Subject: The Diaspora: Ashkenazi Jewry
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From: JUICE Administration <juice@virtual.co.il>
To: diaspora@virtual.co.il
Subject: JUICE Diaspora 5
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World Zionist Organization
Student and Academics Department
Jewish University in CyberspacE
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
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Course: Actors on the World's Stage: Jewish Life in the Diaspora
Lecture: 5/12
Lecturer: Rabbi Zvi Berger
Important announcement: We will not be sending out lectures in our JUICE
courses next week, during Sukkot. Hag Sameach!
Shalom folks! Today we're going to focus in on another medieval
Diaspora community, namely, Ashkenazic Jewry. The center of this
community during its formative period was in Franco-Germany, while a
large community also developed in England. Much of our story, I must
admit, is quite unpleasant, as this was a period and an environment in
which anti-Jewish feeling was rampant, particularly among the simple
folk of the peasantry. But let's not jump ahead of your story...
Already in the first centuries of the Common Era, Jewish communities had
developed all over the Roman Empire. After the empire fell in the West,
(476 C.E.), the institutions of centralized government all over Europe
were greatly weakened, and Europe entered the period often referred to
as the "Dark Ages", a time of economic stagnation, political weakness,
and cultural decay. During this time, local nobles, or overlords, often
invited Jews to settle in their communities, in order to spur the
economic development of their towns and cities. Specifically, Jews had
particular talents and experience in the area of trade. A Persian
source from around the year 850 cites a group of Jewish traders called
"Radanites", who established trade links between numerous communities,
including France and China! The Radanite trade routes also linked
Franco-Germany with Egypt, Central Asia, and India. Many Jews also
served as simple merchants, which was again an economic activity
particularly suited for the Jews. Lest you think I'm going to sound
like an anti-Semite and talk about an obsessive love of the Jews for
money, I'll immediately clarify what I mean! First of all, Jews had a
tremendous advantage over the local peasantry in regard to financial
undertakings, simply because Jews were a literate people! Remember,
we're talking about the "Dark Ages", a time in which most of the
European population is living in squalor, and virtually no one outside
of the aristocracy had the ability to pursue any type of formal
education. Jews, on the other hand, because of the mitzvah and long
tradition of Talmud Torah (Study of Torah), had always insisted upon
giving their children, (well, at least all the male children...) a
Jewish education which was based, first and foremost, upon the ability
to read and write in the holy tongue. Literacy, it seems to me, is a
necessary "prerequisite" to any type of mercantile activity, since
merchants need to be able to keep clear and accurate records. The other
factor which tended to direct Jews toward mercantile or financial
dealings, was the fact that Jews were usually unable to own land or
engage in many of the various occupations, since land ownership or
joining a guild of artisans or craftsmen usually required the swearing
of feudal oaths which included professions of Christian faith.
At any rate, imagine Jewish communities springing up in numerous cities
and towns all over Christian Europe, including outlying areas. The
rights and responsibilities of the Jews would be clearly defined in
formal charters, granted by the local ruling overlords to Jewish
representatives. In these charters, Jews usually received the right to
govern their own communal affairs according to their religious laws and
customs, which included the granting of authoritative status to Jewish
law courts (the beit din), and also allowed Jews to maintain their own
synagogues, mikvehs (ritual baths). schools, hospitals, etc. And so,
largely autonomous Jewish kehillot (communities), established themselves
in all the areas where Jews settled in Christian Europe during this
time. Another extremely important aspect of these charters for the Jews
was the guarantee of governmental protection. Jews lived in the various
cities and towns of Franco-Germany, Austria, and England because they
were invited by the nobles, and therefore the nobles formally committed
themselves to defending "their Jews". (Unfortunately, we'll soon see
that the nobles were not always capable or willing to make good upon
their promises...).
Let's examine one aspect of Jewish communal life, that of education.
I'd like to quote from a very important Jewish source from the Middle
Ages, Sefer Hasidim, (the Book of the Pious). This work is primarily a
treatise of ethical and mystical literature, describing the beliefs and
practices of a particular group of Jewish pietists in the Middle Ages
known as Hasidei Ashkenaz. The selection which follows, describes
aspects of the "educational philosophy" of this influential group of
German Jews. It was written around the year 1200.
