Începutul procesului de modernizare a societãþii evreieºti în Principatele Române (mijlocul secolului al XIX-lea)
The Beginnings of Modernization of the Jewish Society in the Romanian Principalities (the mid-19th century)

Summary/Abstract: The Beginnings of Modernization of the Jewish Society in the Romanian Principalities (the Mid-Nineteenth Century). The present paper attempts at presenting the Jewish society in the Romanian Principalities at the dawn of the modern epoch from a twofold perspective: on the one hand, this fragment of Jewish history is seen against the background of the wider framework of Jewish history in general, with the stress laid on the common features, which characterize the traditional Jewish community (a system of religious, historical and messianic values rooted in the Torah, autonomous communal institutions and a specific educational system); on the other hand, the history of the Jews in the Principalities is analyzed in the light of the interdependence and interferences with the host-society, as part of the general history of Romania. Chiefly focused on the cultural aspects, the study emphasizes the first signs of opening towards modernization, the responses triggered by this unprecedented challenge as mirrored in the activity and works of some leading representatives of Jewish culture belonging to the first generation of intellectuals.

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