effort of Jewish scholarship In the preceding decade.
Concurrently, a new,
revised and mostly re-wrltten version of the Encyclopaedia of Islam is being
published in Leiden.
ences clearly emerge.
When comparing these two encyclopaedias some differBoth encyclopaedias faithfully reflect the interna-
tional communities of scholars who are experts in the subjects that they
cover.
Nearly 90Z of the authors of the articles in the Encyclopedia of
Islam are European and American professors; the rest are scholars In Turkey,
Iran, Lebanon—and almost an equal number of scholars from Israeli universities.
Dealing with Islam, the encyclopaedia is written almost totally by
non-Mo81em8.
The Encyclopaedia Judaica, on the other hand, was written almost
exclusively by Jewish scholars, most of them in Israel and the United States.
This is a phenomenon expressing a basic development in this
century:
*I did not mention In this essay any scholar by name If he is still active
in his academic institution. Only deceased, or (ad meah ve-esrim) retired
scholars are mentioned by name.
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Continuing previous processes, Jewish scholarship today is capable of
presenting a comprehensive, detailed, scholarly picture of the totality
of Jewish history, religion, literature, language and philosophy on the
same level as other fields in the Humanities.
One example demonstrates what is happening in many other fields.
Until the Second World War, the archaeology of Palestine was one of the
central subjects studied by biblical archaeologists all over the world,
along with the studies of the Bible and the New Testament.
Most of the
archaeologists, historians, eplgraphers, art-historians, and others, who
were Involved in the excavation of ancient cities in Palestine were not
Jewish.
Their scholarly attitude reflected the center of their Interest.
W. F. Albright, the greatest among them, called his most popular summary
of their discoveries "From the Stone Age to Christianity."
Since the establishment of the state of Israel, the school of biblical
archaeology and history founded by
Benjamin Mazar in the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem produced four generations of scholars who increasingly took
over the project, which became one of the greatest enterprises in Jewish
scholarship in the last thirty-five years.
Israeli scholars, now spread over five universities, participated in a
most comprehensive effort to discover the ancient history of Eretz Israel in
all periods.
Their achievements dwarf anything that was done before.
Their
attitude, naturally, Is not "From the Stone Age to Christianity," but a deep
connection with the soil of this country, fascination with the totality of
its history, empathy with the various periods of the Jewish past, combined
with systematic expertise of archaeological research.
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While the archaeological-historical study of the ancient periods of
Judaism and Eretz Israel presents the most remarkable example of Jewish
scholars taking over a major field of research and achieving great results
(e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls, Masada and the Bar Kochba letters), there was
not a similar process with regard to biblical studies. While Israeli and
Jewish biblical scholars play a central role In contemporary biblical
studies, this field is still to a very large extent the domain of departments of theology in non-Jewish universities, with the resulting attitude
that puts interest in Christianity at the forefront of studies of the Old
Testament.
These two fields point out the Importance of institutional developments In the last forty years.
The establishment of the state of Israel and
the spread of higher education in this country added four more universities
in which Jewish scholars study the Bible, in comparison to the hundreds of
such Institutions all over the world which are part of Christian culture.
At the same time, the facilities and encouragement that the state of
Israel gave to archaeological and historical research (very often putting
IDF units and helicopters at the disposal of scholars) made a decisive difference compared to the previous period.
Public interest in studies in the
history of Israel Is very keen, and archaeologists could rely on substantial
public support and an encouraging atmosphere.
This is the reason for the
fact that while Jewish biblical studies developed slowly in the last thirtyfive years, archaeological-historical studies made a quantum leap forward.
These two subjects related to the Bible were established generations
ago by non-Jewish scholarship.
Other fields, dealing with later periods in
Jewish history and culture, were founded and developed by Jewish scholars
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in the nineteenth century.
But here, too, institutional and organizational
developments revolutionized the field.
The major difference between the
first hundred years of the study of a subject differs from the last forty In
one main respect.
