Baal Teshuwa Movement

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The term Baal Teshuwa Movement describes a change in lifestyle within Judaism . Secular Jews who grew up with no religious affiliation become Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews. Above all, this requires observance of Shabbat and the holidays as well as the kashrut regulations . Teshuwa is an ambiguous term in Hebrew and means in a religious context the "return" to God . According to the orthodox Jewish understanding, secular and liberal perform Jews who change their lifestyle and strictly submit to religious rules, a return to their sources or to their natural state.

The Baal Teshuwa movement began in the middle of the 20th century and gained momentum after the Six Day War in 1967. During this time, the term Baal Teshuwa - literally "Master of Return" - received its common meaning today. Followers of this movement can be found in a wide variety of places, from Israel to the United States to the successor states of the Soviet Union . The Baal Teshuwa movement is not to be confused with the Jewish Renewal , another Jewish movement that is not limited to the Orthodox spectrum.

Origins in Jewish literature

The idea of ​​returning to God can already be found in several places in the Bible , for example in the 5th book of Moses : “When you return to the Lord your God and listen to his voice” ( Deut. 30.2  EU ). It is also formulated in the eighteen supplication, which was probably established in the early Middle Ages .

Examples

In Israel, former film director Uri Zohar changed his lifestyle in the 1970s and became an Orthodox rabbi. Rabbi Amnon Jizchak (* 1953) has an organization named after the musical instrument Shofar called Shofar ( שׁוֹפָר), which is dedicated to internal Jewish proselytizing .

The global organization Chabad , headquartered in New York , is also active in the inner-Jewish mission , following the example of the last Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson . US President Ronald Reagan mentioned the term Baal teshuva movement in 1984 during a presentation at a meeting of B'nai B'rith , quoting Irving Kristol .

The Jews from the former Soviet Union who have adopted a religious lifestyle in the course of their lives include the refusenik Yosef Mendelevitch and the physicist Herman Branover (* 1931), who joined Orthodox Judaism after emigrating to Israel.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 5. Blessing: Bring us back to you in perfect return.
  2. ^ Teschuwa, from Nissan Dovid Dubov
  3. ^ Remarks at the International Convention of B'nai B'rith September 6, 1984

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