Jewish Orthodoxy in Scotland: Rabbi Dr Salis Daiches and Religious Leadership

Kosher haggis, tartan kippot, and Jewish Burns’ Suppers: Jews acculturated to Scotland within one generation and quickly inflected Jewish culture in a Scottish idiom. This book analyses the religious aspects of this transition through a transnational perspective on migration in the first three decades of the twentieth century. As immigrants began to outnumber the established Jewish community, and Eastern European rabbis challenged the British Jewish leadership in London, Scottish Jewry underwent momentous changes. The book examines this tumultuous period through a thematic biography of Salis Daiches, Scotland’s most significant rabbi. Drawing on previously unseen archival material, including Rabbi Daiches’ personal correspondence, the book provides a window into the dynamics of Jewish religious life and power relations.