Language, ideology and the beginnings of the integrationist movement in the Kingdom of Poland in the 1860s

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Notes

An interesting, though outdated and tendentious, study of the state of the integrationist movement during this period can be found in Hilary Nussbaum, Historia Żydów od Mojżesza do epoki obecnej (History of the Jews from Moses to the Present Day), Vol. 5: Żydzi w Polsce (The Jews in Poland) (Warsaw, 1890); idem., Szkice historyczne z życia Żydów w Warszawie od pierwszych śladsów pobytu ich w tym mieście do chwili obecnej (Historical Sketch of the Life of the Jews of Poland from the First Traces of Their Settlement to the Present Day) (Warsaw, 1881). See also Natan M. Gelber, Die Juden und der Polnische Aufstand 1863 (Vienna/Leipzig: R.Löwit, 1923). Of the newer studies, see Artur Eisenbach, Kwestia równouprawnienia Żydów w Królestwie Polskim (The Issue of Equality of Jews in the Kingdom of Poland) (Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza, 1972), 241ff; idem., Emancypacja Żydów na ziemiach polskich 1785–1870 na tle europejskim (The Emancipation of the Jews on the Polish Lands in 1785–1870 in the European Context) (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1989), 468–513; Magdalena Opalski and Israel Bartal, Poles and Jews: A Failed Brotherhood (Hanover/London: Brandeis University Press, 1992), 12–37.

Nussbaum, Szkice historyczne, 174.

See François Guesnet, Polnische Juden im 19. Jahrhundert: Lebensbedingungen, Rechtsnormen und Organisation im Wandel (Cologne/Weimar/Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1998), 303–31 for the considerable importance of changes in the burial customs and ceremonies for the modernising segments of Jewish society. See also Sylvie-Anne Goldberg, Crossing the Jabbok: Illness and Death in Ashkenazi Judaism in Sixteenth–through Nineteenth-Century Prague (Berkeley, 1996). For further details on the conflict over Eisenbaum’s tombstone, see Dawid Kandel, ‘Napisy nagrobkowe polskie na cmentarzu żydowskim w Warszawie’ (Polish Grave Inscriptions in the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw), Kwartalnik poświęcony badaniu przeszłości Żydów w Polsce, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1912, 142–43 and Ignacy Schiper, Cmentarze żydowskie w Warszawie (Jewish Cemeteries in Warsaw) (Warsaw, 1938), 122.

Judaita [Samel Henryk Peltyn], Projekt reformy w judaizmie ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem jego strony etycznej (Plan of Reform of Judaism with Emphasis on Its Ethnic Dimension) (Warsaw, 1885), 44–45.

Further details on the Jewish ‘assimilation’ factions and camps in nineteenth-century Poland are to be found in Alina Cała, Asymilacja Żydów w Królestwie Polskim (1864–1897). Postawy–Konflikty–Stereotypy (Assimilation of Jews in the Kingdom of Poland, 1864–1897: Positions, Conflicts, Stereotypes) (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1989) and idem., ‘The Question of the Assimilation of Jews in the Polish Kingdom (1864–1897). An Interpretative Essay’, Polin, Vol.1, 1986, 130–50. See also Stefan Kieniewicz, ‘Assimilated Jews in Nineteenth-Century Warsaw’, in Władysław T. Bartoszewski and Antony Polonski (eds.), The Jews in Warsaw: A History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 171–80; Joseph Lichten, ‘Notes on the Assimilation and Acculturation of Jews in Poland 1863–1943’, in Chimen Abramsky, Maciej Jachimczyk and Antony Polonsky (eds.), The Jews in Poland (Oxford, 1986), 106–29; Alexander Guterman, Mehitbolelut leleumiut: Perakim betoldot bet-hakneset hagadol hasinagoga be-Varsha (From Assimilation To Nationalism: Chapters in the History of the Great Synagogue in Warsaw) (Jerusalem: Karmel, 1997). On radical Haskalah, see, for example, Shmuel Werses, ‘Hasifrut ha’ivrit be-Polin: tekufot veziyune derekh’ (Hebrew Literature in Poland: Periods and Directions), in Israel Bartal and Israel Gutman (eds.), Kiyum veshever: Yehude Polin ledorotehem (The Broken Chain: Polish Jewry Through the Ages), Vol. 2: Hevra, tarbut, leumiyut (Society, Culture and Nationalism) (Jerusalem: Zaman Shazar, 2001), 166.

See Ezra Mendelsohn, On Modern Jewish Politics (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 16–17 for a discussion on terminology regarding modernist sections of the Jewish society and the difference between ‘assimilation’ – the drive to total abandonment of the Jewish identity – and ‘integration’ – the endeavour to create a modern version of Jewishness. In the use of the term ‘integrationist’ I follow Mendelsohn’s suggestion.

