Ep. 37: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and Torah Im Derech Eretz

19th Century German Jewry was faced unprecedented, hitherto unseen threats to its continuity. Due to the rise of Reform and the Haskalah movements bent on drawing Jews away from Torah, coupled with the circumstances – the Emancipation and the relaxing of the hostility towards the Jews all over Europe – that enabled assimilation into the greater world, Jews were abandoning Torah at alarming rates. As had happened numerous times in Jewish history, a great, innovative and genius leader arose to adapt Torah to the ethos of the time, to create a new paradigm, a new Weltanschauung, that would stand as a bulwark against assimilation, and was tailored for the people of the time. His name was Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, and his philosophy was couched in the words of the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos – Torah Im Derech Eretz – Torah together with the way of the world. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please consider making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php . Thank you! Contact: Website: RabbiWolbe.com; Twitter: @RabbiWolbe; Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com. Please SUBSCRIBE, RATE and REVIEW all my podcasts on iTunes and Android: Podcasts Links iOS: This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics; The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People; The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha; TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah Podcast Links Android: This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics; The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People; The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha; TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah