Cultural History Commons^™

Moses Mendelssohn's Approach To Jewish Integration In Light Of His Reconciliation Of Traditional Judaism And Enlightenment Rationalism, Robert J. Clark

History and Government Faculty Publications

Prior to the eighteenth century, European Jews lived in separate communal structures at the discretion of their host countries.¹ A very few found places of influence and wealth as "court Jews" and lived as aristocrats, but their acceptance in society was limited, subject to official approval, and came at a price.² There had always been opportunities for Jews to integrate into European society, albeit not without complication, via assimilation and conversion.³ But the ability to enter the social order as Jews and find a place to belong without rejecting their heritage and religion proved elusive. The emergence …