Religionsbüchlein versus Torah: Samson Raphael Hirsch's Critique of Reform Textbooks

Abstract: This study explores Samson Raphael Hirsch's polemical attitude toward the widespread use of catechisms among Reform pedagogues to convey Judaism's essence to Jewish youth within the setting of school-based religious education. It inquires into Hirsch's polemics against these instructional materials, illuminating their recurring presence in his body of work and in his thought. This examination uncovers features that define this specific pattern of polemics, while offering insight into its integral place within Hirsch's educational and broader conceptual framework. In so doing, it elucidates Hirsch's enduring concern with the intricate question of how to conceive and implement Jewish education in the modern era, a consideration deeply embedded in his theological thinking. It sets out to provide a more discursive understanding of Hirsch, predicated on a text-oriented reading of his contentions within their argumentative context as counter-responses to widely disseminated teaching sources.