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The Case of Feminism— Mechanisms of C, hange 47

Jacobson’s move toward equality for boys and girls faced a mixed reaction, but brought no major halakhic opposition. The effort lapsed with the fall of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1813; the new conservative regime did not permit further experiments in Jewish education or rituals. Jacobson was denounced for these efforts which he felt were necessary. He saw the need and proceeded; he continued (0 work in this direction in Berlin when it was no longer possible in Westphalia , but ran into governmental opposition there also.

The next step was taken by the Hamburg Temple (dedicated in 1818) in the more liberal climate of that city. Its service included prayers in German partly to appeal to women, who knew little Hebrew and wished to participate in the service. There also was a sermon in German . Forty-three percent of the seats were designated for women, a much higher percentage than in Orthodox synagogues.’ The contemporary scholar , Aaron Chorin (1766— 1854) was among those who felt that Jewish services should appeal to both sexes.!! The Hamburg Temple effort, of course, depended upon the good-will of the government which retained the power to supervise Jewish religious life. As most of the states of Central Europe in the post­Napoleonic period feared innovations, no matter how minor, we see how exceptional Hamburg was. The other states and cities saw any change as a forerunner of revolution. At the same time, the work of the educator Pestalozzi brought large scale educational reforms throughout Europe and influenced the general and Jewish patterns of education. Jewish education was fragmented, disorganized, and often left to poorly trained teachers.

In Hamburg change was accomplished by the leadership of one synagogue without any broad-scale discussions. In Seesen , Breslau , Dessau, Frankfurt , and other cities which experimented with New educational efforts, a single individual brought about decisive changes. In the new free setting an individual or a single institution Could experiment or bring changes at least on a local scale. It was