Claude Montefiore

==Family==

==Family==

Claude Montefiore was born in London on 6 June 1858, the youngest son of Nathaniel Montefiore and [[Emma Goldsmid]].{{Cite ODNB |id=35080 |title=Montefiore, Claude Joseph Goldsmid |first=Geoffrey |last=Alderman |author-link=Geoffrey Alderman}} He had two sisters, [[Alice Lucas (poet)|Alice Julia]] and Charlotte Rosalind and one brother, [[Leonard A. Montefiore|Leonard]]. He was the great-nephew of [[Moses Montefiore|Sir Moses Montefiore]].

Claude Montefiore was born in London on 6 June 1858, the youngest son of Nathaniel Montefiore and Emma Goldsmid.{{Cite ODNB |id=35080 |title=Montefiore, Claude Joseph Goldsmid |first=Geoffrey |last=Alderman |author-link=Geoffrey Alderman}} He had two sisters, [[Alice Lucas (poet)|Alice Julia]] and Charlotte Rosalind and one brother, [[Leonard A. Montefiore|Leonard]]. He was the great-nephew of [[Moses Montefiore|Sir Moses Montefiore]].

Montefiore's first wife was Therese Alice Schorstein, who had been a student at [[Girton College, Cambridge]]. She died in 1889 and, two years later, he endowed a prize in her memory – the Therese Montefiore Memorial Prize.{{citation |pages=187–188 |title=Girton College 1869–1932 |author=Barbara Stephen |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781108015318}} Their son was [[Leonard G. Montefiore]]. Montefiore remarried at the [[West London Synagogue]] on 24 July 1902. His second wife was Florence Fyfe Brereton Ward, daughter of Richard James Ward, and a Vice-Mistress at Girton, having started there as Librarian.{{cite news |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS17099514/TTDA |newspaper=[[The Times]] |publication-place=London |title=Marriages |date=26 July 1902 |page=1 |issue=36830 |access-date=2025-01-23 |via=The Times Digital Archive}}

Montefiore's first wife was Therese Alice Schorstein, who had been a student at [[Girton College, Cambridge]]. She died in 1889 and, two years later, he endowed a prize in her memory – the Therese Montefiore Memorial Prize.{{citation |pages=187–188 |title=Girton College 1869–1932 |author=Barbara Stephen |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781108015318}} Their son was [[Leonard G. Montefiore]]. Montefiore remarried at the [[West London Synagogue]] on 24 July 1902. His second wife was Florence Fyfe Brereton Ward, daughter of Richard James Ward, and a Vice-Mistress at Girton, having started there as Librarian.{{cite news |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS17099514/TTDA |newspaper=[[The Times]] |publication-place=London |title=Marriages |date=26 July 1902 |page=1 |issue=36830 |access-date=2025-01-23 |via=The Times Digital Archive}}

==Teachings and positions==

==Teachings and positions==

{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}

{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}

Among Jewish religious leaders, Montefiore was unusual for the time and energy he devoted to the study of Christianity. He provoked considerable controversy for what was perceived by many to be an overly sympathetic attitude towards Jesus and [[Paul of Tarsus]]. Inter alia, he wrote a two-volume commentary on the ''Synoptic gospels'' in the early part of the twentieth century, ''What A Jew Thinks about Jesus'', published in 1935, and ''Judaism and St. Paul'' (1914).

Among Jewish religious leaders, Montefiore was unusual for the time and energy he devoted to the study of Christianity. He provoked considerable controversy for what was perceived by many to be an overly sympathetic attitude towards Jesus and [[Paul of Tarsus]]. Inter alia, he wrote a two-volume commentary on the ''Synoptic gospels'' in the early part of the twentieth century, ''What A Jew Thinks about Jesus'', published in 1935, and ''Judaism and St. Paul'' (1914){{Cite web |title=Claude Montefiore and Christianity on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvzpv5gt |access-date=2026-04-20 |website=www.jstor.org |language=en}}.

Montefiore was one of the leading authorities on questions of education. Montefiore was mainly instrumental in enabling Jewish pupil teachers at elementary schools to enjoy the advantages of training in classes held for the purpose at the universities{{Cite web |title=Project MUSE -- Verification required! |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/verify?url=%2Farticle%2F950591&r=3730423 |access-date=2026-04-20 |website=muse.jhu.edu}}.

He assisted Rev. [[Simeon Singer]] in preparing the standard Anglo-Jewish prayer book. This was acknowledged in the original preface, but his name was removed from the preface of the second edition.

Montefiore showed great sympathy with all liberal tendencies in Jewish religious movements in London and was president of the Jewish Religious Union. He was president of the [[World Union for Progressive Judaism]] from 1926 until his death{{Cite news |title=Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore {{!}} Jewish philosopher, Reform Judaism, Jewish historian {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Joseph-Goldsmid-Montefiore |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250523024214/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Joseph-Goldsmid-Montefiore |archive-date=2025-05-23 |access-date=2026-04-20 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}.

Montefiore was one of the leading authorities on questions of education. Montefiore was mainly instrumental in enabling Jewish pupil teachers at elementary schools to enjoy the advantages of training in classes held for the purpose at the universities.

He ranked as one of the leading philanthropists in the Anglo-Jewish community and held office in various important bodies.

Montefiore showed great sympathy with all liberal tendencies in Jewish religious movements in London and was president of the Jewish Religious Union. He was president of the [[Jewish Historical Society of England]] in 1899–1900.

He ranked as one of the leading philanthropists in the Anglo-Jewish community and held office in various important bodies.

==Group involvement==

==Group involvement==

As a revered scholar, philanthropist and spiritual authority, Claude Montefiore belongs to that important group of learned laymen who have sought to revolutionise [[Judaism]]. He was a founder of British [[Liberal Judaism (UK)|Liberal Judaism]] at the turn of the 20th century, considered to be the most original Anglo-Jewish religious thinker of his day, and still remains a highly controversial figure. Montefiore infuriated his enemies and often alienated his supporters with his radical agenda in which he applied the findings of historical and literary analysis to the Jewish scriptures, attempted to radically systemise rabbinic thought, and by his desire to learn from and re-express aspects of Christian theology. The extent to which he incorporated the teachings of Jesus and Paul into his own ethical and theological musings makes him unique among Jewish reformers. In his dealings with Christians and Christian thought, he can also be regarded as a forerunner to those who would later fully partake in Jewish-Christian dialogue.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

As a revered scholar, philanthropist and spiritual authority, Claude Montefiore belongs to that important group of learned laymen who have sought to revolutionise [[Judaism]]. He was a founder of British [[Liberal Judaism (UK)|Liberal Judaism]] at the turn of the 20th century, considered to be the most original Anglo-Jewish religious thinker of his day, and still remains a highly controversial figure. Montefiore infuriated his enemies and often alienated his supporters with his radical agenda in which he applied the findings of historical and literary analysis to the Jewish scriptures, attempted to radically systemise rabbinic thought, and by his desire to learn from and re-express aspects of Christian theology. The extent to which he incorporated the teachings of Jesus and Paul into his own ethical and theological musings makes him unique among Jewish reformers. In his dealings with Christians and Christian thought, he can also be regarded as a forerunner to those who would later fully partake in Jewish-Christian dialogue. name=":1" />

==Functions==

==Functions==