Secularism, Education, and Emotions : Cultural Tensions in Hebrew Palestine (1882–1926)

__Secularism, Education, and Emotions: Cultural Tensions in Hebrew Palestine (1882–1926)__ aims to explore the sources of secularism, its social and emotional significances, its various expressions, and its thorny frictions with different religious environments during the first decades of modern settlement of Jews in Eretz-Israel (Palestine). Accordingly, this book develops four main concepts about secularism in Eretz-Israel: (1) Secularism was, in large part, a reaction against religion; (2) Secularism was not an isolated local occurrence but rather a product of the wider European cultural stage, influenced by ideas of contestation against religious dominance and nascent nationalism; (3) Secularism was essentially an emotional phenomenon in Europe and in Eretz-Israel likewise; (4) In the struggle between religious and secularists in Eretz-Israel, education occupied a major place as the main vehicle for the promotion of ideas. Utilizing these four main concepts, Yair Seltenreich analyzes the general European frameworks of secularism. His studies illuminate secularist features within European Jewry and its subsequent translation into the Zionist movement and the Eretz-Israeli arena. Lastly, he examines the specific struggles between religious and secularist teachers in Galilee, where the culmination of tensions and of emotional expression allows a deeper understanding of secularism as a cultural issue. Cover 1 Table of Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 11 Chapter One: Religion in European culture 17 Cultures and emotions 17 Belief and creed 21 Religion 23 The Religious community 26 Religious institutional domination 31 Chapter Two: Secularism in European culture 35 Influences of modernity 35 Cultural aspects in secularism 39 Sociological aspects in secularism 47 Emotional aspects in secularism 52 Chapter Three: Jewish secularism 55 The eighteenth century: A prelude 55 Aspects in late nineteenth-century Jewish secularism 59 Secularism and Jewish nationalism 68 Chapter Four: Zionist secularism 77 Zionism and secularism 77 Religious presence within the Zionist movement 80 The facets of Jewish secular thought 85 Significance and impact of secular ideas 92 Chapter Five: Yishuv secularism 97 Settlement and secularism in Eretz-Israel 97 Administrative and political aspects 109 Chapter Six: Secularists and religious in Yishuv society 113 Cultural contestations between secularists and religious 113 Hamizrahi 121 The struggle of religious to improve their image 124 Similarities and dissimilarities 129 Chapter Seven: Education, secularism and religion in Eretz-Israel 135 Features of Jewish modern education 135 Features of orthodox education 143 Chapter Eight: The struggle for preservation of religious education 153 The Rabbis Journey 153 Features of Hamizrahi education 165 Chapter Nine: Religion in the Galilee "moshavot" 171 JCA and the educational system in Galilee "moshavot" 171 Profile of the Galilee moshava farmer 175 The "heder" 180 Chapter Ten: The secular teacher in Galilee "moshava" 185 The teacher as Zionist 185 The teacher in rural religious milieu 188 Solitude and modernity 192 Rural teacher in French Third Republic 195 Teachers and farmers 197 Chapter Eleven: Religious struggles in the "moshavot" 201 Towards struggle 201 The struggle over Yavne’el 203 The struggle over Sedjera 209 Rosh Pina and other "moshavot" 214 Conclusion 219 Notes 227 Bibliography 255 Index 269 & LtI>Secularism, Education, and Emotions: Cultural Tensions in Hebrew Palestine (1882-1926) & lt/I> aims to explore the sources of secularism, its social and emotional significances, its various expressions, and its thorny frictions with different religious environments during the first decades of modern settlement of Jews in Eretz-Israel (Palestine). Accordingly, this book develops four main concepts about secularism in Eretz-Israel: (1) Secularism was, in large part, a reaction against religion; (2) Secularism was not an isolated local occurrence but rather a product of the wider European cultural stage, influenced by ideas of contestation against religious dominance and nascent nationalism; (3) Secularism was essentially an emotional phenomenon in Europe and in Eretz-Israel likewise; (4) In the struggle between religious and secularists in Eretz-Israel, education occupied a major place as the main vehicle for the promotion of ideas. & ltBR> Utilizing these four main concepts, Yair Seltenreich analyzes the general European frameworks of secularism. His studies illuminate secularist features within European Jewry and its subsequent translation into the Zionist movement and the Eretz-Israeli arena. Lastly, he examines the specific struggles between religious and secularist teachers in Galilee, where the culmination of tensions and of emotional expression allows a deeper understanding of secularism as a cultural issue