Meeting of rabbis held Aug. 20 and 21, 1844, at the town of
Paks, Hungary. The discussions in the Hungarian Parliament
concerning the emancipation of the Jews produced in Hungary, as
elsewhere in Europe, a demand for the reform of both dogma and
ritual, in order that Jews might be drawn more closely toward
their Christian fellow citizens. One of the principal demands
was the establishment of a rabbinical seminary. To anticipate
such an attempt, Paul (Feiwel) Horwitz, rabbi of Papa, planned a
rabbinical conference which should establish a hierarchical
constitution for the Hungarian congregations. Horwitz, who had
mastered the Hungarian language thoroughly—a very rare thing
among Orthodox rabbis in those days—wished to protect Orthodox
Judaism against changes that might be decreed by the government
or that might be introduced by individual congregations desirous
of gaining the good-will of the government. He therefore
addressed himself first to the Orthodox authorities, without
neglecting the liberal partizans.