« Notre terre » et « ta ville » : le judaïsme progressiste et sa liturgie dans l’Allemagne d’aujourd’hui

Abstract

More than twenty years after the immigration of almost 200 000 refugees from the former Soviet Union, the Jewish community in Germany still faces a series of challenges and changes. One of the central questions necessary to define the diasporic nature of its diverse streams is that of the communities’ relation to the Land and State of Israel versus their commitment to their historical antecessor of anti-Zionist German Reform Judaism. Based on an analysis of its main prayerbook and of one of its daily prayers, the Amidah (עמידה), this article aims to explore the theology of Progressive Judaism in contemporary Germany. The texts depict a relationship characterized by warmth and the feeling of responsibility – nevertheless, the identity of German Progressive Jews is to a much higher level based on a worldwide connection to Progressive Judaism and the theologies at its heart than on regional loyalty. Thus, Progressive Judaism in Germany serves as an example of contemporary identity operating beyond the common notions of diaspora and homeland, of migration or journeys.

Keywords

• liturgy
• prayer
• Progressive Judaism
• Jewish diaspora
• German Judaism