Jewish communities in Europe underwent many changes between the 18th century and the beginning of World War I in 1914. Until the 18th century, Jews in Europe usually lived outside the general population. Jews lived in communities that took care of all their needs. Many associations within the Jewish community cared for the elderly and the sick, and community leaders represented the Jews to the government.

In this course, we will learn how Jews began in the 18th century to receive the right to "emancipation", meaning they could live freely in the cities of the kingdoms, like other citizens. We will learn how each country asked Jews to learn and engage in the local language, and dress like the regular population. We will learn how Jews adapted internally (by changing their language from Yiddish to the people's language) and externally to these demands.

We will learn about the German bureaucrat Christian Wilhelm Dohm, and the French priest Abbé Grégoire, who urged non-Jews to accept Jews as citizens. We will also learn how each country addressed these questions differently, and how the whole process was influenced by the Napoleonic Wars.

In parallel, we will expand the discussion to the Jewish Enlightenment movement and central figures like Moses Mendelssohn, Naphtali Herz Wessely and their colleagues, who encouraged the assimilation of Jews into Western life through the acquisition of modern languages, education, and a new way of life.

We will learn about the proposed educational reforms, and the parallel responses of movements such as Hasidism and the Mitnagdim. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of "Wissenschaft des Judentums" – the academic research of Jewish history and heritage in universities, and the beginning of modern Jewish historiography.

In this context, we will also become acquainted with the rise of modern Yiddish literature in the writings of Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz and others.

Towards the end of the course, we will discuss the long-term implications of this important period, which changed the face of Jewish life with the integration of Jews in their native cities and countries as lawyers, doctors, and business owners speaking local languages.

However, we will also examine the incompleteness of the emancipation and integration process due to the awakening of modern anti-Semitism, which led, among other things, to the growth of the Zionist movement as a response to these challenges.

* The course material will be tailored to the age of the learners.