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tury The most extreme precursor to the Reform movement was a man by the name of Samuel Holdheim. He was born in 1806 in Kempo in the province of Posen. At a young age he studied at a yeshiva and received a Talmudic education. He began to study German and secula ....

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.... a time when European Jews were (for the first time) recognized as citizens of the countries in which they lived in. Ghettos were being abolished, special badges were no longer required and Jews could dress the way they wanted, settle were they pleased and work the occupations they desired. Many Jews settled outside of Jewish districts, and began to live like their neighbors and speak the language of the land. They went to public schools and began to neglect Jewish Studies and forget about he Shulchan Aruch. In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat, Jews lost the rights of citizenship in many countries. ....