Previously each subject was dominated by one central
figure, a great scholar whose studies were the center of developments in the
field; now, in most fields, one can find several groups of scholars, often
without one dominant figure, diligently producing Impressive scholarly results.
For Instance, the study of Jewish traditional poetry was dominated by a
succession of scholars from Leopold Zunz to Jalm Schirman.
Each contributed
a major new aspect and studied new manuscripts and dlwans in this rich
found field.
pro-
Today, both the piyyut and medieval and renaissance poetry are
being studied by a score of scholars In five Israeli universities and many
Jewish and non-Jewish institutions of higher learning in Europe and America.
The combined efforts of these scholars made the last generation the one in
which more studies and more comprehensive summaries were published than ever
before.
Whether a dominant figure emerges among these scholars depends on
the ability and talent of the leading scholar, and cannot be the result of
his loneliness in studying the field.
The Identification of a field with an
individual cannot persist when so many universities teach and study the
subject.
This leads us to the most Impressive and meaningful change which occurred after the Second World War and the establishment of the state of
Israel:
The unprecedented spread of university studies of ancient, medieval
and modern Jewish subjects (post-biblical Judaism).
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Ill
When the state of Israel gained its Independence In 1948, there was
one university in the country where Jewish studies were taught: The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
There, a few thousand students were taught
by a handful of professors.
Today, Jewish studies are taught In six universities —
University, Tel Aviv
The Hebrew
University, Bar Ilan, Haifa, Be'er Sheva and Every-
man's University in Tel Aviv.
The number of students in the various de-
partments of Jewish studies in these institutions Is nearly 10,000; the
number of their teachers is approaching 1,000.
of Jewish studies.
These teachers are scholars
They work and publish in all aspects of Jewish studies
while the state of Israel, assisted by contributions from diaspora Judaism,
supports them and supplies them the necessary tools of research.
Never
before in the history of the study of Judalca has there been such a large
group of scholars who are engaged on a full-time basis in the pursuance of
the detailed, systematic investigation of Jewish history, languages,
literature, philosophy, art, music, folklore and other subjects.
The major subjects have been organized in a department form (e.g., Bible,
Talmud, Yiddish, Jewish History, Hebrew Language, Jewish Thought, Hebrew
Literature, Jewish Folklore), each employing from five to fifty scholars.
Each such department in a university is developing in constant cooperation,
and competition, with other departments in the same field in other universities in the country.
The geography of Israel allows a scholar to live in
Jerusalem and teach in Tel Aviv or Haifa.
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Thus the communities of scholars
In each university stay In close contact with those of other Institutions.
In most subjects there are annual conferences where Interested scholars
meet and discuss their recent studies.
A comparison with the situation
before the Second World War Is almost Impossible.
A whole new phase In
the history of Jewish studies has begun with the explosive development of
university studies in Israel since the establishment of the state.
The support of the state, and of public opinion, is crucial to the
development of Jewish studies in this new framework.
Last year one
university asked the Council of Higher Education, which Is entrusted by
law to govern the academic development of higher education in the state,
for permission to enlarge its department of Jewish thought.
ing, I was the only member close to the field.
At that meet-
My colleagues on the
committee asked me, "Is this specific plan a sound one?"
The question
was whether the institution has the resources to carry out its plans on a
high academic level.
There was no public criticism of the rapid develop-
ment of Jewish studies, while other subjects of academic study were
crltlzed quite often.
Both the government and the state see a national
Interest in the preservation and flourishing of the academic study of the
Jewish past.
This atmosphere is one of the most Important assets of con-
temporary Jewish studies;
it helps scholars carry out their work with keen
awareness of public Interest and public support of their efforts.
This twentyfold Increase in the number of scholars in Jewish studies
during such a brief period was not appreciated enough by the scholarly
community Itself; sometimes It was unjustly criticized.
plaints like:
We often hear com-
"Instead of so many mediocre scholars, we wish we had one
Zunz or one Epstein."
