This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ From Essence to Existence Leo Baeck and Religius Identity as a problem of continuity and change in Liberal Jewish and Protestant theology Homolka, Walter The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 11. Oct. 2021 From Essence to Existence Leo Baeck and Religious Identityr os ýýekc)SLoivi cT-- Continuity and Change in Liberal Jewish and Protestant Theology Walter Homolka Ph. D. Thesis King's College University of London o*-ML Abstract of thesis Baeck described the cornerstones of a true Jewish-Christian dialogue in I-Lis lecture on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, I: the knowledge and the acceptance of the differences and similarities of religions; in order to understand those, one has to be aware of one's own religious identity. This study will concentrate on the Jewish aspect of the phenomenon "Liberal theology" in the Germany of the early decades of this century as a way to find "identity". Therefore Christianity will serve mainly as a backdrop to Jewish theological development at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and is not a main subject in its own right. Details of Leo Baeck's biography will provide the basis for further investigation (chapters I and 2). Afterwards, I shall sketch the historical background of the rapid changes which German Judaism had to experience in the 19th century (chapter 3). 1 will then discuss into depth the essence debate (chapters 4 to 6) in its Christian and Jewish aspects. After an examination of modern Jewish theology (chapter 7), 1 shall try to outline a theological system of Baeck's thinking (chapter 8). Then I shall have a close look at Baeck's perception of central themes in Luther's thought. I will evaluate this understanding, assess it with regard to the intellectual environment we had discussed in the chapters before and try to come to a conclusion on the validity of Baeck's interpretation of Luther, the aim and function of Baeck's peculiar way to present his opponent and an assertion on the actual problem that Baeck has in mind when challenging Luther (chapter 9). In conclusion I will discuss the trend towards a genuinely Jewish systematic theology (chapter 10). This study does not intend to correct Baeck's - often polemic and Luther's problematical - view of Christianity and above all of theology. Rather, we shall attempt to show in which particular way both Christian and Jewish scholars at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century tried to formulate what they understood to be the very 'essence' of their religions. It is hoped that a picture emerges which illuminates the situation of Jewish thought between the emancipation of post-enlightenment age and the Christianity dawn of a pluralistic society, a problem for Judaism and alike. 1 Baeck, Leo, judentum, Christentum und Islain: Rede gehalten von Ehren- Großpräsident Dr. Leo Baeck anlässlich der Studientagung der Districts-Loge Kontinental-Eziropa XIX in Bruxelles, 22. April 1956; here p. 4. BLANK IN ORIGINAL Acknowledgements A study of this nature draws upon the scholarship of a// who have preceded the writer. The debt owed to the scholars who were quoted and whose advice was utilized is freely and gratefully acknowledged. Special mention must be made to Professor Dr. Reinhard Schwarz, my teacher in Church History at Munich University and President of the Luther Society whose own knowledge on Martin Luther inspired my endeavour for this study. Every possible assistance was given by ProfessorDr. Wolfgang Harms, my tutor at the German National Scholarship Foundation, Both also ensured that my reasearch work got the fullest support through grants by this foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German National Committee of the Lutheran Word Council, the Spalding TrustOxford and the Leo Baeck Lodge Cambridge. So did Rabbi Dr. Wolfer Jacob, the Vice President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. / received much direction during my time at Leo Boeck College London and want to thank the Dean Rabbi Dr. Albert H, Friedlander, the Principal Robbi Dr. Jonathon Magonet and my tutor Robbi Julio Neuberger for their personal counsel and friendship. In 1989/ had the special opportunity of studying at Leipzig University, again