Wissenshaft reactions

Assaf Yedidya
Orthodox Reactions to "Wissenschaft des Judentums"
Modern Judaism - Volume 30, Number 1, February 2010, pp. 69-94

This was a phenomenal article.
Wissenshaft des Judentums was essentially a movement in nineteenth century Judaism that used more scientific methodology to analyze Jewish history and tradition/teachings. Masters like Graetz, Reb Dovid Tzvi Hoffman, Solomon Schechter and Gershon Scholem are reported to have been "students" of this method.


In this article, Yedidya sums up a number of different approaches that historically were taken by the gedolim of the age in response to this new scientific approach to life.
The one approach that really hit home for me was that of Rav Kook's.

From his Igrot V2 pg 20we can not deny that there is much that is worthwhile even in books that have many flaws...The truth is loved above all else and it alone is worthy of glory."

Eder Hayakar pg 39 in 1906 ed.- "But the true eternal foundation of the Oral Torah is simply the fact of the acceptance of the Oral Torah by the Jewish nation, in its ways of life."

Although it seems that he felt that the Jewish nation was able to bear this ind of critique of the entire system of our tradition, according to Yedidya it was only to bring those Wissenshaft Jews to a more nationalistic spirit and bring them back to an observance of the commandments.

What I am not sure I understand is that this assumes that those proponents of these "ideas" are not observant. If they are following the mitzvos, then are these views ok or not?

Either way, without a full examination into the writings of Rav Kook, and to be honest, I haven't actually looked through all the sources he quotes, Rav Kook seems to imply that these ideas can be absorbed into the people of Israel. He does not turn around and say that these ideas are assur or heretical. He is trying to find a way for these ideas to fit in, and synthesize with what we already think we know.

Wissenshaft 1- Ghettoizing the brain 0

Oh P.S.- Ghettoization of the brain is totally a term I just made up. In Judaism, especially in the right, we have people who have been so utterly indoctrinated that they cant even believe that there are any other possibilities out there. We have trapped our brains, locked ourselves in a box, a ghetto, unable to remember or even dream of the outside, it just isnt even there!!!