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The Testament of Gottlieb Wehle: Gershom Scholem and his Classification of Prague Frankism

Publication |
2019

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to portray the community of Prague Frankists and to point out certain problematic elements that can be found in Scholem's classification of the Prague Frankist circle. The Prague Frankism is a specific phenomenon within the development of religious thought and so far it has not been properly analyzed in Czech scientific literature.

The Prague Frankist literature has been analyzed by foreign researchers, however, the basics of their method are rooted in times when the Wissesschaft des Judentums established itself as a unique field of knowledge, standing between the realm of science and the sphere of religious experience. The Wissenschaft des Judentums was established as an ideological tool of Reform and Conservative movement and this heritage accompanies the Jewish Studies until our time.

In case of Frankism, the Jewish Studies have been influenced by the normative Judaism of 18th and 19th century and its impact can be found primarily in the works of G. Scholem.

One of the most visible examples of this tendency is Scholem's reflection of Gottlieb Wehle's testament. My paper shows the tabloid elements of Scholem's approach and presents new direction the discourse should follow.