For a discussion of Tannenbaum and his salon, see Raphael Mahler, Hasidism and the Jewish Enlightenment: Their Confrontation in Galicia and Poland in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, trans. Eugene Orenstein, Aaron Klein, Jenny Machlowitz Klein (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1985), 222–29.

See Mark Baker, ‘The Reassessment of Haskala Ideology in the Aftermath of the 1863 Polish Revolt’, Polin, Vol. 5, 1990, 227–28 for the political views of Israel Weisbrem.

See Cała, Asymilacja Żydów, 33–48 and Marian Fuks, Prasa żydowska w Warszawie 1823–1939 (The Jewish Press in Warsaw, 1823–1939) (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1979), 103–23 for the strategy of popularisation of the sciences and the apolitical direction of Hazefirah before Sokołów’s editorship. Interesting comments on the attitude of the periodical towards the dilemmas of Polish versus Russian loyalty are to be found in Baker, 226–27.

The above-mentioned division of the Jewish ‘progressive’ camp reflects the two directions in Jewish ‘assimilation’ in Poland described by Ezra Mendelsohn – a pragmatic and romantic one. At the same time, it proves that ‘pragmaticism’ and ‘romanticism’ were two of a number of elements dividing this group into competing camps. See Ezra Mendelsohn, ‘A Note on Jewish Assimilation in the Polish Lands’, in Bela Vago (ed.), Assimilation in Modern Times (Boulder, CO, 1981), 145–49. Ela Bauer correctly traced the influence of Polish positivist ideology to the second of the Hazefirah editors, Nachum Sokołów. See Ela Bauer, Nahum Sokolow and the Problematics of the Polish Jewish Intelligentsia, PhD thesis (New York University, 2000).

See Shmuel Feiner, Haskalah and History: The Emergence of a Modern Jewish Historical Consciousness, trans. Chaya Naor and Sondra Silverston (Oxford/Portland: Littman Library, 2002), 274–95 for information on the clash between moderate and radical Haskalah in Russia.

See Shmuel Feiner, ‘The Pseudo-Enlightenment and the Question of Jewish Modernisation’, Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1996–97, 62–88.

Samuel H. Peltyn, ‘Z życia. Pogadanki tygodniowe’ (From Life: Weekly Talks), Izraelita, Vol. 3, No. 12, 1868, 90–91; Izrael Leon Grosglik, ‘Listy Młodego Ex-Chasyda’ (Letters from a Young Ex-Hasid), Izraelita, Vol. 4, No. 31, 1869, 262; H.N[eumanowicz], ‘Przyczynki do listów ex-chasyda’ (Comments on Letters from an Ex-Hasid), Izraelita, Vol. 4, No. 37, 1869, 311; Samuel H. Peltyn, ‘Optymizm i pesymizm’, Izraelita, Vol. 9, No. 40, 1874, 319; idem., ‘Nasze Drogi’ (Our Roads), Izraelita, Vol. 21, No. 20, 1886, 157.

For some statistical aspects of Jewish assimilation and acculturation in Warsaw, see Stephen D. Corrsin, ‘Aspects of Population Change and of Acculturation in Jewish Warsaw at the End of the Nineteenth Century: The Censuses of 1882 and 1897’, Polin, Vol. 3, 1988, 122–41. See also Todd M. Endelman, ‘Jewish Converts in Nineteenth-Century Warsaw: A Quantitative Analysis’, Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 4, 1997–98, 28–59.

During the period in which Jutrzenka and Izraelita appeared, several dozen extensive programmatic articles were devoted to the polemics with religious indifferentism. See, e.g., S. Trachtenberg, ‘Pia desideria’ (Pious Wishes), Jutrzenka, Vol. 3, 1863, No. 11, 103; ‘Listy żydowskie. List VIII. Izaak do Redaktora Jutrzenki’ (Jewish Letters. Letter 8, Izaak to the Editor of Jutrzenka’), Jutrzenka, Vol. 3, No. 14, 1863, 137–38; Samuel H. Peltyn, ‘Indifferentyzm religijny’ (Indifference to Religion), Izraelita, Vol. 1, No. 6, 1866, 41–43; idem., ‘Rzut oka na sprawy Judaizmu w roku ubiegłym’ (A Glance at Judaism and Associated Matters in the Previous Year), Izraelita, Vol. 5, No. 1–2, 1870, 1–3, 9–11; idem., ‘Optymizm i pesymizm’, Izraelita, Vol. 9, No. 40, 1874, 319–20; Adolf Jakub Cohn, ‘Bezbarwni’ (Colourless), Izraelita, Vol. 11, No. 32, 1876, 249–50. On controversies concerning the importance of religion and the direction of the religious reforms among Jews in the Congress of Poland, see Alexander Guterman, ‘Hapulmus bekhitve-’et yehudiyim be-Polin bidvar tikunim bedat (1861–1885) (The Debate over Religious Reform in the Polish-Language Jewish Press)’, Gal Ed, Vol. 10, 1987, 41–62.

