Meno Burg - Devout Jew

Devout Jew

Burg was a devout Jew and participated actively in the Jewish community life. He served for many years on the board of the Kulturverein (cultural association) and on the board of the Auerbach orphanage. He was active on various comities in the Jewish congregation of Berlin and served for one year (1849–1850) as one of the elders on the board of the congregation. Burg resigned, when the board lost its legitimacy because it failed to comply with the General Concession for the Jews (German: General-Juden-Privileg) dated 17 April 1750 and when the board decided to file a complaint with the court. As a royal officer, Burg did not want to share “the insubordination against the government”.

Burg tried to strictly separate between his government service and his religion. This proved to be nearly impossible, because both his government, which described itself as “Christian”, as well as his congregation, who considered itself “orthodox”, did not adhere to a strict separation between church and state. As a soldier, Burg was not able to strictly follow the Jewish ceremonial laws. That means that he had to disengage himself from a strict orthodoxy. In this respect, he is an example for a neo-orthodox, who felt that government service does not preclude the ceremonial law.