Editing Orthodox Judaism (section)

===United States===
[[File:First National Meeting of American Orthodox Rabbis. ca 1920.jpg|thumb|An assembly of American Orthodox rabbis, 1920.|320px]]
American Jewry of the 19th century was small and immigrant-based, lacking traditional institutions or strong rabbinic presence. Voluntary congregations, rather than corporate communities, were the norm; separation of church and state, and dynamic religiosity of the independent Protestant model, shaped synagogue life. In the mid-19th century, [[Reform Judaism]] spread rapidly, advocating a formal relinquishment of traditions very few in the secularized, open environment observed anyhow; the United States would be derisively named the ''Treife Medina'', or "Profane Country", in [[Yiddish]]. Conservative elements, concerned mainly with public standards of observance in critical fields like marriage, rallied around [[Isaac Leeser]]. Lacking a rabbinic ordination and little knowledgeable by European standards, Leeser was an ultra-traditionalist in his American milieu. In 1845 he introduced the words "Orthodox" and "Orthodoxy" into the American Jewish discourse, in the sense of opposing Reform;<ref>[[Jonathan D. Sarna]], ''American Judaism: A History''. [[Yale University Press]], 2019. pp. 85–88.</ref> while admiring [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]], Leeser was an even stauncher proponent of [[Zecharias Frankel]], whom he considered the "leader of the Orthodox party" at a time when Positive-Historical and Orthodox positions were barely discernible from each other to most observers (in 1861, Leeser defended Frankel in the polemic instigated by Hirsch).<ref>Ze'ev Eleff, ''[http://traditionarchive.org/news/_pdfs/0035-0053.pdf American Orthodoxy's Lukewarm. Embrace of the Hirschian Legacy, 1850–1939]''. [[Tradition (journal)|Tradition]] 45:3, 2012. pp. 38–40.</ref>

A broad non-Reform camp slowly coalesced as the minority within American Jewry; while strict in relation to their progressive opponents, they served a nonobservant public and instituted thorough synagogue reforms – omission of ''[[piyyut]]im'' from the liturgy, English-language sermons and secular education for the clergy were the norm in most,<ref>Ze'ev Eleff, ''Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History''. [[University of Nebraska Press]], 2016. pp. xxxiv–xxxv.</ref> and many Orthodox synagogues in America did not [[Mechitza|partition]] men and women.<ref name="Seating"/> In 1885, the antinomian [[Pittsburgh Platform]] moved a broad coalition of conservative religious leaders to found the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]]. They variously termed their ideology, which was never consistent and mainly motivated by a rejection of Reform, as "Enlightened Orthodoxy" or "[[Conservative Judaism]]". The latter term would only gradually assume a clearly distinct meaning.

To their right, strictly traditionalist Eastern European immigrants formed the [[Union of Orthodox Rabbis]] in 1902, in direct opposition to the Americanized character of the OU and JTS. The UOR frowned upon English-language sermons, secular education, and acculturation in general. Even before that, in 1897, an old-style ''[[yeshiva]]'', [[RIETS]], was founded in New York. Eventually, its students rebelled in 1908, demanding a modern rabbinic training much like that of their peers in JTS. In 1915, RIETS was reorganized as a decidedly Modern Orthodox institution, and a merger with the JTS was discussed.<ref>Sarna, ''American Judaism: A History'', pp. 188–193.</ref> In 1923, the [[Rabbinical Council of America]] was established as the clerical association of the OU.

Only in the postwar era, did the vague traditional coalition come to a definite end. During and after the [[Holocaust]], a new wave of strictly observant refugees arrived from Eastern and Central Europe. They often regarded even the UOR as too lenient and Americanized. Typical of these was Rabbi [[Aaron Kotler]], who established [[Lakewood Yeshiva]] in New Jersey during 1943. Alarmed by the enticing American environment, Kotler turned his institution into an enclave, around which an entire community slowly evolved. It was very different from his prewar ''yeshiva'' at [[Kletsk]], [[Interwar Poland|Poland]], the students of which were but a segment of the general Jewish population and mingled with the rest. Lakewood pioneered the homogeneous, voluntary and enclavist model of postwar ''Haredi'' communities, which were independent entities with their own developing subculture.<ref>Joel Finkelman, ''[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1396734 Haredi Isolation in Changing Environments: A Case Study in Yeshiva Immigration]''. [[Modern Judaism]], Vol. 22, No. 1 (February 2002).</ref> The new arrivals soon dominated the traditionalist wing of American Jewry, forcing the locals to adopt more rigorous positions. Concurrently, the younger generation in the JTS and the [[Rabbinical Assembly]] demanded greater clarity, theological unambiguity and ''halakhic'' independence from the Orthodox veto on serious innovations — in 1935, for example, the RA yielded to such pressures and shelved its proposal for a solution to the [[agunah]] predicament. "Conservative Judaism", now adopted as an exclusive label by most JTS graduates and RA members, became a truly distinct movement. In 1950, the Conservatives signaled their break with Orthodox ''halakhic'' authorities, with the acceptance of a far-reaching legal decision, which allowed one to drive to the synagogue and to use electricity on Sabbath.<ref>Michael R. Cohen, ''The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter's Disciples and the Creation of an American Religious Movement''. Columbia University Press, 2012. pp. 137–140, 157.</ref>

Between the ultra-Orthodox and Conservatives, Modern Orthodoxy in America also coalesced, becoming less a generic term and more a distinct movement. Its leader in the postwar era, Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]], left Agudas Israel to adopt both pro-Zionist positions and a positive, if reserved, attitude toward Western culture. As dean of RIETS and honorary chair of RCA's ''halakha'' committee, Soloveitchik shaped Modern Orthodoxy for decades.<ref>Jeffrey S. Gurock. ''American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective''. KTAV Publishing House, 1996. pp. 43–47.</ref> While principled differences with the Conservatives were clear, as the RCA stressed the divinely revealed status of the Torah and a strict observance of ''halakha'', sociological boundaries were less so. Many members of the Modern Orthodox public were barely observant, and a considerable number of communities did not install a [[Mechitza|gender partition]] in their synagogues – physically separate seating became the distinguishing mark of Orthodox/Conservative affiliation in the 1950s, and was strongly promulgated by the RCA – for many years.<ref>For example: Deborah D. Moore, ''American Jewish Identity Politics''. University of Michigan Press, 2009. pp. 185–189.</ref> As late as 1997, seven OU congregations still lacked a partition.<ref name="Seating">[[Jonathan D. Sarna]], ''[https://www.brandeis.edu/hornstein/sarna/synagoguehistory/Archive/TheDebateoverMixedSeatingintheAmericanSynagogue.pdf The Debate over Mixed Seating in the American Synagogue]''.</ref>