The Emancipation movement – the struggle for legal and political equality of Jews in Europe – began in the 1820s and by the 1870s had achieved its goals. Yet by 1880 a strong anti-Semitic movement had arisen in the West as a reaction to the success the Jews had achieved there; while in Russia bloody pogroms had begun. It was against this background that Leon Pinsker, formerly a staunch proponent of the idea of Jewish emancipation in Russia, came forward with his opposing doctrine of “Autoemancipation”. The thrust of his visionary pamphlet was an appeal to Jewry to realize the futility of their emancipation efforts in Europe and to seek a solution in the founding of an independent Jewish state. Thus he anticipated the idea of political Zionism propogated a decade and a half later by Theodor Herzl. In this collection of twelve essays, Jacob Katz postulates that, when viewed in historical perspective, the concepts of emancipation and self-emancipation are not mutually exclusive. Several early Zionists had dreamed of a Jewish state years before Pinsker and Herzl – not out of disappointment with emancipation but, rather, as its natural outgrowth. The first section of this book, “Emancipation”, discusses Jewry and Judaism in the nineteenth century, religion in modern Jewish history, Judaism and Christianity as viewed against the background of modern secularism, and the influence of religion and society on each other. It also describes the German-Jewish ideal of social emancipation and provides historical observations on emancipation and Jewish studies. The second section, “Self-Emancipation”, focuses on the Jewish national movement. The forerunners of Zionism, including Zvi Hirsh Kalisher, Yehuda Alkalay, and Moses Hess, are profiled. Also included are articles on Zionism in contemporary Jewish history, Zionism and Jewish identity, Zionism versus anti-Semitism, and Israel and the Messiah. Self-emancipation, these essays demonstrate, represents both a partial denial and a partial incorporation of the principles of the Jewish emancipation movement.

The Autobiography of an Historian A noted social historian views the first three quarters of the century through the lens of his own life. "In this delightful memoir Jacob Katz appears as a wise, sensitive writer, very skillfully describing, analyzing, and reflecting upon the most significant happenings of his long, interesting, and creative life. Historians generally will seize upon this as a treasure and primary source for the study of the 20th century, while that elusive but important 'general reader' will also find it enjoyable and instructive." -- Isadore Twersky

Eminent social historian Jacob Katz examines the rise and transformation of Jewish communal leadership in central Europe. His book is a story of fragmentation and polarization that sheds light on the tensions within the nineteenth century Jewish community in central Europe as it struggled to respond to the promises and perils of modernization. “As a historian, Katz is fully in charge controlling his sources, shaping them into meaningful patterns, and presenting them in such a way as to illuminate their larger significance”

This is a selection of articles, some written in English, but most translated from two volumes of collected studies in Hebrew, Halakha and Kabbala (1984) and Halakah in Straits(1992) The central theme of this collection is the halakha the religious law that molded Jewish life and at the same time was molded by it during the medieval period and to a certain extent in modern times. The Halakha is examined in relation to other spiritual, historical and social elements. By following the halakhic argumentation as applied to concrete case studies, one gains an insight into the essence of its system and the dynamics of its methodology. At the Same time, the reciprocal relation between the halakha as an abstract system and the realities of life in Jewish society is revealed. This is equally true for traditional times, as well as the modem era.The adaptation of the Halakha to modern conditions, when it ceased to be followed by the community as a whole, reveals the limits of its flexibility. About half of the collection deals with the middle ages, the other half with the modern era. Some of the articles concentrate upon the personalities whose activity in the field of Halakha proved to be highly significant.