Samson Raphael Hirsch

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (June 20, 1808 - December 31, 1888) was the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed neo-Orthodoxy, his philosophy, together with that of Ezriel Hildesheimer, has had a considerable influence on the development of Modern Orthodox Judaism.

Influence and controversy

:See also the discussion on this point, in the article on Torah im Derech Eretz.

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There is considerable controversy over Hirsch's legacy; this is a matter of debate between Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) and Modern Orthodox writers. While it is undisputed that his Torah im Derech Eretz was his real innovation, the exact implementation has been greatly debated.

Related Topics:
Haredi - Modern Orthodox - Torah im Derech Eretz

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Those on Modern Orthodox's right wing, and Haredi followers, including Hirsch's own descendants (his son-in-law and successor Rabbi Solomon Breuer, his grandson Rabbi Joseph Breuer and the latter's successor Rabbi Shimon Schwab) hold that Hirsch only wanted Jews to combine observant Jewish lifestyle with learning the surrounding gentile society's language, history, and science, so that a religious Jew could earn a living in the surrounding gentile society. In this view, Hirsch did not want or approve of Jews learning gentile philosophy, music, art, literature or ethics for any other purpose than to function well in the surrounding world.

Related Topics:
Solomon Breuer - Joseph Breuer - Shimon Schwab

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In contrast, Jewish historians and most Modern Orthodox Jews say that this understanding of Hirsch's philosophy is misguided; they refer to this reading of Hirsch as improper historical revisionism. (This issue has been discussed, i.a., in several articles in Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Thought, published by the Rabbinical Council of America.) In this view, Hirsch wanted more than just the study of the surrounding gentile society's language, history, science. He also thought that it was permissible, and even productive, for Jews to learn gentile philosophy, music, art, literature and ethics for its own sake. Hirsch himself studied gentile philosophy, ethics and literature; as did many later adherents, including Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik.

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There are some reasons to state that Hirsch held a slightly wider view than his successors of the level of secular knowledge that a Jew ought to possess to be fully "enlightened" while remaining scrupulously adherent to Jewish law. This may have been a response to increased dialogue between Hirsch's German followers and Eastern European Jewry. While a yeshiva student in Eastern Europe, Rabbi Shimon Schwab obtained the views of various poskim (authorities in Jewish law) on the required level of secular knowledge (Levi 1990). On this basis, many Ultra-Orthodox adherents of Hirsch's philosophy have preferred the natural sciences over the humanities as a subject of secular study.

Related Topics:
Yeshiva - Poskim

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