Monthly Archive

The Moralization of Jewish Heritage in Germany: Sustaining Jewish Life in the Twenty-First Century. Sarah M. Ross. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2024.

Reviewed by Kira Álvarez

Many Germans today regard the preservation of Jewish heritage as a moral responsibility. In The Moralization of Jewish Heritage in Germany: Sustaining Jewish Life in the Twenty-First Century, German ethnomusicologist Sarah M. Ross examines how this responsibility has been addressed. She does this by exploring German Reform and Minhag Ashkenaz synagogue music, examining the roles of both Jewish and non-Jewish stakeholders in contemporary Germany. She highlights the creation of a “community of shared values” based on moral responsibility and feelings of belonging. However, Ross demonstrates that these shared values often reveal more about non-Jewish German society than Jewish society. She argues that Germany’s devotion to moralizing Jewish heritage often leads to an overly static understanding of Judaism and Jewish life, influenced by its Christian surroundings and largely confined to the past. Ross brings new insights to the topic of Jewish heritage in Germany, often regarded as a subject already comprehensively researched. She offers a perspective that is both original and urgent for our current times.