ABSTRACT
I Change and continuity proves extremely serviceable as a catch phrase in the context of discussions of the modern Jewish experience because its referents are clearly understood by all. Change points to the external forces-political, economic, social-shaping Jewish life in the modern period, while continuity alludes to the internal Jewish dimension, which has developed in response to these forces. As between the two, change is clearly the more dynamic element: the conditions of modernity serve as the stimulus; Jewish communal action comes as the response.
