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Jewish Life and Rabbinic Practices in the Middle Ages
JUDC 1035 - Introduction to Judaism
University of Cincinnati
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Judaism in the Middle Ages
Jews in the Medieval Christian world
Jews in the Medieval Muslim world
Intro to Pre-Modernity
The evolution of Rabbinic Judaism:
- Before the middle: developing, structure without the temple
- Middle Ages: uniformity, takkanot, bringing together home life, giving people a place to
be a part of something, they could participate in Tikkun Olam, feeling Judaism, mikvas,
listened to Rabbis, separation between sephardic and ashkenazi because the sephardim
were still able to contant Babylon, therefore the Ashknenaz weren’t as evolved as the
sephardim. The sephardim were able to learn from lots of texts pand have open
discussions with Muslims. In the middle ages with a lot of expulsions rabbinic judaism is
about surviving for future generations and just believing in G-d
The “Age of Definition”
- 70-650 CE – the age of definition (Neuser)
- The core sacred texts of rabbinic judaism
- Rabbinic literature was coming together
- Basic traditional practices of rabbinic judaism came together
- Tanakh (bible) – especially torah (law)
- 200 CE: Mishna – the oral torah
- 500-650: Talmud – an explanation/exploration of the mishnah
- According to rabbinic history, these periods are called the tanaick and amoraic period
- Rabbinic judaism initial phase is 50-200 (tanna) and the second phase is
200-500 (amoriam)--> scholars of the talmud
Tanna- teach
Amora- said
The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The
Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the Amoraim expounded upon and
clarified the oral law after its initial codification.
Therefore, in the time of the tannaim they taught, and the amoraim gave their thoughts on what
was taught (commentary)
Middle Ages: 10th-15th CE (ended around 1492CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain)
- Religion and regular life were heavily intertwined. One could not opt out of religion, the
social system was embeded in religion. There was no comparmentalization of religion.
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- Ones religious identity was very important
- Public institutions were religious institutions
- Medical care, education, everything was associated with your religious affiliation
- When you were born in the middle ages, only your church or synagogue took note of
your birth, not the government
- No option to not be part of a religious system
- Most people lived in a mystical world where everyone believed in religion
- Religion wasn’t the context, it merely existed everywhere
- People thought demons and angels were active in the world all the time
- The social system and everyday life were imbued with religion
- Middle ages are very important to judaism yet not discussed often, often understood as
depressing yet much culture comes out of it.
- Lachrymose: depressing, the depressing outlook of the Jews in the middle ages. A
negative outlook in understanding history.
- The period where Rabbinic judaism becomes minhag and the norm for jewish families.
Torah becomes the normalized code of conduct, rabbinic judaism is created, normalized,
and then dominates.
- An outcome of the middle ages is antisemitism and theological and productive
communication through repsonsa’s which were communication between rabbis about
summaries of religious laws and commentary related questions/discussions.
During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Dates around Middle Ages:
- 4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
- Begins with the fall of Rome, Christainity rising popularity
- Ends with the rise of the great empires in the middle east and europe
- 10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
- Ends→ invention of the printing press, discovery of the New World (the Americas) →
blew the minds of religious and scientific knowledge, religious landscape
Jewish Middle Ages
- In the 15th century you also get 1492. In 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain – this
is when it ends according to jews
- Broke the medieval Jewish world
- Incredibly important time, but not a talked about time
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- People assume judaism was stable at this time
- People frame jewish history in the middle ages as depressing. Stop at the persecution of
the Jews. Emphasis on suffering and the sad story. - But it is an important period because
it is marked by
- Rabbinic judaism (primarily) – becoming minhag - Diasporal persecution, isolation and
expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- The advent of printing and mass communications
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-exsisted along side its two main colleaguefaiths
(abrahamic religions) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Rabbinic judaism becomes systimized by families
- Time when rabbinic judaism becomes family tradition
- Lots of autonomy, slash alienation from society
- Torah becomes normal code of conduct for many rabbinic jewish community
- Rabinnic Judaism becomes the normative type of Judaism - Anti-semitism is really
“invented” during the Middle Ages
- Also an intense period of resilience, and shaping of Judaism, and productivity
- Age of codes→ summaries of Jewish laws
- It is now a continued time of religious activity
- Responsa are big now – when people send in questions and a rabbi answers them
- Intense age of commentary→ specifically Rashi (icon of Jewish education). He produces
an excess amount of commentary during the middle ages.
- Also a big time of expulsions
- Get about 1000 years of the Jews living beside other nations - A lot of
intermarriage, other forms of cross interaction.
- Lots of outside influences on Judaism, judaism also influenced other religions
- Some of the interactions outside with jews are good, but many are bad
- Think: crusades, spanish inquisition, laws around what type of work Jews can do, who
can engage in business with who, rise of anti-semitism
The “Age of Cogency”
- The time when rabbinic judaism becomes dominant, and present in almost every jewish
family
- A period from ca. 600s to the 1800s CE in which Judaism is relatively uniform, stable,
and unified under rabbinic Judaism
- Geography alone guarantees diversity
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- The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual
and incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty,
compassion, community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of
the middle ages. Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will
save them and gave hews the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children
and all you need to do is survive and god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the
standard rabbinic practice– to learn and to teach this is where the development of
yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to not just those who wanted to be
rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much more literate at the age of 3
studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women. During the babylonian
excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it is about you
needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional diversification
goes on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust. Rabbinic
judaism extrapulates meaning
-
Diversity in the Diaspora:
- Jews were very spread out across the map, therefore the traditions that arose were very
diverse
- Example: jews in france use apples for a sweet rosh hashanah fruit, whereas jews in
india use dates
- Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become
the most dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the
ideas of persecution. This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been
anti-judaism sediments as opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern
age, the idea that jews are different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews
are trwated.
-
The Diaspora (6th-16th century)
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of
Kulturbereichs which is a german word for the development of cultural regions
(Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and independents) these are not sects but cultural
flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some disagreements but similar
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia
- Some stats
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
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- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
- While we think of the old world as disconnected, it is important to know a lot of these
communities had firm contact with one another
- It is just rabbinic judaism happening in different places
- There was a desire to remain unified – still felt connected through covenant
- Geographical spread almost guaranteed ethno-religious diversity
- The further you are from the center, the further you are from observing religion in those
norms
- Babylonian Hegemony
- The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon
they also had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed
divinic heritage disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and
still looked to the exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to
remain together and enact covenant together though it was difficult.
- The status of being able to what is normal
- The closer you are to the hegemony the more ‘normal’ you are
- The further you are is the further you are from the ‘hegon normal’
- Gaonim
- Head of babylonian academy
- On the ball with responsa
- Everybody wrote to these guys for their opinion
- In the 10th and 11th (mainly 11) century Europe lost touch with Babylonians jews
because this was during the first crusades
- Babylonian hegemony comes to an end
- When we look at where Jews went in the diaspora, we are looking at how traditions
within Rabbinic Judaism vary, however they are all still very interconnected, and are in
no way sects (like what we saw in the Second Temple period)
- What we see is the development of kulturbereich – meaning cultural region –
understanding Judaism over the past 1000 years is seen through this
Kulturbereich: cultural region
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- Ashkenazi→ christian europe
- Sefardic→ muslim spain
- Mizrahi→ middle east / isslamic
- Independent groups
These can all be considered “flavours” of rabbinic judaism
Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabian rites/tradition, originating in Spain and North Africa
- They speak ladino and judeo-arabic (Arabic written in a Hebrew script)
- Come from sepharad – iberian peninsula (spain and portugal)
- Many moved to northern africa and
Ashkenazi Jews
- Pertaining to “german Jews”
- Jews who root their heritage in Germany and France
- Many migrated later to Eastern Europe
- Marked by yiddish culture – medieval German written in Hebrew
- The Pale of settlement
- Come from ShUM cities
- Shpeyer, Wormtz, Mainz
Mizrahi:
- Typically describe jews of the middle east
- Sabra: jews born in palestine before 1948
Blurred divisions
- The jews of amsterdam
- They moved to amsterdam after the expulsion from spain, therefore sephardic - The
Italkim
- Independent groupings
- Echo sephardic rights
- Closer to ashkenazi
- The Romaniotes (from Greece)
- Independent→ they predate a lot of rabbinic judaism and have somewhat developed
independently
Medieval Movement and Expulsions
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- A community that develops in spain then moves to amsterdam will develop in different
ways then jews who move from spain to new amsterdam (new york)
- Roots, origins marks the ethno religious traditions of these families but there are layers
to it
The Idea of “Normative Judaism”
- There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like
rabbinic but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced
in the domestic sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller
forms of diversity within judaism like jewish women.
- Element of truth – rabbinic judaism was dominant and looks like the “normative
Judaism”
- The assumed “norm” of mainstream Judaism, which takes on the guise of “real”
judaism, to which all other judaisms are compared/contrasted as “abnormal”
Womens Judaism
- Form of diversity
- Nidah→menstrual purity laws→ attending a mikvah → often lead to a branch off of
women's spirituality surrounding the mikvah
- Sabbath blessings→ lighting candles
- Separation of the bread→ to make challah, a part should be broken off and burnt
- Can eat anything during pregnancy
- Many rabbinc sources excuse women from religion by saying that they could just watch
the kids
- In the middle ages, women went against this and started creating their own traditions,
songs, and forms of judaism
- Lots of women’s prayers emerged from the middle ages
- Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
Womens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
- Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
- 1- Niddah, Period laws
- 2- Blessings- candles on shabbat
- 3- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and
burned like sacrifice
Judaism and “Judaisms”
- Normative judaism and diverse “judaisms”
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Rabbinic and Non-Rabbinic Judaism
- Look at Beta-Israel and Karaites
- There are multiple examples of small, local Jewish cultures throughout “Global Israel”
that do/did not conform to Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism, either partially or fully,
depending on time of dispersion, context since dispersion, or on length of time since
contract with rabbinic Jewish communities
- Talmudic Jewish rejections and outreach
- Hegemony and recognition → they were recognized but was still considered
intermarrage
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The Jews of Africa and Asia
- Jews of Africa
- East Africa (beta israel) → pre rabbinic
- West Africa (the igbo Jews) → from nigeria, torah only, predate rabbinic Judaism
- Southern africa (the leba connection, zimbabwe) → blend between isalm and judaism,
but have history with jews migrating into the region
- The Jews of Asia
- India (Bene Israel (pre rabbinic judaism); Cochin Jewsl (around the time of rabbinic
judaism and has some element of it); Paradesi Jews (rabbinicportuguese)) → best place
to be a jew, had religious freedom
- China (Kaifering Jews)
- Some jews were in China while the temple still stood
- From 600-1000 CE many jews (rabbinic jews) moved to china
- Came along the Silk Routes and were mizrachi - Kaifeng Synagogue
- longest lasting community (10th century till 19th century) there are still people in this
region (may not identify as jews) will be loyal towards jewish ancestors
- Built in 1163
- Destroyed in 1663
- Rebuilt and destroyed again in 1852
- Jewish community is now built on the site
- Was known as Temple of purity and goodness
- Had a mikvah, communal kitchen/dining hall, had a symbiotic relationship with the
Muslims of the region – the majority of the religious items they got their hands on were
bought from Muslim traders, used arabic words
- Harmonization with chinese and jewish
- Allowed intermarrage from their members and the members of the muslim community
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The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have
the funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese
culture. With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
-
Jews migrated to Africa as refugees, or voluntarily
- The jews of africa predated rabinic judaism
Minhag
- Customs of the elders
- Points to how we live generationally. Points to how jews live generationally and how
judaism adapts and passes down traditions. Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws,
a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a religious tradition.
- Explanations for how the ethno religious traditions come about
- Adapt your judaism to a new geographical locations and pass that down
- Particularly useful in lacuna situations (hole) – a hole that minhag can “fill” in. There is
no law for how women should cover her head. But there is now a minhag for it, some do
it with wigs, some with snoods, some shave and then cover, some don’t at all. In the east
they often have elaborate and beautiful coverings, but others dont want to look
flamboyant. Think they should cover their head after marriage. All depends on where
your family cultural traditions lie
- Can't override Torah, but can rival rabbinic authority → rabbis are only human, they are
not god, their opinions can be challenged
- Historian in josephus said “you start learning how to be a jew at your mothers breast”
Who is a Jew
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
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- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their
lineage is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Medieval Judaism→ Jewish uniformity
- Time of intense geographical spread
- Remarkable that the middle ages is called a time of uniformity given that they are
so spread out across the map
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Into the middle ages
- Judaism is marked by
- Rabbinic Judaism (primarily)
- Diaspora; persecution, isolation and expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-existed along side its two main
colleague-faiths
(the abrahamic faiths) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Time of cultural productivity, Jewish Middle Ages was not only defined by
persecution
Rabbinic judaism spread through the synagogue system, babylon academies
- By the middle ages rabbinic judaism had become the most wide spread form of
Judaism
- The diaspora in the middle ages also brings a lot of persecution for the Jews
- Anti-semetism rises→ irrational hatred, mistrust, and stereotyping of the Jews→
leads to persecution, violence, and biases
- Pseudo-scientific racism→ different by blood, racisim based on the Jewish blood
as opposed to the religion itself
The Age of Cogency:
- Very stable time, uniform, and unified under Rabbinic Judaism
- 600 to 1800s
- Factors in the dominance of rabbinic judaism - Ideological factors
- It developed an intently hopeful idea that G-d would make the world right, would
bring the Messiah, Jews were discouraged to rebel
- Life may not be perfect right now, but if we survive, then the future generations
will be okay because G-d will sort things out
- Texts
- Talmud as a focus and core practice
- Jewish education: very important→ talmud torah, to learn and to teach Torah
- Authority
- Academies
- Rabbis→ communal and religious authorities, people turned to them
- Deeply embedded rabbinic judaism in the synagogue and everyday life
- Rabbinic judaism emphasized; synagogue, home, family, domestic rituals
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- Encourage people to take joy, enjoy life, food, wine, family life - Studying
talmud
- Education as core practice - Talmud torah
- To learn and to teach
- Becomes the standard rabbinic practice - Yeshiva life
- Talmud universities
- Even though they were rabbinic academies they were open to more people then
just those who wanted to be Rabbis
- Whoever could afford to went to access Jewish education
- Much higher rate of literacy amongst Jews, particularly Jewish women compared
to non Jews
- 3 year olds learned hebrew
- 6 year olds learned torah
- 10 year olds learned mishnah and talmud
- 13→ bar mitzvah
- If a family could afford it, they would continue learning past the age of 13
- A lot of this was publicly paid for→ free education, because there was such a
societal value placed on Jewish education
- Goes back to Babylon, learning how important it is to preserve the religion, texts,
language, culture
- In sephardic communities education and higher education is very important
Halakhah
- Interpretation and application of Jewish law
- Rabbis are the authorities to go to
- Increased variation of professional niches, teachers, Rabbis (not in synagogues,
but only school, rabbis who only wrote), poseks (sometimes are rabbis, people
who can answer questions in changing times)
- PaRDeS – tool that rabbis use to read and interpret text. Literally means orchard,
sometimes translated as paradise or heaven
- Important during this period to be connected to a valid trusted authority, because
they entirety of keeping the convenient requires the teaching of the Torah
- PRDS
- Peshat (simple), Remez (hints), Derash (interpretation), Sod (hidden meaning of a
text)
- ‘RDS’ – lays the opportunity for inspiration, if you live your life studying there
will be lightbulb moments
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- Layers of rabbinic interpretation of text
- Rabbinic judaism extrapolated meaning, within rabbinic judaism the bible is
understood to be perfect but is not meant to be read literally
- It's the power of education reading and qualified interpretations that the Bible has
meaning for people
- Popular because there is the quality that living people can interpret an ancient text
- You can make halakhah portable and you can apply it
- PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
- Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
- Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
- Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Uniformity and Dissent in Talmudic Judaism
- Wide margin of dissent
- Rabbinic authority is still a human authority→ Rabbis are allowed to disagree with each
other and people can choose which Rabbis they want to listen to
- Dissent, dionism,
- There was room for different opinions
Orthodoxy→ correct belief
Orthopraxy → correct practices
- Rabbinic Judaism wants to offer the range of orthopraxy
-
The Shulchan Arush
- Written by R. Yosef Karo in 1562-1565 in 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R.
Moses Isserles (ca. 1574)
- A meeting point between Ashkenenazi (Isserles) and Sephardim (Karo)
- Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The
Isserles provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end
of the Middle Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
- The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
- The Shulchan Aruch is still very long, dense and perhaps expensive
- The Kitzur is a more condensed version that has more information that Jewish household
would benefit from
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- Many Rabbis could afford the shulchan aruch, but more homes had the kitzur because it
was more affordable
- Many rabbis couldn’t afford their own talmud
Primary source: Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 72 (sefaria.org)
Jewish Social cohesion of the middle ages
- They had to live close together and live close to their institution
- Similar mindsets→ they shared rabbis based on geography
- Collectiveness based on education and their lives, small communities
- A lot of the social cohesion was necessary based on forced Jewish isolation and
alienation
- Certain level of autonomy embedded in their set up→ self ruling in their communities
Common Judaism in the middle ages
- Continuity of the central pillars of ancient judaism
- Shabbat, reading torah, keeping kosher, marrying only within Jews
- Popular form of Rabbinic Judaism
- Leadership of local authorities
- Autonomy of jewish communities and self governance
Cornerstones of Rabbinic Jewish Practices
- synagouge/home; family and community - The life cycle
- Marriage (domestic judaism and judaism practiced in the institutions), birth and death
- Prayer
- Study
- Texts
- Hebrew
- Rabbis, poseks and teachers
- Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing
authorities.This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it. There is allowance for debate
and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a built in thing that people
can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
- Feasts and fasts
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- Memory and story
- Sabbath
- Still done today
Triad of Judaism
- G-d → During the middle ages there is ethical monotheism
- Covenant , Torah, Law→ discipline to practice the law (halacha) is the practice of
upholding the covenant
- Israel → place, memory, root of the Jewish people, urge to go back, passive hope, almost
entirely funneled through a belief or hope of the return of the messiah
Archaeology
- Valuable for understanding medieval history for any religion
- Valuable to know what the non elites were doing
- But everyone needs coinage, homes, pots and pans, knitting needles
- Essential for inclusion of those who are not included with the elites
Synagogue Archeology
Ashkenazi, Judaism evolving in Christian Europe
Starting in Germany and parts of France and moving into eastern europe
- Ashkanaz was the term referred to as Germany
- Not all Jews in eastern europe are ashkenazi (ex. Spain, or amsterdam→ sephardic)
- Begins in 8th-10th centuries, then move to eastern europe starting in 1025
- Yiddish is medieval German→ hebrew, aramaic, and german
The SHUM Settlements:
- Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script.
SHUM cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
- Speyer, Wormz, and Meintz
- Cathedral cities because they had a charter to settle there
- Very few people to move/immigrate during the medieval times
- However Jews really weren’t allowed to move around at all and were subject to stay
within these cities
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- Jewish charters were agreements extended from a bishop or monarchy that allowed Jews
to settle and gave them permission to work a certain but limited number of trades, and
what lands they were allowed on.
- Eventually those became wither ghettos or shtettles
- they were allowed to establish burial grounds as well - In these places, they were
allowed to stay Jews, and
- This charter did not give them citizenship, they could stay as long the charter was
respected
- When the charter was deemed unvalid, they had expulsions of the Jews
- Jews were able to use their connections to important stuff from the east→ babylon
- They were allowed to have import/export jobs
The SHUM Takkanot:
- Rabbinic conferences that result in rabbinical decrease
- They discuss pressing issues that arise from being in a new place and are binding for the
jews of the region of those Rabbis
- The decrees become Jewish law
- When the SHUM made their own takkanot, the way they practiced Judiam became more
distinct from other forms of Judaism
Rabbi Gershom (10th century):
- Considered to be the founder of the Ashkenzai tradition
- Head rabbi when they started establishing the takkanot
- He said that the law of the land is also the Jewish law→ Jews were obligated to respect
the Christian laws so long as those laws didn’t interfere with being Jewish
- Jews were not allowed to touch or interfere with other people’s mail
- Jews had not experienced mail before so that had to create guidelines on how to respect
other people’s mail
- He prohibits polygamy for the Jews of SHUM (Ashkenazi Jews)
- He did this so that they would better blend in with Christians who did not practice
polygamy
- Kadahs HaShem→ santify the name of G-d→ reflect well on the Jewish G-d, be a credit
to your people
- Basically, he wanted the Jews to appear as “good” as possible so that the people of the
SHUM would blend in with Christians and be as respectable as they could while still
standing somewhat apart from the Christians.
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- Jewish charters didn’t often last very long
- The jewish experience in the middle ages is one of continuous movement and relocation
- The ashkenazi required permission to move, and always needed permission in order to
move
- A lot of trauma as a result of involuntary migration
- A lot of autonomy also came with these charters because they were led by Rabbis
- As long as the jews paid their taxes they could do what they want in the community (had
autonomy not freedom– had the free to apply the laws to their own people but not to
move)
- Jewish charters offered protection and precariousness
1096: Crusades
Ghettos have walls, shtetls have more of a village feeling
Ghettos were supposed to give some protection but also made them sitting ducks for attacks -
Keeps bad people out, but isolates them
Most places in Europe experienced expulsions
- Many of these places only jews were allowed to settle there for money lending
- Problem with that is no one likes money lenders
- This started some anti-semeitsm because everyone knew that only Jews were money
lenders
- Jews played high stake game because jews leaned money to the crown and the crown
realized they don’t have to pay the Jews back they can just kick them out
- 1290 expulsion from England
- Always or usually a generation or two of poverty while they readapted to their new place
to settle
- They were outlaws while they were in between settlements, very unsafe, not protection
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Jew in Medieval “Christian Europe”
- In the fourth century, the roman empire christianized
- Holy roman empire was catholic, headed by the pope
- The Byzantine Empire→
- Pre christian empires were largely pagen
- As those areas christiansted, it was either by Rome or different places of Europe
- Largely a time of skating these 2 powerful heads as they duked out their own power
struggle (a mouse in bed with 2 elephants, bound to get squished)
Early Christian-Jewish relations
- Started out with shared roots - Shared g-d
- One shared text
- But there are some points of frictions
- Christians don't have to be circumcised or keep kosher, now celebrate shabbat on sunday
(to celebrate jesus)
- Cornerstone to jewish identity
- Points of frictions outway the similarities to many jews and Christians
- Christians came to the conclusions of not having to follow the jewish law because Jesus
became the new g-d and the Christians have replaced the jews as g-ds people –
replacement theology
- Christians often looked for proof of their election to 70 CE (fall of the second temple)
- proof g-d has abandoned the convent with the Jews
- But St. Augustine (an early church father) said g-d doesnt lie so there must still be some
parts of that covenant left
- He came up with the docterant of don't kill Jews
- Also said let the jews live so they can see the second return of Jesus so they can see they
are wrong before they are murdered
- Because of this in Europe the Jews were considered the only religion that did not have to
become Christian
- Taught that the Jews deserved to be punished (triumphalism)
Triumphalism:
- Christianity was triumphant over a failed Judaism
Ecclesia: church
- Strong, upright, proud
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- Crown on head holding cross, wearing a royal robe Synagoga: synagogue
- Broken staff, eyes blindfolded→ ignorant to see the truth, clinging to dead torah, no
glory left, broken poster
Visual representation of replacement theology and triumphalism
Diaside
- Act of killing a G-d
- This was jews because they believed the Jews killed Jesus
Where antisemitism was born
- It wasn't just that generation that killed Jesus - But all generations of Jews killed
Jesus
- Example being desecration of the host→ mentioned by Lupovitch
Violence in “christian Europe”
- Heavily invested in the christ killing accusation
- If people can kill a god they can kill anything
- Christian europe was not always a bad place for Jews to be but was a dangerous place to
be
- Whenever plagues occurred, jews were often accused of causing the plagues
- Ghettos became less about protecting the jews and more about keeping them away -
Joined by Judenhut
Judenhut
- Jew hat
- Jews were forced to wear; patches, hats, different color shoes so that people knew if jews
were around
- Modern witch hats came from this time because jews were considered as assoiciated with
witches
- About stigmatizing people and being able to identify Jews
The jews had to live in one place, and be identifiable→ very dangerous, if people were violent
against jews, they were very easy to identify
Blood Libel:
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- Belief that Jews would take CHristian babies, and use their blood to make Matzah and
remember the “great” time they killed Jesus
- They would blame the Jews on “andom chidlren’s death→ they didn’t look for any actual
murderers
- If people will kill a G-d they will and can do anything horrific - Jews as demonic and
practice of witchcraft
- Said Hebrew sounded like a demonic language
- Associating Jewish passover meals with the spells used by witches
- Judiam because cloaked as a cult, brewing the dislike of people around them
- Belief that Jews had horn
- They said that payas would cover horns and that a woman's head covering covered hers
- The birth of anti-semitism
- The inquisition
Crusades
- About going to the holy land and doing violence against muslims
- Warmed up with doing violence against jews
- The jews killed themselves on Kiddush HaShem instead of being murdered by the
crusasers
- Beginning of the end of the SHUM settlements
- Most survivors moved eastwards→ Poland, Lithuania, Russia
- Moved to the Pale of Settlement (becomes center of Jewish life)
Pogrom:
- A mass outbreak of violence, sometimes sanctioned or unsanctioned
- This was not a christian act (do not allow murder) but it was an act of christian zelucts
- Malicide→ the murder of evil, therefore not homicide→ they beleived they were doing
G-d’s work
1025-1569
- Area merged with lithuania
- Polish kingdom was a paradise for Jews
- Poland resisted christianisation for some time, but when it did it resisted the authority of
the heads
- Resisted the crusades
- Had several leaders that made a difference
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- 1264 Prince Boteslaw gave religious freedom to the jews, banned the blood libal (not just
because it was cruel but also that it was ridiculous because the Jews were banned from
eating blood). Gave the jews freedom of profession
- He gave protection for their cemetery
- One of his descendants (Polish) expanded the original law and said that if a Christian
accuses a Jew out of Anti-semitism, then that Christian has to absorb the punishment of
what they accused the Jew of
- Rumor that the Polish kings were secret Jews
- Rumor that Casimar had a Jewish mistress, and therefore Jewish children
- One of Casimir's amendments was that it was against the law to force a Jew to baptize
- Poland became a haven, there was a steady movement eastward so that the Jews could
avoid as much persecution as possible
- Poland was a pocket of tolerance for the Jews
- Enabled the Jews to survive the Middle Ages
- Rabbinic Judaism offered a solid foundation of values and family structure
- Offered an early version of social welfare
- We are all in this together
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Equalizing amongst the community and meeting everyone’s basic needs
- Creating social services and safety nets
- Offered prohibitions that prevented assimilation but didn’t prohibit pleasure as a whole
- Created a middle ground, designed in their best interest
- Assured Jews that the coming of the Messiah, and that G-d would always remember
them, and that all they had to do was holding on, and at least some of them had to
survive, and that was enough for them
- They just needed a remnant of them to survive and all will be okay - Helped them
get through hard circumstances
The Ashkenazi, Part 2
- Central/western Europe intro Eastern Europe and Russia and the Pale of Settlement
Halachis process on adopting non-Jewish celebration (eg. Halloween)
- Pretty firm no if anything about the holiday is prohibited by Jewish law
- Any components of the holiday go against Jewish laws/tradition - Are there Pagam or
idolatrous origins to the holiday
- This is where there is some debate with Halloween Thanksgiving or Valentines Day:
- Most will be okay with celebrating this day as there is very little that interferes with being
Jewish
- It is not a bad thing to be thankful for your food, or to celebrate love→ it is somewhat
consistent with Jewish tradition
Common Judaism in Europe
- Rabbinic judaism is the main form of judaism in europe in the middle ages
- Emphasis on Torah and Talmud
- Emphasis on Israel, israel as community and desired future - Jews focused on a
messianic promise of Israel in the future
- Few Jews were able to travel, and especially travel as far as Israel
- Focused on synagogue - Domestic Judaism
- Jews tend to live walking distance to synagogue, but there were times that leaving one's
home was dangerous so during the middle ages Jews focused on staying home
- Family→ the whole point. Marriage and having kids is the goal. Having children as the
mean of survival
- Women
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- Children
- Education→ having and teaching children until the messianic promise is fulfilled
- Communal Judaism
Becomes more or less about supporting families, raising children and educating
those children
- Would not look like judaism today, synagogue worship was not as decorise as it is today
(didn't have cantors in the middle ages, were not neat rows it was more empty rooms)
- The way they prayed was loud and chaotic
- Leadership
- The synagogue→ provided effective leadership, social welfare, and a communal voice for
the people. There was only one synagogue→ sectionalism of synagogues is a more
modern concept. The synagogue you were born into was often the one you would be
buried at
- The Bet Din → rabbinic court of the community
- Kahal→ community council. Respected members of the community that were able to
collect taxes, apply laws (rooted in halacha),
- Herem→ excommunication. People would be expelled from the community if they broke
the laws. From the city and the religion. Big problem is that if you are no longer in a
religious organization you have nothing left and basically have to convert to Christianity
or you will have no protection or place to live.
