Torah im Derech Eretz
Torah with "the way of the land
Torah im Derech Eretz (Hebrew: תורה עם דרך ארץ – Torah with "the way of the land") is a phrase common in Rabbinic literature referring to various aspects of one's interaction with the wider world. The term also refers to a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism articulated by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888), which formalizes a relationship between traditionally observant Judaism and the modern world. The resultant mode of Orthodox Judaism is sometimes termed Neo-Orthodoxy or, in some historiographies, Frankfurter Orthodoxy.
Derech Eretz
The term Derech Eretz, literally "the way of the land", is inherently ambiguous, with a wide range of meanings in Rabbinic literature, referring to earning a livelihood and behaving appropriately, among others.
The phrase Torah im Derech Eretz is first found in the Mishna in Tractate Avoth (2:2): "Beautiful is the study of Torah with Derech Eretz, as involvement with both makes one forget sin".
Rabbi S.R. Hirsch
When Hirsch first came to Frankfurt in 1851, he proclaimed Torah im Derech Eretz as the "banner" for his congregation, the Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft — the phrase has since been synonymous with Hirsch as well as with his philosophy. As seen, Hirsch was not unique in extending Derech Eretz to include broad knowledge of the secular world; rather, his role was to formalize a philosophy of Derech Eretz that incorporated a practical response to modernity.
Hirsch's philosophy has been variously interpreted within Orthodoxy.
Hirsch's Torah im Derech Eretz
In Hirsch's view, Derech Eretz refers not only to livelihood, but also to the social order, with the associated mores and considerations of courtesy and propriety, as well as to general education. Hirsch thus developed the concept of Derech Eretz to embrace Western culture while maintaining strict adherence to Jewish law.
The public source identifies “Torah im Derech Eretz” as torah with "the way of the land. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Torah, Derech and Eretz.
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This entry incorporates text from “Torah im Derech Eretz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.