ABSTRACT

This chapter explains the eventual disavowal of German Judaism as a model for American Jewry. German Judaism served as the model in the sphere of religion almost to the same degree as in the sphere of culture. In short, Felsenthal believed that American Jewry—across the religious spectrum—still required a subservient relationship to the German Judaism lest it assimilate the worst characteristics of American religion and philosophy. The rapid urbanization of Jews in Germany only after midcentury was paralleled by the German-Jewish experience in America. Only after the German-Jewish heritage would be fully absorbed could American Jewry seek to be more independent, to substitute the English language for the German, and to embark on its own course. While English usually had to be used in business, German was retained in the sanctuary of the home as the language of the family.