Esponoza:
- Was excommunicated and chose not to convert to Christianity and chose no religion.
Ashkenazi life is more parochial
The Ashkenazi Jews didn’t have a lot of access to the outside world in the way that Sephardic
Jews had.
Everything was about the Ashkenazim’s world→ very inward looking. Anti-
Semitism and Anti-Judaism
- Hatred or distrust of Jews to their blood
- Attacks specifically on the religion or ideological structure (anti-Judaism)
“The Ancient Roots of Anti-Judaism”
-
Medieval Synagogues
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- Not fancy
- Looked like just another house
- Dangerous to attract attention
Mikvahs held up very well over time and therefore give concrete archeological evidence
of synagogues and Jewish communities in the Middle Ages - Must be rain water
(575 L)
- Problems with it; very cold
Where are you going to build this so you get enough land, near a source a water,
that you can build a building that you can heat, but that will offer you safety and
privacy
- When they are built, they are build to last
- Communities made sure there were mikvahs before synagogues
- To uphold purity laws
- Continue mitzvot through generations
- Without a mikvah you cant have sex, that means you cant create children, without
children there would be no Judaism
- Permissible for a community to sell their Torah scrolls in order to get a mikvah
- Without a mikvah your going to grow old and you wouldn't be able to pass down the
Torah anyways
- At the heart of well poisoning wells
- Christians said; jews are poisoning the christian wells and they use their own
- This is similar to christians thought hebrew was ‘witch speak’
CHAI
- Focus on creating life, giving life
- Reproduction
- A social ethic of rabbinic judaism
- Saved jewish lives to tell people to reproduce than it is to go fight the people who insult
you
- Survival tactic/mentality
Tekhines
- Yiddish prayers
- Passed down generations of women using this mikvah
- Has to do with childbirth, marriage, hoping to get married, menstruation
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- Women start to develop spiritual trends of the lunar cycle
- Rosh chodesh becomes a womens holiday in the middle ages
- Started being spiritually productive
Tkhines (Yiddish, from Hebrew tehinnot, “supplications”), private devotions and
paraliturgical prayers in Yiddish, primarily for women, were published beginning in the
early modern period, especially in Central and Eastern Europe and among Yiddish-speaking
populations elsewhere.
Gluckel of Hameln
- Lived in 16th century
- Lived a very long life, became one of the most successful business women in her time
- Wrote a 12 volume memoir of her life - Meant as an ethical will
- Not just for judaism
- A document you leave to your children and future generations
- Does Not will to them your possessions but the lessons you have learned in life
Very popular in the middle ages
Ashkenazi Rabbinic activity
- Some key rishonim
- R. Gershom b. Judah, light of the exile → made the takkanot→ father of the
Ashkenazi tradition
- “All members of the ashkenazi diaspora are students of his” – rashi - Starts a
yeshiva in mintz
- R. Abraham b. David (Rabad) – france 1125-1198
- Wealthy, therefore lots of time to read other Rabbis teachings and was actually very
critical on the way rabbinic judaism was taught. The way it focuses on orthodoxy, habits,
and learning my writing. He is much more focused on a spiritual aspect of Judaism, yes
read the texts but bring your own faith and have your own religious experiences. - R.
Meir of Rotenberg – Germany cs. 1215-1293
- Kidnapped, and ransomed. This Rabbi forbade his congregation from paying the ransom.
He is considered a martyr because he did what he thought was the best thing for his
community because if they paid the ransom then the Germans would just keep
kidnapping famous Jews. - R. Moses Isserles (Rema) – Poland, 1520-1572
- Wrote the Ashkenzai commentary to the Shulchan Aruch
- Early Ashkenazi Rabbis job was to modify Judaism to their new surroundings, prevent
assimilation, and avoid violence from other religions and ruling bodies
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Rashi:
- The greatest figure to rise out of the Ashkenzai Ages
- If you study Talmud you study Rashi’s work
- Known to be the greatest teacher of Jewish tradition
- He was a Rabbi and a posek (answers halachic questions) but the work he loved was
being a teacher
- His family owned a successful vineyard, they had money and therefore he chose to teach
for free
- He was considered a charitable figure
- He studied at the yeshiva in Meinz (that Gershom established)
- The five following generations became a long lasting influence in Judaism
- Rashi’s work is most visible in the Talmud→ most famous as a Talmudist
- Helping students understand the specific language used by the scholars of the Talmud
- Often teaching the Torah was left to the lower scholars
- Rashi chose to teach Torah as well and wrote commentary on the Bible
- The Askenaz focused so much on the Bible because the Christians also studied the
Bible so they studied so that they would share some middle ground
- Rashi believed that if people were well versed in the Bible then they would be able to
find common grounds with Christians
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- Disputations: Christian authorities would pick a Rabbi who would have to defend the
principles of Judaism against a well known priest in front of a crowd of non-Jews. If the
Rabbi lost, the crowd would take out the penalty violently on the community. They
would also use violence against the community if the Rabbi won the debate.
- They trained the Rabbis in case they had to defend Judaism
- Used to be taught judaism so that they could teach their children but in the middle ages
they taught Judaism so that they could defend Judaism in front of others
The Disputation of Paris, also known as the Trial of the Talmud, took place in 1240 at the court
of
King Louis IX of France. → led to the burning of the Talmud as it was declared a heretic text
Review of Ashkenazi Tradition
- Responsa and Networking
- Isolation and language in the Middle Ages which causes their tradition to become
standard in families
- They started to lose contact with the Babylonian academies with the Crusades
- Breaks down their lines of communication
- Having to start relying on their own takkanot and own yeshivot
Tosafot→ medieval commentary
In 1440 Butenberg created the printing press
Shortly thereafter Jews start open printing houses and produce Jewish texts
The Bomberg layout is the layout of the talmud that has the commentary organized in that
rectangle way.
- Rashi’s commentary was standard by the time→ this is why Rashi’s commentary is on
the side of the Gamara and Mishnah
The Talmud became a victim of the MIddle Ages
- The Catholic Church banned the Talmud at least 15 times
- It was accused of witchcraft, blasphemy, anti-christian sentiment
- They put the Talmud on trial for witchcraft
- Disputations were made problematic→ the Rabbis that were very well versed in Talmud
and used it in their arguments made them accused of witchcraft. Therefore they argued
their points from the Torah instead so that they wouldn’t be accused of witchcraft during
their debates of the disputations.
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Talmud Burnings
1242: king louis the ninth
- Put the talmud on blasphemy
- Priests as the prosecutors
- Rabbis as the defendants
24 wagon loads of copies of Talmud and other Jewish texts were burned in Paris after the
Talmud was declared blasphemy
- “My tears formed a river that reached to the sinai desert and to the graves
of moshe and aharon. Is there another torah to replace the torah which you
have taken from us?”
→Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the Maharam, witness to the Paris book burning of 1242
The Issue of Conversion
- Conversion enters jewish life in 3 main ways during the european middle
ages - Resisting conversion
- Forced conversion
- Abduction and dunking of jewish children → make them christian and
now by law they cant go live with Jews
- If you saw a jew next to a river, pushed them in and said the right words,
they are considered baptized and now christian
- How does the jewish community deal with forced converts?
- To treat a convert like they had died → families had funerals for their lost
children, seen as psychologically beneficial → burying a coffin full of dirt
- R. Gershom’s son was forcibly converted during the crusades and he said
he made it into one of his decrees that the community has to allow
converts to make their way back if they can → very dangerous to return
because it is illegal
- Father making a decree in judaism because he witnessed his son getting
lost to christianity
- That's why now on Yom Kippur you can be absolved for any forced vows
you might have made
- Jewish conversion to christianity
- It was a hard life to be a jew, very dangerous
- So many wanted to convert out in a way to access a better life
- Even jews who converted had extra suspicion around them because they
still had jewish blood
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- If you convert away from judaism, to Judaism you are no longer a jew -
Converts to judaism
- Resisting potential converts to Judaism
- Illegal to convert to judaism
- This is where they develop the turning away of converts because it was
safer to do so (dangerous to the rabbi but also the person seeking
conversion)
- Judaism almost became a closed religion making it impossible to convert
- The khazars
The Sephardim, Part 1
- Main influence is Islam
- Much more cosmopolitan – have connections with non jews, are less restricted towards
access to education and working
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews tended to be wealthier than the Ashkenaz and this
elevated their status and quality of life
- They had the ability to mingle with non-Jews which was advantageous to them
- 2 century: some Yeshivas in Syria, and in Babylon
Mizrahi, Ashkenazi And Sephardim
- Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabinan rites/traditions, originating in Spain and North
Africa
- Their language was Ladino→ Medeival spanish mixed with Arabic put in hebrew script
- Sephardim and Mizrahi were multilingual: Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic,
Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Iranian.
- Ashkenazi: origin pertaining to “german Jews”, now largely referring to all jews of
European ethnic rites and traditions
- Mizrahi: “Eastern Jews”, specifically describing Jews of the MIddle East
- Maghrebi
- Mizrahi jews were blended with Sephardic practices
Mizrahi Middle Ages
- The people descended from the Jewish community in Babylon
- Bablyonian Jews helped establish rabbinic Judaism
- Help judaism survive the fall of the temple and the diaspora
- Not as wealthy as sephardim Mizrahi Modern times
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- Marginalized due to racism→ more POC
- Downplayed in the history of Judaism 1492:
- Sephardim experience second great displacement
Mizrahi: Jews of Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, a few more
Seventh century onward: mizrahi jews lived under islamic leadership
- The Jews under Islam had a sort of citizenship
- They were allowed to move throughout the Islamic Empire
- Therefore the Jews had a lot of Freedom to move and keep up communications with
Babylon
- Opposite: Crusades cut off that option for Ashkenazi Jews The Eastern Diaspora:
The Babylonain community was headed by the exilarch
- Exilarch is a political office that worked to bond with religious leaders
- The exilarch: head of Jewish civil life in Babylon - The Geonic Period (589 CE-1038
CE)
- Geonim: “Geniuses” or “pride”; heads of Babylonian Judaism, by being the head(s) of
the academies - The sephardim
- Into spain
After the Jews of Europe couldn’t talk with Babylon, they stopped using Aramiaic, but the
Mizrahi continued to use Aramaic because they had access to Babylon
- The rabbinic academies of Babylon connect with the Islamic schools
- They shared their techniques
- Babylon has an intellectual golden age under the Islamic rule
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi are able to benefit from golden age while the ashkenazi
couldn’t
Before 462: Romans had the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain)
462-711 the Jews of Spain lived under the Catholic Visigoths rulers
- Not good for jews
- They persecuted the Jews→ stole Jewish children to be converted
- When the Muslims took over Spain, the Jews were happy
711-12th century→ Muslim Spain→ Golden Age for Jews in Spain
Golden Age ends in the 12th century after it is reconquered by the Cathloic
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8th century 1492 → reconquista then in 1492 catholics succeed in taking back the iberian
peninsula
1492: Jewish expulsion from Spain
Convivencia: the living together→ describes the golden age of Spain
Islam and Judaism
Rise and spread of Islam
- Prophet Muhammed
- Third great abrahamic monotheistic faith
- Prophet and the quran
- The Pillars of Islam
- Basic acts of bigotry
- Shahaadah: Profession of faith, There is no god but allah
- Salat: ritual prayer 5 times a day, obligatory
- Swam: fast of ramadan (a whole month)
- Zakat: non poor muslims are to give money to the poor
- Hajj: pilgrimage
- Establishment of the Ummah
- Communities of believers
- Being a part of the ummah trumped all other ties
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Early Caliphs and the Umayyads
Period of stability (abbasids, 750-1258)
- In 630 islam took back mekkah
Connections between Judaism and Islam:
- Worship of a single and all-powerful G-d
- Strict monotheism and ethical monotheism→ a god that cares that you are a good human
being
- Taking care of those less fortunate than you
- Both include stories of religion starting with abraham
- Body of laws to follow→ still takes in different views on how to interpret and practice
these laws
-
Islam and Judaism
- Points of similarity
- Ethical monotheism
- Shared origins and ideals
- Shared rites and perspectives on habit
- Cultural sympathy
- Sibling religions
- Anti-semitism is not a useful terms to say towards Muslim people because they are
semetic
- Jewish culture and jews themselves are never as foreign to muslims in the muslim world
as they seem to christians
- Jewish diet, practices, speech, kosher laws are very recognizable towards Islam - Points
of friction
- The new revelation and the Old COvenant
- Competition and absolutism
- Polemics
- Jews in the Quran
- Ambivalence
- Islam through Jewish Eyes
- Ethical respectful people
- But generally wrong
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- Many jews veiwed islam as proof of the jews being the light for all religions, viewed
Islam as progress for being not jewish yet still believing in one g-d
- Judaism does not require others to be Jews. unlike christians who viewed Jewish refusal
to convert as offensive, the jews did not view it taht way - Jews through Islam eyes
- Mohomod viewed the Jews as an ally to his mission
- When the jews did not convert was when you started to see moments of friction
- Jews in Europe were a castisized as they were so different but this wasnt a thing in the
islamic world
Islamic POlicy and Jewish life
Ambivalence in the Traditions
Pact of umar
- Dhimma → people of the book, monothestic people but not muslim (Christians and
Jews)
- Should be treated with respect but you should expect a certain level of humbleness → In
sara 929 muslims are told to not fight non muslim monothesists if they are not in your
way, but if they are sufficiently humble leave them alone
- Jizya → tax applied to the dhimma in lew of service, you can be a christian, jew or
zerastin, we don't expect you to fight in our army so we are going to charge you an extra
tax
- This becomes bigger when it is applied to the pact of umar (634-644)
- In exchange for protection for crime, and freedom of religion, freedom of career and
access to education. Umar asks for Dimma under him to pay tax, wear items of
distinguished clothes, to swear not to blasphemy against Islam, to swear not to harm
converts to Islam, to express loyalty, to give respect and friendliness to muslims, to take
an appropriate staus of humbleness (avoid parading of wealth and pride)
- Used over and over again within the islamic world
- In yemen jews were required to wear bells
- Jews were prohibited to go out in the rain because the water that touched the jews could
contaminate the ground
- Jewish orphans were to be surrendered
- Ghettoization is required
The Pact of Umar is rooted in Quran and is therefore adopted later in Islamic policy
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (fordham.edu)
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Ottoman Empire lasted 1299-1922→ Dihima policy similar version used
Millet System:
- Millet= salt
- The Ottomon Empire took Jews and put them where they thought they would be most
useful
- Used to simulate the economy
- This was not the choice of the Jews, forcibly displaces
- The Dihimah policy represents a general “net win” in comparison to what the Ashkenaz
were dealing with
Integration under Islam (908-1318):
- The ability to network, travel, and participate in tourism, society
Spanish Jewry in the fourteen century: Golden Age of Jewihs life in the middle ages
- Birthplace of teh Sepharadim
- Pre islam
- Also took place under islam
They welcomed the Muslim conquest of 711 because the Catholics persecuted the Jews
there
- The Dihmah policy was extended to the Jews living in Spain 711-12th century:
- Islamic-Jewish renaissance→ art and knowledge flourishing
- Lots of shared studying between Jews and Muslims→ studying holy books and laws
Court Jews:
- Jews who had influence or held a position in the ruling cours
- Mostly used their influence to speak on behalf of or defend the Jewish population, but
were not always regarded favorably, and were often the first victims of “reform”
- These Jews were government official and diplomats
- They were wealthy and privileged, but often used it for the good of the community and
aimed to increase the quality of life for the Jews
- Worked to establish free secular and religious education
- Nasi→ the term “prince” that described who they were/status
- They became flash points for public anger 1066 Grenada:
- The Grenada Massacre
- Inspired by the downfall of a court Jews
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- This court Jew clibmed too high and was not humble
- Very over the top lifestyle and was then crucified
- Jews were then mass murdered in Grenada
- This was the decline of the Golden Age
Still an element of precariousness in terms of constantly being judged and the court Jews very
much represented all Jews→ when they failed, everyone suffered
1147→ the end of the Golden Age:
- A group of conservative Muslims→ they wanted to purge Spain of Christians
The Almohads:
- 1121-1269
- Committed a large masacre in Fez
- Attempted to force conversion→ Jews fled into North Africa into Mizrahi territories
Reconquesta→ reconquest of Catholic Spain
- Anti-Judaic Law and Sentiment
- 1391, the Inquisition
- 1492, the Second Displacement
Jews were seen as supportive of the Muslims and that they were an active threat against the
Catholics.
Involved the expulsion of Muslims and Jews in Spain or the forced conversion.
- Conversos:
- People who had ancestral history of Judaism or personal history
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These are the people who pretended to convert to avoid persecution and either practiced
privately in their own way
- The inquisition was used to find heresy but it was looking at the Conversos
- Idea that the conversos were not to be trusted by the Catholic
- The idea of anti-jewish blood→ racism
- A lot of conversos were also kicked out of Spain in 1492
- Sephardic Jews went to America before the Ashkenazi
The Crusades and the Kingdom of Jerusalem:
- When the Christians take Jerusalem there is a lot of Muslim and Jewish deaths
The Ottoman Empire
The Sephardim, Part 2
Jewish Spain in the Middle Ages:
- Multilingual culture
- High literacy among Jews
- Pact of Umar
- Golden Age of Spain→ 10th-12th centuries
- High access to education
- Court Jews
- Almost free education for religion and secular education
- Big emphasis on science
Cosmopolitanism:
- Travel
- Well-read
- Social with non Jews
- They were citizens of the world as opposed to a parochial (all of education and
experiences occur within your religious community)
Leads to cultural and linguistic differences between Ashkenazi and Sepharadim
Ashkenazi:
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- Incense view of metaphorical/symbolic/hopeful travel to Israel (Messiah)
Sephardi:
- Actually able to travel to Israel
Difference in the way they viewed the messianic future
Sephardic Judaism and Culture
- Ethno Religious differences express themselves in the art and architecture
- Ethnoreligions: The way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the
peoplehood work together in slightly different ways
- Ex; great synagogue at cordova – heavily influenced by Islamic art and music
Maimonedes:
- One of the greatest Rabbi of that period (Sepharadim)
Great sephardic/mizrahi rabbis
- Sa’adiah ben yosef gaon (the saadi Goan), 882/892 - 942
- Comes from egypt but was invited to be the head of the babylonian academy -
Excilarch asked him to make a ruling that he believed with self ruling, and
so Saadi Goan would not do it, and got excommunicated. But all the other rabbis
at the time formed with Saadi Goan keeping him from being kicked out
- Well known in Judaism for taking point on rabbinic Judaism debate with
Karyites, he was concerned that many jews would join the Kayites. One of his
prime activities was to differentiate the two religions and defend Judaism -
Known for the application of “Kalam” – reason, philosophy
- Islamic process for applying reason to faith
- Through the Islamic discovery of the Greek period
- Many Greek and Roman texts were being translated to Arabic
- Made the bible more accessible to Muslims which meant they could have open
discourse and religious discussions
- Moses ben maimon (maimonides or Rambam) ca, 1135-1204 - Moses ben
nahman (nachmanides, or Ramban), 1194-1270 - Disputation of
barcelona,1262
- Was invited to debate against pablo christiani (was a jew but converted to
Christianity)
- The king decided to put the big jewish heavy hitter against the converted catholic
leader
- Nachmanides asked for permission to speak freely and to be promised his people
wont get punished (no reprisals) – the king agreed from this
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- Because of this we got an incredibly honest disputation
- Gives us a good treaty on the jewish view on the messiah. Done by 3 questions
- Would the Jewish messiah be defined or human. The jewish messiah would be
holy human, none of the deification seen within christianity
- Has the messiah come? No, he also specified why Jesus was not the messiah,
Jesus has not brought peace, but the messiah will bring peace. In Fact since jesus
things have been less peaceful
- Whether he believed christian followed the true law or jews or both.
Nachmanadees said; torah is torah, it is eternal, it
is the same today as when it started, nothing has happened
to change the applicability of the torah, if Christians
followed Torah they would follow the true law and and
they did not they would not follow the true law. But that
the jews followed the Torah
- Many people viewed him that day as the winner/superior speaker
- There was no punishments/reprisals but he moved just to be safe - Well known
as a jewish scholar
- Joseph Albo (ca. 1380-1444)
- Joseph Karo (1488-1575)
- Author of shulchan aruch
- Born in toledo spain, fled in 1492 (during the expulsion)
- Ended up in the ottoman empire and the shulchan aruch was published there
- Where majority of the jews lived
- Shulachan aruch is defined as reference work for Judaism and halacha
- Moses Isserles added the Mappah→ table cloth to the set table
- In the central part of shulchan aruch is the sephardi authority, the Mappa is the
Ashkenazi authority
- Most authoritative book to come out since the talmud
- You can only fulfill the covenant to the extent that your teachers have taught you
enough and have explained enough
- A major source that Karo used was the Mishneh Torah→ an extensive code of
Jewish law written by Maimonides (Rambam)
Rambam:
- Born in Spain, family fled from the Almohades - Rabbi, physician and
community leader, writer - Major works:
- Mishnah commentary
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- 13 principles→ snapshot of what Rambam thought was key to being a rabbinic
Jew
- Mishneh Torah
- Book of Commandments
- Guide for the Perplexed
- Had political and religious significance to the community
- Was a posek; had many letters
- Was one of the best known scientific figures/doctors in the arabic world
- Was the personal physician for the royal family in pyro
- “From moses to moses there is no one like moses” – says on his gravestone –
talking about Moses to him
- Attempts to generate that Judaism is a logical system that applies to the universe
- One of his sources is the arabic translation of aristotle→ therefore we know he
read the greek philosophers
- Rambam asserted that you could tell what was true/authentic to Judaism based on
what was defendable and your could explain with logic and rational anything that
could be explained a smagic is perhaps less important
- Ethical monotheism is inherently rational and has nothing to do with anything
relating to spirits of good and evil or anything that's very intangible and
undefendable
613 commandments
13 principles according to maimonides – sheloshah-asar Ikkarim
Primary source: The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith - Chabad.org
The great codifier of Torah law and Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon
("Maimonides" also known as "The Rambam"), compiled what he refers to as the Shloshah Asar
Ikkarim, the "Thirteen Fundamental Principles" of the Jewish faith, as derived from the Torah.
Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as "the fundamental truths of our religion
and its very foundations." The Thirteen Principles of Jewish faith (as recorded in Maimonides'
introduction to Perek Chelek) are as follows:
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1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is
thePrimary Cause of all that exists.
2. The belief in G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity.
3. The belief in G‑d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical
occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
4. The belief in G‑d's eternity.
5. The imperative to worship G‑d exclusively and no foreign false gods.
6. The belief that G‑d communicates with man through prophecy.
7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
10. The belief in G‑d's omniscience and providence.
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.
It is the custom of many congregations to recite the Thirteen Articles, in a slightly more poetic
form, beginning with the words Ani Maamin--"I believe"--every day after the morning prayers in
the synagogue.
Rambam was greatly criticized for his principals
- Some people considered this to be like dogma→ “that which refers to opinion or belief”
- Dogmatism: “unfounded positiveness in matter of opinion” or “arrogant assertion of
opinions as truth”
- Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without
being questioned or doubted
- Trying to reduce Judaism to something that doesn’t require thought but Rambam argues
the contrary that he pushes people to practice consciously
- Joseph Albo refined the principals to Three Principles of Judaism
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1. Believe in the existence of G-d
2. Belief in the revelation fo G-d→ torah and the prophets
3. Belief in divine justice→ related to the idea of immortality and afterlife
- He believed that these three principles gave people more options to form their own
opinions as opposed to 13 because 13 made Judaism a little bit more narrow in terms of
how it was observed
- Albo like Rambam was part of a great sephardic tradition in terms of Jewish philosophy
- Philo was one of the first (Greek Jewish philosopher and tried to apply greek philosophy
to Judaism) → somewhat controversial, but his work is the start of applying philosophy
to judaism
- Application of logic to the human experience, the universe, and in this case, Judaism
- In the middle ages these rabbis and scholars start developing their own philosophy and
applying it to Judaism
- Seeking the truth through logical discourse
- Spinoza→ excommunicated after dabbling with unfavourable philosophy Crypto jews
- Hidden jews Conversos
- Forced to convert to catholicism
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of
Spain ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and its
territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.
Idea that philosophy and reason and personalism are essential to how people practice Judaism.
Spinoza was influenced by this.
When Spinoza was excommunicated, he didn’t join the Chruch or Islam, but remains religoin
free and this reflects the idea of personalalism→ starts to deconstruct the idea that you need
religion and that religion is the foundation for the way everyday life is lived
Global spread of sephardim, many remained prosperous despite the expulsions, many were able
to get out before 1492 so they were able to keep some of their wealth/possessions
Messianism in the Middle Ages:
- The persecution of the period led to a need for hope
- Early rabbinic judaism messianism was a way to dissuade Jews from rebellion
- G-d will bring the messiah when He wills it and Jews should not actively seek war
- The messiah would be a descendant of david
- The messiah will retake israel
- The messiah would take the jews back from diaspora
- The messiah would restore G-d’s will on earth
- The messiah would bring an era of world peace
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The Pre-Modern
Medieval period is a time of diaspora for Jews, uncertainness, precariousness
- Massive geographic spread
- Brings ethno diversity
- Combination of limitation of travel for Ashkenazi and boom of travel for Sephardic and
those expelled
- Some travel was forced and other was voluntary By the end of the Middle Ages:
- Firming of the ash and sephardic traditions
- Also a coming together of these two traditions
-
Rabbinic ages
- Begins after the fall of the second temple
- The soferim – the scribes (ezras generation and earlier)
- Zugot – pairs of sages in the second temple period (hillel and shamai)
- The tannaim – aramaic for teachers, generation of teachers and the mishnah
- The Amoraaim – The Talmud generarion, the spokespeople, the people who taught the
Mishnah which was then written down as Talmud
- The Savoraim – reasoner/interpreter, wrote down the Talmud and made it systematic
- The Middle Ages – Geonim→ heads of the Babylonian academies; Rishonim→ Rabbis
that come after the decline of the Babylonian academies and before the Shulcahn Aruch
(founding fathers of Rabbinic Judaism as it is lived in the Middle Ages)
- The acharonim – the last ones→ Rabbis after the Shulchan Aruch, provide commentary
and deliver wisdom/advice
- Chazal – sages of blessed memory that originate rabbinic judaism
Pre modern Era
- Continuity with the Middle Ages
- solidification /codification of the ways of Talmud
- Shulchan Aruch
- The continual growth of Rabbinic Judaism - Absorption/development of:
- Philosophy and ethics
- Mysticism
- Personal spiritualism
- The diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
- Multiplication of trends and traditions
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- Exhaustion and renewal into the Late Middle Ages
- Growth of rabbinic judaism as a habit of the people
- Where/when minhag gets imbedded in most jews of the world
Exhaustion and the End of the Exile
- Been through masacres, oppressions, expulsion
- Stability and uniformity was no longer enough
- Increased frustration within judaism
- Idea of end of the exile comes from a promise in the talmud that g-d would not punish the
jews more than they could handle
- So they thought something was going to change
- This only leads to more exhaustion and frustration
- This desire for change was expressed in tradition religious fashion (desire for the coming
of messiah) but for many it was growing confidence in themselves (maybe I can change
the issues)
1492 expulsion, Chmielnicki massacre, Shabtei Tzvi → all signs as the end of the exile
1400s-1600s Jews individually and collectively make decision about how Judiams will operate
after experiencing the Middle Ages
Renewal
- The desire to address the exhaustion in light of the middle ages
- To provide change/renewal/revival for a judaism thats tired of offering hope and patience
- Revivalism – religious trend that seeks to return to the root of a tradition and reconnect
people with that tradition
Late Medieval Piety:
- Christian pietism is well known→ christians influenced jews here
- Medieval movement that promoted pious behaviors as spiritual practice
- Emphasis on humility, personal discipline, abstaining from pleasurable foods, meditation,
prayer, emphasis on charity or acts of goodwill - Taken up by many ashkenazi circles
- Pietism was then fairly mainstream within Ashkenazi Jews
- Jewish piotism involved an increase in ethics
- Emphasized ethics over the letter of the law
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- A way to demonstrate personal faith and connect personally with G-d - Connected
with the characteristics of G-d: mercy, justice, caring, etc.