The flaw In this argument is the belief that if the
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number of scholars were smaller, the quality of their work would be higher.
This is, of course, a completely false premise.
The great names of the past are we11-remembered; they were few then as
they are now.
But people tend to forget the many mediocre scholars who did
not leave many important studies.
And they do not take into account the
enormous power that the increase in numbers gives the field of Jewish studies.
We now have the ability to confront great projects, undertake undreamed of
tasks, and to do it while educating a new generation of students and scholars
in Israel'8 universities.
The fact is that the great potential of the recent explosive development has not yet been realized.
Many Israeli scholars In the field still
work in the same individual manner In which Jewish studies developed in the
19th century and the first half of the 20th.
The present achievements of
the community of scholars in Israel do not fully reflect the revolutionary
Increase in Its size and its resources.
It takes much longer for a group of
scholars to realize its strength than to acquire It in the first place.
But
the potential exists, and recently there has been a meaningful Increase in
the establishment of groups of scholars engaged in a group project.
I have
no doubt that in the near future this tendency will Increase.
One of the bottlenecks which hinders Israeli scholarship from realizing
its full potential is the exasperatlngly slow process of publication and the
relative scarcity of specialized journals which publish scholarly works on a
regular basis.
The revolution in the methods of computerized publication and
the rapid spread of word processors and microcomputers will undoubtedly assist
in overcoming this obstacle.
A long, and sometimes difficult, process of
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growth is ahead for the community of scholars in Jewish studies in Israel
until they utilize the resources given them by the state and can fully
express their potential.
But a healthy and strong foundation has been
laid. There is no doubt that there will be a meaningful development in
the coming decades.
IV
The impact of the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of
Israel was felt in the United States snd Canada.
The development of Jewish
studies there Is comparable In its vastness with that of Israel itself.
Most processes occurred in the United States a decade or so after they took
form in Israel.
The rapid growth of the number of students and professors
in Israel In the 1950's was paralleled In America in the 1960's.
While before the Second World War there were only a handful of chairs
of Jewish studies in a few universities, after the war chairs increased
rapidly, and units dealing with Jewish studies mushroomed in hundreds of
colleges and universities.
Today, Hebrew and Judaism in one form or another
are being studied in nearly 500 institutions of higher learning In North
America, employing a community of scholars whose size is comparable to that
of Israel.
Among the reasons for this growth, two stsnd out:
(1) on the one hand,
the increased awareness of Jewish communities in America of the importance
of the Jewish past to their struggle to preserve their Identity and heritage;
and (2) on the other hand, the impact of the establishment of the state of
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Israel and Its centrallty in world affairs, which made the study of Hebrew
and Jewish culture not only of interest to biblical scholars but to the
academic community as a whole.
The new wave of establishment of departments dealing with Jewish studies
in nondenominatlonal Institutions of higher education was sustained by the
past achievements of the Jewish institutions established in the 19th
century and early 20th, such as the Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
Hebrew Union College and Yeshiva University.
The first scholars who occu-
pied the newly-established chairs and departments were graduates of and
teachers at these veteran institutions.
The denominational institutions
in the United States served the same role in America as the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem did in Israel.
The vast development of the 1960's
was built on the excellent scholarly work accomplished in the older
institutions in the period between the wars.
If it were not for them, the
post-World War Increase would have evaporated because of the lack of
qualified professors.
The reservoir of capable scholars created in the
previous generation made it possible for the present one to make use of the
new opportunities opened as the result of the historical changes.
As a result, the academic teaching of Jewish studies became one of the
"Jewish professions" in small and large communities in America.
In many
cases, the community's contributions established the chair in the first
place; cooperation between the community and the scholar occupying the chair
remains very close.
The professor of Jewish studies often represents Jewish culture to
the surrounding non-Jewish society as the community's spokesman.