Judaita, 44.

For a broader treatment of the adoption of the Polish language by the Polish maskilim, see my ‘Dlaczego polscy maskile pisali po polsku? Z ideowej charakterystyki oświecenia żydowskiego w Królestwie Polskim’ (Why Did the Polish maskilim Write in Polish?)’, in Konrad Zieliński and Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska (eds.), Ortodoksja. Emancypacja. Asymilacja. Studia z dziejów ludności żydowskiej na ziemiach polskich w okresie rozbiorów (Orthodoxy, Emancipation, Assimilation: Studies on the History of the Jewish People on the Polish Lands in the Period of Partitions) (Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, 2003), 81–97.

See Guesnet, 298–300 on the role of the German language as an element of identity and social position. What is interesting, in a volume dealing with the impact of the German model on the Jewish Enlightenment in European countries and regions, is that not a single passage is devoted to the Kingdom of Poland – see Jacob Katz (ed.), Toward Modernity: The European Jewish Model (New Brunswick/Oxford: Transaction Books, 1987).

See Weinryb, ‘Zur Geschichte der Aufklärung bei den Juden’, Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 76, 1932, 139–52.

Z. [Antoni Eisenbaum], ‘O wychowaniu młodzieży żydowskiej’ (On the Education of Jewish Youth), Rozmaitości (supplement to Gazeta Korrespondenta Krajowego i Zagranicznego), No. 8, 1822, 32.

See, e.g., Henryk Liebkind, Modlitwy dla Izraelitów na dni zwyczajne i uroczyste wraz z przekładem polskim (Prayers for Israelites for Weekdays and Festivals Together With a Polish Translation) (Warsaw, 1846), III.

J[osef] B[ernstein], ‘Warschau’ [correspondence], Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums, Vol. 4, No. 7, 1840, 89–90; Z. [Antoni Eisenbaum], ‘Uwagi nad artykułem p. Hering’ (Notes on the Article by Hering), Gazeta Codzienna, No. 2, 678, 1839, 3. In 1897 only 13.7 per cent of the Jews in the Kingdom of Poland declared Polish as their mother tongue. However, these figures should not be taken at face value.

See, e.g., Jakub Tugendhold, ‘Krótki rys historii języka i literatury hebrajskiej’ (An Outline History of Hebrew Language and Literature), in [Jedaia ben Abraham Bedersi], Bechynoth-ołam. Rozmyślania o świecie (Reflections on the World), trans. Jakub Tugendhold (Warsaw, 1846), 22–23.

Daniel Neufeld, Or Torah: Śwsiatło Zakonu. Uwagi i objaśnienia gramatyczne, leksykograficzne, historyczne geograficzne, i obrzędowo-religijne do tłumaczenia polskiego Pięcioksięgu Mojżesza (The Light of the Torah: Grammatical, Historical, Geographical and Ceremonial Notes and Comments on the Polish Translation of the Pentateuch), Vol. 1, Księga Rodzaju (The Book of Genesis) (Warsaw, 1863), 3.

Hilary Nussbaum, Leon i Lajb: Studium religijno-społeczne (Leon and Lajb: A Religious–Social Study) (Warsaw, 1883), 24. See also Judaita, 127.

Nussbaum, Szkice historyczne, 169.

See Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych, Centralne Władze Wyznaniowe (Main Archive of Old Acts and Central Religious Authorities), 1731, 659–67.

For further details on Kramsztyk, see Izaak Kramsztyk, Kazania (Sermons), Vol. 1 (Cracow, 1892), I–V; Wein Adam, ‘Kramsztyk Izaak’, in Polski Słownik Biograficzn (Polish Biographical Dictionary), Vol. 15, 133; Gelber, 83–85; Jacob Shatzky, Geshikhte fun Yidn in Varshe, Vol. 3 (New York: YIVO, 1953), index.

See Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych, Centralne Władze Wyznaniowe, 1728, 182–97; 1729, 1–75 for information on the transformation of the ‘German’ synagogue. A brief history of the synagogue on Daniłowiczowska Street is provided in Zilbersztejn, ‘Postępowa synagoga na Daniłowiczowskiej w Warszawie (przyczynek do historii kultury Żydów polskich XIX stulecia)’ (The Progressive Synagogue on Daniłowiczowska Street in Warsaw: A Chapter on the History of the Culture of Polish Jews in the Nineteenth Century), Biuletyn Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1970, 31–57. See also Alexander Guterman, ‘The Origins of the Great Synagogue in Warsaw on Tłomackie Street’, in Władysław T. Bartoszewski and Antony Polonski (eds.), The Jews in Warsaw: A History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 181–211; idem., Mehitbolelut leleumiut. Comments on the ideological dilemmas of the integrationist Jews in Poland are to be found in Hanna Kozińska-Witt, ‘Żydzi – polscy? niemieccy? Szkic o tożsamości Żydów postępowych w latach sześćdziesiątych i siedemdziesiątych XIX w.’ (Jews? Poles? Germans? Essay on the Identity of Progressive Jews in the 1860s and 1870s), Teksty Drugie, No. 6, 1996, 71–81.

