Tarihsel Yorum Bağlamında Solomon Schechter’in Muhafazakâr Yahudiliğe Etkisi

19. yüzyıl sonları ve 20. yüzyıl başlarından itibaren Amerika merkezli olmak üzere kurumsal bir yapıya evrilmeye başlayan Muhafazakâr Yahudilik tarihinde iz bırakmış isimlerin başında kuşkusuz Solomon Schechter (1849-1915) gelir. Onun, Amerika’da modern Yahudi cemaatlere hitap edecek din adamı yetiştirme amacıyla kurulan Jewish Theological Seminary (1886) ve kendi mirası olan United Synagogue of America (1913) aracılığıyla Muhafazakâr Yahudiliğe yapmış olduğu kurumsal katkıları tartışmasız öneme sahiptir. Bunun yanı sıra hareketin günümüzde de benimsemeyi sürdürdüğü dinî yaklaşımın arka planında, yine Schechter’in düşüncelerinin izlerini bulmak mümkündür. Makalede Muhafazakâr harekete Amerika’daki erken döneminde aktif olarak katılan Schechter’in, Tanah, gelenek ve halahaya dair görüşleri ile Katolik İsrail prensibi bağlamında dinde otorite ve değişim meselesine bakışı ve bunun harekete yansıması incelenecektir. Çalışmada, Reformist ve Ortodoks duruşa yaklaşımı bağlamında Schechter’in hareketin temel ideolojisine yaptığı etki ve ortaya koymaya çalıştığı Muhafazakâr kimliğin mahiyeti tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

The Influence of Solomon Schechter on Conservative Judaism in the Context of Historical Interpretation

Solomon Schechter (1849-1915) is undoubtedly the main figure that left a mark in the history of Conservative Judaism, which started to evolve into an institutional structure, centered in America, from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. His institutional contributions to Conservative Judaism through the Jewish Theological Seminary (1886), which was established to train rabbis to address modern Jewish communities in America, and the United Synagogue of America (1913), which is his own legacy, are of indisputable importance. In addition, it is possible to find traces of Schechter's thoughts in the background of the religious approach that the movement continues to adopt today. In the article, the views of Schechter, who actively participated in the Conservative movement in the early period, on Tanakh, tradition and halakha and his view on the issue of authority and change in religion in the context of the Catholic Israel principle and its reflection on the movement will all be examined. In the study, it has been tried to determine the effect of Schechter on the basic ideology of the movement and the nature of the Conservative identity that he tried to reveal in the context of his approach to the Reformist and Orthodox stance.

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