At the
same time, he or she Is expected to assume some responsibility for Jewish
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education on various levels.
Many of the students are sons and daughters
of the Jewish community, which makes him more visible to the community.
Thus, in many cases, there is mutual support and mutual dependence between
the community and the scholar of Jewish studies.
Another similarity between Israel and America, and a most Important
change from the pre-World War situation, is the process of Integration between Jewish studies and the Humanities as a whole.
In the nondenomlna-
tlonal institutions of higher learning, only seldom are Jewish studies
given a special department.
Usually, there is a multi-departmental program
and the teachers who are In it belong to general disciplines —
history,
Near Eastern languages, comparative literature, history of religion, and
the like.
As a result, the scholar In Jewish studies is continuously in
touch with scholarly developments in the general discipline of his field,
and can apply new attitudes and new trends to the study of Judaism.
A new school in literary analysis which began through the study
of medieval French literature can thus influence the study of Hebrew literature.
Scholars in Jewish studies sometimes feel lonely and remote from
colleagues dealing with the same Jewish subjects they are studying, but
they gain a great deal by their dally contact with colleagues studying the
same disciplines in other languages.
And as the Jewish denominational
academic institutions still flourish and teach Jewish studies in a more
concentrated manner, Jewish studies have gained a great deal while not losing
anything.
To some extent, Israeli universities resemble a combination of American
denominational and nondenominatlonal institutions.
On the one hand, they
Include specialized, concentrated departments of Jewish studies such as those
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of the Jewish Theological Seminary or Hebrew Union College (in Israel,
Hebrew University has an Institute of Jewish Studies, Bar Ilan has a
Faculty of Jewish Studies, and Tel Aviv University has a School of Jewish
Studies).
On the other hand, these departments, usually having 1,000-
2,000 students, and 100 or 200 teachers, are part
of a comprehensive
university, teaching medicine, the sciences and the whole range of humanistic disciplines.
There exist enough opportunities for a creative
contact between scholars In Jewish subjects and their colleagues dealing
with non-Jewish subjects.
Their full utilization is up to the individual
scholars, who, in this case as in others, do not always make use of all
that the state and the university offer them.
This is the first time In which there is an objective possibility of
reaching a close Integration between Jewish studies and the humanities, as
a whole, making "post-biblical Judaism" a legitimate part of universal human culture as "biblical Judaism" has been for centuries.
Antagonism towards Jewish studies still prevails in many academic
circles, but it is much weaker than It was in previous generations.
The
sheer fact of the inclusion of Jewish studies in the programs of practically
all first-rate institutions of higher education In America means that the
doors are open.
The quality of the scholarly work produced by contemporary
scholars in Jewish studies both in Israel and abroad will decide whether
this process of integration will proceed successfully and Judaism in all its
aspects will occupy its rightful place among the study of Man's history and
culture.
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V
The development of Jewish studies In Europe Is significantly different from that In Israel and the United States.
The total destruction of
European Jewry during the Second World War left the continent without any
foundation from which development could start.
There were no organized
Jewish communities which could assist the establishment of academic study
of Judaism.
The non-Jewish public could not produce scholars in this
field because of the anti-Semitic wave which destroyed any empathy towards
Jewish culture In the Nazi period.
It is not surprising that the develop-
ment in Europe is much slower than It is in Israel and America.
One must distinguish between England, Prance and the rest of Europe.
In Great Britain, development was uninterrupted by the Holocaust, and both
Jewish institutions and the old and new English universities continued to
increase their interest in Jewish studies.
Jewish studies in France
gained much from the rapid increase of the number of Jews after the wave
of Immigration of Jews from North Africa.
They created an Interest in the
development of Jewish studies in a more rapid manner.
France still suffered,
however, from the fact that no reservoir of Jewish scholars from the pre-war
period remained.
A shortage of professors makes it very difficult to fully
use the potential created in France in the last two decades.