When a person teaches children - some of whom are more brilliant than
others - and sees that it is disadvantageous for all of them to study
together inasmuch as the brilliant children need a teacher for
themselves alone, he should not keep quiet. He ought to say to the
parents, even if he loses by making the division: "These children need a
separate teacher; and these, a separate teacher."
[Proverbs 22:6]: "Train up a child in the way he should go". If you see
a child making progress in Bible, but not in Talmud, do not push him by
teaching him Talmud, and if he understands Talmud, do not push him by
teaching him Bible. Train him in the things which he knows.
I must say, the educational approach described here sounds quite modern
to me! Remember, this was written about 800 years ago in Germany, by a
group of Jews which could be considered as a relatively elitist sect of
pietistic mystics. Yet here there is a clear emphasis not only on
educating all children, but on teaching each child according to his
capabilities and inclinations.
The kehillot of Ashkenaz developed a high level of community
organization. The organizational structure will become much more
sophisticated in later centuries, when the focus of the Ashkenazic
community moves eastward to Poland, (see Lecture #6). Taxation would be
collected on a communal basis by the parnas, the head of the community,
and his associates. The taxes collected from all members of the
community would then be split up, the majority being a direct payment to
the local overlord in return for his protection, and the rest remaining
within the kehilla in order to support all the various communal
institutions. It is clear that this strong communal framework provided
the basis for Jews to live relatively autonomous lives within their own
Jewish framework. Contact with the non-Jewish world obviously existed,
but in most cases it was strictly limited to the economic sphere, that
is, trading contacts, interaction at local fairs and markets, etc.
Social and cultural contact between Jew and Gentile, however, was
virtually nonexistent at this time in Franco- Germany. This stands in
stark contrast to the more or less contemporary developments in Spain,
which saw a "Golden Age", including significant cultural
cross-fertilization between Jews, Christians, and Muslims! The
isolation of medieval Ashkenazic Jewry was to have far- reaching
implications in many spheres of life. Let's consider, first of all, the
area of religious and cultural expression.
Unlike their Sephardic counterparts, Ashkenazic Jewry did not produce
great Jewish philosophers like Rambam, or poets and masters of literary
style like Judah Halevi or Ibn Ezra. For these were areas of
intellectual endeavor which were heavily influenced by the larger,
non-Jewish world. In Ashkenaz, learning turned inward, expressing
itself in the ethical and mystically oriented literature of the Hasidei
Ashkenaz, (the pietists described earlier). But on a more popular
level, Jewish learning turned inward to its most fundamental sources,
namely, the Tanakh and the Talmud. The area of endeavor was that of
traditional commentary, and the man who provided it was Rabbi Shlomo ben
Yitzhak, better known (by the abbreviation of his name) as Rashi.
Rashi (1040-1105) lived in France, where he established a beit midrash
which became an important center of Jewish learning, attracting students
from many different countries. His commentary on the Talmud became an
indispensable tool for serious Talmud study. It is still the most
important Talmudic commentary ever written! He elucidates the meaning
and logical development of difficult passages, and often provides
translations of obscure Aramaic terms into Hebrew, ( and sometimes into
medieval French!). His Biblical commentary is also viewed as the most
important of the numerous commentaries written over the ages. Of
particular significance here is his ability to bring a variety of
earlier Midrashic interpretations of Biblical verses in a concise and
summarized form. Here's two examples of Rashi's commentaries on
Biblical verses, (the first of which has legal, Halakhic implications,
and the second being aggadic or philosophical):
Leviticus 24:20; "And if a man maim his neighbor, as he has done so
shall it be done to him; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, as he has put a blemish in a man, so shall it be put in him"
Rashi: So shall it be put in him; Our rabbis have explained that this
does not mean putting a real blemish in him, but that he should make
good the injury with money. This is done by estimating the injury as
one would with a slave who has been injured. The proof for all this is
seen in the phrase putting [which means that something, money, is put
from one hand into the other].
Deuteronomy 11:13-14: "And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken
diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love
the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your
soul, that I will give the rain of the land in its season..."
Rashi: To love the Lord: Do not say "I am going to study the Torah in
order to become a rich man", or "in order that I may be called Rabbi",
or "that I may get paid", but whatever you do, do out of love, and the
result will be that honor will come of itself.
And to serve Him with all your heart: This means service which is in
the heart and this, of course, means prayer.
