Consistory (Judaism) - French Dependencies

French Dependencies

This organization was also introduced in the various countries which were under the sway of France during the Napoleonic era, as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Westphalia. In the last-named country, ruled over by Napoleon's youngest brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, a consistorial organization was introduced by the decree of March 31, 1808. It was composed of a president (who could be either a rabbi or a layman), three rabbis, two lay members, and one secretary. It was chiefly the outcome of Consistorial President Israel Jacobson's efforts, who hoped to introduce through such a medium his Reform ideas. A circular of this consistory ordered the introduction of confirmation and removed the prohibition against leguminous plants on Passover. None of these organizations survived the Napoleonic era with the exception of that in Belgium.

The desire to introduce reforms, and the difficulty of making them popular so long as they were individual decisions, led to various attempts during the middle of the nineteenth century to introduce either a consistory or a synod which should, by an authoritativevote, settle the difficulties which arose when the demands of the time came into conflict with the traditional law. None of these attempts were successful.