- Rabbinic Judiams had previously promoted some pro social ethics (make sure orphans
are cared for, care for others, etc.)
- Jews really needed the social safety net promoted by Rabbinical Judaism
Pietism
- Especially compelling to jewish women
- They were often excluded/diminished within synagogues
- Their participation in synagogue was not as intense as we see today
- Pietism was a place in which women were necessary, valued, needed
- It was a way women could express their religiosity while doing good work and feeling
spiritual
- Take over communal health care
- Take care of graves, sick, elderly, children, dissabled
- Increasingly jewish women are engaging with their religion with a practical branded way
- Was a valuable part of the jewish life of women
- Easy way for people without credentials to help within the community and feel valued all
while worshiping g-d.
Mysticism
- Valued as an example as how islam influenced judaism in a fruitful and productive manor
- Refers to trends and groups that emphasize spiritual experience (mainly on the divine),
transcends the normal states of regular life
- Direct personal spiritual experiences of the divine
- Seeking meditative states, and states of ecstasy through communion with the divine
- A trend around in the ancient world, idea that there is concealed knowledge of the
universe→ this is a fundamental of Greek mysticism that Judaism takes
- Becomes important to christianity during the Middle Ages
- Very very very important in Middle Ages Islam→ sufism
Sufism
- Generally the most famous form of mystical islam
- The desire to connect to g-d through practices, poetry, song and dance
- In palestine in the 15th/16th century you get sufism and judaism living together
practicing mysticism
Kabbalah
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- Jewish mysticism - Ancient kabbalah
- Isn't fully formed
- Focuses on ideas found in the torah
- And the visions of profits
- Tries to catch a glimpse of g-d - Rabbinic kabbalah
- Talks about catching a glimpse of g-d
- Maimonides says this is metaphorical because g-d doesn't have a body
- Focuses on the metaphorical meaning of g-d
- 2 phases of g-d
1. Early kabbalah
2. Kabbalah of issac luria (16th century)
Kabbalah is the blanket term for mysticism but it is often used to talk about medieval mysticism
Kabbalah is originally sephardic
Sefer Ha Zohar: mystical commentary on the Torah, attributed to second century Rabbi Simeon
B Yohai
→ related to the infinite nature of G-d
- In Kabbal, G-d is imminent (G-d is active right now all around us) and transcendent (no
human can even comprehend everything that G-d is)
- Kabbalah seeks to understand G-d by trying to understand the immediacy of G-d
Kabbalah is compelling to jews, not just to love g-d but to know g-d.
- The idea that g-d wants us to know him Luria
- Creates systematic treaty
Mainstream Rabbis embraced kabbalah but also sought to crack down on kabbalah. Women were
not allowed to do Mysticism→ not endanger of being overcome by the power of kabbalah.
It is embraced but there are rules around it so that it is controlled. Bit of a power struggle
involved.
Practical kabbalah: making potions, amulets, etc. → mainstream judaism is uncomfortable with
The Zohar, isn’t as uniformly embraced as a form of sacred text
Some Jews will group Zohar in when they talk about Torah because it is that important to some
people but to others it isn’t really included
Ethics
- Becomes an extinction with jewish philosophy
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- Jewish ethics in the middle ages merges with piotism
- How do we live right in particularly difficult times
- Essentially: its easy to be good during good times but how can you be good in difficult
times
- Builds on the idea ethical monotheism – there is one g-d and that one g-d wants me to be
a good person
- Moves beyond just of following the letter of the law, and goes onto intensely pro social
ethics in the Middle Ages
Tikkun→ mending of the world
- Part of what Kabbalah seeks to do is to mend the world
Rabbinical judaism: mend the world through a million little acts of kindness
- Not just toxic positively – the jews of middle ages knew smiling was not enough, seeks
to address the anger and pain
Mussar
- Instruction
- Refers to moral or ethical instructions
- Mussar = jewish ethics
- Grows out of the pietism movement, specifically on how to focus on the characteristics
of g-d, that whole jewish purpose of life is to be like g-d
- To be good, just, passionate
- How to become the person that g-d wants me to be
- 1040: duties of the heart – form of pietism, practice of self meditation, to promote
accountability as a spirit
- Was i welcoming to strangers, did I take into account that everyone that I met is dealing
with something
- If you weren't good today; its ok just do better tomorrow
Mussari humaneness and mindfulness: being compassionate to yourself and others and trying
again tomorrow
Celanter
- Ethics will always take priority over law
- Always eat outside, why eat inside and waste crumbs when you could eat outside and let
the ants have them
- Known for fasting on yom kippur and for 40 days before yom kippur
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- One day on yom kippur he didn't show up, everyone was concerned for him, a lady
couldn't wait longer so she went home to check on her baby. When she got home she saw
celanter caring for her baby whom he heard cry on his way home
- He cares so much for yom kippur bur cares even more for caring for others
- Canceled yom kippur services when a disease was spreading, felt that g-d would
understand his motives
- Image: good example of mussar
- If you have to do something to save a life you do it – confirmed by the talmud - Pias
idiot
- Someone who will let cruelty happen just to follow the letter of the law
Mussar is a path to passion not a quick fix to perfection
We all have a yetzer tov and and a yetzer rah
- If you practice follow mussar you will less often give in to yezer rah and to follow the
yetzer tov
- This is the idea of having an angle and devil on your shoulder and picking who you want
to listen to
Mussar is about being a mensch Mensch
- Be a good person
- Be a person
- About having the courage to be humane, even if the world is being inhumane
Hasidism:
- Starts in eastern Europe (poland, lithuania, ukraine)
- Began as a spiritual renual movement, meant to revive mainstream rabbinic judaism
- Conflict wit origins and originally banned when they started
- Gave off almost a hippy vibe at first→ worship with simsha and love
The Baal Shem Tov:
- A practical kabbalah that is the founder of the Hasidic movement
- Started as a teacher at a cheder
- Went from town to town selling potions and doing mystical healings
- He was exactly what the rabbis were afraid of when they were worried about kabbalah
- Considered to be a saint by his followers→ the sotries of this life were kept and often
exaggerated
- He established a characters that was charismatic and unique for his time and this was
how he gained his following
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- He used mysticism, kabbalah, and elements of Muzzar
- He preached a connection to G-d, not with Torah or the law
- In mainstream judaism, your connection with G-d was through the Torah, he goes around
that and says you have have direct connection with G-d
- One can take such joy, and that can define their Judaism
- Telling people that you should be so happy that you are Jewish, and that you need to
celebrate this and that this joy is more important than studying
- This was not received very well by the rabbinic jews
- He taught to worship of the creator over the letter of the law
- Focus on faith not education→ this was important to the people who couldn’t afford to be
talmudim chachamim
Hasidism
- Emphasizes hitlahavut (passion/enthusiasm) and joy
- Love of g-d (dont just obey g-d); love of israel; love of torah (be torah)
- G-d desires the heart and the soul not just the following of the laws
- You are to love the Tzaddikim – the saints – the baal shemtov, the saints of jewish
history, your Rebbe (affectionate title for rabbi)
- If you love g-d you should love to be with the rebbe because when you are with them that
is when you will feel the most divine spark
- Not always mainstream rabbis, charismatic leaders
- Hasidism was a democratic movement
Kavanah→ intention
Rebbe
- Rabbis feared they would declare themselves as maasai
- Rabbis said they are like cult leaders
Tanya→ first piece of hasidic literature
Dov Baer: inheritor of the Baal Shem Tov
Now there were hasidic centers: jews can have a choice of synagogues
Hasisidm became permanent in Jewish villages
They then get into a big fight with the people who oppose the hasidics, these become the
Orthodox Jews.
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Hassidic butchers use sharper knives then orthodox butchers
- Wanted to be even more kosher
- Then everyone started going to them
- Hassidism got excommunicated
- So hassidic people said their people can no longer eat with the orthodox
- In judaism, who you eat with is like your family/community
The Vilna Gaon:
- Genius as he had the Torah memorized by 5
- Not a congregational Rabbi, he was a posek and a commentator
- He was asked when no one else knew the answer
- He excommunicated the hasidic movement multiple times
- The tradition of the Gra becomes the backbone of orthodoxy along with the Shulchan
Aruch
- Criticized hasidim for their time/place and methods of worship
- Said it criticized g-d
- Seemed like they were drunk
- Said they seem like they believe that g-d is everywhere (which is not monotheism more
paganism)
- Prayed in forests (looked like witchcraft)
- Labeled their saints as dangerous, leading to permanent ruptures in the community
- Not fully wrong
- Yeshivah based Rabbis: followed orthodoxy for the most part
- The hasidim and the mitnagdim are very opposed to each other, after the reform
movement comes along they sort of band together to oppose the movement
Hasidism left women fairly on their own since the men were always with the Rebbes
- Hasidism changed to incude fatherhood, and that being a father is just as great as being
with the Rebbe
- Big emphasis on family
- Chabad→ 17th century
- Institutes the policy of CHaBaD
- G-d wants your full mind→ this fixes complaints about not being educated
Review:
- Creation of ashkenazi and sephardic traditions
- Creation of anti-semitism
- Continuing productivity of rabbinic judaism
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- Creation of several sacred texts – ex; shulchan aruch
The Jewish Middle Ages
•Cogency
•The Survival/Dominance of Talmudic/Rabbinic Judaism
•History and Continuity; Explanations, Codifications, Articles of Faith
•Production and practice (main figures and concepts)
•Diversity and Overlap
•Non-Talmudic Judaism
•Local Judaisms (global minhag); Karaite Judaism
•Ashkenazi (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Christianity
•Sephardim (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Islam (and Christianity)
•Late Middle Ages
•Diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
•Continuity and growth
Timeline
70-650 CE → Age of definition
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4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
1492 → Jews were exiled from spain, start of anti-semitism
600-800 CE → Age of Cogency 6-
16th Century → Diaspora
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
10-11th century → first crusades, European Jews lost touch with Babylonain Jews
1562-1562 → Shulchan aruch written by R. Yosef Karo
1574 → Karo combined his writings into 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R. Moses
Isserles
RE 204: Unit 2
4CE- 10CE known as the Dark Ages, Academics didn’t know much about before, this is when
the classical age of the roman empire fell.
Middle Ages
You weren't able to not be religious, you couldn't just opt out. The social system and everyday
life is embedded in religion, and the public space is all religious based, with no
compartmentalizing religion. The Middle ages were 10th-15th CE, the Jewish middle ages ended
around 1492 CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain. The middle ages are really important
to judaism yet not talked about a lot because people assume that Jews were stable and okay in
the middle ages and people always frame middle ages in jewish history as depressing. This is
called lachrymose. This is the period where rabbinic judaism becomes normal for jewish
families and becomes minhag, where torah becomes the normal code of conduct for Jewish
communities. Rabbinic Judaism is created, is normalized, and then dominates. There have been
anti Judaism segments prior to the middle ages, but the middle ages is where antisemitism is
created. Theological and productive communication with responsa which were responses to
religious communication between rabbis. There were lots of summaries of religious laws and
commentaries.
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During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Rashi
He massively produces commentary in the early middle ages.
Ethnoreligions: THe way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the peoplehood work
together in slightly different ways
THe Diaspora 6th-16th Centuries
The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the ROman wars, with Jews
expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and enact
covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of Kulturbereichs which is a
german word for the development of cultural regions (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and
independents) these are not sects but cultural flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some
disagreements but similar
The Babylonian Hegemony
The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon they also
had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed divinic heritage
disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and still looked to the
exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult.
The First Crusaid
10th-11th CE Europe lost contact with babylon due to the first crusaid
The Ashkenazi 8th-10th CE origin
Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script. SHUM
cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
Mizrahi: Jews from midevil middle east and there languages were ladino and judeo-arabic.
There are other independent groupings like the JEwish of Amsterdam and the italkim and the
Romaniotes.
The idea of “Normative Judaism”
There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like rabbinic
but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced in the domestic
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sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller forms of diversity within
judaism like jewish women.
Middle ages
Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
WOmens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
1- Niddah, Period laws
2- Blessings- candles on shabbat
3- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and burnedlike
sacrifice
Non rabbinic judaism in the middle ages
Etheopian jews and Kariet jews
The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have
the funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese
culture. With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
Minhag (customs of the elders)
Points to how jews live generationally and how judaism adapts and passes down traditions.
Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws, a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a
religious tradition.
Who is a Jew?
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- Early israelites didnt have a clear cut of who was a jew and who wasnt but the
babylonian excile changed this, this is when the rabbinic teaching did under the mother.
For the Karaites its as long as you are raised jewish.
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their
lineage is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Judaism is diverse but often not shown that way.
Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become the most
dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the ideas of persecution.
This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been anti-judaism sediments as
opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern age, the idea that jews are
different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews are trwated.
The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual and
incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty, compassion,
community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of the middle ages.
Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will save them and gave hews
the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children and all you need to do is survive and
god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the standard rabbinic practice– to learna nd to
teach this is where the development of yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to
not just those who wanted to be rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much
more literate at the age of 3 studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women.
During the babylonian excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it
is about you needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional
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diversification goes on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust.
Rabbinic judaism extrapulates meaning
Not literal.
PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing authorities
This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it
There is allowance for debate and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a
built in thing that people can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
Orthodoxy- correct belief
Orthopracy- correct practices
Rabbinic judaism is going for the range of correct practices but there is a l
The Shulchan Aruch
Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The Isserles
provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end of the Middle
Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
This leads to general social cohesion in the Middle Ages as they needed access to their religious
resources and they were of similar beliefs and a lot of collectivity in their lives in this period. A
lot of this is a response to a forced response to isolation and self ruling.
A lot of jewish life today has roots in the Middle Ages both home and in the institutions, the
feasts and fasts, Shabbat and kosher etc
The Ashkenazi was originally the area of Germany, but now it's used to describe traditions that
come from central and eastern European Jewish tradition. They are still rabbinic but with a
European flavour. The pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to
live and then had to live.
The Shum settlements: you lived where you were born, and it was really difficult to move from
where you were going, and you were an outlaw if you ever did anything else. Jewish charters
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were agreements from bishops or monarchies that allowed Jews to settle, work a limited amount
of trades and have an allotment of land that they could live; this was the Jewish quarter that
became the Jewish ghetto steel. They were allowed to say as Jews but only under like an alien
residency as long as the charter was practiced.
Shum Takkanot- regionally binding decrees that pressing new issues that arise as Jewish
representative make degrees that become laws for people. This is where ashkenazi practice
becomes increasingly distinguished. A main figure is rabbi Gershom 10th CE, he was the head
rabbi when they started to introduce this so hes like a founder of ashkenazi. He did the letter of
the law, follow the law as long as it doesnt conflict with jewish law and he also said jews are not
allowed to open anothers mail, he also prohibits poligamy for the jews in this region as he saw
christian european marriages and thought it would make them look sinful or pornigrafic so they
need to sanctify the name of god, kadesh hashem.
Judaism in the middle ages was a time of varied periods of isolation nd autonomy for jewish
communities. The jewish quarters were historically jewish enclaves within a city of
predominantly non-jews, where only jews live, either voluntery or involuintatry in the ghettos
(shtetl) no freedom to move or of occupation but yes of laws to their own people.This changed in
1096 with the crusades.
Discussion Post:
Week 6 (Oct 20-26): Define "Ashkenazi" and describe some of the ways in which this group
was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the Ashkenazi
Middle Ages?
The Ashkenazi culture was originally the area of Germany, but now the term is used to
describe traditions that come from central and eastern European Jewish traditions. Ashkenazi
culture has a makeup of geography and climate, external influences and Yiddish. The
Ashkenazi practices still follow rabbinic practices with a European flavour of influence. The
pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to live and then had to
live. The SHUM settlements were the areas one was born in and lived. It was really difficult to
move from where you were because you would be considered an outlaw. There were Jewish
Charters as agreements made by bishops or monarchs that allowed the Jews to settle, work
limited trades and have an allotment of land that they could live in under a somewhat alien like
residency as long as long as they practiced the charter. These areas were known as the Jewish
quarters which later became the Jewish Ghettos, also known as Shtetl. The Jewish quarters and
Jewish ghettos gave the Ashkenazi Jewish communities a great ability for independence and
creation within their community. Yet it also made it easier for the Jewish people to be rounded
up during the Crusades.
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Domestic Judaism
Family, women, children, education
Communial judaism
Leadership, the synagogue, the bet din
Jesus said a line that was related to jews being like thier father the devil so it created a thing that
jews are the devil and how christians should belihave against jews. St. augustine says jews need
to be alive to see christian be superior but they should suffer big time. They made myths in the
medival times that jews poision wells and thats why people were dying in the black plage. But
then Martin Luther with his 95 theseises
Medival synagogues are very low key and not grand– really mikvahs were very valuable at the
time. It was hard architecturally because of being covered but also like rain water yet not
freezing, they are hard core in ashkenazi things, this is more important than sysgoges in many
communities. There was urgency cuz no one could fuck otherwise. Like people could sell torah
scrolls to have a mikvah so they could fuck. Synagogues then were mainly for the men but the
mikvahs were more for the women. Rosh hodesh becomes the womens holiday in the middle
ages.
Glucklen Hameln- one of the most business success women of her generation, she made an
ethical will with 12 volumes. This was in the 16th century.
Rishom- the father of ashenasi movement and made the takkaot. He created the yishivahs and his
school in the SHUM cities became the place where people went to learn to be rabbis.
Rabad was rich so he had time to read what people were saying and could be critical about the
ways in which rabbinic judaism is taught as it focuses too much on orthodoxy. He love
mistisysm, personal inclinations, spiritual.
Rashi- one of the greatest figures to come out of the middle ages, like he is so beyond relevant
today he is so popular within judaism. Known to be the greatest teacher within judaism, not just
ashkenaz btut also sephardim. His family owned winery. He was a teacher and a posek and a
writer on commentary. He taught for free because the winery made money. He studied in the
yeshiva Rishom established in Mince. His daily for generations went on to become also great so
he left a legacy.
In ashkenazi there was a lot of teaching judaism so you can defend it against others
The catholoic church said that talmud contained magic/witchcraft, put a copy of talmud on trial
for its participation in witchcraft, polemics, blasphemy, and dissing christianity. Torah was safer
to argue than talmud with a christian arguemtn becuawse the talmud christians thought was
witchcraft. There was no wins just which will make things less bad.
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Conversion in judaism
For ancient israelites there wasnt any real conversion process- it was a loose society but then
after teh exiles there were clean rituals and processes. It was illegal in christian middle ages to
seek or to convert someone to judaism this is where the rabbinic process of turning a potential
convert away 3 times. A more common concern were jews converting away from judaism to
christianity there were lots of dangers and social implications. Even jews who converted to
christianity they had jewish blood so there was scrutanty. This is a ton of stealing jewish kids,
dunking them in the water and then the kid is christan and cannot live with their family. If a jew
was near a river and you pushed them iand said the right thing then they were no longer jewish
and cant live with jews anymore. Those forced to convert some people had a funeral like they
died.
Jews wer alone at being the non christians in ashkenazi but in the islamic world it varries in
religions other than Christians. Spain is the center of major jewish civilization in the middle
ages, jews main influences in this area is islam. They are less restricted to professions and
education. Their ability to mingle with others is way more advanced than ashkenazis in the
modern world.
Sephardim- the jews who have their orgins in spain in north Africa (not always sephardim
identifying), they developed ladino which is medival spanish mixed with arabic in hebrew script,
but they carry on greek, latin, aramaic, hebrew, arabic, and judeo-iranian.
Mizrahi is the jews of what we would refer to as middle east. They were the first Jews to come
under islamic rule. The Jews were allowed to move within the islamic empire which when the
islamic empire was unified so babylon and other mizrahi groups could have engage and
influenced by the babylonian influence for a lot longer than in Europe.
There were a lot of meghrebi jews which are north african jews
1492- the sephardims had the second great dispersion.
472- 711, the visigoths took spain who converted to catholicism arounf this time . the jews did
not like the visagoths, they were happy to tourcher the jews of spain to such an extent jews
would hide their kids from being taken so they were happy that from 711-12CE when the
muslims took over. But then in the 8th century-1492 reconquista.
Covivencia- the living together during the golden age of spain
Dhimma- people of the book
In lue of service they have to take the tizya a tax for not fighting in their army of religion.
It becomes applied in the pact of umare nad it becomes way bigger. This is where Umar says
jews and christians have to wear other things, to not be negative to anyone who wants to convert,
pay tax, no public anything that shows wealth or pride. This becomes the key precedence
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throughout the Islamic world with different varients . Jews of yemen had to wear bells so
muslims knew they were coming around the corner, jews couldnt go out in the rain incase the
impureness went into the waterstresm of the ground.
1066 Granada massacure- inspire by the downfall of a flash extreme wealth jew and too
much attention to himself. 4 thousand jews were murder.
1147 the first sephardic displacement for spain– the end of the golden age in medival
spain happened. The purging of Dhimma from spain. The almohads had tolerated the dihmma
for too long nonsense, they had plenty of time to see the truth and it is time for muslims now to
stop tolerating tehm.
COnversos– a personalized judaism while shoing they do catholocism on the outside.
They are someone for christians not to trust, the idea that conversion is not enough to irradicate
someones jewishness
Week 7 (Oct 27-Nov 2): Define "Sephardim" and describe some of the ways in which this
group was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the
Sephardic Middle Ages?
The Sephardim are the Jewish people who have origins in Spain and possibly North
Africa (not all north Africans identify as Sephardim). Within the Sephardim culture and regions,
languages such as ladino (medieval Spanish mixed with Arabic in Hebrew script), Greek, Latin,
Aramaic, Hebrew Arabic, and Judeo-Iranian. Languages are one of the critical factors of the
Sephardic middle ages as they were able to communicate with other groups in their societies
while maintaining the Hebrew language.
A significant Sephardic figure of the time was Yosef Karo. He was a part of creating the
Shulchan Aruch. His work helped bring uniformity into the middle ages. Under Muslim Spain,
the Dhimma was a tax that allowed the Jewish people (and others that fell under the category) to
live without being Muslim– this was in hopes of conversion. Though there were many rules, like
not being able to tell another not to convert to Islam if they desired, it was generally a good
situation for the Jewish people there.
This was until 1147 when the first Sephardic displacement ended the golden age in
medieval Spain. This was when a decree stated that Mohammed did not want the non-muslims
to have leniency for this long time. That time was up, and the Jewish people had time to see the
truth of Islam is the ultimate religion. Now Muslims are told to stop tolerating those who fall
under Dihmma. More specifically a passage within The Pact of Umar that highlights the changes
and outlooks within hte 7th Century is “We shall not display our crosses [any non-islamic
religious symbols] or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims. We shall use only
clappers in our churches very softly…We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims” (Pact of
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Umar). This passage specifically highlights a change in mindset under this new wave of Muslim
rule. Though the Abrahamic religions have aspects in common and have shared in language,
customs and have been able to live rather well cohesively, this passage signals change. The
change being the display of any non Muslim religious symbols, the quieting of ones religion and
it being stated in writing that the dead need to be seperated by religion. The concept of these
practices being a decree in writing is also interesting as it reinforces that this is a decree rather
than a social norm of the time. Though these decrees may at first glance seem intense, in
comparison to what was happening to the Jewish community in europe at the time this was
minor. The Jewish and Christian communities were clearly different yet they were still apart of
the society with language, business, and able to receive an education.
Pact of Umar, 7th Century. Internet history sourcebooks project. (n.d.). Retrieved October
28, 2022, from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/pact-umar.asp
Supplemented by Lecture discussions and analysis
SPanish golden age- where sephardim have their roots. Jewish spain in the middle ages has a big
amount of being literate, lots of languages
Cosmopolitanism- citizens of the world
Procial- all of education and experiences are within your religious community
Sa’adiaah ben yosef Gaon- Known for the application of knowledge and reason to philosophy,
understanding islam through religion, faith and reason. He had a systematic defense of his book
of beleifs and opinions to fight against the carights. He produced the first universal prayer book
for the sephardim.
Rambam- He gives a good snapshot of jewish theology of this period in relation to the messiah.
After the reconquista he was invited to engage in a disputation on the bible– a lose lose situation
of being able to bring trouble to the jewish community. The king at the time put him up against
someone who was a big person who converted. From RAMBAM we got one of the least
guarded disputation because he got the king to say nothing will go against them. One of this will
be about the jewish view of the MEssiah. He said the messiah had not come and why Jesus is
not the messiah, as the messiah would bring about peace and jesus had not brought about more
peace but more violance. Judaism is expecting a whoely human messiah, there is no diary
humans in judaism. Torah is eternal and nothing has happened to change the applicability of
Torah. He said that if anyone follows torah then its the true law otherwise its not. He fled to Ciro
where he was a Nagid, a leader of the community political and religious leadership along with
this he was a significant posif, He was also one of the best facitions of the time. A lot of his
work is in Arabic. He said that the arguments in judaism are inherintly rational and not about if
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spirits of good and evil are here in the world but to produce a pro social movement working with
a covenant. He writes the 13 principles, the first 5 focus on g-d, nature of g-d, all about g-d etc
in here he is completely rejecting dualism or the trinity. Then its all about Torah stuff, then
directly against islam, then g-d knows it all and messiah would be good and messiah will come
in resurrect the dead. People thought these 13 things were robotic repetition which is known as
dogma but htat is wrong in judaism. Joseph Albo then reduces thing into three principles
JOseph albo: sefer ha-ikkarim
1) Belief in the existence of G-d
2) Beleif in torah and the prophets and in the revelation of g-d
3) Belief in divine justice (as related to the idea of immorality and the afterlife
Joseph Karo- author of the SHulchan Aruch. THe mappa was later added by R. Moses Isserles
which is the ashkenazi law coming out of ashkenazi tradition to add to the medival period that
Karo made.
Conversos- many jews forced to convert and ket juddaism hidden
Crypto jews- jews who were secret jews
The Alhambra Cecree- 31 march 1492
The begging to the end of the middle ages as the jews are expuled from spain and go into the
americas, northern africa, and europe.
Personalism rises, the beginning of the end of hard core authority during the middle ages
Messiah will be a dessendeant of david, Back to israel gather jews from diaspera, restore gods
presence back on earth, world peace– this was a fatih based not political thing
Judah Halevi- beleived in the spiritual purity of israel and moved from spain to israel. It is
evolutionar. The idea that some were movin gon their own accord is big. He ,ade a story of
pride, the kezARI, becomes super popular.
Shabbetai Tzvi- in 1648 the Chmielnicki Massacre, was so beyond violant like disgusting how
bad it was. Jews begin to see this as a sign that hte messiah has to come and that is when
Shabbetai Tzvi claims to be the first messia adn so does an influential writer. People started
packing thier trunks for the messiah. He had very radical behaviour. Hes known as a false
messiah. He ended up converting to islam because he was ofrced to
Innovations inspired by the medival period but technically passed the medival period
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FOr the majority of jews in the world the middle ages is a time of massive religious spread and
the ethnoreligiousy that it brings with both the explosion of travel and limitation of travel. The
movement of jews in this period are often not voluntary. The swirls of culture are not clean and
tidy, it is swirls. The remurgance and firming up of ashkenazi and sephardim traditions. In the
modern period theres an explosion of innovation when paths are crossed.
