Nationalism and Jewish Education

Nationalism, War and Jewish Education explores historical circumstances leading to the emergence of a Jewish religious school system lasting to modern times and the process by which this system was broken down and adapted in secular form as Jewish nationalism grew in the 19th and early 20th century. Talmudic literature has evidence of a long struggle to create a viable international system of education aimed chiefly at the poor - a harbinger for the later expansion of education in European countries. In the Roman period, education became an essential part of rabbinic pacifist accommodation following Jewish defeats in three wars (66-73, 115-17, and 132-35 CE), while in the modern period, secular education was associated with nationalism and increasing militancy of emerging states. In both periods there was a revival of Hebrew and the creation of an educational system based on Hebrew texts. Both revivals were responses to anti-Semitism, which pushed large numbers of Jews away from assimilation into the dominant culture to a renewed Jewish national identity. In the ancient world, this nationalism was religious and pacifistic; in the modern world, secular and militaristic. It shows how changes in Jewish education accompanied these shifts. While drawing on historical scholarship for background, this book is essentially a literary study, showing how literary changes at different times and places reflect historical, socio-psychological, economic, and political change. The book is original in showing how ancient Jewish education affected modern Jewish society, therefore it is a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in Jewish history and literature, education, and nationalism.