É. Apor (ed.): David Kaufmann Memorial Volume: Papers Presented at the David Kaufmann Memorial Conference, November 29, 1999, Budapest.

ORMOS, István: David Kaufmann and his Collection

ISTVÁN ORMOS In a broader context, the foundation of a seminary was one of the central issues in the controversy and battle between conservative and reform Judaism - called orthodoxy and neologism respectively in Hungary - that reached unparalleled acuteness in Hungary especially in the 1860s culminating in the congress of 1868-1869: the foundation of a state-controlled seminary, where traditional Jewish learning would be amalgamated with the achievements of modern scholarship, was one of the aims of the partisans of reform Judaism, while in turn it was vehemently opposed by the orthodoxy, who saw in it a device of assimilation, consequently a big threat to the survival of traditional Judaism." The organizers succeeded in inviting young David Kaufmann to Budapest, who had by then acquired a good reputation both in religious and scholarly circles owing to his publications and sermons. (Shortly before he received an offer of a professorship at the seminary at Cincinnati but turned it down because of the great distance.)

14 He accepted the invitation and was appointed professor of Jewish history, philosophy of religion and homiletics at the newly-founded institution. The director of the Seminary was the eminent Talmudist and rabbinical authority Moses Bloch, while the third professor to be appointed was Wilhelm Bacher.

1

5 One of Kaufmann's references was the grand old man of Judaic studies in those days, Leopold Zunz. In his work he had the opportunity to indulge in the passion of his youth, Greek, too: in the "lower course" of the Seminary, corresponding to secondary school, he taught Greek language and literature, as well as German. In the school-year 1881-1882, for instance, he gave the following courses: 1. In the higher section of the theological course in the Seminary: Jewish History (The Talmudic school of Lucena. Isaac Alfasi, Josef ibn Migash and their pupils. The pupils of Isaac ibn Ghayyat. Instructions for a critical perusal of responsa and poems from this period. Two hours per week), Historical Exercises (one hour per week), Philosophy of Religion (Saadia's Emunot we-Deot. A comparison of both Hebrew translations with the original. Two hours per week), History of the 1

3 See e.g. Walter PIETSCH, Reform és ortodoxia. A magyar zsidóság belépése a modern világba. | Reform and orthodoxy. The entry of Hungarian Jewry into the modern world.] [Magyar Zsidó Történelem.]. [Hungarian Jewish History]. Budapest 1999. 12, 65. Cf. also Béla BERNSTEIN, A negyvennyolcas magyar szabadságharc és a zsidók. [The Hungarian War of Independence of 1848 and the Jews]. [3rd edition], Budapest 1998. 175-178. 1

4 KRAUSS 1901 (1902). 14. 1

5 Moshe CARMILLY-WEINBERGER, One Hundred Years of the Seminary in Retrospect. In: The Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest 1877-1977. A centennial volume. Edited by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York 1986. 12. Cf. also Aron MOSKOVITS, Jewish Education in Hungary (1848-1948). Philadelphia-New York 1964. 87-92. Kinga FROJIMOVICS - Géza KOMORÓCZY Viktória PUSZTAI - Andrea STRBIK, Jewish Budapest. Monuments, Rites, History. Budapest 1999. 201-212. 128