These habits that were formed through the isolation and autonomy continues in the pre modern.
This is the solidification of rabbinic judaism as something imbedded in minchag for jews in the
world. This is an era of new growth with diversification in rabbinic judaism.
In talmud there was a understanding that god would not give them more than they could handle
but there were signs of the end of the exile and there was the desire ofr change. This was
through changing ones life through themselves, this is a crossroad where jews make decisions to
how there judaism is going to run after the experience of the middle ages. This is where the
renewal period comes in, to provide change, revival, to a judaism that feels tired.
Revival and renewal
- A religious trend to reconnect with the route of a tradition in light of the mideval
movement.
The late medival piety
- Super compelling for jewish women in the middle ages as women were diminissed or
put away from synagogue and not as intense as in the ancient period or as seen today
- In charity women were needing, able to do good work in a piety way taking care of
engaging with religion in a practical gaguing way
- An easy way for people without credientials to be helpful and respected in their
community. Also a good way that christianity influenced judaism
Mystisism
- A direct spiritual connection to the devine to transend - Islam positively influencing
the jews
Kabala
- The blanket term for mysticism in Judaism but moost likely from the middle ages
- It was embraced by the ashkenazi but was began with the sephardim
- Sefer ha-Zohar made the mystical commentary on hte torah, seeon within torah secret
messages that relate to the Ein Sof the secret nature of god. God is transcendent, no
human could even begin to get god but hes also active in here right now
- The idea one could get to know elements of god or that god wants this is attractive to
people
- Not rabbis but democratic available to non rabbis
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-
Hasidism– means pois ones
- A revival movement that was bannedoriginally by jewish movments
- Its rabbinic judaism but its the first split
- Founded by the Baal Shem tov who started teaching at hte cheder
- He emphasized personal relationship with g-d over regulation, and event study; a purely
devoted, joyous religious spirit matters more than scholarship
- Emphasized enthuizatic enjoyment of creation as worship of the creator
- He preached that people can have a direct relationship with god
- Revoltuionary that you could feel good about being jewish is woah after the middle ages
- LOVE god, torah– be torah with love of god, love israel
- God loves the heart and soul not just the ideas of the law
Judaism in the Middle Ages
Jews in the Medieval Christian world
Jews in the Medieval Muslim world
Intro to Pre-Modernity
The evolution of Rabbinic Judaism:
- Before the middle: developing, structure without the temple
- Middle Ages: uniformity, takkanot, bringing together home life, giving people a place to
be a part of something, they could participate in Tikkun Olam, feeling Judaism, mikvas,
listened to Rabbis, separation between sephardic and ashkenazi because the sephardim
were still able to contant Babylon, therefore the Ashknenaz weren’t as evolved as the
sephardim. The sephardim were able to learn from lots of texts pand have open
discussions with Muslims. In the middle ages with a lot of expulsions rabbinic judaism is
about surviving for future generations and just believing in G-d
The “Age of Definition”
- 70-650 CE – the age of definition (Neuser)
- The core sacred texts of rabbinic judaism
- Rabbinic literature was coming together
- Basic traditional practices of rabbinic judaism came together
- Tanakh (bible) – especially torah (law)
- 200 CE: Mishna – the oral torah
- 500-650: Talmud – an explanation/exploration of the mishnah
- According to rabbinic history, these periods are called the tanaick and amoraic period
- Rabbinic judaism initial phase is 50-200 (tanna) and the second phase is
200-500 (amoriam)--> scholars of the talmud
Tanna- teach
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Amora- said
The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The
Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the Amoraim expounded upon and
clarified the oral law after its initial codification.
Therefore, in the time of the tannaim they taught, and the amoraim gave their thoughts on what
was taught (commentary)
Middle Ages: 10th-15th CE (ended around 1492CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain)
- Religion and regular life were heavily intertwined. One could not opt out of religion, the
social system was embeded in religion. There was no comparmentalization of religion.
- Ones religious identity was very important
- Public institutions were religious institutions
- Medical care, education, everything was associated with your religious affiliation
- When you were born in the middle ages, only your church or synagogue took note of
your birth, not the government
- No option to not be part of a religious system
- Most people lived in a mystical world where everyone believed in religion
- Religion wasn’t the context, it merely existed everywhere
- People thought demons and angels were active in the world all the time
- The social system and everyday life were imbued with religion
- Middle ages are very important to judaism yet not discussed often, often understood as
depressing yet much culture comes out of it.
- Lachrymose: depressing, the depressing outlook of the Jews in the middle ages. A
negative outlook in understanding history.
- The period where Rabbinic judaism becomes minhag and the norm for jewish families.
Torah becomes the normalized code of conduct, rabbinic judaism is created, normalized,
and then dominates.
- An outcome of the middle ages is antisemitism and theological and productive
communication through repsonsa’s which were communication between rabbis about
summaries of religious laws and commentary related questions/discussions.
During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Dates around Middle Ages:
- 4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
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- Begins with the fall of Rome, Christainity rising popularity
- Ends with the rise of the great empires in the middle east and europe
- 10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
- Ends→ invention of the printing press, discovery of the New World (the Americas) →
blew the minds of religious and scientific knowledge, religious landscape
Jewish Middle Ages
- In the 15th century you also get 1492. In 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain – this
is when it ends according to jews
- Broke the medieval Jewish world
- Incredibly important time, but not a talked about time
- People assume judaism was stable at this time
- People frame jewish history in the middle ages as depressing. Stop at the persecution of
the Jews. Emphasis on suffering and the sad story. - But it is an important period because
it is marked by
- Rabbinic judaism (primarily) – becoming minhag - Diasporal persecution, isolation and
expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- The advent of printing and mass communications
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-exsisted along side its two main colleaguefaiths
(abrahamic religions) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Rabbinic judaism becomes systimized by families
- Time when rabbinic judaism becomes family tradition
- Lots of autonomy, slash alienation from society
- Torah becomes normal code of conduct for many rabbinic jewish community
- Rabinnic Judaism becomes the normative type of Judaism - Anti-semitism is really
“invented” during the Middle Ages
- Also an intense period of resilience, and shaping of Judaism, and productivity
- Age of codes→ summaries of Jewish laws
- It is now a continued time of religious activity
- Responsa are big now – when people send in questions and a rabbi answers them
- Intense age of commentary→ specifically Rashi (icon of Jewish education). He produces
an excess amount of commentary during the middle ages.
- Also a big time of expulsions
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- Get about 1000 years of the Jews living beside other nations - A lot of
intermarriage, other forms of cross interaction.
- Lots of outside influences on Judaism, judaism also influenced other religions
- Some of the interactions outside with jews are good, but many are bad
- Think: crusades, spanish inquisition, laws around what type of work Jews can do, who
can engage in business with who, rise of anti-semitism
The “Age of Cogency”
- The time when rabbinic judaism becomes dominant, and present in almost every jewish
family
- A period from ca. 600s to the 1800s CE in which Judaism is relatively uniform, stable,
and unified under rabbinic Judaism
- Geography alone guarantees diversity
- The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual
and incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty,
compassion, community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of
the middle ages. Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will
save them and gave hews the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children
and all you need to do is survive and god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the
standard rabbinic practice– to learn and to teach this is where the development of
yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to not just those who wanted to be
rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much more literate at the age of 3
studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women. During the babylonian
excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it is about you
needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional diversification
goes on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust. Rabbinic
judaism extrapulates meaning
-
Diversity in the Diaspora:
- Jews were very spread out across the map, therefore the traditions that arose were very
diverse
- Example: jews in france use apples for a sweet rosh hashanah fruit, whereas jews in
india use dates
- Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become
the most dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the
ideas of persecution. This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been
anti-judaism sediments as opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern
age, the idea that jews are different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews
are trwated.
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The Diaspora (6th-16th century)
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of
Kulturbereichs which is a german word for the development of cultural regions
(Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and independents) these are not sects but cultural
flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some disagreements but similar
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia
- Some stats
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
- While we think of the old world as disconnected, it is important to know a lot of these
communities had firm contact with one another
- It is just rabbinic judaism happening in different places
- There was a desire to remain unified – still felt connected through covenant
- Geographical spread almost guaranteed ethno-religious diversity
- The further you are from the center, the further you are from observing religion in those
norms
- Babylonian Hegemony
- The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon
they also had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed
divinic heritage disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and
still looked to the exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to
remain together and enact covenant together though it was difficult.
- The status of being able to what is normal
- The closer you are to the hegemony the more ‘normal’ you are
- The further you are is the further you are from the ‘hegon normal’
- Gaonim
- Head of babylonian academy
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- On the ball with responsa
- Everybody wrote to these guys for their opinion
- In the 10th and 11th (mainly 11) century Europe lost touch with Babylonians jews
because this was during the first crusades
- Babylonian hegemony comes to an end
- When we look at where Jews went in the diaspora, we are looking at how traditions
within Rabbinic Judaism vary, however they are all still very interconnected, and are in
no way sects (like what we saw in the Second Temple period)
- What we see is the development of kulturbereich – meaning cultural region –
understanding Judaism over the past 1000 years is seen through this
Kulturbereich: cultural region
- Ashkenazi→ christian europe
- Sefardic→ muslim spain
- Mizrahi→ middle east / isslamic
- Independent groups
These can all be considered “flavours” of rabbinic judaism
Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabian rites/tradition, originating in Spain and North Africa
- They speak ladino and judeo-arabic (Arabic written in a Hebrew script)
- Come from sepharad – iberian peninsula (spain and portugal)
- Many moved to northern africa and
Ashkenazi Jews
- Pertaining to “german Jews”
- Jews who root their heritage in Germany and France
- Many migrated later to Eastern Europe
- Marked by yiddish culture – medieval German written in Hebrew
- The Pale of settlement
- Come from ShUM cities
- Shpeyer, Wormtz, Mainz
Mizrahi:
- Typically describe jews of the middle east
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- Sabra: jews born in palestine before 1948
Blurred divisions
- The jews of amsterdam
- They moved to amsterdam after the expulsion from spain, therefore sephardic - The
Italkim
- Independent groupings
- Echo sephardic rights
- Closer to ashkenazi
- The Romaniotes (from Greece)
- Independent→ they predate a lot of rabbinic judaism and have somewhat developed
independently
Medieval Movement and Expulsions
- A community that develops in spain then moves to amsterdam will develop in different
ways then jews who move from spain to new amsterdam (new york)
- Roots, origins marks the ethno religious traditions of these families but there are layers
to it
The Idea of “Normative Judaism”
- There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like
rabbinic but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced
in the domestic sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller
forms of diversity within judaism like jewish women.
- Element of truth – rabbinic judaism was dominant and looks like the “normative
Judaism”
- The assumed “norm” of mainstream Judaism, which takes on the guise of “real”
judaism, to which all other judaisms are compared/contrasted as “abnormal”
Womens Judaism
- Form of diversity
- Nidah→menstrual purity laws→ attending a mikvah → often lead to a branch off of
women's spirituality surrounding the mikvah
- Sabbath blessings→ lighting candles
- Separation of the bread→ to make challah, a part should be broken off and burnt
- Can eat anything during pregnancy
- Many rabbinc sources excuse women from religion by saying that they could just watch
the kids
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- In the middle ages, women went against this and started creating their own traditions,
songs, and forms of judaism
- Lots of women’s prayers emerged from the middle ages
- Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
Womens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
- Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
- 1- Niddah, Period laws
- 2- Blessings- candles on shabbat
- 3- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and
burned like sacrifice
Judaism and “Judaisms”
- Normative judaism and diverse “judaisms”
Rabbinic and Non-Rabbinic Judaism
- Look at Beta-Israel and Karaites
- There are multiple examples of small, local Jewish cultures throughout “Global Israel”
that do/did not conform to Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism, either partially or fully,
depending on time of dispersion, context since dispersion, or on length of time since
contract with rabbinic Jewish communities
- Talmudic Jewish rejections and outreach
- Hegemony and recognition → they were recognized but was still considered
intermarrage
-
The Jews of Africa and Asia
- Jews of Africa
- East Africa (beta israel) → pre rabbinic
- West Africa (the igbo Jews) → from nigeria, torah only, predate rabbinic Judaism
- Southern africa (the leba connection, zimbabwe) → blend between isalm and judaism,
but have history with jews migrating into the region
- The Jews of Asia
- India (Bene Israel (pre rabbinic judaism); Cochin Jewsl (around the time of rabbinic
judaism and has some element of it); Paradesi Jews (rabbinicportuguese)) → best place
to be a jew, had religious freedom
- China (Kaifering Jews)
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- Some jews were in China while the temple still stood
- From 600-1000 CE many jews (rabbinic jews) moved to china
- Came along the Silk Routes and were mizrachi - Kaifeng Synagogue
- longest lasting community (10th century till 19th century) there are still people in this
region (may not identify as jews) will be loyal towards jewish ancestors
- Built in 1163
- Destroyed in 1663
- Rebuilt and destroyed again in 1852
- Jewish community is now built on the site
- Was known as Temple of purity and goodness
- Had a mikvah, communal kitchen/dining hall, had a symbiotic relationship with the
Muslims of the region – the majority of the religious items they got their hands on were
bought from Muslim traders, used arabic words
- Harmonization with chinese and jewish
- Allowed intermarrage from their members and the members of the muslim community
The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have
the funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese
culture. With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
-
Jews migrated to Africa as refugees, or voluntarily
- The jews of africa predated rabinic judaism
Minhag
- Customs of the elders
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- Points to how we live generationally. Points to how jews live generationally and how
judaism adapts and passes down traditions. Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws,
a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a religious tradition.
- Explanations for how the ethno religious traditions come about
- Adapt your judaism to a new geographical locations and pass that down
- Particularly useful in lacuna situations (hole) – a hole that minhag can “fill” in. There is
no law for how women should cover her head. But there is now a minhag for it, some do
it with wigs, some with snoods, some shave and then cover, some don’t at all. In the east
they often have elaborate and beautiful coverings, but others dont want to look
flamboyant. Think they should cover their head after marriage. All depends on where
your family cultural traditions lie
- Can't override Torah, but can rival rabbinic authority → rabbis are only human, they are
not god, their opinions can be challenged
- Historian in josephus said “you start learning how to be a jew at your mothers breast”
Who is a Jew
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their
lineage is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Medieval Judaism→ Jewish uniformity
- Time of intense geographical spread
- Remarkable that the middle ages is called a time of uniformity given that they are
so spread out across the map
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Into the middle ages
- Judaism is marked by
- Rabbinic Judaism (primarily)
- Diaspora; persecution, isolation and expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-existed along side its two main
colleague-faiths
(the abrahamic faiths) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Time of cultural productivity, Jewish Middle Ages was not only defined by
persecution
Rabbinic judaism spread through the synagogue system, babylon academies
- By the middle ages rabbinic judaism had become the most wide spread form of
Judaism
- The diaspora in the middle ages also brings a lot of persecution for the Jews
- Anti-semetism rises→ irrational hatred, mistrust, and stereotyping of the Jews→
leads to persecution, violence, and biases
- Pseudo-scientific racism→ different by blood, racisim based on the Jewish blood
as opposed to the religion itself
The Age of Cogency:
- Very stable time, uniform, and unified under Rabbinic Judaism
- 600 to 1800s
- Factors in the dominance of rabbinic judaism - Ideological factors
- It developed an intently hopeful idea that G-d would make the world right, would
bring the Messiah, Jews were discouraged to rebel
- Life may not be perfect right now, but if we survive, then the future generations
will be okay because G-d will sort things out
- Texts
- Talmud as a focus and core practice
- Jewish education: very important→ talmud torah, to learn and to teach Torah
- Authority
- Academies
- Rabbis→ communal and religious authorities, people turned to them
- Deeply embedded rabbinic judaism in the synagogue and everyday life
- Rabbinic judaism emphasized; synagogue, home, family, domestic rituals
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- Encourage people to take joy, enjoy life, food, wine, family life - Studying
talmud
- Education as core practice - Talmud torah
- To learn and to teach
- Becomes the standard rabbinic practice - Yeshiva life
- Talmud universities
- Even though they were rabbinic academies they were open to more people then
just those who wanted to be Rabbis
- Whoever could afford to went to access Jewish education
- Much higher rate of literacy amongst Jews, particularly Jewish women compared
to non Jews
- 3 year olds learned hebrew
- 6 year olds learned torah
- 10 year olds learned mishnah and talmud
- 13→ bar mitzvah
- If a family could afford it, they would continue learning past the age of 13
- A lot of this was publicly paid for→ free education, because there was such a
societal value placed on Jewish education
- Goes back to Babylon, learning how important it is to preserve the religion, texts,
language, culture
- In sephardic communities education and higher education is very important
Halakhah
- Interpretation and application of Jewish law
- Rabbis are the authorities to go to
- Increased variation of professional niches, teachers, Rabbis (not in synagogues,
but only school, rabbis who only wrote), poseks (sometimes are rabbis, people
who can answer questions in changing times)
- PaRDeS – tool that rabbis use to read and interpret text. Literally means orchard,
sometimes translated as paradise or heaven
- Important during this period to be connected to a valid trusted authority, because
they entirety of keeping the convenient requires the teaching of the Torah
- PRDS
- Peshat (simple), Remez (hints), Derash (interpretation), Sod (hidden meaning of a
text)
- ‘RDS’ – lays the opportunity for inspiration, if you live your life studying there
will be lightbulb moments
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- Layers of rabbinic interpretation of text
- Rabbinic judaism extrapolated meaning, within rabbinic judaism the bible is
understood to be perfect but is not meant to be read literally
- It's the power of education reading and qualified interpretations that the Bible has
meaning for people
- Popular because there is the quality that living people can interpret an ancient text
- You can make halakhah portable and you can apply it
- PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
- Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
- Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
- Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Uniformity and Dissent in Talmudic Judaism
- Wide margin of dissent
- Rabbinic authority is still a human authority→ Rabbis are allowed to disagree with each
other and people can choose which Rabbis they want to listen to
- Dissent, dionism,
- There was room for different opinions
Orthodoxy→ correct belief
Orthopraxy → correct practices
- Rabbinic Judaism wants to offer the range of orthopraxy
-
The Shulchan Arush
- Written by R. Yosef Karo in 1562-1565 in 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R.
Moses Isserles (ca. 1574)
- A meeting point between Ashkenenazi (Isserles) and Sephardim (Karo)
- Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The
Isserles provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end
of the Middle Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
- The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
- The Shulchan Aruch is still very long, dense and perhaps expensive
- The Kitzur is a more condensed version that has more information that Jewish household
would benefit from
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- Many Rabbis could afford the shulchan aruch, but more homes had the kitzur because it
was more affordable
- Many rabbis couldn’t afford their own talmud
Primary source: Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 72 (sefaria.org)
Jewish Social cohesion of the middle ages
- They had to live close together and live close to their institution
- Similar mindsets→ they shared rabbis based on geography
- Collectiveness based on education and their lives, small communities
- A lot of the social cohesion was necessary based on forced Jewish isolation and
alienation
- Certain level of autonomy embedded in their set up→ self ruling in their communities
Common Judaism in the middle ages
- Continuity of the central pillars of ancient judaism
- Shabbat, reading torah, keeping kosher, marrying only within Jews
- Popular form of Rabbinic Judaism
- Leadership of local authorities
- Autonomy of jewish communities and self governance
Cornerstones of Rabbinic Jewish Practices
- synagouge/home; family and community - The life cycle
- Marriage (domestic judaism and judaism practiced in the institutions), birth and death
- Prayer
- Study
- Texts
- Hebrew
- Rabbis, poseks and teachers
- Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing
authorities.This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it. There is allowance for debate
and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a built in thing that people
can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
- Feasts and fasts
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- Memory and story
- Sabbath
- Still done today
Triad of Judaism
- G-d → During the middle ages there is ethical monotheism
- Covenant , Torah, Law→ discipline to practice the law (halacha) is the practice of
upholding the covenant
- Israel → place, memory, root of the Jewish people, urge to go back, passive hope, almost
entirely funneled through a belief or hope of the return of the messiah
Archaeology
- Valuable for understanding medieval history for any religion
- Valuable to know what the non elites were doing
- But everyone needs coinage, homes, pots and pans, knitting needles
- Essential for inclusion of those who are not included with the elites
Synagogue Archeology
Ashkenazi, Judaism evolving in Christian Europe
Starting in Germany and parts of France and moving into eastern europe
- Ashkanaz was the term referred to as Germany
- Not all Jews in eastern europe are ashkenazi (ex. Spain, or amsterdam→ sephardic)
- Begins in 8th-10th centuries, then move to eastern europe starting in 1025
- Yiddish is medieval German→ hebrew, aramaic, and german
The SHUM Settlements:
- Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script.
SHUM cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
- Speyer, Wormz, and Meintz
- Cathedral cities because they had a charter to settle there
- Very few people to move/immigrate during the medieval times
- However Jews really weren’t allowed to move around at all and were subject to stay
within these cities
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- Jewish charters were agreements extended from a bishop or monarchy that allowed Jews
to settle and gave them permission to work a certain but limited number of trades, and
what lands they were allowed on.
- Eventually those became wither ghettos or shtettles
- they were allowed to establish burial grounds as well - In these places, they were
allowed to stay Jews, and
- This charter did not give them citizenship, they could stay as long the charter was
respected
- When the charter was deemed unvalid, they had expulsions of the Jews
- Jews were able to use their connections to important stuff from the east→ babylon
- They were allowed to have import/export jobs
The SHUM Takkanot:
- Rabbinic conferences that result in rabbinical decrease
- They discuss pressing issues that arise from being in a new place and are binding for the
jews of the region of those Rabbis
- The decrees become Jewish law
- When the SHUM made their own takkanot, the way they practiced Judiam became more
distinct from other forms of Judaism
Rabbi Gershom (10th century):
- Considered to be the founder of the Ashkenzai tradition
- Head rabbi when they started establishing the takkanot
- He said that the law of the land is also the Jewish law→ Jews were obligated to respect
the Christian laws so long as those laws didn’t interfere with being Jewish
- Jews were not allowed to touch or interfere with other people’s mail
- Jews had not experienced mail before so that had to create guidelines on how to respect
other people’s mail
- He prohibits polygamy for the Jews of SHUM (Ashkenazi Jews)
- He did this so that they would better blend in with Christians who did not practice
polygamy
- Kadahs HaShem→ santify the name of G-d→ reflect well on the Jewish G-d, be a credit
to your people
- Basically, he wanted the Jews to appear as “good” as possible so that the people of the
SHUM would blend in with Christians and be as respectable as they could while still
standing somewhat apart from the Christians.
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- Jewish charters didn’t often last very long
- The jewish experience in the middle ages is one of continuous movement and relocation
- The ashkenazi required permission to move, and always needed permission in order to
move
- A lot of trauma as a result of involuntary migration
- A lot of autonomy also came with these charters because they were led by Rabbis
- As long as the jews paid their taxes they could do what they want in the community (had
autonomy not freedom– had the free to apply the laws to their own people but not to
move)
- Jewish charters offered protection and precariousness
1096: Crusades
Ghettos have walls, shtetls have more of a village feeling
Ghettos were supposed to give some protection but also made them sitting ducks for attacks -
Keeps bad people out, but isolates them
Most places in Europe experienced expulsions
- Many of these places only jews were allowed to settle there for money lending
- Problem with that is no one likes money lenders
- This started some anti-semeitsm because everyone knew that only Jews were money
lenders
- Jews played high stake game because jews leaned money to the crown and the crown
realized they don’t have to pay the Jews back they can just kick them out
- 1290 expulsion from England
- Always or usually a generation or two of poverty while they readapted to their new place
to settle
- They were outlaws while they were in between settlements, very unsafe, not protection
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Jew in Medieval “Christian Europe”
- In the fourth century, the roman empire christianized
- Holy roman empire was catholic, headed by the pope
- The Byzantine Empire→
- Pre christian empires were largely pagen
- As those areas christiansted, it was either by Rome or different places of Europe
- Largely a time of skating these 2 powerful heads as they duked out their own power
struggle (a mouse in bed with 2 elephants, bound to get squished)
Early Christian-Jewish relations
- Started out with shared roots - Shared g-d
- One shared text
- But there are some points of frictions
- Christians don't have to be circumcised or keep kosher, now celebrate shabbat on sunday
(to celebrate jesus)
- Cornerstone to jewish identity
- Points of frictions outway the similarities to many jews and Christians
- Christians came to the conclusions of not having to follow the jewish law because Jesus
became the new g-d and the Christians have replaced the jews as g-ds people –
replacement theology
- Christians often looked for proof of their election to 70 CE (fall of the second temple)
- proof g-d has abandoned the convent with the Jews
- But St. Augustine (an early church father) said g-d doesnt lie so there must still be some
parts of that covenant left
- He came up with the docterant of don't kill Jews
- Also said let the jews live so they can see the second return of Jesus so they can see they
are wrong before they are murdered
- Because of this in Europe the Jews were considered the only religion that did not have to
become Christian
- Taught that the Jews deserved to be punished (triumphalism)
Triumphalism:
- Christianity was triumphant over a failed Judaism
Ecclesia: church
- Strong, upright, proud
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- Crown on head holding cross, wearing a royal robe Synagoga: synagogue
- Broken staff, eyes blindfolded→ ignorant to see the truth, clinging to dead torah, no
glory left, broken poster
Visual representation of replacement theology and triumphalism
Diaside
- Act of killing a G-d
- This was jews because they believed the Jews killed Jesus
Where antisemitism was born
- It wasn't just that generation that killed Jesus - But all generations of Jews killed
Jesus
- Example being desecration of the host→ mentioned by Lupovitch
Violence in “christian Europe”
- Heavily invested in the christ killing accusation
- If people can kill a god they can kill anything
- Christian europe was not always a bad place for Jews to be but was a dangerous place to
be
- Whenever plagues occurred, jews were often accused of causing the plagues
- Ghettos became less about protecting the jews and more about keeping them away -
Joined by Judenhut
Judenhut
- Jew hat
- Jews were forced to wear; patches, hats, different color shoes so that people knew if jews
were around
- Modern witch hats came from this time because jews were considered as assoiciated with
witches
- About stigmatizing people and being able to identify Jews
The jews had to live in one place, and be identifiable→ very dangerous, if people were violent
against jews, they were very easy to identify
Blood Libel:
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- Belief that Jews would take CHristian babies, and use their blood to make Matzah and
remember the “great” time they killed Jesus
- They would blame the Jews on “andom chidlren’s death→ they didn’t look for any actual
murderers
- If people will kill a G-d they will and can do anything horrific - Jews as demonic and
practice of witchcraft
- Said Hebrew sounded like a demonic language
- Associating Jewish passover meals with the spells used by witches
- Judiam because cloaked as a cult, brewing the dislike of people around them
- Belief that Jews had horn
- They said that payas would cover horns and that a woman's head covering covered hers
- The birth of anti-semitism
- The inquisition
Crusades
- About going to the holy land and doing violence against muslims
- Warmed up with doing violence against jews
- The jews killed themselves on Kiddush HaShem instead of being murdered by the
crusasers
- Beginning of the end of the SHUM settlements
- Most survivors moved eastwards→ Poland, Lithuania, Russia
- Moved to the Pale of Settlement (becomes center of Jewish life)
Pogrom:
- A mass outbreak of violence, sometimes sanctioned or unsanctioned
- This was not a christian act (do not allow murder) but it was an act of christian zelucts
- Malicide→ the murder of evil, therefore not homicide→ they beleived they were doing
G-d’s work
1025-1569
- Area merged with lithuania
- Polish kingdom was a paradise for Jews
- Poland resisted christianisation for some time, but when it did it resisted the authority of
the heads
- Resisted the crusades
- Had several leaders that made a difference
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- 1264 Prince Boteslaw gave religious freedom to the jews, banned the blood libal (not just
because it was cruel but also that it was ridiculous because the Jews were banned from
eating blood). Gave the jews freedom of profession
- He gave protection for their cemetery
- One of his descendants (Polish) expanded the original law and said that if a Christian
accuses a Jew out of Anti-semitism, then that Christian has to absorb the punishment of
what they accused the Jew of
- Rumor that the Polish kings were secret Jews
- Rumor that Casimar had a Jewish mistress, and therefore Jewish children
- One of Casimir's amendments was that it was against the law to force a Jew to baptize
- Poland became a haven, there was a steady movement eastward so that the Jews could
avoid as much persecution as possible
- Poland was a pocket of tolerance for the Jews
- Enabled the Jews to survive the Middle Ages
- Rabbinic Judaism offered a solid foundation of values and family structure
- Offered an early version of social welfare
- We are all in this together
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Equalizing amongst the community and meeting everyone’s basic needs
- Creating social services and safety nets
- Offered prohibitions that prevented assimilation but didn’t prohibit pleasure as a whole
- Created a middle ground, designed in their best interest
- Assured Jews that the coming of the Messiah, and that G-d would always remember
them, and that all they had to do was holding on, and at least some of them had to
survive, and that was enough for them
- They just needed a remnant of them to survive and all will be okay - Helped them
get through hard circumstances
The Ashkenazi, Part 2
- Central/western Europe intro Eastern Europe and Russia and the Pale of Settlement
Halachis process on adopting non-Jewish celebration (eg. Halloween)
- Pretty firm no if anything about the holiday is prohibited by Jewish law
- Any components of the holiday go against Jewish laws/tradition - Are there Pagam or
idolatrous origins to the holiday
- This is where there is some debate with Halloween Thanksgiving or Valentines Day:
- Most will be okay with celebrating this day as there is very little that interferes with being
Jewish
- It is not a bad thing to be thankful for your food, or to celebrate love→ it is somewhat
consistent with Jewish tradition
Common Judaism in Europe
- Rabbinic judaism is the main form of judaism in europe in the middle ages
- Emphasis on Torah and Talmud
- Emphasis on Israel, israel as community and desired future - Jews focused on a
messianic promise of Israel in the future
- Few Jews were able to travel, and especially travel as far as Israel
- Focused on synagogue - Domestic Judaism
- Jews tend to live walking distance to synagogue, but there were times that leaving one's
home was dangerous so during the middle ages Jews focused on staying home
- Family→ the whole point. Marriage and having kids is the goal. Having children as the
mean of survival
- Women
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- Children
- Education→ having and teaching children until the messianic promise is fulfilled
- Communal Judaism
Becomes more or less about supporting families, raising children and educating
those children
- Would not look like judaism today, synagogue worship was not as decorise as it is today
(didn't have cantors in the middle ages, were not neat rows it was more empty rooms)
- The way they prayed was loud and chaotic
- Leadership
- The synagogue→ provided effective leadership, social welfare, and a communal voice for
the people. There was only one synagogue→ sectionalism of synagogues is a more
modern concept. The synagogue you were born into was often the one you would be
buried at
- The Bet Din → rabbinic court of the community
- Kahal→ community council. Respected members of the community that were able to
collect taxes, apply laws (rooted in halacha),
- Herem→ excommunication. People would be expelled from the community if they broke
the laws. From the city and the religion. Big problem is that if you are no longer in a
religious organization you have nothing left and basically have to convert to Christianity
or you will have no protection or place to live.
