a single act. In others, limited rights were granted first in the hope of "changing" the Jews "for the better." Consequences Emancipation, integration, and assimilation The newfound freedom of Jews in places such as France, Italy, and Germany, at least during the Empire, permitted many Jews to leave the ghettos, benefitting from and contributing to wider society for the first time. Thus, with emancipation, many Jews' relationships with Jewish belief, practice, and culture evolved to accommodate a degree of integration with secular society. Where Halacha (Jewish law) was at odds with local law of the land, or where Halacha did not address some aspect of contemporary secular life, compromise was often sought in the balancing of religious and secular law, ethics, and obligations. Consequently, while some remained firm in their established Jewish practice, the prevalence of emancipated Jewry prompted gradual evolution and adaptation of the religion, and the emergence of new denominations of Judaism including Reform during the 19th century, and the widely-practiced Modern Orthodoxy, both of which continue to be practiced by strong Jewish communities today. Critics of Haskalah lament the emergence of inter-religious marriage in secular society, as well as the dilution of Halacha and Jewish tradition, citing waning religiosity, dwindling population numbers, or poor observance as contributors to the potential disappearance of Jewish culture and dispersion of communities. In contrast, others cite antisemitic events such as the Shoah ( The Holocaust ) as more detrimental to the continuity and longevity of Judaism than Haskalah. Emancipation offered Jewish people civil rights and opportunities for upward mobility, and assisted in dousing the flames of widespread Jew-hatred (though never completely, and only temporarily). This enabled Jews to live multifaceted lives, breaking cycles of poverty, enjoying the spoils of Enlightened society, while also maintaining strong Jewish faith and community. While this element of emancipation gave rise to antisemitic canards relating to dual loyalties, and the successful upward mobility of educated and entrepreneurial Jews saw pushback in antisemitic canards relating to control, domination, and greed, the integration of Jews into wider society led to a diverse tapestry of contribution to art, science, philosophy, and both secular and religious culture. See also Emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom Jewish Enlightenment Jewish question Napoleon and the Jews References Bibliography Battenberg, Friedrich (2017), Jewish Emancipation in the 18th and 19th Centuries, EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, retrieved: March