Abstract: History - Das Freie Jüdische Lehrhaus in Frankfurt was an institution created by the well-known German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig (1929-1886) in order to bring cultivated, but assimilated German Jews from the periphery of Jewish life to the center of it, without losing contact with general culture. In the Lehrhaus, the dialogical method was used, not in order to form Jewish professionals, but in order to bring Jews in contact with their own sources and to build and enrich Jewish persons.
The concept of Rosenzweig's Lehrhaus in Frankfurt constitutes a model of learning that could inspire us to counter assimilation in Germany today. Many Jews in Germany are alienated from the Jewish sources, Bible, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah or Jewish philosophy. They are not frequenting synagogues. They prefer the general calendar and do not follow the cycle of Sabbaths, Jewish holidays and fast days. They do not observe the laws of kashrut and the atmosphere in their homes is not particularly Jewish. Given this situation, it is only a matter of time before they completely disappear in general society, unless something is done.
Project - The project aims at avoiding assimilation and bringing Jews in contact with their Jewish culture by the creation of a center of Jewish learning that is not a yeshiva, where a specific conduct is required, nor an academic institution that approaches Jewish matters in a purely scientific way. The new Lehrhaus does not oppose scientific learning nor does it require a particular way of living. It only requires a minimal will to Judaism. The broad spectrum of Jews will be welcome in the Lehrhaus: secular Jews, religious ones, liberal and orthodox, Jews from Germany and new immigrants from ex-USSR, men and women. All persons with lively interest in Judaism could be candidates for learning in the Lehrhaus. The program of the Lehrhaus will be oriented towards the participants with their specific human and Jewish interests. The staff of the Lehrhaus will be recruited from amongst the Jews in Germany. They do not have to be professionals, but to be ready to teach Jewish matters and to bring with them an enthusiasm that is able to urge the participants to be linked to the hidden spark in their souls.
Snowball effect - Once the project proves to be successful in Kassel, other Lehrhäuser could be opened, say, in Frankfurt or Berlin,. This could eventually lead to a new German Jewish Renaissance, in the spirit envisaged by Rosenzweig himself in the 1920’s.