Esponoza:
- Was excommunicated and chose not to convert to Christianity and chose no religion.
Ashkenazi life is more parochial
The Ashkenazi Jews didn’t have a lot of access to the outside world in the way that Sephardic
Jews had.
Everything was about the Ashkenazim’s world→ very inward looking. Anti-
Semitism and Anti-Judaism
- Hatred or distrust of Jews to their blood
- Attacks specifically on the religion or ideological structure (anti-Judaism)
“The Ancient Roots of Anti-Judaism”
-
Medieval Synagogues
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- Not fancy
- Looked like just another house
- Dangerous to attract attention
Mikvahs held up very well over time and therefore give concrete archeological evidence
of synagogues and Jewish communities in the Middle Ages - Must be rain water
(575 L)
- Problems with it; very cold
Where are you going to build this so you get enough land, near a source a water,
that you can build a building that you can heat, but that will offer you safety and
privacy
- When they are built, they are build to last
- Communities made sure there were mikvahs before synagogues
- To uphold purity laws
- Continue mitzvot through generations
- Without a mikvah you cant have sex, that means you cant create children, without
children there would be no Judaism
- Permissible for a community to sell their Torah scrolls in order to get a mikvah
- Without a mikvah your going to grow old and you wouldn't be able to pass down the
Torah anyways
- At the heart of well poisoning wells
- Christians said; jews are poisoning the christian wells and they use their own
- This is similar to christians thought hebrew was ‘witch speak’
CHAI
- Focus on creating life, giving life
- Reproduction
- A social ethic of rabbinic judaism
- Saved jewish lives to tell people to reproduce than it is to go fight the people who insult
you
- Survival tactic/mentality
Tekhines
- Yiddish prayers
- Passed down generations of women using this mikvah
- Has to do with childbirth, marriage, hoping to get married, menstruation
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- Women start to develop spiritual trends of the lunar cycle
- Rosh chodesh becomes a womens holiday in the middle ages
- Started being spiritually productive
Tkhines (Yiddish, from Hebrew tehinnot, “supplications”), private devotions and
paraliturgical prayers in Yiddish, primarily for women, were published beginning in the
early modern period, especially in Central and Eastern Europe and among Yiddish-speaking
populations elsewhere.
Gluckel of Hameln
- Lived in 16th century
- Lived a very long life, became one of the most successful business women in her time
- Wrote a 12 volume memoir of her life - Meant as an ethical will
- Not just for judaism
- A document you leave to your children and future generations
- Does Not will to them your possessions but the lessons you have learned in life
Very popular in the middle ages
Ashkenazi Rabbinic activity
- Some key rishonim
- R. Gershom b. Judah, light of the exile → made the takkanot→ father of the
Ashkenazi tradition
- “All members of the ashkenazi diaspora are students of his” – rashi - Starts a
yeshiva in mintz
- R. Abraham b. David (Rabad) – france 1125-1198
- Wealthy, therefore lots of time to read other Rabbis teachings and was actually very
critical on the way rabbinic judaism was taught. The way it focuses on orthodoxy, habits,
and learning my writing. He is much more focused on a spiritual aspect of Judaism, yes
read the texts but bring your own faith and have your own religious experiences. - R.
Meir of Rotenberg – Germany cs. 1215-1293
- Kidnapped, and ransomed. This Rabbi forbade his congregation from paying the ransom.
He is considered a martyr because he did what he thought was the best thing for his
community because if they paid the ransom then the Germans would just keep
kidnapping famous Jews. - R. Moses Isserles (Rema) – Poland, 1520-1572
- Wrote the Ashkenzai commentary to the Shulchan Aruch
- Early Ashkenazi Rabbis job was to modify Judaism to their new surroundings, prevent
assimilation, and avoid violence from other religions and ruling bodies
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Rashi:
- The greatest figure to rise out of the Ashkenzai Ages
- If you study Talmud you study Rashi’s work
- Known to be the greatest teacher of Jewish tradition
- He was a Rabbi and a posek (answers halachic questions) but the work he loved was
being a teacher
- His family owned a successful vineyard, they had money and therefore he chose to teach
for free
- He was considered a charitable figure
- He studied at the yeshiva in Meinz (that Gershom established)
- The five following generations became a long lasting influence in Judaism
- Rashi’s work is most visible in the Talmud→ most famous as a Talmudist
- Helping students understand the specific language used by the scholars of the Talmud
- Often teaching the Torah was left to the lower scholars
- Rashi chose to teach Torah as well and wrote commentary on the Bible
- The Askenaz focused so much on the Bible because the Christians also studied the
Bible so they studied so that they would share some middle ground
- Rashi believed that if people were well versed in the Bible then they would be able to
find common grounds with Christians
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- Disputations: Christian authorities would pick a Rabbi who would have to defend the
principles of Judaism against a well known priest in front of a crowd of non-Jews. If the
Rabbi lost, the crowd would take out the penalty violently on the community. They
would also use violence against the community if the Rabbi won the debate.
- They trained the Rabbis in case they had to defend Judaism
- Used to be taught judaism so that they could teach their children but in the middle ages
they taught Judaism so that they could defend Judaism in front of others
The Disputation of Paris, also known as the Trial of the Talmud, took place in 1240 at the court
of
King Louis IX of France. → led to the burning of the Talmud as it was declared a heretic text
Review of Ashkenazi Tradition
- Responsa and Networking
- Isolation and language in the Middle Ages which causes their tradition to become
standard in families
- They started to lose contact with the Babylonian academies with the Crusades
- Breaks down their lines of communication
- Having to start relying on their own takkanot and own yeshivot
Tosafot→ medieval commentary
In 1440 Butenberg created the printing press
Shortly thereafter Jews start open printing houses and produce Jewish texts
The Bomberg layout is the layout of the talmud that has the commentary organized in that
rectangle way.
- Rashi’s commentary was standard by the time→ this is why Rashi’s commentary is on
the side of the Gamara and Mishnah
The Talmud became a victim of the MIddle Ages
- The Catholic Church banned the Talmud at least 15 times
- It was accused of witchcraft, blasphemy, anti-christian sentiment
- They put the Talmud on trial for witchcraft
- Disputations were made problematic→ the Rabbis that were very well versed in Talmud
and used it in their arguments made them accused of witchcraft. Therefore they argued
their points from the Torah instead so that they wouldn’t be accused of witchcraft during
their debates of the disputations.
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Talmud Burnings
1242: king louis the ninth
- Put the talmud on blasphemy
- Priests as the prosecutors
- Rabbis as the defendants
24 wagon loads of copies of Talmud and other Jewish texts were burned in Paris after the
Talmud was declared blasphemy
- “My tears formed a river that reached to the sinai desert and to the graves
of moshe and aharon. Is there another torah to replace the torah which you
have taken from us?”
→Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the Maharam, witness to the Paris book burning of 1242
The Issue of Conversion
- Conversion enters jewish life in 3 main ways during the european middle
ages - Resisting conversion
- Forced conversion
- Abduction and dunking of jewish children → make them christian and
now by law they cant go live with Jews
- If you saw a jew next to a river, pushed them in and said the right words,
they are considered baptized and now christian
- How does the jewish community deal with forced converts?
- To treat a convert like they had died → families had funerals for their lost
children, seen as psychologically beneficial → burying a coffin full of dirt
- R. Gershom’s son was forcibly converted during the crusades and he said
he made it into one of his decrees that the community has to allow
converts to make their way back if they can → very dangerous to return
because it is illegal
- Father making a decree in judaism because he witnessed his son getting
lost to christianity
- That's why now on Yom Kippur you can be absolved for any forced vows
you might have made
- Jewish conversion to christianity
- It was a hard life to be a jew, very dangerous
- So many wanted to convert out in a way to access a better life
- Even jews who converted had extra suspicion around them because they
still had jewish blood
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- If you convert away from judaism, to Judaism you are no longer a jew -
Converts to judaism
- Resisting potential converts to Judaism
- Illegal to convert to judaism
- This is where they develop the turning away of converts because it was
safer to do so (dangerous to the rabbi but also the person seeking
conversion)
- Judaism almost became a closed religion making it impossible to convert
- The khazars
The Sephardim, Part 1
- Main influence is Islam
- Much more cosmopolitan – have connections with non jews, are less restricted towards
access to education and working
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews tended to be wealthier than the Ashkenaz and this
elevated their status and quality of life
- They had the ability to mingle with non-Jews which was advantageous to them
- 2 century: some Yeshivas in Syria, and in Babylon
Mizrahi, Ashkenazi And Sephardim
- Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabinan rites/traditions, originating in Spain and North
Africa
- Their language was Ladino→ Medeival spanish mixed with Arabic put in hebrew script
- Sephardim and Mizrahi were multilingual: Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic,
Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Iranian.
- Ashkenazi: origin pertaining to “german Jews”, now largely referring to all jews of
European ethnic rites and traditions
- Mizrahi: “Eastern Jews”, specifically describing Jews of the MIddle East
- Maghrebi
- Mizrahi jews were blended with Sephardic practices
Mizrahi Middle Ages
- The people descended from the Jewish community in Babylon
- Bablyonian Jews helped establish rabbinic Judaism
- Help judaism survive the fall of the temple and the diaspora
- Not as wealthy as sephardim Mizrahi Modern times
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- Marginalized due to racism→ more POC
- Downplayed in the history of Judaism 1492:
- Sephardim experience second great displacement
Mizrahi: Jews of Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, a few more
Seventh century onward: mizrahi jews lived under islamic leadership
- The Jews under Islam had a sort of citizenship
- They were allowed to move throughout the Islamic Empire
- Therefore the Jews had a lot of Freedom to move and keep up communications with
Babylon
- Opposite: Crusades cut off that option for Ashkenazi Jews The Eastern Diaspora:
The Babylonain community was headed by the exilarch
- Exilarch is a political office that worked to bond with religious leaders
- The exilarch: head of Jewish civil life in Babylon - The Geonic Period (589 CE-1038
CE)
- Geonim: “Geniuses” or “pride”; heads of Babylonian Judaism, by being the head(s) of
the academies - The sephardim
- Into spain
After the Jews of Europe couldn’t talk with Babylon, they stopped using Aramiaic, but the
Mizrahi continued to use Aramaic because they had access to Babylon
- The rabbinic academies of Babylon connect with the Islamic schools
- They shared their techniques
- Babylon has an intellectual golden age under the Islamic rule
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi are able to benefit from golden age while the ashkenazi
couldn’t
Before 462: Romans had the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain)
462-711 the Jews of Spain lived under the Catholic Visigoths rulers
- Not good for jews
- They persecuted the Jews→ stole Jewish children to be converted
- When the Muslims took over Spain, the Jews were happy
711-12th century→ Muslim Spain→ Golden Age for Jews in Spain
Golden Age ends in the 12th century after it is reconquered by the Cathloic
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8th century 1492 → reconquista then in 1492 catholics succeed in taking back the iberian
peninsula
1492: Jewish expulsion from Spain
Convivencia: the living together→ describes the golden age of Spain
Islam and Judaism
Rise and spread of Islam
- Prophet Muhammed
- Third great abrahamic monotheistic faith
- Prophet and the quran
- The Pillars of Islam
- Basic acts of bigotry
- Shahaadah: Profession of faith, There is no god but allah
- Salat: ritual prayer 5 times a day, obligatory
- Swam: fast of ramadan (a whole month)
- Zakat: non poor muslims are to give money to the poor
- Hajj: pilgrimage
- Establishment of the Ummah
- Communities of believers
- Being a part of the ummah trumped all other ties
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Early Caliphs and the Umayyads
Period of stability (abbasids, 750-1258)
- In 630 islam took back mekkah
Connections between Judaism and Islam:
- Worship of a single and all-powerful G-d
- Strict monotheism and ethical monotheism→ a god that cares that you are a good human
being
- Taking care of those less fortunate than you
- Both include stories of religion starting with abraham
- Body of laws to follow→ still takes in different views on how to interpret and practice
these laws
-
Islam and Judaism
- Points of similarity
- Ethical monotheism
- Shared origins and ideals
- Shared rites and perspectives on habit
- Cultural sympathy
- Sibling religions
- Anti-semitism is not a useful terms to say towards Muslim people because they are
semetic
- Jewish culture and jews themselves are never as foreign to muslims in the muslim world
as they seem to christians
- Jewish diet, practices, speech, kosher laws are very recognizable towards Islam - Points
of friction
- The new revelation and the Old COvenant
- Competition and absolutism
- Polemics
- Jews in the Quran
- Ambivalence
- Islam through Jewish Eyes
- Ethical respectful people
- But generally wrong
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- Many jews veiwed islam as proof of the jews being the light for all religions, viewed
Islam as progress for being not jewish yet still believing in one g-d
- Judaism does not require others to be Jews. unlike christians who viewed Jewish refusal
to convert as offensive, the jews did not view it taht way - Jews through Islam eyes
- Mohomod viewed the Jews as an ally to his mission
- When the jews did not convert was when you started to see moments of friction
- Jews in Europe were a castisized as they were so different but this wasnt a thing in the
islamic world
Islamic POlicy and Jewish life
Ambivalence in the Traditions
Pact of umar
- Dhimma → people of the book, monothestic people but not muslim (Christians and
Jews)
- Should be treated with respect but you should expect a certain level of humbleness → In
sara 929 muslims are told to not fight non muslim monothesists if they are not in your
way, but if they are sufficiently humble leave them alone
- Jizya → tax applied to the dhimma in lew of service, you can be a christian, jew or
zerastin, we don't expect you to fight in our army so we are going to charge you an extra
tax
- This becomes bigger when it is applied to the pact of umar (634-644)
- In exchange for protection for crime, and freedom of religion, freedom of career and
access to education. Umar asks for Dimma under him to pay tax, wear items of
distinguished clothes, to swear not to blasphemy against Islam, to swear not to harm
converts to Islam, to express loyalty, to give respect and friendliness to muslims, to take
an appropriate staus of humbleness (avoid parading of wealth and pride)
- Used over and over again within the islamic world
- In yemen jews were required to wear bells
- Jews were prohibited to go out in the rain because the water that touched the jews could
contaminate the ground
- Jewish orphans were to be surrendered
- Ghettoization is required
The Pact of Umar is rooted in Quran and is therefore adopted later in Islamic policy
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (fordham.edu)
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Ottoman Empire lasted 1299-1922→ Dihima policy similar version used
Millet System:
- Millet= salt
- The Ottomon Empire took Jews and put them where they thought they would be most
useful
- Used to simulate the economy
- This was not the choice of the Jews, forcibly displaces
- The Dihimah policy represents a general “net win” in comparison to what the Ashkenaz
were dealing with
Integration under Islam (908-1318):
- The ability to network, travel, and participate in tourism, society
Spanish Jewry in the fourteen century: Golden Age of Jewihs life in the middle ages
- Birthplace of teh Sepharadim
- Pre islam
- Also took place under islam
They welcomed the Muslim conquest of 711 because the Catholics persecuted the Jews
there
- The Dihmah policy was extended to the Jews living in Spain 711-12th century:
- Islamic-Jewish renaissance→ art and knowledge flourishing
- Lots of shared studying between Jews and Muslims→ studying holy books and laws
Court Jews:
- Jews who had influence or held a position in the ruling cours
- Mostly used their influence to speak on behalf of or defend the Jewish population, but
were not always regarded favorably, and were often the first victims of “reform”
- These Jews were government official and diplomats
- They were wealthy and privileged, but often used it for the good of the community and
aimed to increase the quality of life for the Jews
- Worked to establish free secular and religious education
- Nasi→ the term “prince” that described who they were/status
- They became flash points for public anger 1066 Grenada:
- The Grenada Massacre
- Inspired by the downfall of a court Jews
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- This court Jew clibmed too high and was not humble
- Very over the top lifestyle and was then crucified
- Jews were then mass murdered in Grenada
- This was the decline of the Golden Age
Still an element of precariousness in terms of constantly being judged and the court Jews very
much represented all Jews→ when they failed, everyone suffered
1147→ the end of the Golden Age:
- A group of conservative Muslims→ they wanted to purge Spain of Christians
The Almohads:
- 1121-1269
- Committed a large masacre in Fez
- Attempted to force conversion→ Jews fled into North Africa into Mizrahi territories
Reconquesta→ reconquest of Catholic Spain
- Anti-Judaic Law and Sentiment
- 1391, the Inquisition
- 1492, the Second Displacement
Jews were seen as supportive of the Muslims and that they were an active threat against the
Catholics.
Involved the expulsion of Muslims and Jews in Spain or the forced conversion.
- Conversos:
- People who had ancestral history of Judaism or personal history
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These are the people who pretended to convert to avoid persecution and either practiced
privately in their own way
- The inquisition was used to find heresy but it was looking at the Conversos
- Idea that the conversos were not to be trusted by the Catholic
- The idea of anti-jewish blood→ racism
- A lot of conversos were also kicked out of Spain in 1492
- Sephardic Jews went to America before the Ashkenazi
The Crusades and the Kingdom of Jerusalem:
- When the Christians take Jerusalem there is a lot of Muslim and Jewish deaths
The Ottoman Empire
The Sephardim, Part 2
Jewish Spain in the Middle Ages:
- Multilingual culture
- High literacy among Jews
- Pact of Umar
- Golden Age of Spain→ 10th-12th centuries
- High access to education
- Court Jews
- Almost free education for religion and secular education
- Big emphasis on science
Cosmopolitanism:
- Travel
- Well-read
- Social with non Jews
- They were citizens of the world as opposed to a parochial (all of education and
experiences occur within your religious community)
Leads to cultural and linguistic differences between Ashkenazi and Sepharadim
Ashkenazi:
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- Incense view of metaphorical/symbolic/hopeful travel to Israel (Messiah)
Sephardi:
- Actually able to travel to Israel
Difference in the way they viewed the messianic future
Sephardic Judaism and Culture
- Ethno Religious differences express themselves in the art and architecture
- Ethnoreligions: The way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the
peoplehood work together in slightly different ways
- Ex; great synagogue at cordova – heavily influenced by Islamic art and music
Maimonedes:
- One of the greatest Rabbi of that period (Sepharadim)
Great sephardic/mizrahi rabbis
- Sa’adiah ben yosef gaon (the saadi Goan), 882/892 - 942
- Comes from egypt but was invited to be the head of the babylonian academy -
Excilarch asked him to make a ruling that he believed with self ruling, and
so Saadi Goan would not do it, and got excommunicated. But all the other rabbis
at the time formed with Saadi Goan keeping him from being kicked out
- Well known in Judaism for taking point on rabbinic Judaism debate with
Karyites, he was concerned that many jews would join the Kayites. One of his
prime activities was to differentiate the two religions and defend Judaism -
Known for the application of “Kalam” – reason, philosophy
- Islamic process for applying reason to faith
- Through the Islamic discovery of the Greek period
- Many Greek and Roman texts were being translated to Arabic
- Made the bible more accessible to Muslims which meant they could have open
discourse and religious discussions
- Moses ben maimon (maimonides or Rambam) ca, 1135-1204 - Moses ben
nahman (nachmanides, or Ramban), 1194-1270 - Disputation of
barcelona,1262
- Was invited to debate against pablo christiani (was a jew but converted to
Christianity)
- The king decided to put the big jewish heavy hitter against the converted catholic
leader
- Nachmanides asked for permission to speak freely and to be promised his people
wont get punished (no reprisals) – the king agreed from this
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- Because of this we got an incredibly honest disputation
- Gives us a good treaty on the jewish view on the messiah. Done by 3 questions
- Would the Jewish messiah be defined or human. The jewish messiah would be
holy human, none of the deification seen within christianity
- Has the messiah come? No, he also specified why Jesus was not the messiah,
Jesus has not brought peace, but the messiah will bring peace. In Fact since jesus
things have been less peaceful
- Whether he believed christian followed the true law or jews or both.
Nachmanadees said; torah is torah, it is eternal, it
is the same today as when it started, nothing has happened
to change the applicability of the torah, if Christians
followed Torah they would follow the true law and and
they did not they would not follow the true law. But that
the jews followed the Torah
- Many people viewed him that day as the winner/superior speaker
- There was no punishments/reprisals but he moved just to be safe - Well known
as a jewish scholar
- Joseph Albo (ca. 1380-1444)
- Joseph Karo (1488-1575)
- Author of shulchan aruch
- Born in toledo spain, fled in 1492 (during the expulsion)
- Ended up in the ottoman empire and the shulchan aruch was published there
- Where majority of the jews lived
- Shulachan aruch is defined as reference work for Judaism and halacha
- Moses Isserles added the Mappah→ table cloth to the set table
- In the central part of shulchan aruch is the sephardi authority, the Mappa is the
Ashkenazi authority
- Most authoritative book to come out since the talmud
- You can only fulfill the covenant to the extent that your teachers have taught you
enough and have explained enough
- A major source that Karo used was the Mishneh Torah→ an extensive code of
Jewish law written by Maimonides (Rambam)
Rambam:
- Born in Spain, family fled from the Almohades - Rabbi, physician and
community leader, writer - Major works:
- Mishnah commentary
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- 13 principles→ snapshot of what Rambam thought was key to being a rabbinic
Jew
- Mishneh Torah
- Book of Commandments
- Guide for the Perplexed
- Had political and religious significance to the community
- Was a posek; had many letters
- Was one of the best known scientific figures/doctors in the arabic world
- Was the personal physician for the royal family in pyro
- “From moses to moses there is no one like moses” – says on his gravestone –
talking about Moses to him
- Attempts to generate that Judaism is a logical system that applies to the universe
- One of his sources is the arabic translation of aristotle→ therefore we know he
read the greek philosophers
- Rambam asserted that you could tell what was true/authentic to Judaism based on
what was defendable and your could explain with logic and rational anything that
could be explained a smagic is perhaps less important
- Ethical monotheism is inherently rational and has nothing to do with anything
relating to spirits of good and evil or anything that's very intangible and
undefendable
613 commandments
13 principles according to maimonides – sheloshah-asar Ikkarim
Primary source: The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith - Chabad.org
The great codifier of Torah law and Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon
("Maimonides" also known as "The Rambam"), compiled what he refers to as the Shloshah Asar
Ikkarim, the "Thirteen Fundamental Principles" of the Jewish faith, as derived from the Torah.
Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as "the fundamental truths of our religion
and its very foundations." The Thirteen Principles of Jewish faith (as recorded in Maimonides'
introduction to Perek Chelek) are as follows:
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14. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is
thePrimary Cause of all that exists.
15. The belief in G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity.
16. The belief in G‑d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical
occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
17. The belief in G‑d's eternity.
18. The imperative to worship G‑d exclusively and no foreign false gods.
19. The belief that G‑d communicates with man through prophecy.
20. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
21. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
22. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
23. The belief in G‑d's omniscience and providence.
24. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
25. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
26. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.
It is the custom of many congregations to recite the Thirteen Articles, in a slightly more poetic
form, beginning with the words Ani Maamin--"I believe"--every day after the morning prayers in
the synagogue.
Rambam was greatly criticized for his principals
- Some people considered this to be like dogma→ “that which refers to opinion or belief”
- Dogmatism: “unfounded positiveness in matter of opinion” or “arrogant assertion of
opinions as truth”
- Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without
being questioned or doubted
- Trying to reduce Judaism to something that doesn’t require thought but Rambam argues
the contrary that he pushes people to practice consciously
- Joseph Albo refined the principals to Three Principles of Judaism
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1. Believe in the existence of G-d
2. Belief in the revelation fo G-d→ torah and the prophets
3. Belief in divine justice→ related to the idea of immortality and afterlife
- He believed that these three principles gave people more options to form their own
opinions as opposed to 13 because 13 made Judaism a little bit more narrow in terms of
how it was observed
- Albo like Rambam was part of a great sephardic tradition in terms of Jewish philosophy
- Philo was one of the first (Greek Jewish philosopher and tried to apply greek philosophy
to Judaism) → somewhat controversial, but his work is the start of applying philosophy
to judaism
- Application of logic to the human experience, the universe, and in this case, Judaism
- In the middle ages these rabbis and scholars start developing their own philosophy and
applying it to Judaism
- Seeking the truth through logical discourse
- Spinoza→ excommunicated after dabbling with unfavourable philosophy Crypto jews
- Hidden jews Conversos
- Forced to convert to catholicism
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of
Spain ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and its
territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.
Idea that philosophy and reason and personalism are essential to how people practice Judaism.
Spinoza was influenced by this.
