ABSTRACT
In 1840's, 1850's, and 1860's, there was great religious strife between Hungarian Jews representing two elements, the Reform and the Orthodox. The Jews in Hungary were emancipated in 1867. A decree passed by both houses of the Hungarian parliament gave the Jews civil and political rights equal to those held by other Hungarians. The Orthodox leadership did not stand still. The Jewish communities were divided into three organized religious bodies: the Congressional Congregations, or the Reform; the Orthodox, or the traditional; and the Status Quo, or those communities that attached themselves neither to Reform nor to Orthodox organizations. The Jews in Hungary were not only religiously and politically divided into separate organizations, but they were also divided socially. The Orthodox was composed of two groups: Ashkenazishe Yiden, Ashkenazic Jews, and Hasidishe Yiden, Hasidic Jews. The Ashkenazishe Yiden was those Orthodox Jews who observed and accepted the Shulhan Aruch in its entirety and conducted their lives in accord with traditional Judaism.