supported by a grant of the German Academic Exchange Service. / am much indebted to have received the direction of Professor Dr. Dr, Kurt Nowak, there, whose expertise on Contemporary Church History and Culture Protestantism has been a source of tremendous influence, Pastor Dr. Michael FOhrerand his family have made me feel at home both in the then German Democratic Republic and at the university once bearing the name of Karl Marx. / shall never forget the difficult political and personal circumstances of my time, there. Acknowledgements are also made to the BritishLibrary London, the Bavarian State Library Munich and the German Library Leipzig. At the State Library Unter den Linden in East Berlin the archives with their original sources on Adolf von Harnack were put at the disposal of the author. I am also grateful to Monika Preug, Heidelberg, and Allison Brown, Berlin. Their assistance in preparing this study for submission in the English language as a Ph,D, thesis at the University of London was essential to me, My special and grateful appreciation, though, belongs to my supervisor Dr, Christoph Schw6bel, the Director of the Research Institute in Systemofic Theology at King's College London. His scholarly advice and personal counsel have mode the endeovour of this study a remarkable experience of creative partnership. His understanding enabled me to pursue my research work part-time with all the extra strains on everybody involved. Without his continuing interest and concern this work could not hove been finished. Munich, June 1992 Walter Homolka Contents Introduction 008-018 1 Leo Baeck's Life 019-037 1.1 A True Leader of German Judaism 019-021 1.2 Youth in Lissa 021-023 1.3 Studies in Breslau and Berlin 024-025 1.4 The Rabbinate in the Weimar Republic 026-029 1.5 Leo Baeck and the Third Reich 0,30-036 1.6 A New Start 037 2 Baeck's Interest in Chrisfianiýy 038-042 3 Historical Background 043-051 3.1 Emancipation and Antisernitism during the Second Gen-nan Empire 043-047 3.2 Liberal Judaism and the "Science of Judaism" 048-051 4 Adolf von Harnack - "Das Wesen des Christentums": The Essence of Christianity 052-065 4.1 Preface 052 4.2 The Essence of Christianity -A Reconstruction 053-061 4.3 Harnack's Reference to Julius Wellhausen 062-065 5 The Jewish Response to Harnack's Wesen des Christentums 066-094 5.1 The History of the Concept Essence of Judaism (Wesen des judentinns) 066-067 5.2 Motives for the Jewish Interest in Harnack 068-071 5.3 The Points of Jewish Criticism of Harnack 072-084 5.4 Leo Baeck's Response to Harnack's Essence of Christianity 085-094 6 Systematic Asp cts of the Tewish-Christian Essence Debate 095-106 6.1 The Structure of the Debate: Convergence and Antagon, sm between Litx-,ral Theology and Liberal Judaism 095-101 6.2 "Normativity and History". On the Paradigmatic Significance of the Concept "Essence" 102-106 5 7 Modern Tewish Theology as Contextual Way of Thought 107-138 7.1 Introduction 107 -IN 7.2 Continuity and Change: a Jewish-Christian Problem of the Enlightenment Age 110-112 7.3 "Wissenschaft des Judentums" and the Hegelian "Idea" 113-116 7.4 Liberal Jewish Theology and the Jewish Neo-Kantian Revival 117-123 7.4.1 Jewish Neo-Kantian Revival 118-119 7.4.2 The Search for "Essence" 119-123 7.5 Liberal Gen-nan Jewry and "Cultureprotestantism" - Affinity and Rivalry 124-138 7.5.1 Jewish Affinity Towards Protestant "Zeitgeist" 124-125 7.5.2 Friedrich D. E. Schleiermacher 126-127 7.5.3 Wilhelm Dilthey 128-130 7.5.4 Liberal Protestantism, the Jews and the National State 131-136 7.5.5 Affinity and Division of Liberal Judaism and Liberal Protestantism 137-138 8 Leo Baeck's System of Polarity 139-169 8.1 Theological Presupposition: Jewish Theology as "Reflection" History 139-144 8.2 The Typology of Classical and Ro?natitic Religion - An Attempt of Defining the Relationship between the Church and the Synagogue 145-162 8.2.1 Kabbala and Mysticism as "Romantic" Elements Within Judaism 145-149 8.2.2 The Concept of "Essence" 150-153 8.2.3 The Polarity of Mystery and Commandment 154-157 8.2.4 Classical and Romantic Religion 158-162 8.3 Christianity Within the Framework of Baeck's System of Polarity 16-3-169 8.3.1 "Romantic " and "Classical" as poles 163-165 8.3.2 Christianity as a "Romantic Religion" 165-169 9 Tudaism and Christianity, According to.