When Spinoza was excommunicated, he didn’t join the Chruch or Islam, but remains religoin
free and this reflects the idea of personalalism→ starts to deconstruct the idea that you need
religion and that religion is the foundation for the way everyday life is lived
Global spread of sephardim, many remained prosperous despite the expulsions, many were able
to get out before 1492 so they were able to keep some of their wealth/possessions
Messianism in the Middle Ages:
- The persecution of the period led to a need for hope
- Early rabbinic judaism messianism was a way to dissuade Jews from rebellion
- G-d will bring the messiah when He wills it and Jews should not actively seek war
- The messiah would be a descendant of david
- The messiah will retake israel
- The messiah would take the jews back from diaspora
- The messiah would restore G-d’s will on earth
- The messiah would bring an era of world peace
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The Pre-Modern
Medieval period is a time of diaspora for Jews, uncertainness, precariousness
- Massive geographic spread
- Brings ethno diversity
- Combination of limitation of travel for Ashkenazi and boom of travel for Sephardic and
those expelled
- Some travel was forced and other was voluntary By the end of the Middle Ages:
- Firming of the ash and sephardic traditions
- Also a coming together of these two traditions
-
Rabbinic ages
- Begins after the fall of the second temple
- The soferim – the scribes (ezras generation and earlier)
- Zugot – pairs of sages in the second temple period (hillel and shamai)
- The tannaim – aramaic for teachers, generation of teachers and the mishnah
- The Amoraaim – The Talmud generarion, the spokespeople, the people who taught the
Mishnah which was then written down as Talmud
- The Savoraim – reasoner/interpreter, wrote down the Talmud and made it systematic
- The Middle Ages – Geonim→ heads of the Babylonian academies; Rishonim→ Rabbis
that come after the decline of the Babylonian academies and before the Shulcahn Aruch
(founding fathers of Rabbinic Judaism as it is lived in the Middle Ages)
- The acharonim – the last ones→ Rabbis after the Shulchan Aruch, provide commentary
and deliver wisdom/advice
- Chazal – sages of blessed memory that originate rabbinic judaism
Pre modern Era
- Continuity with the Middle Ages
- solidification /codification of the ways of Talmud
- Shulchan Aruch
- The continual growth of Rabbinic Judaism - Absorption/development of:
- Philosophy and ethics
- Mysticism
- Personal spiritualism
- The diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
- Multiplication of trends and traditions
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- Exhaustion and renewal into the Late Middle Ages
- Growth of rabbinic judaism as a habit of the people
- Where/when minhag gets imbedded in most jews of the world
Exhaustion and the End of the Exile
- Been through masacres, oppressions, expulsion
- Stability and uniformity was no longer enough
- Increased frustration within judaism
- Idea of end of the exile comes from a promise in the talmud that g-d would not punish the
jews more than they could handle
- So they thought something was going to change
- This only leads to more exhaustion and frustration
- This desire for change was expressed in tradition religious fashion (desire for the coming
of messiah) but for many it was growing confidence in themselves (maybe I can change
the issues)
1492 expulsion, Chmielnicki massacre, Shabtei Tzvi → all signs as the end of the exile
1400s-1600s Jews individually and collectively make decision about how Judiams will operate
after experiencing the Middle Ages
Renewal
- The desire to address the exhaustion in light of the middle ages
- To provide change/renewal/revival for a judaism thats tired of offering hope and patience
- Revivalism – religious trend that seeks to return to the root of a tradition and reconnect
people with that tradition
Late Medieval Piety:
- Christian pietism is well known→ christians influenced jews here
- Medieval movement that promoted pious behaviors as spiritual practice
- Emphasis on humility, personal discipline, abstaining from pleasurable foods, meditation,
prayer, emphasis on charity or acts of goodwill - Taken up by many ashkenazi circles
- Pietism was then fairly mainstream within Ashkenazi Jews
- Jewish piotism involved an increase in ethics
- Emphasized ethics over the letter of the law
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- A way to demonstrate personal faith and connect personally with G-d - Connected
with the characteristics of G-d: mercy, justice, caring, etc.
- Rabbinic Judiams had previously promoted some pro social ethics (make sure orphans
are cared for, care for others, etc.)
- Jews really needed the social safety net promoted by Rabbinical Judaism
Pietism
- Especially compelling to jewish women
- They were often excluded/diminished within synagogues
- Their participation in synagogue was not as intense as we see today
- Pietism was a place in which women were necessary, valued, needed
- It was a way women could express their religiosity while doing good work and feeling
spiritual
- Take over communal health care
- Take care of graves, sick, elderly, children, dissabled
- Increasingly jewish women are engaging with their religion with a practical branded way
- Was a valuable part of the jewish life of women
- Easy way for people without credentials to help within the community and feel valued all
while worshiping g-d.
Mysticism
- Valued as an example as how islam influenced judaism in a fruitful and productive manor
- Refers to trends and groups that emphasize spiritual experience (mainly on the divine),
transcends the normal states of regular life
- Direct personal spiritual experiences of the divine
- Seeking meditative states, and states of ecstasy through communion with the divine
- A trend around in the ancient world, idea that there is concealed knowledge of the
universe→ this is a fundamental of Greek mysticism that Judaism takes
- Becomes important to christianity during the Middle Ages
- Very very very important in Middle Ages Islam→ sufism
Sufism
- Generally the most famous form of mystical islam
- The desire to connect to g-d through practices, poetry, song and dance
- In palestine in the 15th/16th century you get sufism and judaism living together
practicing mysticism
Kabbalah
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- Jewish mysticism - Ancient kabbalah
- Isn't fully formed
- Focuses on ideas found in the torah
- And the visions of profits
- Tries to catch a glimpse of g-d - Rabbinic kabbalah
- Talks about catching a glimpse of g-d
- Maimonides says this is metaphorical because g-d doesn't have a body
- Focuses on the metaphorical meaning of g-d
- 2 phases of g-d
3. Early kabbalah
4. Kabbalah of issac luria (16th century)
Kabbalah is the blanket term for mysticism but it is often used to talk about medieval mysticism
Kabbalah is originally sephardic
Sefer Ha Zohar: mystical commentary on the Torah, attributed to second century Rabbi Simeon
B Yohai
→ related to the infinite nature of G-d
- In Kabbal, G-d is imminent (G-d is active right now all around us) and transcendent (no
human can even comprehend everything that G-d is)
- Kabbalah seeks to understand G-d by trying to understand the immediacy of G-d
Kabbalah is compelling to jews, not just to love g-d but to know g-d.
- The idea that g-d wants us to know him Luria
- Creates systematic treaty
Mainstream Rabbis embraced kabbalah but also sought to crack down on kabbalah. Women were
not allowed to do Mysticism→ not endanger of being overcome by the power of kabbalah.
It is embraced but there are rules around it so that it is controlled. Bit of a power struggle
involved.
Practical kabbalah: making potions, amulets, etc. → mainstream judaism is uncomfortable with
The Zohar, isn’t as uniformly embraced as a form of sacred text
Some Jews will group Zohar in when they talk about Torah because it is that important to some
people but to others it isn’t really included
Ethics
- Becomes an extinction with jewish philosophy
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- Jewish ethics in the middle ages merges with piotism
- How do we live right in particularly difficult times
- Essentially: its easy to be good during good times but how can you be good in difficult
times
- Builds on the idea ethical monotheism – there is one g-d and that one g-d wants me to be
a good person
- Moves beyond just of following the letter of the law, and goes onto intensely pro social
ethics in the Middle Ages
Tikkun→ mending of the world
- Part of what Kabbalah seeks to do is to mend the world
Rabbinical judaism: mend the world through a million little acts of kindness
- Not just toxic positively – the jews of middle ages knew smiling was not enough, seeks
to address the anger and pain
Mussar
- Instruction
- Refers to moral or ethical instructions
- Mussar = jewish ethics
- Grows out of the pietism movement, specifically on how to focus on the characteristics
of g-d, that whole jewish purpose of life is to be like g-d
- To be good, just, passionate
- How to become the person that g-d wants me to be
- 1040: duties of the heart – form of pietism, practice of self meditation, to promote
accountability as a spirit
- Was i welcoming to strangers, did I take into account that everyone that I met is dealing
with something
- If you weren't good today; its ok just do better tomorrow
Mussari humaneness and mindfulness: being compassionate to yourself and others and trying
again tomorrow
Celanter
- Ethics will always take priority over law
- Always eat outside, why eat inside and waste crumbs when you could eat outside and let
the ants have them
- Known for fasting on yom kippur and for 40 days before yom kippur
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- One day on yom kippur he didn't show up, everyone was concerned for him, a lady
couldn't wait longer so she went home to check on her baby. When she got home she saw
celanter caring for her baby whom he heard cry on his way home
- He cares so much for yom kippur bur cares even more for caring for others
- Canceled yom kippur services when a disease was spreading, felt that g-d would
understand his motives
- Image: good example of mussar
- If you have to do something to save a life you do it – confirmed by the talmud - Pias
idiot
- Someone who will let cruelty happen just to follow the letter of the law
Mussar is a path to passion not a quick fix to perfection
We all have a yetzer tov and and a yetzer rah
- If you practice follow mussar you will less often give in to yezer rah and to follow the
yetzer tov
- This is the idea of having an angle and devil on your shoulder and picking who you want
to listen to
Mussar is about being a mensch Mensch
- Be a good person
- Be a person
- About having the courage to be humane, even if the world is being inhumane
Hasidism:
- Starts in eastern Europe (poland, lithuania, ukraine)
- Began as a spiritual renual movement, meant to revive mainstream rabbinic judaism
- Conflict wit origins and originally banned when they started
- Gave off almost a hippy vibe at first→ worship with simsha and love
The Baal Shem Tov:
- A practical kabbalah that is the founder of the Hasidic movement
- Started as a teacher at a cheder
- Went from town to town selling potions and doing mystical healings
- He was exactly what the rabbis were afraid of when they were worried about kabbalah
- Considered to be a saint by his followers→ the sotries of this life were kept and often
exaggerated
- He established a characters that was charismatic and unique for his time and this was
how he gained his following
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- He used mysticism, kabbalah, and elements of Muzzar
- He preached a connection to G-d, not with Torah or the law
- In mainstream judaism, your connection with G-d was through the Torah, he goes around
that and says you have have direct connection with G-d
- One can take such joy, and that can define their Judaism
- Telling people that you should be so happy that you are Jewish, and that you need to
celebrate this and that this joy is more important than studying
- This was not received very well by the rabbinic jews
- He taught to worship of the creator over the letter of the law
- Focus on faith not education→ this was important to the people who couldn’t afford to be
talmudim chachamim
Hasidism
- Emphasizes hitlahavut (passion/enthusiasm) and joy
- Love of g-d (dont just obey g-d); love of israel; love of torah (be torah)
- G-d desires the heart and the soul not just the following of the laws
- You are to love the Tzaddikim – the saints – the baal shemtov, the saints of jewish
history, your Rebbe (affectionate title for rabbi)
- If you love g-d you should love to be with the rebbe because when you are with them that
is when you will feel the most divine spark
- Not always mainstream rabbis, charismatic leaders
- Hasidism was a democratic movement
Kavanah→ intention
Rebbe
- Rabbis feared they would declare themselves as maasai
- Rabbis said they are like cult leaders
Tanya→ first piece of hasidic literature
Dov Baer: inheritor of the Baal Shem Tov
Now there were hasidic centers: jews can have a choice of synagogues
Hasisidm became permanent in Jewish villages
They then get into a big fight with the people who oppose the hasidics, these become the
Orthodox Jews.
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Hassidic butchers use sharper knives then orthodox butchers
- Wanted to be even more kosher
- Then everyone started going to them
- Hassidism got excommunicated
- So hassidic people said their people can no longer eat with the orthodox
- In judaism, who you eat with is like your family/community
The Vilna Gaon:
- Genius as he had the Torah memorized by 5
- Not a congregational Rabbi, he was a posek and a commentator
- He was asked when no one else knew the answer
- He excommunicated the hasidic movement multiple times
- The tradition of the Gra becomes the backbone of orthodoxy along with the Shulchan
Aruch
- Criticized hasidim for their time/place and methods of worship
- Said it criticized g-d
- Seemed like they were drunk
- Said they seem like they believe that g-d is everywhere (which is not monotheism more
paganism)
- Prayed in forests (looked like witchcraft)
- Labeled their saints as dangerous, leading to permanent ruptures in the community
- Not fully wrong
- Yeshivah based Rabbis: followed orthodoxy for the most part
- The hasidim and the mitnagdim are very opposed to each other, after the reform
movement comes along they sort of band together to oppose the movement
Hasidism left women fairly on their own since the men were always with the Rebbes
- Hasidism changed to incude fatherhood, and that being a father is just as great as being
with the Rebbe
- Big emphasis on family
- Chabad→ 17th century
- Institutes the policy of CHaBaD
- G-d wants your full mind→ this fixes complaints about not being educated
Review:
- Creation of ashkenazi and sephardic traditions
- Creation of anti-semitism
- Continuing productivity of rabbinic judaism
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- Creation of several sacred texts – ex; shulchan aruch
The Jewish Middle Ages
•Cogency
•The Survival/Dominance of Talmudic/Rabbinic Judaism
•History and Continuity; Explanations, Codifications, Articles of Faith
•Production and practice (main figures and concepts)
•Diversity and Overlap
•Non-Talmudic Judaism
•Local Judaisms (global minhag); Karaite Judaism
•Ashkenazi (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Christianity
•Sephardim (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Islam (and Christianity)
•Late Middle Ages
•Diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
•Continuity and growth
Timeline
70-650 CE → Age of definition
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4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
1492 → Jews were exiled from spain, start of anti-semitism
600-800 CE → Age of Cogency 6-
16th Century → Diaspora
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
10-11th century → first crusades, European Jews lost touch with Babylonain Jews
1562-1562 → Shulchan aruch written by R. Yosef Karo
1574 → Karo combined his writings into 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R. Moses
Isserles
RE 204: Unit 2
4CE- 10CE known as the Dark Ages, Academics didn’t know much about before, this is when
the classical age of the roman empire fell.
Middle Ages
You weren't able to not be religious, you couldn't just opt out. The social system and everyday
life is embedded in religion, and the public space is all religious based, with no
compartmentalizing religion. The Middle ages were 10th-15th CE, the Jewish middle ages ended
around 1492 CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain. The middle ages are really important
to judaism yet not talked about a lot because people assume that Jews were stable and okay in
the middle ages and people always frame middle ages in jewish history as depressing. This is
called lachrymose. This is the period where rabbinic judaism becomes normal for jewish
families and becomes minhag, where torah becomes the normal code of conduct for Jewish
communities. Rabbinic Judaism is created, is normalized, and then dominates. There have been
anti Judaism segments prior to the middle ages, but the middle ages is where antisemitism is
created. Theological and productive communication with responsa which were responses to
religious communication between rabbis. There were lots of summaries of religious laws and
commentaries.
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During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Rashi
He massively produces commentary in the early middle ages.
Ethnoreligions: THe way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the peoplehood work
together in slightly different ways
THe Diaspora 6th-16th Centuries
The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the ROman wars, with Jews
expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and enact
covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of Kulturbereichs which is a
german word for the development of cultural regions (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and
independents) these are not sects but cultural flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some
disagreements but similar
The Babylonian Hegemony
The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon they also
had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed divinic heritage
disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and still looked to the
exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult.
The First Crusaid
10th-11th CE Europe lost contact with babylon due to the first crusaid
The Ashkenazi 8th-10th CE origin
Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script. SHUM
cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
Mizrahi: Jews from midevil middle east and there languages were ladino and judeo-arabic.
There are other independent groupings like the JEwish of Amsterdam and the italkim and the
Romaniotes.
The idea of “Normative Judaism”
There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like rabbinic
but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced in the domestic
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sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller forms of diversity within
judaism like jewish women.
Middle ages
Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
WOmens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
4- Niddah, Period laws
5- Blessings- candles on shabbat
6- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and burnedlike
sacrifice
Non rabbinic judaism in the middle ages
Etheopian jews and Kariet jews
The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have
the funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese
culture. With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
Minhag (customs of the elders)
Points to how jews live generationally and how judaism adapts and passes down traditions.
Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws, a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a
religious tradition.
Who is a Jew?
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- Early israelites didnt have a clear cut of who was a jew and who wasnt but the
babylonian excile changed this, this is when the rabbinic teaching did under the mother.
For the Karaites its as long as you are raised jewish.
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their
lineage is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Judaism is diverse but often not shown that way.
Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become the most
dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the ideas of persecution.
This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been anti-judaism sediments as
opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern age, the idea that jews are
different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews are trwated.
The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual and
incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty, compassion,
community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of the middle ages.
Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will save them and gave hews
the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children and all you need to do is survive and
god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the standard rabbinic practice– to learna nd to
teach this is where the development of yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to
not just those who wanted to be rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much
more literate at the age of 3 studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women.
During the babylonian excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it
is about you needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional
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diversification goes on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust.
Rabbinic judaism extrapulates meaning
Not literal.
PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing authorities
This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it
There is allowance for debate and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a
built in thing that people can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
Orthodoxy- correct belief
Orthopracy- correct practices
Rabbinic judaism is going for the range of correct practices but there is a l
The Shulchan Aruch
Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The Isserles
provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end of the Middle
Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
This leads to general social cohesion in the Middle Ages as they needed access to their religious
resources and they were of similar beliefs and a lot of collectivity in their lives in this period. A
lot of this is a response to a forced response to isolation and self ruling.
A lot of jewish life today has roots in the Middle Ages both home and in the institutions, the
feasts and fasts, Shabbat and kosher etc
The Ashkenazi was originally the area of Germany, but now it's used to describe traditions that
come from central and eastern European Jewish tradition. They are still rabbinic but with a
European flavour. The pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to
live and then had to live.
The Shum settlements: you lived where you were born, and it was really difficult to move from
where you were going, and you were an outlaw if you ever did anything else. Jewish charters
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were agreements from bishops or monarchies that allowed Jews to settle, work a limited amount
of trades and have an allotment of land that they could live; this was the Jewish quarter that
became the Jewish ghetto steel. They were allowed to say as Jews but only under like an alien
residency as long as the charter was practiced.
Shum Takkanot- regionally binding decrees that pressing new issues that arise as Jewish
representative make degrees that become laws for people. This is where ashkenazi practice
becomes increasingly distinguished. A main figure is rabbi Gershom 10th CE, he was the head
rabbi when they started to introduce this so hes like a founder of ashkenazi. He did the letter of
the law, follow the law as long as it doesnt conflict with jewish law and he also said jews are not
allowed to open anothers mail, he also prohibits poligamy for the jews in this region as he saw
christian european marriages and thought it would make them look sinful or pornigrafic so they
need to sanctify the name of god, kadesh hashem.
Judaism in the middle ages was a time of varied periods of isolation nd autonomy for jewish
communities. The jewish quarters were historically jewish enclaves within a city of
predominantly non-jews, where only jews live, either voluntery or involuintatry in the ghettos
(shtetl) no freedom to move or of occupation but yes of laws to their own people.This changed in
1096 with the crusades.
Discussion Post:
Week 6 (Oct 20-26): Define "Ashkenazi" and describe some of the ways in which this group
was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the Ashkenazi
Middle Ages?
The Ashkenazi culture was originally the area of Germany, but now the term is used to
describe traditions that come from central and eastern European Jewish traditions. Ashkenazi
culture has a makeup of geography and climate, external influences and Yiddish. The
Ashkenazi practices still follow rabbinic practices with a European flavour of influence. The
pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to live and then had to
live. The SHUM settlements were the areas one was born in and lived. It was really difficult to
move from where you were because you would be considered an outlaw. There were Jewish
Charters as agreements made by bishops or monarchs that allowed the Jews to settle, work
limited trades and have an allotment of land that they could live in under a somewhat alien like
residency as long as long as they practiced the charter. These areas were known as the Jewish
quarters which later became the Jewish Ghettos, also known as Shtetl. The Jewish quarters and
Jewish ghettos gave the Ashkenazi Jewish communities a great ability for independence and
creation within their community. Yet it also made it easier for the Jewish people to be rounded
up during the Crusades.
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Domestic Judaism
Family, women, children, education
Communial judaism
Leadership, the synagogue, the bet din
Jesus said a line that was related to jews being like thier father the devil so it created a thing that
jews are the devil and how christians should belihave against jews. St. augustine says jews need
to be alive to see christian be superior but they should suffer big time. They made myths in the
medival times that jews poision wells and thats why people were dying in the black plage. But
then Martin Luther with his 95 theseises
Medival synagogues are very low key and not grand– really mikvahs were very valuable at the
time. It was hard architecturally because of being covered but also like rain water yet not
freezing, they are hard core in ashkenazi things, this is more important than sysgoges in many
communities. There was urgency cuz no one could fuck otherwise. Like people could sell torah
scrolls to have a mikvah so they could fuck. Synagogues then were mainly for the men but the
mikvahs were more for the women. Rosh hodesh becomes the womens holiday in the middle
ages.
Glucklen Hameln- one of the most business success women of her generation, she made an
ethical will with 12 volumes. This was in the 16th century.
Rishom- the father of ashenasi movement and made the takkaot. He created the yishivahs and his
school in the SHUM cities became the place where people went to learn to be rabbis.
Rabad was rich so he had time to read what people were saying and could be critical about the
ways in which rabbinic judaism is taught as it focuses too much on orthodoxy. He love
mistisysm, personal inclinations, spiritual.
Rashi- one of the greatest figures to come out of the middle ages, like he is so beyond relevant
today he is so popular within judaism. Known to be the greatest teacher within judaism, not just
ashkenaz btut also sephardim. His family owned winery. He was a teacher and a posek and a
writer on commentary. He taught for free because the winery made money. He studied in the
yeshiva Rishom established in Mince. His daily for generations went on to become also great so
he left a legacy.
In ashkenazi there was a lot of teaching judaism so you can defend it against others
The catholoic church said that talmud contained magic/witchcraft, put a copy of talmud on trial
for its participation in witchcraft, polemics, blasphemy, and dissing christianity. Torah was safer
to argue than talmud with a christian arguemtn becuawse the talmud christians thought was
witchcraft. There was no wins just which will make things less bad.
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Conversion in judaism
For ancient israelites there wasnt any real conversion process- it was a loose society but then
after teh exiles there were clean rituals and processes. It was illegal in christian middle ages to
seek or to convert someone to judaism this is where the rabbinic process of turning a potential
convert away 3 times. A more common concern were jews converting away from judaism to
christianity there were lots of dangers and social implications. Even jews who converted to
christianity they had jewish blood so there was scrutanty. This is a ton of stealing jewish kids,
dunking them in the water and then the kid is christan and cannot live with their family. If a jew
was near a river and you pushed them iand said the right thing then they were no longer jewish
and cant live with jews anymore. Those forced to convert some people had a funeral like they
died.
Jews wer alone at being the non christians in ashkenazi but in the islamic world it varries in
religions other than Christians. Spain is the center of major jewish civilization in the middle
ages, jews main influences in this area is islam. They are less restricted to professions and
education. Their ability to mingle with others is way more advanced than ashkenazis in the
modern world.
Sephardim- the jews who have their orgins in spain in north Africa (not always sephardim
identifying), they developed ladino which is medival spanish mixed with arabic in hebrew script,
but they carry on greek, latin, aramaic, hebrew, arabic, and judeo-iranian.
Mizrahi is the jews of what we would refer to as middle east. They were the first Jews to come
under islamic rule. The Jews were allowed to move within the islamic empire which when the
islamic empire was unified so babylon and other mizrahi groups could have engage and
influenced by the babylonian influence for a lot longer than in Europe.
There were a lot of meghrebi jews which are north african jews
1492- the sephardims had the second great dispersion.
472- 711, the visigoths took spain who converted to catholicism arounf this time . the jews did
not like the visagoths, they were happy to tourcher the jews of spain to such an extent jews
would hide their kids from being taken so they were happy that from 711-12CE when the
muslims took over. But then in the 8th century-1492 reconquista.
Covivencia- the living together during the golden age of spain
Dhimma- people of the book
In lue of service they have to take the tizya a tax for not fighting in their army of religion.
It becomes applied in the pact of umare nad it becomes way bigger. This is where Umar says
jews and christians have to wear other things, to not be negative to anyone who wants to convert,
pay tax, no public anything that shows wealth or pride. This becomes the key precedence
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throughout the Islamic world with different varients . Jews of yemen had to wear bells so
muslims knew they were coming around the corner, jews couldnt go out in the rain incase the
impureness went into the waterstresm of the ground.
1066 Granada massacure- inspire by the downfall of a flash extreme wealth jew and too
much attention to himself. 4 thousand jews were murder.
1147 the first sephardic displacement for spain– the end of the golden age in medival
spain happened. The purging of Dhimma from spain. The almohads had tolerated the dihmma
for too long nonsense, they had plenty of time to see the truth and it is time for muslims now to
stop tolerating tehm.
COnversos– a personalized judaism while shoing they do catholocism on the outside.
They are someone for christians not to trust, the idea that conversion is not enough to irradicate
someones jewishness
Week 7 (Oct 27-Nov 2): Define "Sephardim" and describe some of the ways in which this
group was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the
Sephardic Middle Ages?
The Sephardim are the Jewish people who have origins in Spain and possibly North
Africa (not all north Africans identify as Sephardim). Within the Sephardim culture and regions,
languages such as ladino (medieval Spanish mixed with Arabic in Hebrew script), Greek, Latin,
Aramaic, Hebrew Arabic, and Judeo-Iranian. Languages are one of the critical factors of the
Sephardic middle ages as they were able to communicate with other groups in their societies
while maintaining the Hebrew language.
A significant Sephardic figure of the time was Yosef Karo. He was a part of creating the
Shulchan Aruch. His work helped bring uniformity into the middle ages. Under Muslim Spain,
the Dhimma was a tax that allowed the Jewish people (and others that fell under the category) to
live without being Muslim– this was in hopes of conversion. Though there were many rules, like
not being able to tell another not to convert to Islam if they desired, it was generally a good
situation for the Jewish people there.
This was until 1147 when the first Sephardic displacement ended the golden age in
medieval Spain. This was when a decree stated that Mohammed did not want the non-muslims
to have leniency for this long time. That time was up, and the Jewish people had time to see the
truth of Islam is the ultimate religion. Now Muslims are told to stop tolerating those who fall
under Dihmma. More specifically a passage within The Pact of Umar that highlights the changes
and outlooks within hte 7th Century is “We shall not display our crosses [any non-islamic
religious symbols] or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims. We shall use only
clappers in our churches very softly…We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims” (Pact of
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Umar). This passage specifically highlights a change in mindset under this new wave of Muslim
rule. Though the Abrahamic religions have aspects in common and have shared in language,
customs and have been able to live rather well cohesively, this passage signals change. The
change being the display of any non Muslim religious symbols, the quieting of ones religion and
it being stated in writing that the dead need to be seperated by religion. The concept of these
practices being a decree in writing is also interesting as it reinforces that this is a decree rather
than a social norm of the time. Though these decrees may at first glance seem intense, in
comparison to what was happening to the Jewish community in europe at the time this was
minor. The Jewish and Christian communities were clearly different yet they were still apart of
the society with language, business, and able to receive an education.
Pact of Umar, 7th Century. Internet history sourcebooks project. (n.d.). Retrieved October
28, 2022, from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/pact-umar.asp
Supplemented by Lecture discussions and analysis
SPanish golden age- where sephardim have their roots. Jewish spain in the middle ages has a big
amount of being literate, lots of languages
Cosmopolitanism- citizens of the world
Procial- all of education and experiences are within your religious community
Sa’adiaah ben yosef Gaon- Known for the application of knowledge and reason to philosophy,
understanding islam through religion, faith and reason. He had a systematic defense of his book
of beleifs and opinions to fight against the carights. He produced the first universal prayer book
for the sephardim.
Rambam- He gives a good snapshot of jewish theology of this period in relation to the messiah.
After the reconquista he was invited to engage in a disputation on the bible– a lose lose situation
of being able to bring trouble to the jewish community. The king at the time put him up against
someone who was a big person who converted. From RAMBAM we got one of the least
guarded disputation because he got the king to say nothing will go against them. One of this will
be about the jewish view of the MEssiah. He said the messiah had not come and why Jesus is
not the messiah, as the messiah would bring about peace and jesus had not brought about more
peace but more violance. Judaism is expecting a whoely human messiah, there is no diary
humans in judaism. Torah is eternal and nothing has happened to change the applicability of
Torah. He said that if anyone follows torah then its the true law otherwise its not. He fled to Ciro
where he was a Nagid, a leader of the community political and religious leadership along with
this he was a significant posif, He was also one of the best facitions of the time. A lot of his
work is in Arabic. He said that the arguments in judaism are inherintly rational and not about if
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spirits of good and evil are here in the world but to produce a pro social movement working with
a covenant. He writes the 13 principles, the first 5 focus on g-d, nature of g-d, all about g-d etc
in here he is completely rejecting dualism or the trinity. Then its all about Torah stuff, then
directly against islam, then g-d knows it all and messiah would be good and messiah will come
in resurrect the dead. People thought these 13 things were robotic repetition which is known as
dogma but htat is wrong in judaism. Joseph Albo then reduces thing into three principles
JOseph albo: sefer ha-ikkarim
4) Belief in the existence of G-d
5) Beleif in torah and the prophets and in the revelation of g-d
6) Belief in divine justice (as related to the idea of immorality and the afterlife
Joseph Karo- author of the SHulchan Aruch. THe mappa was later added by R. Moses Isserles
which is the ashkenazi law coming out of ashkenazi tradition to add to the medival period that
Karo made.
