The religious life and practice of Transylvanian Jews
A turning point in the history of the Jewish communities in Hungary took place after the 1867 emancipation, when they were divided into a series of diverging branches, either traditional or reformed. During the Jewish Congress (December 1868-January 1869) of Pest, an autonomous Jewish organisation was attempted which sought to represent all Hungarian Jews. Because general consensus could not be reached, a number of congregations emerged: the Orthodox (including Hasidic Jews), the Neolog and the Status Quo.
Orthodox Judaism remained the predominant orientation among Hungarian Jews, characterised by the strict observance of religious precepts and very rigorous ritual laws. After its break from Orthodox Judaism, Hasidism renounced excessive ritual formalism and focused instead on an unmediated religious experience and on man’s closeness to God. Hasidic Judaism experienced significant growth in north-eastern Hungary, where the rabbis did not aggressively oppose it. The term “neolog”, borrowed from German Protestantism, was employed to designate Hungarian Reform Judaism. Unlike Orthodox Judaism, the Neologs represented a direction that promoted the social integration of Jews in their host countries, as well as a ritual relaxation by the introduction of music and organ accompaniment to the religious service. The “Status Quo” was the term attributed to the Hungarian communities which, following the schism of 1868-1869, despite remaining traditional, did not adhere to either of the two orientations: Orthodox or Neolog. This community did not have an organisational structure of its own, nor did it develop its own ideology.
The religious schism that took place in Hungary between 1868 and 1869 also included Transylvanian Jewish communities, which were also divided into three main factions: Orthodox, Neolog, and Status Quo – a division which continued during the Romanian government of the interwar period, as well. Hasidism was predominantly present in northern Transylvania – especially around Maramureș and Satu-Mare, where numerous significant Hasidic courts were founded.
Due to a strong concern to ensure well-trained rabbis, each of these factions stood out in Transylvania through a series of notable personalities:
Dor Revi’i (דור רביעי)
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The rabbis of the Orthodox communities had previously attended yeshivot, and had preferably been disciples of outstanding rabbinical figures. Thus, at the turn of the century, some of the most important Orthodox rabbinical figures in Transylvania were: Zvi Iacob ben Abraham (1897-1974), rabbi of Turda, published the Hungarian magazine Haemesz; Iosef Adler (1883-1977), also served as president of the Association of Orthodox Communities in Transylvania between 1938-1944; Elazar Brach (1865-1940) was ordained rabbi of Carei in 1910 and later became head of the rabbinical court of Carei; Moshe Shmuel Glazner (1856–1927), rabbi of Cluj between 1877-1923 (wrote a remarkable study entitled Dor Revi’i (דור רביעי), concerning halachic regulations regarding ritual sacrifice and other aspects of Jewish dietary laws. After the emigration of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glazner to Palestine, his son Akiva Glazner (1886–1956) was appointed his successor by the Orthodox community.
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The rabbis of Neolog communities were alumni of reputed rabbinical seminaries, such as those in Budapest, Wroclaw, Vienna, and Berlin. Most of them were doctors in philosophy or other humanities. One of the most influential rabbinical figures in Transylvania was Kecskeméti Lipót (1865–1936) , the rabbi of Oradea. Rabbi Kecskeméti studied at the rabbinical seminary in Budapest, but he also completed his secular studies with a doctoral thesis on the Hebrew poetry of the Middle Ages. Other prominent representatives of the Neolog faction in Transylvania were: Mordechai Maximilian Miksa Drechsler (1883–1971), who became rabbi of the Neolog community of Timişoara in 1910, defended his doctoral thesis on Maimonides in Budapest, and was invited to give lectures on the Talmud at the Jewish College in London; Eisler Matityahu-Mátyás (1865–1930) became the chief rabbi of the Neolog community in Cluj in 1891. Rabbi Eisler was also a professor of Linguistics and the founder of Jewish history research in Transylvania through his works The history of the Transylvanian Jews during the time of the Principality and Studies on the registry of the community of Alba-Iulia.
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There were many remarkable figures among the rabbis of the Status Quo communities in Transylvania, such as: Itzhak Klein (1861-1944), appointed dayan (religious judge) of the Status Quo rabbinical court in Satu-Mare in 1902, chair of the court during the interwar period, as well as editor of the famous magazine Ohel Itzhak, which published articles on Judaism and news in the study of the Torah; Sándor Samuel Zangwill Jordan (1861-1932), Sándor Samuel Zangwill Jordan (1861–1932) initially the Neolog rabbi of Făgăraș, then in 1903 appointed rabbi of the Status Quo community in Satu Mare; Ephraim Firth (1862-1912), rabbi of the Status Quo community in Carei.
Around the turn of the century, the Jewish communities of Transylvania stood out through a specific architectural style for their synagogues. During this period, the synagogues of the following communities were built: the synagogue in Turda (1868); the Neolog (1878) and Orthodox (1910) ones in Oradea; the Neolog synagogue in Cluj (1886); the Orthodox synagogue in Baia Mare (1885); the ones in Borșa and Carei (1890); the Orthodox (1892) and Status Quo Ante (1905) synagogues in Satu Mare.
The division within the Jewish communities caused by the separation between the Orthodox, Neolog and Status Quo factions also led to a different organisation of Jewish institutions. There were separate institutions for Orthodox, Neolog and Status Quo communities: Hevra Kadisha (חברה קדישא) – burial societies; cemeteries (בית עלמין/בית קברות); religious schools: cheder (חדר) and yeshiva (ישיבה); beth din (בית דין) – rabbinical courts; mikveh (מקווה) – ritual baths.