The roots of Masorti Judaism are in Europe. Masorti first emerged as an identifiable ideological stream in Germany at the end of the 19th century. The first training institution to educate rabbis in the spirit of Masorti Judaism (known then as the positive historical approach) was in Breslau, Germany, which is now the city of Wroclaw in Poland.
Few synagogues that followed the Masorti approach survived the World War II, mainly in Hungary. Following the war, Masorti Judaism re-emerged in several European countries independent of each other. In the UK, Masorti was connected with Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs, who split from the Orthodox establishment over his commitment to critical study of the bible. In Spain, the emergence of Masorti is the result of the immigration of Jews from Argentina to Spain over the past few decades; most South American Jews are affiliated with the Masorti stream. In Germany, the emergence of Masorti is the result of the gifted leadership of Rabbi Gesa Ederberg. In Portugal, the work of the European Masorti Bet Din with former Crypto-Jews helped establish a new Jewish organization. There are now also organizations in France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.Our Grundtvig project helped bring these separate organizations together. It was the first major project we have undertaken together.
