Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts 81 In collaboration with Michael Brenner · Astrid Deuber-Mankowsky · Sander Gilman Raphael Gross · Daniel Jütte · Miriam Rürup Stefanie Schüler-Springorum · Daniel Wildmann (managing) edited by the Leo Baeck Institute London Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Ismar Schorsch “Better a Scholar than a Prophet” Studies on the Creation of Jewish Studies Mohr Siebeck Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Ismar Schorsch, born 1935; 1957 B.A., Ursinus College; 1961 M.A., Columbia University; 1962, Rabbinic Ordination, Jewish Theological Seminary; 1969 Ph.D in History, Columbia University; 1986–2006 chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; 1991– 2010 president of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York; currently holds the titles chancellor emeritus and Herman Abramowitz distinguished service professor of Jewish History. ISBN 978-3-16-159297-3 / eISBN 978-3-16-159298-0 DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-159298-0 ISSN 0459-097X / eISSN 2569-4383 (Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts) The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio- graphie; detailed bibliographic data are available at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Mohr Siebeck Tübingen. www.mohrsiebeck.com This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed on non-aging paper and bound by Hubert & Co. in Göttingen. The cover was designed by Uli Gleis in Tübingen. Image: Alexander Marx, Librarian and Professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary (1903–1953), a student of Moritz Steinschneider and creator of the Seminary(cid:2757)s renowned library. Courtesy of the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. Printed in Germany. Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 ForJonathan,RebeccaandNaomi inwhosepreciouslivesthestorycontinues Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 Preface The compilation of this volume of essays published by me since I stepped down as chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2006 coincides with my 50th year at the Seminary. At the insistence of Prof. Gerson D. Cohen,myDoktorvaterandrolemodel,IreturnedfromColumbiain1970 afterhavingearnedmydoctorate,andwhereIhadalreadystartedteaching, nevertoleave.FromthatperchIwasabletoobserveandcontributetothe remarkableexplosionofJewishstudiesinthecollegesanduniversitiesacross Americaandbeyond.IremembervividlytheearlydaysoftheAssociationof Jewish Studies when our hopes did not extend beyond imagining but one Jewish generalist at a school. Today at many a university there is in fact a clusterofJewishspecialistscoveringapanoplyofJewishsubfieldsandmost astonishingofall,GermanywiththeinstitutionalizationandfundingofJew- ishstudiesinitsuniversitieshasbecomethethirddominantcenterforJewish scholarshipbehindIsraelandAmerica.WissenschaftdesJudentumshasre- turnedtothelandofitsorigins,andGermanisonceagainanindispensable languageofJewishstudies,nottoreadwhatwaspublishedbefore1939,but whatiscomingoutofGermanytoday. Inthathalf-centurytheSeminarybecamemyHeimataswellasmyhome. It provided me with the space and stability, the library and resources, the colleaguesandstudentsandthechallengesandstimulationtogrowinwardly and outwardly. Aboveall, itencompassed my determination tolive intwo worlds,oneenchantedbytheritual,valuesandliteratureoftraditionalJu- daismandtheotherinvigoratedbythebracingpowerofcriticalscholarship. SinceitsfoundingtheSeminaryhasnurturedanethosoftwotruths,cherish- ingequallytheinspirationthatcomesbywayofpoetryaswellastheknowl- edge mediated through prose. A single lens was never sufficient for it to exhaustthemeaningofatextorthenatureofhistoricalreality.Quintessen- tiallyaninterpretiveculture,JudaismreadTorahforpeshatandderash,for theplainmeaningofatextandforitsimaginativereworking.Anditwasthat undogmatic and appreciative mindset which enabled the Seminary faculty timeandagaintoadvancethefieldsofTalmud,Bible,Jewishtheology,me- dieval Hebrew poetry and Jewish literature with groundbreaking scholar- ship. A culture of mutual respect gave rise to an interactive relationship betweensacredtextsandcriticalscholarshipthatvalorizedaquestforunder- standing. Dies ist urheberrechtlich geschütztes Material. Bereitgestellt von: Universit?tsbibliothek Leipzig, 18.01.2022 VIII Preface ThatpreciousculturebecamemyHeimatbecauseIembraceditintellec- tually,religiouslyandadministratively.FortwentyyearstheSeminaryeven calleduponmeaschancellortobeartheresponsibilitytosustain,enrichand disseminate the ethos it embodied. Toward that end I steadfastly wrote a Torah comment on the weekly parasha in a religious voice that never be- trayed my scholarly integrity. Canon Without Closure, a selection of those commentsthatcameoutin2007,givesampleevidencethatfaithandcritical scholarshiparenotonlycompatiblebutmutuallyfructifying. WhenIretiredfromthechancellorship,Ieagerlyresumedfull-timeschol- arshipstillfascinatedbytheturntoJewishhistoryinthenineteenthcentury pioneeredlargelybyGermanJews.Myyearsinadministrationhadmatured mythinkingandimprovedmywritingwithoutdullingmyresearchtools.I wasdrawntothedramaticeruptionofnewknowledgeandtheurgentneed forcontextualizationthattogetherdictatedaneverdeeperunderstandingof thehistoryofitssacredtexts.WhenIknewless,Ihadimaginedwritingthe narrativehistoryofthatrevolutionofthemind.Butevennowthelanguages required, the fields to master and the interplay to unravel far exceed my competence. Whatthisvolumedoesofferisarareglimpseofthewhole:theerosionof thehegemonyoftalmudicstudyinAshkenaz,theemergenceofsubfieldslike midrashandmedievalliturgicalpoetry,theturntotheEastandthelureof Islam and early efforts at the incorporation of biblical criticism into the purview of Jewish studies. Wissenschaft des Judentums was of twofold im- portancetothedestinyofGermanJewry:itcomplementeditshard-fought outwardpoliticalemancipationwithabitterlycontestedinternalintellectual emancipation and it overtly challenged the dominant Christian theological construct of supersession. Ultimately, the failure to dislodge that deeply engrainedconstructfromthevaunted“value-free”institutionoftheGerman universitywoulddepriveGermanJewryoftheculturalrespectitsorelynee- dedtomakeafragilepoliticalandsocialintegrationalastingachievement. ErevShavuot5780(May28,2020) IsmarSchorsch