The Jews of Miskolc, 1780-1848: The expansion and development of traditional society in the age of royal absolutism and liberal reform

This dissertation considers the ways in which traditional Jewish institutions in Hungary such as the Hevra Kadisha, the Kehilla, the Jewish Artisans Guild, and Jewish schools confronted the challenges of modernity and adapted themselves to meet these challenges. Hungarian Jews--unlike their co-religionists in Western Europe--did not abandon the traditional lifestyle of their parents during the first half of the nineteenth century. Instead, they synthesized the ideas of the European Enlightenment and the Haskala with their traditional values and mores. Like other traditional groups in Hungary such as the nobility and the guilds, Hungarian Jews used the tools of the modern world to preserve their traditional character. Using a variety of archival evidence including the protocols of the Jewish Community of Miskolc, correspondence between Jews and Hungarian noblemen, rabbinic responsa, local newspapers and municipal records, the dissertation examines the internal dynamics of the Jewish community of Miskolc as well as its relationship with the gentile world.The dissertation is divided into six chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion. The Introduction examines the political context of Jewish life in eighteenth century Hungary, including the legacy of Maria Theresa and the rise of the Hungarian magnates. Chapter 2 considers the expanding role of the Jewish Burial Society. Chapter 3 examines the impact of the Cholera Epidemic of 1831 on Jewish civic status. Chapter 4 examines the development of the Jewish Communal Council, the Kehilla. Chapter 5 traces educational developments from the state-sponsored schools of Joseph II through the educational reforms of the 1840s. Chapter 6 examines how the social developments described the previous chapters influenced the debate over Jewish emancipation during the 1840s.The dissertation, while focusing on a single Jewish community, also addresses broader issues in the study of modern Jewish History: the spread of ideas eastward from France and Germany and their impact on Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, the migration of Jews westward from Galicia and Russia and its effect on Jewish communal life in the west, the relationship between Jews and conservative elites, and the role of Jewish schools and scholars in the dissemination of enlightenment and the preservation of Jewish tradition.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Columbia University, 1996.School code: 0054