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Jews and Freemasonry in the 19th century. A general surveyThe meeting between Judaism and Freemasonry was the result of two ‘dialogical’ phenomena. On the one hand, from the second half of the 18th century onward, the Jewish community became more and more fragmented and would evolve into a pluralistic society by the 19th century. On the other hand, Freemasonry both in Europe and in America became one of the first ‘melting-pots’ which opened itself to the religious ‘other’. Freemasonry gradually welcomed more and more Jewish members even though this tolerance remained extremely limited certain regions most notably in Germany. This article examines the factors which lead to the presence of the Jewish elite especially Jewish social reformers in Masonic lodges. It emphasizes the fact that Freemasonry was for them a driving force for the realization of their intellectual and social aspirations, and represented both the framework and the testing ground for their emancipation.