For all of the "inwardness" which Rashi's learning may represent, he was
still very much aware of the realities of Jewish life within the
medieval Christian world. During his lifetime, Ashkenazic Jewry was to
undergo a terrible period of persecution. The year is 1096. The event
is the First Crusade. The Crusades are a well known historical
phenomenon, and there is no need to go into detail concerning the
background to their emergence or the development and ultimate fall of
the Crusader kingdoms. Suffice it to say that while the Crusades
certainly signify a major and in many ways positive development in
general European history, ("Europe wakes up!"), they were nonetheless
the direct cause of great carnage and suffering. What's more, the
slaughtering of infidels was not limited to Muslims and Jews living in
the Holy Land of Israel. While many important European noblemen
answered Pope Urban's call and flocked directly to the Holy Land to wage
holy war, other crusaders, usually of simpler, peasant origin and led by
charismatic popular preachers, chose to attack the infidel enemy at home
in Europe. After all, why wait until one arrives in the Holy Land?
Better to prepare yourself by engaging in the holy war on the local
front as well! And so, tragically, the Ashkenazic Jewish communities
come under attack in the time of the First Crusade. Huge mobs of
crusaders storm the city gates in German cities like Speyer, Worms,
Mainz, and Cologne. The Jews, of course, seek the aid of the local
overlord, who is committed to their defense. In most communities, Jews
will be sheltered in the local fortress or tower. But the overlord's
troops prove to be inadequate to stave off the crusading mobs, and
though Jews often try to fight for themselves, and of course also pray
to God to save them from this bitter end, they end up faced with a stark
and brutal dilemma, "Convert or die!". Overwhelmingly, masses of
Ashkenazic Jews chose the path of martyrdom, dying for Kiddush Hashem,
(the Sanctification of the Divine Name), rather than accept conversion.
Listen to the words of the Hebrew chronicler, Shlomo bar Shimshon, as he
describes the terrible events of May 1096 in Mainz:
It was on the third of Siwan...at noon [Tuesday, May 27], that Emico
the wicked, the enemy of the Jews, came with his whole army against the
city gate, and the citizens opened it up for him. [Emico, a German
noble, led a band of plundering geman and French crusaders.] Then the
enemies of the :Lord said to each other: "Look! They have opened up the
gates for us. Now let us avenge the blood of `the hanged one' [Jesus]"...
Panic was great in the town. Each Jew in the inner court of the bishop
girded on his weapons, and all moved toward the palace gate to fight the
crusaders and the citizens. They fought each other up to the very gate,
but the sins of the Jews brought it about that the enemy overcame them
and took the gate... When the children of the holy covenant saw that the
heavenly decree of death had been issued and that the enemy had conquered
them...then all of them-old men and young, virgins and children, servants and
maids-cried out together to their Father in heaven and, weeping for
themselves...accepted as just the sentence of God. One to another they
said: "Let us be strong and let us bear the yoke of the holy religion,
for only in this world can the enemy kill us...but we, our souls in
paradise, shall continue to live eternally, in the great shining
reflection [of the Divine glory]". With a whole heart and a willing soul
they then spoke..."Happy are we if we do His will. Happy is anyone who is
killed or slaughtered, who dies for the unity of His name, so that he is
ready to enter the World to Come, to dwell in the heavenly camp with the
righteous, with Rabbi Akiba and his companions, the pillars of the
universe, who were killed for His name's sake. Not only that, but he
exchanges the world of darkness for a world of light, the world of
trouble for the world of joy, and the world that passes away for the
world that lasts for all eternity. Then all of them, to a man, cried out
with a loud voice, "Now we must delay no longer for the enemy are already
upon us. Let us hasten and offer ourselves as a sacrifice to the Lord.
Let him that has a knife examine it that it not be nicked, and let him
come and slaughter us for the sanctification of the Only One, the
Everlasting, and then let him cut his own throat or plunge the knife into
his own body".
The source then goes on to describe, in horrible detail, how men and
women slaughtered their children and killed themselves as an offering to
the Lord. The chronicler then concludes:
Why did not the moon and the sun grow dark in their heavens when on
one day, on the third of Siwan...eleven hundred souls were killed and
slaughtered, among them so many infants and sucklings who had not
transgressed nor sinned so many poor, innocent souls?
Will you, despite this, still restrain yourself, O Lord? For your sake
it was that these numberless souls were killed. Avenge quickly the
blood of your servants which was spilt in our days and in our sight.
