Od szkoły rabinów do kursów hebrajskich we Lwowie (1828–1939)
From Rabbinical School to Hebrew Classes in Lvov (1828-1939)

Summary/Abstract: The author traces back the fate of the plans to set up a rabbinical school in Lvov. It was supposed to train Jews who would be helping the Austrian authorities to assimilate the Jewish population in the German spirit The plan never materialized, though, due to resistance from Orthodox Jews. The idea was revived, albeit in a somewhat different form, when Galicia was awarded partial autonomy. As the Mosaic faith and the Hebrew language appeared in the curricula of public schools, the Mosaic Faith Teacher Training Centre was set up in Lvov. However, the neither the Jewish community nor the educational authorities were happy with the results of its work. In the 2nd Republic, the idea of Polish assimilation was steadily losing ground to Zionism in the Jewish milieux. The Zionists placed emphasis on education in Hebrew, trying to transform the religious classes into a Jewish history course. The main objective was now not so much to train the teachers of the Mosaic faith as of Judaistic subjects at large. In order to prepare teachers for the planned public schools with Hebrew as the language of instruction, and also for teaching religion and the Hebrew language in Polish-language schools, the Jewish Popular and Secondary School Association in Lvov set up a Jewish Seminary in 1920. The educational authorities were not very enthusiastic about Zionism, so they refused to register the seminary. In 1931, the seminary was taken over by the community, transforming it into courses spreading the knowledge of the Hebrew language and culture. The institution continued to operate as a private undertaking. It pursued a programme of national education based on the Jewish spirit, combining it with Polish civic education.

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