Moses Hess and Modern Jewish Identity:

193 Pages·2001·2.87 MB·English

by  Ken Koltun-Fromm

MOSES HESS
AND MODERN
JEWISH IDENTITY
Jewish Literature and Culture
Series Editor, Alvin H. Rosenfeld
MOSES HESS
AND MODERN
JEWISH IDENTITY
indiana university press
bloomington & indianapolis
Ken Koltun-Fromm
Publication of this book is made possible in part by generous support from the Koret Foundation.
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
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Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
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© 2001 by Ken Koltun-Fromm
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’
Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibi-
tion.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Koltun-Fromm, Ken.
Moses Hess and modern Jewish identity / Ken Koltun-Fromm.
p. cm. — (Jewish literature and culture)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-253-33934-0 (cl : alk. paper)
1. Jews—Germany—Identity. 2. Hess, Moses, 1812–1875. 3. Jews—Cultural
assimilation—Germany. 4. Judaism—Germany—History—19th century. 5. Hess, Moses,
1812–1875. Rom und Jerusalem. I. Title. II. Series.
DS143 .K625 2001
305.892′4043—dc21 00-054097
1 2 3 4 5 06 05 04 03 02 01
For Naomi and Ariadne

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments • ix
1. Moses Hess and Modern Jewish Identity • 1
2. Conceptions of Self and Identity in Hess’s Early Works and
Rome and Jerusalem • 13
3. Hess’s “Return” to Judaism and Narrative Identity • 43
4. Inescapable Frameworks: Emotions, Race, and the Rhetoric of
Jewish Identity • 66
5. Traditions and Scars: Hess’s Critique of Reform and Orthodox
Judaism • 90
6. Innocence and Experience in Rome and Jerusalem • 120
Notes • 127
Bibliography • 159
Index • 177

Acknowledgments
This book, like so many others, has strong roots, perhaps even deeper ones
than I can even imagine. I ¤rst came across the works of Moses Hess in an inde-
pendent reading course with my teacher and friend, Arnold Eisen. Those ¤rst mo-
ments of initial fascination and puzzlement continued throughout my dissertation
project and this work. I learned how to approach texts with such critical absorption
from Eisen, and for that (and for so much else), I am sincerely grateful. My other
teachers at Stanford University encouraged and substantially contributed to this
project from the start: Van Harvey, Lee Yearley, and Steven Zipperstein. So too my
friends and colleagues there who continue to inspire: Avi Bernstein-Nahar, Steven
Rappaport, and especially Zachary Braiterman who, in ever longer telephone con-
versations, always challenges my suspicious allegiance to theories of virtue. I am
blessed with such friends and mentors, and their voices ¤nd their place in this
book. Their support and nurture continue in colleagues at Haverford College
who, drowned in their own work, still ¤nd the time and energy to further my
own. Members of the religion department—David Dawson, Tracey Hucks, Naomi
Koltun-Fromm, Anne McGuire, and Michael Sells—have read various drafts of
this book, and all have provided a warm, caring, and intellectually aggressive at-
mosphere for its revisions. So too the Humanities Works in Progress group that
read an early draft of the ¤rst chapter, and who helped shape the project in sig-
ni¤cant ways. Colleagues from afar have also encouraged my work, especially
Allan Arkush, David Ellenson, Jonathan Frankel, and Susannah Heschel. Friends
at Indiana University Press have been encouraging and responsive throughout the
publication process. The help and support from Janet Rabinowitch, Dee Morten-
sen, Jane Lyle, and the wonderful editing by Joyce Rappaport signi¤cantly im-
proved the focus and style of the work, and to them, indeed to many others at the
Press, I owe a humble sense of gratitude. I have also received generous support at
various and crucial times in developing this project from the Koret Foundation,
Memorial Foundation, and Haverford College. Permission was kindly granted
from Gordon and Breach Publishers and the Overseas Publishers Association
to include parts of my article, “Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and
Samuel Hirsch’s Interpretation of Religious Symbolism” in chapter 5, and Oxford
ix