One of the most Important things happening today in Europe is the increased interest of non-Jewish young scholars in making their academic
career in post-biblical Jewish studies.
This is apparent especially in
Germany and Holland, and to a lesser extent in England.
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While the Israeli community of scholars in this field is almost exclusively Jewish, and that in the United States is dominated by Jews, in
Europe a scholarly community is emerging which is comprised of about equal
numbers of Jews and non-Jews.
The newly-established European Association
of Jewish Studies is probably the first comprehensive group of scholars in
Jewish studies in which non-Jews occupy such a central segment.
It is
expected that this process will continue and even increase its momentum.
This Is one of the reasons why the development of Jewish studies in
Europe, even though it has been slower than in the United States and Israel,
is contributing in a most meaningful manner to the integration of Jewish
studies all over the world with the Humanities.
The spread of scholarship
in Jewish fields by non-Jewish scholars removes the subject from the segregation of a "Jewish profession" and makes It a universally-accepted academic
field equal to all others.
Recently, an International conference for the
study of Hekhalot mysticism met at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
It
was organized by the Gershom Scholem Center for the Study of Kabbalah.
It
was the first scholarly conference dealing with post-biblical subjects in
which I participated where the lecturers were about evenly divided between
Jewish and non-Jewish. (The non-Jews were mostly from Europe —
England,
Holland and Germany.)
VI
One of the most significant developments of the post-World War period
is the establishment of the tradition of the World Congresses of Jewish
Studies, which meet every fourth year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The first was convened in 1947; the eighth met in 1981.
ninth, which will meet in August, 1985, have gone out.
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Invitations for the
These congresses are organized by the World Union of Jewish Studies.
They reflect the revolutionary development in Jewish studies after the
Second World War.
At the first congress, a few dozen lectures were de-
livered; at the eighth—700.
Fifteen hundred scholars participated.
The main importance of the congress does not lie in its size, but
in its comprehensiveness.
This congress, like the annual conferences of
the Association of Jewish Studies in Boston, reflect the fact that Jewish
studies have grown to cover the full range of subjects included in the
field, from biblical archaeology to contemporary Jewish demography.
Not
long ago, Gershom Scholem's voice was the only one discussing kabbalah
and Jewish mysticism; today, the World Congress offers 40 lectures in that
field.
The subject "contemporary Jewry" was unknown a generation ago; it
is now one of the most thoroughly studied subjects in America and Israel.
This is a picture of great success.
period of physical growth.
We have undergone a very rapid
The next generation should be dedicated to
the translation of quantity into quality.
And, in this most important field of Jewish studies, the Memorial
Foundation has a key role to play.
The policy of the Foundation has correctly been to reward by substantial grants, first, excellence, and second, cooperation.
It supported
through scholarships the best Ph.D. candidates in Jewish studies, and thus
encouraged young scholars to develop their full potential.
The Memorial Foundation encouraged through substantial grants important
projects in which several scholars, or sometimes whole institutions were
able to organize their scholarly work.
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What was Important in the past is needed even more in the future.
The
Memorial Foundation has the ability to make known that no first-rate project
will be neglected and no brilliant young scholar will have to move to another field because of lack of support.
These two fields —
the development of future excellence and the
utilization of the combined force of an academic group of a scholarly project —
are almost the only means by which excellence can be Influenced by
financing.
To this should be added support for the publication of first-
rate studies and even scholarly journals.
To conclude, history has created a unique set of circumstances in which
Jewish studies have the structure and the means to achieve results greater
than any achieved In the past.
The Memorial Foundation, together with the
universities and the various organizations of Jewish studies, are responsible
for utilizing this opportunity in the best way.
the one and only target.
Academic excellence is
If It is achieved, everything else is achieved
—
from the integration of Jewish studies with the humanities as a whole to the
deepening of the impact of Jewish studies on the surrounding communities.
The search and support of academic excellence should be the one and only
guideline for our work in the future.
it**
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