The Science of Judaism

By Sandy Johnston
KOACH Intern
Columbia University

As someone raised in a fervently intellectual Conservative Jewish family and community, I suppose it was inevitable that the tenets and principles of the Wissenschaft des Judentums would be a part of my life from a young age. The phrase Wissensschaft des Judentums means, literally, "The Science of Judaism" in German and is used to refer to an academic field which arose in Germany in the 19^th century. Adopted initially by some German Jews as a way of equalizing the study of Judaism on "scientific" terms with other religions, it became one of the major streams of thought among the Jews of that country in the century and a half leading up to the Holocaust. Wissenschaft preached scientific historical study of Judaism and its history—that is, an honest, critical (in the sense of a literary, not a moral, critique) look at Judaism. Reactions to this new approach varied. The early Reform movement in Germany seized upon the discoveries of this new critical approach and cast off what it saw as outdated or irrelevant traditional practices; what has come to be referred to as Orthodoxy rejected the new approach entirely; and certain intellectuals, prominent among them Zacharias Frankel, proposed and built a fusion of the new and the old, a Judaism whose methods of study were largely those of the Wissenschaft, but whose practice was mostly traditional and which generally adhered to tradition. This school of "positive-historical" Judaism—positive towards tradition, but historical in its scholarly leanings—would eventually become one of the central principles of the new Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and of the movement which grew around it, the Conservative Movement. The idea of embracing both tradition and modern methods of study provided the intellectual underpinnings for Conservative Judaism's ability to embrace modern life as well as Jewish tradition.

In recent years, there has been a stream of thought within the Conservative world which advocates the demotion of Wissenschaft from its privileged, central place within the ideology of Conservative Judaism. Adherents of this stream see Wissenschaft as a phenomenon unequal to the challenge of defining a movement of Judaism, or alternatively as an active restraint on the growth and vibrancy of the movement. I have seen this viewpoint expressed in multiple emails on the Shefa email list, to which I have been subscribed for only a few months, and even at that bastion of Wissenschaft, JTS, at which I have the privilege to study. Even at JTS, the idea that the historical examination of Judaism is irrelevant to Conservative Judaism has begun to creep into the ranks. A certain prominent JTS-employed theologian has implied, in public appearances that I've been at, that he thinks that Wissenschaft fails to inspire the next generation of Conservative leaders, and that JTS' time (or at least that of the rabbinical and cantorial schools) would be better spent on teaching students other elements of Judaism.

As a product of a Conservative education, I am deeply disturbed by this attitude. Simply put, without the deep commitment to Wissenschaft which the movement has always shown, where are we and what are we? Conservative Judaism was founded on the ideal of positive-historical Judaism, a Judaism which could deal with its past and present in complete honesty, but still maintain its commitment to tradition. Indeed, it was this tense combination which defined the movement. For without both the tradition and the historical study, there would have been nothing to distinguish Conservative Judaism from its rivals on the right and the left. It is often said that Conservative Judaism defines itself by what it's not (that is, Reform or Orthodox). Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that only Conservative Judaism managed to integrate, rather than separate, the tensions inherent in modern Judaism. Without a deep commitment to both tradition and modern study, then, Conservative Judaism loses its unique identity—and its ability to intellectually justify its precarious acceptance of both modern American life and Jewish tradition.

It is deeply ironic that it is at this point in history, as society becomes more secular and more skeptical about traditional religious conceptions, that Wissenschaft as a key part of Conservative Jewish identity has come under attack. The reasons for this could, I suppose, be many and varied; certainly the movement, and JTS especially, have been all too focused on the historical method at times, to the exclusion of other ways of learning and teaching Judaism. Or perhaps these sentiments are an expression of a latent resentment toward academic Judaism that has been building for almost a century in a movement which is deeply divided between the clergy and the leaders on the one hand and the laity on the other. Most likely, to me, seems to be that Wissenschaft is simply being made a scapegoat—a goat of Azazel, so to speak—for the demographic, spiritual, and institutional challenges which the movement now faces. It is, admittedly, the hardest part of Conservative Judaism to understand. Wissenschaft, and positive-historical Judaism in general, offer no clear answers to questions, instead tending to muddy the intellectual waters and color the state of the world and Jewish tradition various shades of gray. And perhaps, ultimately, that is its sin to many. In a culture that is renowned for its desire for instant gratification and quick, pithy answers, maybe the idea of Wissenschaft just strikes some as too complicated. That's a legitimate criticism (if one that is inherently ironic in a culture and tradition as focused on scholarship and learning as the Jewish one), and it very well might be easier for the movement to grow in numbers and in economic strength by de-emphasizing Wissenschaft. Then we would have a Conservative Movement—but no Conservative Judaism.

Sandy Johnston is a sophomore at the Joint Program at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, majoring in Bible at JTS and History and Archaeology at Columbia. He is a graduate of Chicagoland Jewish High School, and has been a part of Conservative and Masorti communities in New Haven, Connecticut, Chicago, Jerusalem, and now New York.

[Posted 2/13/10]