Conversos- many jews forced to convert and ket juddaism hidden
Crypto jews- jews who were secret jews
The Alhambra Cecree- 31 march 1492
The begging to the end of the middle ages as the jews are expuled from spain and go into the
americas, northern africa, and europe.
Personalism rises, the beginning of the end of hard core authority during the middle ages
Messiah will be a dessendeant of david, Back to israel gather jews from diaspera, restore gods
presence back on earth, world peace– this was a fatih based not political thing
Judah Halevi- beleived in the spiritual purity of israel and moved from spain to israel. It is
evolutionar. The idea that some were movin gon their own accord is big. He ,ade a story of
pride, the kezARI, becomes super popular.
Shabbetai Tzvi- in 1648 the Chmielnicki Massacre, was so beyond violant like disgusting how
bad it was. Jews begin to see this as a sign that hte messiah has to come and that is when
Shabbetai Tzvi claims to be the first messia adn so does an influential writer. People started
packing thier trunks for the messiah. He had very radical behaviour. Hes known as a false
messiah. He ended up converting to islam because he was ofrced to
Innovations inspired by the medival period but technically passed the medival period
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FOr the majority of jews in the world the middle ages is a time of massive religious spread and
the ethnoreligiousy that it brings with both the explosion of travel and limitation of travel. The
movement of jews in this period are often not voluntary. The swirls of culture are not clean and
tidy, it is swirls. The remurgance and firming up of ashkenazi and sephardim traditions. In the
modern period theres an explosion of innovation when paths are crossed.
These habits that were formed through the isolation and autonomy continues in the pre modern.
This is the solidification of rabbinic judaism as something imbedded in minchag for jews in the
world. This is an era of new growth with diversification in rabbinic judaism.
In talmud there was a understanding that god would not give them more than they could handle
but there were signs of the end of the exile and there was the desire ofr change. This was
through changing ones life through themselves, this is a crossroad where jews make decisions to
how there judaism is going to run after the experience of the middle ages. This is where the
renewal period comes in, to provide change, revival, to a judaism that feels tired.
Revival and renewal
- A religious trend to reconnect with the route of a tradition in light of the mideval
movement.
The late medival piety
- Super compelling for jewish women in the middle ages as women were diminissed or
put away from synagogue and not as intense as in the ancient period or as seen today
- In charity women were needing, able to do good work in a piety way taking care of
engaging with religion in a practical gaguing way
- An easy way for people without credientials to be helpful and respected in their
community. Also a good way that christianity influenced judaism
Mystisism
- A direct spiritual connection to the devine to transend - Islam positively influencing
the jews
Kabala
- The blanket term for mysticism in Judaism but moost likely from the middle ages
- It was embraced by the ashkenazi but was began with the sephardim
- Sefer ha-Zohar made the mystical commentary on hte torah, seeon within torah secret
messages that relate to the Ein Sof the secret nature of god. God is transcendent, no
human could even begin to get god but hes also active in here right now
- The idea one could get to know elements of god or that god wants this is attractive to
people
- Not rabbis but democratic available to non rabbis
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-
Hasidism– means pois ones
- A revival movement that was bannedoriginally by jewish movments
- Its rabbinic judaism but its the first split
- Founded by the Baal Shem tov who started teaching at hte cheder
- He emphasized personal relationship with g-d over regulation, and event study; a purely
devoted, joyous religious spirit matters more than scholarship
- Emphasized enthuizatic enjoyment of creation as worship of the creator
- He preached that people can have a direct relationship with god
- Revoltuionary that you could feel good about being jewish is woah after the middle ages
- LOVE god, torah– be torah with love of god, love israel
- God loves the heart and soul not just the ideas of the law
Judaism in the Middle Ages
Jews in the Medieval Christian world
Jews in the Medieval Muslim world
Intro to Pre-Modernity
The evolution of Rabbinic Judaism:
- Before the middle: developing, structure without the temple
- Middle Ages: uniformity, takkanot, bringing together home life, giving people a place to
be a part of something, they could participate in Tikkun Olam, feeling Judaism, mikvas,
listened to Rabbis, separation between sephardic and ashkenazi because the sephardim
were still able to contant Babylon, therefore the Ashknenaz weren’t as evolved as the
sephardim. The sephardim were able to learn from lots of texts pand have open
discussions with Muslims. In the middle ages with a lot of expulsions rabbinic judaism is
about surviving for future generations and just believing in G-d
The “Age of Definition”
- 70-650 CE – the age of definition (Neuser)
- The core sacred texts of rabbinic judaism
- Rabbinic literature was coming together
- Basic traditional practices of rabbinic judaism came together
- Tanakh (bible) – especially torah (law)
- 200 CE: Mishna – the oral torah
- 500-650: Talmud – an explanation/exploration of the mishnah
- According to rabbinic history, these periods are called the tanaick and amoraic period
- Rabbinic judaism initial phase is 50-200 (tanna) and the second phase is
200-500 (amoriam)--> scholars of the talmud
Tanna- teach
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Amora- said
The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The
Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the Amoraim expounded upon and
clarified the oral law after its initial codification.
Therefore, in the time of the tannaim they taught, and the amoraim gave their thoughts on what
was taught (commentary)
Middle Ages: 10th-15th CE (ended around 1492CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain)
- Religion and regular life were heavily intertwined. One could not opt out of religion, the
social system was embeded in religion. There was no comparmentalization of religion.
- Ones religious identity was very important
- Public institutions were religious institutions
- Medical care, education, everything was associated with your religious affiliation
- When you were born in the middle ages, only your church or synagogue took note of
your birth, not the government
- No option to not be part of a religious system
- Most people lived in a mystical world where everyone believed in religion
- Religion wasn’t the context, it merely existed everywhere
- People thought demons and angels were active in the world all the time
- The social system and everyday life were imbued with religion
- Middle ages are very important to judaism yet not discussed often, often understood as
depressing yet much culture comes out of it.
- Lachrymose: depressing, the depressing outlook of the Jews in the middle ages. A
negative outlook in understanding history.
- The period where Rabbinic judaism becomes minhag and the norm for jewish families.
Torah becomes the normalized code of conduct, rabbinic judaism is created, normalized,
and then dominates.
- An outcome of the middle ages is antisemitism and theological and productive
communication through repsonsa’s which were communication between rabbis about
summaries of religious laws and commentary related questions/discussions.
During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Dates around Middle Ages:
- 4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
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- Begins with the fall of Rome, Christainity rising popularity
- Ends with the rise of the great empires in the middle east and europe
- 10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
- Ends→ invention of the printing press, discovery of the New World (the Americas) →
blew the minds of religious and scientific knowledge, religious landscape
Jewish Middle Ages
- In the 15th century you also get 1492. In 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain – this
is when it ends according to jews
- Broke the medieval Jewish world
- Incredibly important time, but not a talked about time
- People assume judaism was stable at this time
- People frame jewish history in the middle ages as depressing. Stop at the persecution of
the Jews. Emphasis on suffering and the sad story. - But it is an important period because
it is marked by
- Rabbinic judaism (primarily) – becoming minhag - Diasporal persecution, isolation and
expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- The advent of printing and mass communications
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-exsisted along side its two main colleaguefaiths
(abrahamic religions) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Rabbinic judaism becomes systimized by families
- Time when rabbinic judaism becomes family tradition
- Lots of autonomy, slash alienation from society
- Torah becomes normal code of conduct for many rabbinic jewish community
- Rabinnic Judaism becomes the normative type of Judaism - Anti-semitism is really
“invented” during the Middle Ages
- Also an intense period of resilience, and shaping of Judaism, and productivity
- Age of codes→ summaries of Jewish laws
- It is now a continued time of religious activity
- Responsa are big now – when people send in questions and a rabbi answers them
- Intense age of commentary→ specifically Rashi (icon of Jewish education). He produces
an excess amount of commentary during the middle ages.
- Also a big time of expulsions
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- Get about 1000 years of the Jews living beside other nations - A lot of
intermarriage, other forms of cross interaction.
- Lots of outside influences on Judaism, judaism also influenced other religions
- Some of the interactions outside with jews are good, but many are bad
- Think: crusades, spanish inquisition, laws around what type of work Jews can do, who
can engage in business with who, rise of anti-semitism
The “Age of Cogency”
- The time when rabbinic judaism becomes dominant, and present in almost every jewish
family
- A period from ca. 600s to the 1800s CE in which Judaism is relatively uniform, stable,
and unified under rabbinic Judaism
- Geography alone guarantees diversity
- The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual
and incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty,
compassion, community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of
the middle ages. Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will
save them and gave hews the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children
and all you need to do is survive and god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the
standard rabbinic practice– to learn and to teach this is where the development of
yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to not just those who wanted to be
rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much more literate at the age of 3
studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women. During the babylonian
excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it is about you
needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional diversification
goes on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust. Rabbinic
judaism extrapulates meaning
-
Diversity in the Diaspora:
- Jews were very spread out across the map, therefore the traditions that arose were very
diverse
- Example: jews in france use apples for a sweet rosh hashanah fruit, whereas jews in
india use dates
- Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become
the most dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the
ideas of persecution. This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been
anti-judaism sediments as opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern
age, the idea that jews are different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews
are trwated.
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The Diaspora (6th-16th century)
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of
Kulturbereichs which is a german word for the development of cultural regions
(Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and independents) these are not sects but cultural
flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some disagreements but similar
- The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the Roman wars, with
Jews expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia
- Some stats
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
- While we think of the old world as disconnected, it is important to know a lot of these
communities had firm contact with one another
- It is just rabbinic judaism happening in different places
- There was a desire to remain unified – still felt connected through covenant
- Geographical spread almost guaranteed ethno-religious diversity
- The further you are from the center, the further you are from observing religion in those
norms
- Babylonian Hegemony
- The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon
they also had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed
divinic heritage disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and
still looked to the exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to
remain together and enact covenant together though it was difficult.
- The status of being able to what is normal
- The closer you are to the hegemony the more ‘normal’ you are
- The further you are is the further you are from the ‘hegon normal’
- Gaonim
- Head of babylonian academy
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- On the ball with responsa
- Everybody wrote to these guys for their opinion
- In the 10th and 11th (mainly 11) century Europe lost touch with Babylonians jews
because this was during the first crusades
- Babylonian hegemony comes to an end
- When we look at where Jews went in the diaspora, we are looking at how traditions
within Rabbinic Judaism vary, however they are all still very interconnected, and are in
no way sects (like what we saw in the Second Temple period)
- What we see is the development of kulturbereich – meaning cultural region –
understanding Judaism over the past 1000 years is seen through this
Kulturbereich: cultural region
- Ashkenazi→ christian europe
- Sefardic→ muslim spain
- Mizrahi→ middle east / isslamic
- Independent groups
These can all be considered “flavours” of rabbinic judaism
Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabian rites/tradition, originating in Spain and North Africa
- They speak ladino and judeo-arabic (Arabic written in a Hebrew script)
- Come from sepharad – iberian peninsula (spain and portugal)
- Many moved to northern africa and
Ashkenazi Jews
- Pertaining to “german Jews”
- Jews who root their heritage in Germany and France
- Many migrated later to Eastern Europe
- Marked by yiddish culture – medieval German written in Hebrew
- The Pale of settlement
- Come from ShUM cities
- Shpeyer, Wormtz, Mainz
Mizrahi:
- Typically describe jews of the middle east
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- Sabra: jews born in palestine before 1948
Blurred divisions
- The jews of amsterdam
- They moved to amsterdam after the expulsion from spain, therefore sephardic - The
Italkim
- Independent groupings
- Echo sephardic rights
- Closer to ashkenazi
- The Romaniotes (from Greece)
- Independent→ they predate a lot of rabbinic judaism and have somewhat developed
independently
Medieval Movement and Expulsions
- A community that develops in spain then moves to amsterdam will develop in different
ways then jews who move from spain to new amsterdam (new york)
- Roots, origins marks the ethno religious traditions of these families but there are layers
to it
The Idea of “Normative Judaism”
- There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like
rabbinic but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced
in the domestic sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller
forms of diversity within judaism like jewish women.
- Element of truth – rabbinic judaism was dominant and looks like the “normative
Judaism”
- The assumed “norm” of mainstream Judaism, which takes on the guise of “real”
judaism, to which all other judaisms are compared/contrasted as “abnormal”
Womens Judaism
- Form of diversity
- Nidah→menstrual purity laws→ attending a mikvah → often lead to a branch off of
women's spirituality surrounding the mikvah
- Sabbath blessings→ lighting candles
- Separation of the bread→ to make challah, a part should be broken off and burnt
- Can eat anything during pregnancy
- Many rabbinc sources excuse women from religion by saying that they could just watch
the kids
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- In the middle ages, women went against this and started creating their own traditions,
songs, and forms of judaism
- Lots of women’s prayers emerged from the middle ages
- Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
Womens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
- Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
- 1- Niddah, Period laws
- 2- Blessings- candles on shabbat
- 3- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and
burned like sacrifice
Judaism and “Judaisms”
- Normative judaism and diverse “judaisms”
Rabbinic and Non-Rabbinic Judaism
- Look at Beta-Israel and Karaites
- There are multiple examples of small, local Jewish cultures throughout “Global Israel”
that do/did not conform to Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism, either partially or fully,
depending on time of dispersion, context since dispersion, or on length of time since
contract with rabbinic Jewish communities
- Talmudic Jewish rejections and outreach
- Hegemony and recognition → they were recognized but was still considered
intermarrage
-
The Jews of Africa and Asia
- Jews of Africa
- East Africa (beta israel) → pre rabbinic
- West Africa (the igbo Jews) → from nigeria, torah only, predate rabbinic Judaism
- Southern africa (the leba connection, zimbabwe) → blend between isalm and judaism,
but have history with jews migrating into the region
- The Jews of Asia
- India (Bene Israel (pre rabbinic judaism); Cochin Jewsl (around the time of rabbinic
judaism and has some element of it); Paradesi Jews (rabbinicportuguese)) → best place
to be a jew, had religious freedom
- China (Kaifering Jews)
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- Some jews were in China while the temple still stood
- From 600-1000 CE many jews (rabbinic jews) moved to china
- Came along the Silk Routes and were mizrachi - Kaifeng Synagogue
- longest lasting community (10th century till 19th century) there are still people in this
region (may not identify as jews) will be loyal towards jewish ancestors
- Built in 1163
- Destroyed in 1663
- Rebuilt and destroyed again in 1852
- Jewish community is now built on the site
- Was known as Temple of purity and goodness
- Had a mikvah, communal kitchen/dining hall, had a symbiotic relationship with the
Muslims of the region – the majority of the religious items they got their hands on were
bought from Muslim traders, used arabic words
- Harmonization with chinese and jewish
- Allowed intermarrage from their members and the members of the muslim community
The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have
the funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese
culture. With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
-
Jews migrated to Africa as refugees, or voluntarily
- The jews of africa predated rabinic judaism
Minhag
- Customs of the elders
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- Points to how we live generationally. Points to how jews live generationally and how
judaism adapts and passes down traditions. Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws,
a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a religious tradition.
- Explanations for how the ethno religious traditions come about
- Adapt your judaism to a new geographical locations and pass that down
- Particularly useful in lacuna situations (hole) – a hole that minhag can “fill” in. There is
no law for how women should cover her head. But there is now a minhag for it, some do
it with wigs, some with snoods, some shave and then cover, some don’t at all. In the east
they often have elaborate and beautiful coverings, but others dont want to look
flamboyant. Think they should cover their head after marriage. All depends on where
your family cultural traditions lie
- Can't override Torah, but can rival rabbinic authority → rabbis are only human, they are
not god, their opinions can be challenged
- Historian in josephus said “you start learning how to be a jew at your mothers breast”
Who is a Jew
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their
lineage is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Medieval Judaism→ Jewish uniformity
- Time of intense geographical spread
- Remarkable that the middle ages is called a time of uniformity given that they are
so spread out across the map
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Into the middle ages
- Judaism is marked by
- Rabbinic Judaism (primarily)
- Diaspora; persecution, isolation and expulsions - The advent of Anti-Semitism
- Continued religious and theological productivity
- Throughout the middle ages, Judaism co-existed along side its two main
colleague-faiths
(the abrahamic faiths) Christianity and Islam, and this co-existence shaped it
- Time of cultural productivity, Jewish Middle Ages was not only defined by
persecution
Rabbinic judaism spread through the synagogue system, babylon academies
- By the middle ages rabbinic judaism had become the most wide spread form of
Judaism
- The diaspora in the middle ages also brings a lot of persecution for the Jews
- Anti-semetism rises→ irrational hatred, mistrust, and stereotyping of the Jews→
leads to persecution, violence, and biases
- Pseudo-scientific racism→ different by blood, racisim based on the Jewish blood
as opposed to the religion itself
The Age of Cogency:
- Very stable time, uniform, and unified under Rabbinic Judaism
- 600 to 1800s
- Factors in the dominance of rabbinic judaism - Ideological factors
- It developed an intently hopeful idea that G-d would make the world right, would
bring the Messiah, Jews were discouraged to rebel
- Life may not be perfect right now, but if we survive, then the future generations
will be okay because G-d will sort things out
- Texts
- Talmud as a focus and core practice
- Jewish education: very important→ talmud torah, to learn and to teach Torah
- Authority
- Academies
- Rabbis→ communal and religious authorities, people turned to them
- Deeply embedded rabbinic judaism in the synagogue and everyday life
- Rabbinic judaism emphasized; synagogue, home, family, domestic rituals
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- Encourage people to take joy, enjoy life, food, wine, family life - Studying
talmud
- Education as core practice - Talmud torah
- To learn and to teach
- Becomes the standard rabbinic practice - Yeshiva life
- Talmud universities
- Even though they were rabbinic academies they were open to more people then
just those who wanted to be Rabbis
- Whoever could afford to went to access Jewish education
- Much higher rate of literacy amongst Jews, particularly Jewish women compared
to non Jews
- 3 year olds learned hebrew
- 6 year olds learned torah
- 10 year olds learned mishnah and talmud
- 13→ bar mitzvah
- If a family could afford it, they would continue learning past the age of 13
- A lot of this was publicly paid for→ free education, because there was such a
societal value placed on Jewish education
- Goes back to Babylon, learning how important it is to preserve the religion, texts,
language, culture
- In sephardic communities education and higher education is very important
Halakhah
- Interpretation and application of Jewish law
- Rabbis are the authorities to go to
- Increased variation of professional niches, teachers, Rabbis (not in synagogues,
but only school, rabbis who only wrote), poseks (sometimes are rabbis, people
who can answer questions in changing times)
- PaRDeS – tool that rabbis use to read and interpret text. Literally means orchard,
sometimes translated as paradise or heaven
- Important during this period to be connected to a valid trusted authority, because
they entirety of keeping the convenient requires the teaching of the Torah
- PRDS
- Peshat (simple), Remez (hints), Derash (interpretation), Sod (hidden meaning of a
text)
- ‘RDS’ – lays the opportunity for inspiration, if you live your life studying there
will be lightbulb moments
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- Layers of rabbinic interpretation of text
- Rabbinic judaism extrapolated meaning, within rabbinic judaism the bible is
understood to be perfect but is not meant to be read literally
- It's the power of education reading and qualified interpretations that the Bible has
meaning for people
- Popular because there is the quality that living people can interpret an ancient text
- You can make halakhah portable and you can apply it
- PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
- Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
- Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
- Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Uniformity and Dissent in Talmudic Judaism
- Wide margin of dissent
- Rabbinic authority is still a human authority→ Rabbis are allowed to disagree with each
other and people can choose which Rabbis they want to listen to
- Dissent, dionism,
- There was room for different opinions
Orthodoxy→ correct belief
Orthopraxy → correct practices
- Rabbinic Judaism wants to offer the range of orthopraxy
-
The Shulchan Arush
- Written by R. Yosef Karo in 1562-1565 in 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R.
Moses Isserles (ca. 1574)
- A meeting point between Ashkenenazi (Isserles) and Sephardim (Karo)
- Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The
Isserles provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end
of the Middle Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
- The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
- The Shulchan Aruch is still very long, dense and perhaps expensive
- The Kitzur is a more condensed version that has more information that Jewish household
would benefit from
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- Many Rabbis could afford the shulchan aruch, but more homes had the kitzur because it
was more affordable
- Many rabbis couldn’t afford their own talmud
Primary source: Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 72 (sefaria.org)
Jewish Social cohesion of the middle ages
- They had to live close together and live close to their institution
- Similar mindsets→ they shared rabbis based on geography
- Collectiveness based on education and their lives, small communities
- A lot of the social cohesion was necessary based on forced Jewish isolation and
alienation
- Certain level of autonomy embedded in their set up→ self ruling in their communities
Common Judaism in the middle ages
- Continuity of the central pillars of ancient judaism
- Shabbat, reading torah, keeping kosher, marrying only within Jews
- Popular form of Rabbinic Judaism
- Leadership of local authorities
- Autonomy of jewish communities and self governance
Cornerstones of Rabbinic Jewish Practices
- synagouge/home; family and community - The life cycle
- Marriage (domestic judaism and judaism practiced in the institutions), birth and death
- Prayer
- Study
- Texts
- Hebrew
- Rabbis, poseks and teachers
- Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing
authorities.This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it. There is allowance for debate
and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a built in thing that people
can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
- Feasts and fasts
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- Memory and story
- Sabbath
- Still done today
Triad of Judaism
- G-d → During the middle ages there is ethical monotheism
- Covenant , Torah, Law→ discipline to practice the law (halacha) is the practice of
upholding the covenant
- Israel → place, memory, root of the Jewish people, urge to go back, passive hope, almost
entirely funneled through a belief or hope of the return of the messiah
Archaeology
- Valuable for understanding medieval history for any religion
- Valuable to know what the non elites were doing
- But everyone needs coinage, homes, pots and pans, knitting needles
- Essential for inclusion of those who are not included with the elites
Synagogue Archeology
Ashkenazi, Judaism evolving in Christian Europe
Starting in Germany and parts of France and moving into eastern europe
- Ashkanaz was the term referred to as Germany
- Not all Jews in eastern europe are ashkenazi (ex. Spain, or amsterdam→ sephardic)
- Begins in 8th-10th centuries, then move to eastern europe starting in 1025
- Yiddish is medieval German→ hebrew, aramaic, and german
The SHUM Settlements:
- Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script.
SHUM cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
- Speyer, Wormz, and Meintz
- Cathedral cities because they had a charter to settle there
- Very few people to move/immigrate during the medieval times
- However Jews really weren’t allowed to move around at all and were subject to stay
within these cities
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- Jewish charters were agreements extended from a bishop or monarchy that allowed Jews
to settle and gave them permission to work a certain but limited number of trades, and
what lands they were allowed on.
- Eventually those became wither ghettos or shtettles
- they were allowed to establish burial grounds as well - In these places, they were
allowed to stay Jews, and
- This charter did not give them citizenship, they could stay as long the charter was
respected
- When the charter was deemed unvalid, they had expulsions of the Jews
- Jews were able to use their connections to important stuff from the east→ babylon
- They were allowed to have import/export jobs
The SHUM Takkanot:
- Rabbinic conferences that result in rabbinical decrease
- They discuss pressing issues that arise from being in a new place and are binding for the
jews of the region of those Rabbis
- The decrees become Jewish law
- When the SHUM made their own takkanot, the way they practiced Judiam became more
distinct from other forms of Judaism
Rabbi Gershom (10th century):
- Considered to be the founder of the Ashkenzai tradition
- Head rabbi when they started establishing the takkanot
- He said that the law of the land is also the Jewish law→ Jews were obligated to respect
the Christian laws so long as those laws didn’t interfere with being Jewish
- Jews were not allowed to touch or interfere with other people’s mail
- Jews had not experienced mail before so that had to create guidelines on how to respect
other people’s mail
- He prohibits polygamy for the Jews of SHUM (Ashkenazi Jews)
- He did this so that they would better blend in with Christians who did not practice
polygamy
- Kadahs HaShem→ santify the name of G-d→ reflect well on the Jewish G-d, be a credit
to your people
- Basically, he wanted the Jews to appear as “good” as possible so that the people of the
SHUM would blend in with Christians and be as respectable as they could while still
standing somewhat apart from the Christians.