Jutrzenka, Vol. 2, No. 46, 1862, 381 cited after Zofia Borzymińska, Szkolnictwo żydowskie w Warszawie 1831–1870 (Jewish Education in Warsaw, 1831–1870) (Warsaw: Żydowski Instytut Historyczny, 1994), 219–20.

‘Wiadomości bieżące. Suum cuique’, Jutrzenka, Vol. 3, No. 15, 1863, 152. The Polish émigré press devoted considerable attention to these events – see Shatzky, iii, 359.

The two other languages were Yiddish (83.7 per cent) and Russian (2.2 per cent) – see Corrsin, 131. Interestingly, Polish was declared less frequently in Łódź, for which the statistics were: Yiddish 93.6 per cent, Polish 4.1 per cent, Russian 1.2 per cent, German 1.1 per cent. See Julian K. Janczak, ‘Struktura narodowościowa Łodzi w latach 1820–1939’ (The Structure of the Population of Łódź, 1820–1939), in Wiesław Puś and Stanisław Liszewski (eds.), Dzieje Żydów w Łodzi 1820–1944. Wybrane problemy (The Jews in Łódź, 1820–1944: Selected Issues) (Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 1991), 49.

Neufeld, 2.

See Baker, 221–49 for the reaction of the Hebrew maskilic press to the January Uprising and Jewish involvement in the Uprising. See also Borzymińska, 298–99. Further details on the reaction in Jewish literature can be found in Opalski and Bartal, 78–97.

American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, Marcus Jastrow’s biographical notes. The best description of the Polish episode in the life of Jastrow can be found in Artur Eisenbach, Eligiusz Kozlowski, ‘Jastrow Marcus’, in Polski Słownik Biograficzny, Vol. 11, 70–71. See also Natan M. Gelber, ‘Dr Mordekhai (Marcus) Jastrow (miyozme ha’ahava ha-Polanit ha-Yehudit erev mered 1863’ (Dr Marcus Jastrow: One of the Leaders of the Polish Jewish Brotherhood on the Eve of the 1863 Uprising), Ha’avar, Vol. 11, 1963, 7–26; Eric L. Friedland, ‘Marcus Jastrow and Abodath Israel’, in Michael A. Fishbane and Paul R. Flohr (eds.), Texts and Responses: Studies Presented to Nahum N. Glatzer on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday by His Students (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 186–200.

Marcus Jastrow, Kazania miane podczas ostatnich wypadków w Warszawie w r. 1861 (Sermons Delivered During the Recent Events in Warsaw in 1861) (Poznań, 1862), 7.

Ibid., 9.

Kramsztyk, 310. A good selection of pro-Polish Jewish manifestos from the years 1861–63 can be found in Artur Eisenbach, Dawid Fajnhauz, Adam Wein (eds.), Żydzi a powstanie styczniowe. Materiały i dokumenty (The Jews and the January Uprising: Materials and Documents) (Warsaw, 1963).

Jakub Elsenberg, Droga wiary albo Przewodnik religijny dla młodzieży wyznania mojżeszowego (The Path of Faith, Or a Religious Guide for Young People of the Mosaic Faith) (Warsaw, 1846), 60.

Jakub Elsenberg, Modlitwy dla dzieci wyznania mojżeszowego ułożone (Prayers for Children of the Mosaic Faith) (Warsaw, 1848), 143–44.

Elsenberg, Droga wiary albo Przewodnik religijny dla młodzieży wyznania mojżeszowego (Religious Guide for Young People of the Mosaic Faith), 4th ed. (Warsaw, 1860); idem., Przewodnik religijny dla młodzieży wyznania mojżeszowego (Warsaw, 1863), 43–44.

Kramsztyk, 120.

Samuel H. Peltyn, ‘Rzut oka na nasze stosunki religijne, obecne i przyszłe’, Izraelita, Vol. 3, No. 33, 1868, 265.

Kramsztyk, 301.

Endelman, 37, 40–48. See Alexander Guterman, ‘Yahasam shel mitbolele Varsha – dorot rishonim ve’aharonim (1820–1918) – lehamarat hadat’, Gal Ed, Vol. 12, 1991, 57–77 for a discussion of the attitudes of the so-called assimilationists (who were actually representatives of the integrationist movement).

Kramsztyk, 301.