"Better a Scholar than a Prophet"

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Focusing on the origins and evolution of Wissenschaft des Judentums in nineteenth-century Germany, this volume explores its struggle for recognition outside the German university system. Ismar Schorsch presents a series of essays that highlight the field's efforts to access new archival sources, apply critical scholarship to the Hebrew Bible, and investigate the interactions between Judaism and Islam. Despite its significant contributions, the movement's exclusion from academia hindered the political emancipation of German Jews, leaving it without foundational support.