Amen.
The theological question that is posed here is not a new one, and it
remains with us to this day. But it seems to me that what is truly
striking here is the clear and unequivocal expression of the
unbridgeable gulf, the absolute distinction between Good and Evil,
between Light and Darkness, the Chosen People and the "Enemies of the
Lord". Please do not misunderstand me. I am not, (God forbid),
suggesting that this should be the attitude of Jews toward Christians
today, or vice versa. I believe that we no longer live in such a world
of clear absolutes, that good and decent people are to be found within
every nation and every religious and/or ethnic group. But I am
thoroughly convinced that the source quoted above provides us with an
accurate description of the medieval European society which existed at
this time, in which both Christians and Jews viewed "the Other" with (at
the very least), great suspicion, and in certain circumstances with
profound hatred. The absolute refusal of most Ashkenazic Jews to accept
conversion at the hands of the Crusaders in order to save their lives
reflects the high degree of social isolation described earlier. These
Jews simply couldn't conceive of integrating into the world of their
enemies, even in a superficial fashion. Thus, the option chosen by some
of their Sephardic brethren, (to convert and live as secret Jews; i.e.
the "Marranos"), was utterly unacceptable to them.
It is important to emphasize that the wave of persecutions of the Jews
seen in the First Crusade was not a spontaneous development. Its roots
may be found in the religious hostility expressed towards the Jews by
local churchmen, which inspired the simple and largely illiterate
populace to despise their Jewish neighbors, with their strange, foreign,
and seemingly devilish customs. It should be stressed that most of the
leaders of the Roman Catholic Church opposed violence towards the Jews.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, for example, who called the Second Crusade,
insisted that Jews were not to be attacked, and as a result, most Jewish
communities were not harmed during this crusade. He believed in the
Witness Theory, which asserted that Jews needed to be allowed to exist,
albeit in a degraded and humbled status, in order that their humbled
presence would testify to the truth and victory of Christianity. While
this was far from an expression of sympathy towards the Jews, at least
it insisted upon their right to exist. Unfortunately, however, the
anti-Jewish feelings touched a very deep chord among the local populace,
and the hostility was not only religious in origin, but also economic,
particularly as Jews became more invlved in the profession of
moneylending. Moneylending was a necessary function, and European
nobles encouraged it, but it obviously led to a great deal of anger
towards the Jews, particularly among those who owed large debts. (By
the way, both Christians and Jews understood the book of Deuteronomy as
forbidding the taking of usury from one's brother, but both believed
that usury was involved if the interest was paid to someone who was not
one's "brother". This created the religious framework which allowed
Jews to lend money at interest to Christians.) And so, in the time of
the Third Crusade in the city of York in England (1187-89), we read of
Jews who actually accepted conversion in order to save their lives, yet
they were still killed by mobs, who were angry about the debts owed to
their Jewish neighbors.
There were many other examples of persecutions of the Jews in medieval
Europe. Mention must be made of the infamous accusations of Blood Libel
and Host Desecration. The blood libel was the charge that Jews would
ritually murder a Christian child, in order to extract the child's blood
and use the blood in the preparation of matzah, the unleavened bread of
Passover. "Host desecration", referred to the charge that Jews broke
into churches and stole Eucharist wafers, in order to prick them with
needles, thus ritually reenacting the crucifixion of Jesus. Needless to
say, such accusations were thoroughly ridiculous and without any kind of
rational justification. But they too were a reflection of the
widespread ignorance, suspicion, fear, and hostility towards the Jews,
who were equated with Satan himself. The persecution reached its peak
during the horrible period of the Black Plague, (1348-49), in which
approximately a third of the European population perished at the hands
of the dreaded disease. Though the disease was apparently spread by
rats on merchant vessels, the causes at the time were unclear, and in
the climate of mass hysteria of the time it was only natural to accuse
the natural enemies, the Jews, of poisoning the wells and thus causing
the plague. And so tens of thousands of Jews, (along with witches, who
were also believed by many to be the source of the horrible disease),
were burned at the stake.
As a result of these terrible persecutions, (as well as the actual
expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and from France in 1394), the
focus of Ashkenazic Jewry moved eastward to Poland. We'll continue the
story of Ashkenaz when we meet again in our next lecture. In the
meantime, the joyous holiday of Sukkot is approaching. Hag Sameah
(Happy Holiday) !!
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