The story of modern Orthodox Judaism is usually told only from the perspective of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Ellenson’s work, a thorough examination of the life and work of one of Hirsch’s contemporaries, Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer, reveals another important contributor to the creation of a modern Jewish Orthodoxy during the late 1800s. like Hirsch, Hildesheirmer felt the need to continue certain traditions while at the same time introducing certain innovations to meet the demands of a modern society. This original study of an Orthodox rabbinic leader shows how Hildesheirmer’s flexible and pragmatic approach to these problems continues to be relevant to modern Judaism. The way in which this book draws upon response literature for its comprehension of Hildesheimer makes it a distinctive work in modern Jewish historiography and sociology.

David Ellenson is Professor of Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles.

“Ellenson’s work is consistently stimulating and original. In his analysis of the career of one central European rabbi, Ellenson makes a significant contribution not only to the specific history of German Jewish Orthodoxy but to our understanding of modern Orthodoxy as a whole.”—Paula E. Hyman, Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History, Yale University.