Reply To: Were all Jews Frum before the Haskala?

There were always people “off the derekh” but usually they converted to Christianity (remember the status of Jews in most countries was similar to the status of Blacks under “Jim Crow”, so if one isn’t going to bother being frum, why not convert and immediately get full civil rights). Also remember that pre-haskalah every country had “personal law” at least for domestic relations, so as long as one didn’t convert, a non-frum Jew was subject to Beis Din in all matters of family status and inheritance, and could be penalized for being off the derekh. — There was always wide diversity among frum Jews, as there is today, with arguments among kashrus just like we have today. The jokes that all Jews need at least two shuls (“one to go to, and one to refuse to go to”) are pre-haskallah. But individuals who openly rejected halacha would usually also choose to convert and would not be seen as part of the frum community.