The most extreme precursor to the Reform movement was a man by the name of Samuel Holdheim. He was born in 1806 in Kempo in the province of Posen. At a young age he studied at a yeshiva and received a Talmudic education. He began to study German and secular subjects after his marriage to a woman with a modern education. After their divorce several years later, he began studying at the University of Prague and Berlin and received a doctorate from the University of Leipzig. Following service in Frankfurt -Am-Oder he became a Landesrabbiner or chief Rabbi of Mecklenberg-Schewerin. In the year1847 he became the rabbinate of a reform congregation in Berlin . At this point he already disapproved of most liberal Rabbis and came to be known as the most exemplar of reform Rabbis in all of Europe ( 241) The question comes to mind as to what exactly triggered this different belief in Judaism which differed significantly from previous tenents. It started during the time of the French revolution, a time when European Jews were (for the first time) recognized as citizens of the countries in which they lived in. Ghettos were being abolished, special badges were no longer required and Jews could dress the way they wanted, settle were they pleased and work the occupations they desired. Many Jews settled outside of Jewish districts, and began to live like their neighbors and speak the language of the land. Theywent to public schools and began to neglect Jewish Studies and forget about he Shulchan Aruch. In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat, Jews lost the rights of citizenship in many countries. Many Jews converted to Christianity inorder to retain those rights. Many thoughtful Jews were concerned about this. They realized that many of these changes took place not because of a dislike for Judaism, but in order to obtain better treatment. Many rabbis believed that the way to address this was to force Jews to give up public schools and un...