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- Jewish charters didn’t often last very long
- The jewish experience in the middle ages is one of continuous movement and relocation
- The ashkenazi required permission to move, and always needed permission in order to
move
- A lot of trauma as a result of involuntary migration
- A lot of autonomy also came with these charters because they were led by Rabbis
- As long as the jews paid their taxes they could do what they want in the community (had
autonomy not freedom– had the free to apply the laws to their own people but not to
move)
- Jewish charters offered protection and precariousness
1096: Crusades
Ghettos have walls, shtetls have more of a village feeling
Ghettos were supposed to give some protection but also made them sitting ducks for attacks -
Keeps bad people out, but isolates them
Most places in Europe experienced expulsions
- Many of these places only jews were allowed to settle there for money lending
- Problem with that is no one likes money lenders
- This started some anti-semeitsm because everyone knew that only Jews were money
lenders
- Jews played high stake game because jews leaned money to the crown and the crown
realized they don’t have to pay the Jews back they can just kick them out
- 1290 expulsion from England
- Always or usually a generation or two of poverty while they readapted to their new place
to settle
- They were outlaws while they were in between settlements, very unsafe, not protection
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Jew in Medieval “Christian Europe”
- In the fourth century, the roman empire christianized
- Holy roman empire was catholic, headed by the pope
- The Byzantine Empire→
- Pre christian empires were largely pagen
- As those areas christiansted, it was either by Rome or different places of Europe
- Largely a time of skating these 2 powerful heads as they duked out their own power
struggle (a mouse in bed with 2 elephants, bound to get squished)
Early Christian-Jewish relations
- Started out with shared roots - Shared g-d
- One shared text
- But there are some points of frictions
- Christians don't have to be circumcised or keep kosher, now celebrate shabbat on sunday
(to celebrate jesus)
- Cornerstone to jewish identity
- Points of frictions outway the similarities to many jews and Christians
- Christians came to the conclusions of not having to follow the jewish law because Jesus
became the new g-d and the Christians have replaced the jews as g-ds people –
replacement theology
- Christians often looked for proof of their election to 70 CE (fall of the second temple)
- proof g-d has abandoned the convent with the Jews
- But St. Augustine (an early church father) said g-d doesnt lie so there must still be some
parts of that covenant left
- He came up with the docterant of don't kill Jews
- Also said let the jews live so they can see the second return of Jesus so they can see they
are wrong before they are murdered
- Because of this in Europe the Jews were considered the only religion that did not have to
become Christian
- Taught that the Jews deserved to be punished (triumphalism)
Triumphalism:
- Christianity was triumphant over a failed Judaism
Ecclesia: church
- Strong, upright, proud
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- Crown on head holding cross, wearing a royal robe Synagoga: synagogue
- Broken staff, eyes blindfolded→ ignorant to see the truth, clinging to dead torah, no
glory left, broken poster
Visual representation of replacement theology and triumphalism
Diaside
- Act of killing a G-d
- This was jews because they believed the Jews killed Jesus
Where antisemitism was born
- It wasn't just that generation that killed Jesus - But all generations of Jews killed
Jesus
- Example being desecration of the host→ mentioned by Lupovitch
Violence in “christian Europe”
- Heavily invested in the christ killing accusation
- If people can kill a god they can kill anything
- Christian europe was not always a bad place for Jews to be but was a dangerous place to
be
- Whenever plagues occurred, jews were often accused of causing the plagues
- Ghettos became less about protecting the jews and more about keeping them away -
Joined by Judenhut
Judenhut
- Jew hat
- Jews were forced to wear; patches, hats, different color shoes so that people knew if jews
were around
- Modern witch hats came from this time because jews were considered as assoiciated with
witches
- About stigmatizing people and being able to identify Jews
The jews had to live in one place, and be identifiable→ very dangerous, if people were violent
against jews, they were very easy to identify
Blood Libel:
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- Belief that Jews would take CHristian babies, and use their blood to make Matzah and
remember the “great” time they killed Jesus
- They would blame the Jews on “andom chidlren’s death→ they didn’t look for any actual
murderers
- If people will kill a G-d they will and can do anything horrific - Jews as demonic and
practice of witchcraft
- Said Hebrew sounded like a demonic language
- Associating Jewish passover meals with the spells used by witches
- Judiam because cloaked as a cult, brewing the dislike of people around them
- Belief that Jews had horn
- They said that payas would cover horns and that a woman's head covering covered hers
- The birth of anti-semitism
- The inquisition
Crusades
- About going to the holy land and doing violence against muslims
- Warmed up with doing violence against jews
- The jews killed themselves on Kiddush HaShem instead of being murdered by the
crusasers
- Beginning of the end of the SHUM settlements
- Most survivors moved eastwards→ Poland, Lithuania, Russia
- Moved to the Pale of Settlement (becomes center of Jewish life)
Pogrom:
- A mass outbreak of violence, sometimes sanctioned or unsanctioned
- This was not a christian act (do not allow murder) but it was an act of christian zelucts
- Malicide→ the murder of evil, therefore not homicide→ they beleived they were doing
G-d’s work
1025-1569
- Area merged with lithuania
- Polish kingdom was a paradise for Jews
- Poland resisted christianisation for some time, but when it did it resisted the authority of
the heads
- Resisted the crusades
- Had several leaders that made a difference
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- 1264 Prince Boteslaw gave religious freedom to the jews, banned the blood libal (not just
because it was cruel but also that it was ridiculous because the Jews were banned from
eating blood). Gave the jews freedom of profession
- He gave protection for their cemetery
- One of his descendants (Polish) expanded the original law and said that if a Christian
accuses a Jew out of Anti-semitism, then that Christian has to absorb the punishment of
what they accused the Jew of
- Rumor that the Polish kings were secret Jews
- Rumor that Casimar had a Jewish mistress, and therefore Jewish children
- One of Casimir's amendments was that it was against the law to force a Jew to baptize
- Poland became a haven, there was a steady movement eastward so that the Jews could
avoid as much persecution as possible
- Poland was a pocket of tolerance for the Jews
- Enabled the Jews to survive the Middle Ages
- Rabbinic Judaism offered a solid foundation of values and family structure
- Offered an early version of social welfare
- We are all in this together
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Equalizing amongst the community and meeting everyone’s basic needs
- Creating social services and safety nets
- Offered prohibitions that prevented assimilation but didn’t prohibit pleasure as a whole
- Created a middle ground, designed in their best interest
- Assured Jews that the coming of the Messiah, and that G-d would always remember
them, and that all they had to do was holding on, and at least some of them had to
survive, and that was enough for them
- They just needed a remnant of them to survive and all will be okay - Helped them
get through hard circumstances
The Ashkenazi, Part 2
- Central/western Europe intro Eastern Europe and Russia and the Pale of Settlement
Halachis process on adopting non-Jewish celebration (eg. Halloween)
- Pretty firm no if anything about the holiday is prohibited by Jewish law
- Any components of the holiday go against Jewish laws/tradition - Are there Pagam or
idolatrous origins to the holiday
- This is where there is some debate with Halloween Thanksgiving or Valentines Day:
- Most will be okay with celebrating this day as there is very little that interferes with being
Jewish
- It is not a bad thing to be thankful for your food, or to celebrate love→ it is somewhat
consistent with Jewish tradition
Common Judaism in Europe
- Rabbinic judaism is the main form of judaism in europe in the middle ages
- Emphasis on Torah and Talmud
- Emphasis on Israel, israel as community and desired future - Jews focused on a
messianic promise of Israel in the future
- Few Jews were able to travel, and especially travel as far as Israel
- Focused on synagogue - Domestic Judaism
- Jews tend to live walking distance to synagogue, but there were times that leaving one's
home was dangerous so during the middle ages Jews focused on staying home
- Family→ the whole point. Marriage and having kids is the goal. Having children as the
mean of survival
- Women
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- Children
- Education→ having and teaching children until the messianic promise is fulfilled
- Communal Judaism
Becomes more or less about supporting families, raising children and educating
those children
- Would not look like judaism today, synagogue worship was not as decorise as it is today
(didn't have cantors in the middle ages, were not neat rows it was more empty rooms)
- The way they prayed was loud and chaotic
- Leadership
- The synagogue→ provided effective leadership, social welfare, and a communal voice for
the people. There was only one synagogue→ sectionalism of synagogues is a more
modern concept. The synagogue you were born into was often the one you would be
buried at
- The Bet Din → rabbinic court of the community
- Kahal→ community council. Respected members of the community that were able to
collect taxes, apply laws (rooted in halacha),
- Herem→ excommunication. People would be expelled from the community if they broke
the laws. From the city and the religion. Big problem is that if you are no longer in a
religious organization you have nothing left and basically have to convert to Christianity
or you will have no protection or place to live.
Esponoza:
- Was excommunicated and chose not to convert to Christianity and chose no religion.
Ashkenazi life is more parochial
The Ashkenazi Jews didn’t have a lot of access to the outside world in the way that Sephardic
Jews had.
Everything was about the Ashkenazim’s world→ very inward looking. Anti-
Semitism and Anti-Judaism
- Hatred or distrust of Jews to their blood
- Attacks specifically on the religion or ideological structure (anti-Judaism)
“The Ancient Roots of Anti-Judaism”
-
Medieval Synagogues
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- Not fancy
- Looked like just another house
- Dangerous to attract attention
Mikvahs held up very well over time and therefore give concrete archeological evidence
of synagogues and Jewish communities in the Middle Ages - Must be rain water
(575 L)
- Problems with it; very cold
Where are you going to build this so you get enough land, near a source a water,
that you can build a building that you can heat, but that will offer you safety and
privacy
- When they are built, they are build to last
- Communities made sure there were mikvahs before synagogues
- To uphold purity laws
- Continue mitzvot through generations
- Without a mikvah you cant have sex, that means you cant create children, without
children there would be no Judaism
- Permissible for a community to sell their Torah scrolls in order to get a mikvah
- Without a mikvah your going to grow old and you wouldn't be able to pass down the
Torah anyways
- At the heart of well poisoning wells
- Christians said; jews are poisoning the christian wells and they use their own
- This is similar to christians thought hebrew was ‘witch speak’
CHAI
- Focus on creating life, giving life
- Reproduction
- A social ethic of rabbinic judaism
- Saved jewish lives to tell people to reproduce than it is to go fight the people who insult
you
- Survival tactic/mentality
Tekhines
- Yiddish prayers
- Passed down generations of women using this mikvah
- Has to do with childbirth, marriage, hoping to get married, menstruation
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- Women start to develop spiritual trends of the lunar cycle
- Rosh chodesh becomes a womens holiday in the middle ages
- Started being spiritually productive
Tkhines (Yiddish, from Hebrew tehinnot, “supplications”), private devotions and
paraliturgical prayers in Yiddish, primarily for women, were published beginning in the
early modern period, especially in Central and Eastern Europe and among Yiddish-speaking
populations elsewhere.
Gluckel of Hameln
- Lived in 16th century
- Lived a very long life, became one of the most successful business women in her time
- Wrote a 12 volume memoir of her life - Meant as an ethical will
- Not just for judaism
- A document you leave to your children and future generations
- Does Not will to them your possessions but the lessons you have learned in life
Very popular in the middle ages
Ashkenazi Rabbinic activity
- Some key rishonim
- R. Gershom b. Judah, light of the exile → made the takkanot→ father of the
Ashkenazi tradition
- “All members of the ashkenazi diaspora are students of his” – rashi - Starts a
yeshiva in mintz
- R. Abraham b. David (Rabad) – france 1125-1198
- Wealthy, therefore lots of time to read other Rabbis teachings and was actually very
critical on the way rabbinic judaism was taught. The way it focuses on orthodoxy, habits,
and learning my writing. He is much more focused on a spiritual aspect of Judaism, yes
read the texts but bring your own faith and have your own religious experiences. - R.
Meir of Rotenberg – Germany cs. 1215-1293
- Kidnapped, and ransomed. This Rabbi forbade his congregation from paying the ransom.
He is considered a martyr because he did what he thought was the best thing for his
community because if they paid the ransom then the Germans would just keep
kidnapping famous Jews. - R. Moses Isserles (Rema) – Poland, 1520-1572
- Wrote the Ashkenzai commentary to the Shulchan Aruch
- Early Ashkenazi Rabbis job was to modify Judaism to their new surroundings, prevent
assimilation, and avoid violence from other religions and ruling bodies
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Rashi:
- The greatest figure to rise out of the Ashkenzai Ages
- If you study Talmud you study Rashi’s work
- Known to be the greatest teacher of Jewish tradition
- He was a Rabbi and a posek (answers halachic questions) but the work he loved was
being a teacher
- His family owned a successful vineyard, they had money and therefore he chose to teach
for free
- He was considered a charitable figure
- He studied at the yeshiva in Meinz (that Gershom established)
- The five following generations became a long lasting influence in Judaism
- Rashi’s work is most visible in the Talmud→ most famous as a Talmudist
- Helping students understand the specific language used by the scholars of the Talmud
- Often teaching the Torah was left to the lower scholars
- Rashi chose to teach Torah as well and wrote commentary on the Bible
- The Askenaz focused so much on the Bible because the Christians also studied the
Bible so they studied so that they would share some middle ground
- Rashi believed that if people were well versed in the Bible then they would be able to
find common grounds with Christians
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- Disputations: Christian authorities would pick a Rabbi who would have to defend the
principles of Judaism against a well known priest in front of a crowd of non-Jews. If the
Rabbi lost, the crowd would take out the penalty violently on the community. They
would also use violence against the community if the Rabbi won the debate.
- They trained the Rabbis in case they had to defend Judaism
- Used to be taught judaism so that they could teach their children but in the middle ages
they taught Judaism so that they could defend Judaism in front of others
The Disputation of Paris, also known as the Trial of the Talmud, took place in 1240 at the court
of
King Louis IX of France. → led to the burning of the Talmud as it was declared a heretic text
Review of Ashkenazi Tradition
- Responsa and Networking
- Isolation and language in the Middle Ages which causes their tradition to become
standard in families
- They started to lose contact with the Babylonian academies with the Crusades
- Breaks down their lines of communication
- Having to start relying on their own takkanot and own yeshivot
Tosafot→ medieval commentary
In 1440 Butenberg created the printing press
Shortly thereafter Jews start open printing houses and produce Jewish texts
The Bomberg layout is the layout of the talmud that has the commentary organized in that
rectangle way.
- Rashi’s commentary was standard by the time→ this is why Rashi’s commentary is on
the side of the Gamara and Mishnah
The Talmud became a victim of the MIddle Ages
- The Catholic Church banned the Talmud at least 15 times
- It was accused of witchcraft, blasphemy, anti-christian sentiment
- They put the Talmud on trial for witchcraft
- Disputations were made problematic→ the Rabbis that were very well versed in Talmud
and used it in their arguments made them accused of witchcraft. Therefore they argued
their points from the Torah instead so that they wouldn’t be accused of witchcraft during
their debates of the disputations.
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Talmud Burnings
1242: king louis the ninth
- Put the talmud on blasphemy
- Priests as the prosecutors
- Rabbis as the defendants
24 wagon loads of copies of Talmud and other Jewish texts were burned in Paris after the
Talmud was declared blasphemy
- “My tears formed a river that reached to the sinai desert and to the graves
of moshe and aharon. Is there another torah to replace the torah which you
have taken from us?”
→Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the Maharam, witness to the Paris book burning of 1242
The Issue of Conversion
- Conversion enters jewish life in 3 main ways during the european middle
ages - Resisting conversion
- Forced conversion
- Abduction and dunking of jewish children → make them christian and
now by law they cant go live with Jews
- If you saw a jew next to a river, pushed them in and said the right words,
they are considered baptized and now christian
- How does the jewish community deal with forced converts?
- To treat a convert like they had died → families had funerals for their lost
children, seen as psychologically beneficial → burying a coffin full of dirt
- R. Gershom’s son was forcibly converted during the crusades and he said
he made it into one of his decrees that the community has to allow
converts to make their way back if they can → very dangerous to return
because it is illegal
- Father making a decree in judaism because he witnessed his son getting
lost to christianity
- That's why now on Yom Kippur you can be absolved for any forced vows
you might have made
- Jewish conversion to christianity
- It was a hard life to be a jew, very dangerous
- So many wanted to convert out in a way to access a better life
- Even jews who converted had extra suspicion around them because they
still had jewish blood
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- If you convert away from judaism, to Judaism you are no longer a jew -
Converts to judaism
- Resisting potential converts to Judaism
- Illegal to convert to judaism
- This is where they develop the turning away of converts because it was
safer to do so (dangerous to the rabbi but also the person seeking
conversion)
- Judaism almost became a closed religion making it impossible to convert
- The khazars
The Sephardim, Part 1
- Main influence is Islam
- Much more cosmopolitan – have connections with non jews, are less restricted towards
access to education and working
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews tended to be wealthier than the Ashkenaz and this
elevated their status and quality of life
- They had the ability to mingle with non-Jews which was advantageous to them
- 2 century: some Yeshivas in Syria, and in Babylon
Mizrahi, Ashkenazi And Sephardim
- Sephardim: Jews of Spanish-Arabinan rites/traditions, originating in Spain and North
Africa
- Their language was Ladino→ Medeival spanish mixed with Arabic put in hebrew script
- Sephardim and Mizrahi were multilingual: Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic,
Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Iranian.
- Ashkenazi: origin pertaining to “german Jews”, now largely referring to all jews of
European ethnic rites and traditions
- Mizrahi: “Eastern Jews”, specifically describing Jews of the MIddle East
- Maghrebi
- Mizrahi jews were blended with Sephardic practices
Mizrahi Middle Ages
- The people descended from the Jewish community in Babylon
- Bablyonian Jews helped establish rabbinic Judaism
- Help judaism survive the fall of the temple and the diaspora
- Not as wealthy as sephardim Mizrahi Modern times
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- Marginalized due to racism→ more POC
- Downplayed in the history of Judaism 1492:
- Sephardim experience second great displacement
Mizrahi: Jews of Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, a few more
Seventh century onward: mizrahi jews lived under islamic leadership
- The Jews under Islam had a sort of citizenship
- They were allowed to move throughout the Islamic Empire
- Therefore the Jews had a lot of Freedom to move and keep up communications with
Babylon
- Opposite: Crusades cut off that option for Ashkenazi Jews The Eastern Diaspora:
The Babylonain community was headed by the exilarch
- Exilarch is a political office that worked to bond with religious leaders
- The exilarch: head of Jewish civil life in Babylon - The Geonic Period (589 CE-1038
CE)
- Geonim: “Geniuses” or “pride”; heads of Babylonian Judaism, by being the head(s) of
the academies - The sephardim
- Into spain
After the Jews of Europe couldn’t talk with Babylon, they stopped using Aramiaic, but the
Mizrahi continued to use Aramaic because they had access to Babylon
- The rabbinic academies of Babylon connect with the Islamic schools
- They shared their techniques
- Babylon has an intellectual golden age under the Islamic rule
- The Mizrahi and Sephardi are able to benefit from golden age while the ashkenazi
couldn’t
Before 462: Romans had the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain)
462-711 the Jews of Spain lived under the Catholic Visigoths rulers
- Not good for jews
- They persecuted the Jews→ stole Jewish children to be converted
- When the Muslims took over Spain, the Jews were happy
711-12th century→ Muslim Spain→ Golden Age for Jews in Spain
Golden Age ends in the 12th century after it is reconquered by the Cathloic
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8th century 1492 → reconquista then in 1492 catholics succeed in taking back the iberian
peninsula
1492: Jewish expulsion from Spain
Convivencia: the living together→ describes the golden age of Spain
Islam and Judaism
Rise and spread of Islam
- Prophet Muhammed
- Third great abrahamic monotheistic faith
- Prophet and the quran
- The Pillars of Islam
- Basic acts of bigotry
- Shahaadah: Profession of faith, There is no god but allah
- Salat: ritual prayer 5 times a day, obligatory
- Swam: fast of ramadan (a whole month)
- Zakat: non poor muslims are to give money to the poor
- Hajj: pilgrimage
- Establishment of the Ummah
- Communities of believers
- Being a part of the ummah trumped all other ties
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Early Caliphs and the Umayyads
Period of stability (abbasids, 750-1258)
- In 630 islam took back mekkah
Connections between Judaism and Islam:
- Worship of a single and all-powerful G-d
- Strict monotheism and ethical monotheism→ a god that cares that you are a good human
being
- Taking care of those less fortunate than you
- Both include stories of religion starting with abraham
- Body of laws to follow→ still takes in different views on how to interpret and practice
these laws
-
Islam and Judaism
- Points of similarity
- Ethical monotheism
- Shared origins and ideals
- Shared rites and perspectives on habit
- Cultural sympathy
- Sibling religions
- Anti-semitism is not a useful terms to say towards Muslim people because they are
semetic
- Jewish culture and jews themselves are never as foreign to muslims in the muslim world
as they seem to christians
- Jewish diet, practices, speech, kosher laws are very recognizable towards Islam - Points
of friction
- The new revelation and the Old COvenant
- Competition and absolutism
- Polemics
- Jews in the Quran
- Ambivalence
- Islam through Jewish Eyes
- Ethical respectful people
- But generally wrong
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- Many jews veiwed islam as proof of the jews being the light for all religions, viewed
Islam as progress for being not jewish yet still believing in one g-d
- Judaism does not require others to be Jews. unlike christians who viewed Jewish refusal
to convert as offensive, the jews did not view it taht way - Jews through Islam eyes
- Mohomod viewed the Jews as an ally to his mission
- When the jews did not convert was when you started to see moments of friction
- Jews in Europe were a castisized as they were so different but this wasnt a thing in the
islamic world
Islamic POlicy and Jewish life
Ambivalence in the Traditions
Pact of umar
- Dhimma → people of the book, monothestic people but not muslim (Christians and
Jews)
- Should be treated with respect but you should expect a certain level of humbleness → In
sara 929 muslims are told to not fight non muslim monothesists if they are not in your
way, but if they are sufficiently humble leave them alone
- Jizya → tax applied to the dhimma in lew of service, you can be a christian, jew or
zerastin, we don't expect you to fight in our army so we are going to charge you an extra
tax
- This becomes bigger when it is applied to the pact of umar (634-644)
- In exchange for protection for crime, and freedom of religion, freedom of career and
access to education. Umar asks for Dimma under him to pay tax, wear items of
distinguished clothes, to swear not to blasphemy against Islam, to swear not to harm
converts to Islam, to express loyalty, to give respect and friendliness to muslims, to take
an appropriate staus of humbleness (avoid parading of wealth and pride)
- Used over and over again within the islamic world
- In yemen jews were required to wear bells
- Jews were prohibited to go out in the rain because the water that touched the jews could
contaminate the ground
- Jewish orphans were to be surrendered
- Ghettoization is required
The Pact of Umar is rooted in Quran and is therefore adopted later in Islamic policy
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (fordham.edu)
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Ottoman Empire lasted 1299-1922→ Dihima policy similar version used
Millet System:
- Millet= salt
- The Ottomon Empire took Jews and put them where they thought they would be most
useful
- Used to simulate the economy
- This was not the choice of the Jews, forcibly displaces
- The Dihimah policy represents a general “net win” in comparison to what the Ashkenaz
were dealing with
Integration under Islam (908-1318):
- The ability to network, travel, and participate in tourism, society
Spanish Jewry in the fourteen century: Golden Age of Jewihs life in the middle ages
- Birthplace of teh Sepharadim
- Pre islam
- Also took place under islam
They welcomed the Muslim conquest of 711 because the Catholics persecuted the Jews
there
- The Dihmah policy was extended to the Jews living in Spain 711-12th century:
- Islamic-Jewish renaissance→ art and knowledge flourishing
- Lots of shared studying between Jews and Muslims→ studying holy books and laws
Court Jews:
- Jews who had influence or held a position in the ruling cours
- Mostly used their influence to speak on behalf of or defend the Jewish population, but
were not always regarded favorably, and were often the first victims of “reform”
- These Jews were government official and diplomats
- They were wealthy and privileged, but often used it for the good of the community and
aimed to increase the quality of life for the Jews
- Worked to establish free secular and religious education
- Nasi→ the term “prince” that described who they were/status
- They became flash points for public anger 1066 Grenada:
- The Grenada Massacre
- Inspired by the downfall of a court Jews
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- This court Jew clibmed too high and was not humble
- Very over the top lifestyle and was then crucified
- Jews were then mass murdered in Grenada
- This was the decline of the Golden Age
Still an element of precariousness in terms of constantly being judged and the court Jews very
much represented all Jews→ when they failed, everyone suffered
1147→ the end of the Golden Age:
- A group of conservative Muslims→ they wanted to purge Spain of Christians
The Almohads:
- 1121-1269
- Committed a large masacre in Fez
- Attempted to force conversion→ Jews fled into North Africa into Mizrahi territories
Reconquesta→ reconquest of Catholic Spain
- Anti-Judaic Law and Sentiment
- 1391, the Inquisition
- 1492, the Second Displacement
Jews were seen as supportive of the Muslims and that they were an active threat against the
Catholics.
Involved the expulsion of Muslims and Jews in Spain or the forced conversion.
- Conversos:
- People who had ancestral history of Judaism or personal history
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These are the people who pretended to convert to avoid persecution and either practiced
privately in their own way
- The inquisition was used to find heresy but it was looking at the Conversos
- Idea that the conversos were not to be trusted by the Catholic
- The idea of anti-jewish blood→ racism
- A lot of conversos were also kicked out of Spain in 1492
- Sephardic Jews went to America before the Ashkenazi
The Crusades and the Kingdom of Jerusalem:
- When the Christians take Jerusalem there is a lot of Muslim and Jewish deaths
The Ottoman Empire
The Sephardim, Part 2
Jewish Spain in the Middle Ages:
- Multilingual culture
- High literacy among Jews
- Pact of Umar
- Golden Age of Spain→ 10th-12th centuries
- High access to education
- Court Jews
- Almost free education for religion and secular education
- Big emphasis on science
Cosmopolitanism:
- Travel
- Well-read
- Social with non Jews
- They were citizens of the world as opposed to a parochial (all of education and
experiences occur within your religious community)
Leads to cultural and linguistic differences between Ashkenazi and Sepharadim
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Ashkenazi:
- Incense view of metaphorical/symbolic/hopeful travel to Israel (Messiah)
Sephardi:
- Actually able to travel to Israel
Difference in the way they viewed the messianic future
Sephardic Judaism and Culture
- Ethno Religious differences express themselves in the art and architecture
- Ethnoreligions: The way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the
peoplehood work together in slightly different ways
- Ex; great synagogue at cordova – heavily influenced by Islamic art and music
Maimonedes:
- One of the greatest Rabbi of that period (Sepharadim)
Great sephardic/mizrahi rabbis
- Sa’adiah ben yosef gaon (the saadi Goan), 882/892 - 942
- Comes from egypt but was invited to be the head of the babylonian academy -
Excilarch asked him to make a ruling that he believed with self ruling, and
so Saadi Goan would not do it, and got excommunicated. But all the other rabbis
at the time formed with Saadi Goan keeping him from being kicked out
- Well known in Judaism for taking point on rabbinic Judaism debate with
Karyites, he was concerned that many jews would join the Kayites. One of his
prime activities was to differentiate the two religions and defend Judaism -
Known for the application of “Kalam” – reason, philosophy
- Islamic process for applying reason to faith
- Through the Islamic discovery of the Greek period
- Many Greek and Roman texts were being translated to Arabic
- Made the bible more accessible to Muslims which meant they could have open
discourse and religious discussions
- Moses ben maimon (maimonides or Rambam) ca, 1135-1204 - Moses ben
nahman (nachmanides, or Ramban), 1194-1270 - Disputation of
barcelona,1262
- Was invited to debate against pablo christiani (was a jew but converted to
Christianity)
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- The king decided to put the big jewish heavy hitter against the converted catholic
leader
- Nachmanides asked for permission to speak freely and to be promised his people
wont get punished (no reprisals) – the king agreed from this
- Because of this we got an incredibly honest disputation
- Gives us a good treaty on the jewish view on the messiah. Done by 3 questions
- Would the Jewish messiah be defined or human. The jewish messiah would be
holy human, none of the deification seen within christianity
- Has the messiah come? No, he also specified why Jesus was not the messiah,
Jesus has not brought peace, but the messiah will bring peace. In Fact since jesus
things have been less peaceful
- Whether he believed christian followed the true law or jews or both.
Nachmanadees said; torah is torah, it is eternal, it
is the same today as when it started, nothing has happened
to change the applicability of the torah, if Christians
followed Torah they would follow the true law and and
they did not they would not follow the true law. But that
the jews followed the Torah
- Many people viewed him that day as the winner/superior speaker
- There was no punishments/reprisals but he moved just to be safe - Well known
as a jewish scholar
- Joseph Albo (ca. 1380-1444)
- Joseph Karo (1488-1575)
- Author of shulchan aruch
- Born in toledo spain, fled in 1492 (during the expulsion)
- Ended up in the ottoman empire and the shulchan aruch was published there
- Where majority of the jews lived
- Shulachan aruch is defined as reference work for Judaism and halacha
- Moses Isserles added the Mappah→ table cloth to the set table
- In the central part of shulchan aruch is the sephardi authority, the Mappa is the
Ashkenazi authority
- Most authoritative book to come out since the talmud
- You can only fulfill the covenant to the extent that your teachers have taught you
enough and have explained enough
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- A major source that Karo used was the Mishneh Torah→ an extensive code of
Jewish law written by Maimonides (Rambam)
Rambam:
- Born in Spain, family fled from the Almohades - Rabbi, physician and
community leader, writer - Major works:
- Mishnah commentary
- 13 principles→ snapshot of what Rambam thought was key to being a rabbinic
Jew
- Mishneh Torah
- Book of Commandments
- Guide for the Perplexed
- Had political and religious significance to the community
- Was a posek; had many letters
- Was one of the best known scientific figures/doctors in the arabic world
- Was the personal physician for the royal family in pyro
- “From moses to moses there is no one like moses” – says on his gravestone –
talking about Moses to him
- Attempts to generate that Judaism is a logical system that applies to the universe
- One of his sources is the arabic translation of aristotle→ therefore we know he
read the greek philosophers
- Rambam asserted that you could tell what was true/authentic to Judaism based on
what was defendable and your could explain with logic and rational anything that
could be explained a smagic is perhaps less important
- Ethical monotheism is inherently rational and has nothing to do with anything
relating to spirits of good and evil or anything that's very intangible and
undefendable
613 commandments
13 principles according to maimonides – sheloshah-asar Ikkarim
Primary source: The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith - Chabad.org
The great codifier of Torah law and Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon
("Maimonides" also known as "The Rambam"), compiled what he refers to as the Shloshah Asar
Ikkarim, the "Thirteen Fundamental Principles" of the Jewish faith, as derived from the Torah.
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Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as "the fundamental truths of our religion
and its very foundations." The Thirteen Principles of Jewish faith (as recorded in Maimonides'
introduction to Perek Chelek) are as follows:
27. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is
thePrimary Cause of all that exists.
28. The belief in G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity.
29. The belief in G‑d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical
occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
30. The belief in G‑d's eternity.
31. The imperative to worship G‑d exclusively and no foreign false gods.
32. The belief that G‑d communicates with man through prophecy.
33. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
34. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
35. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
36. The belief in G‑d's omniscience and providence.
37. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
38. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
39. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.
It is the custom of many congregations to recite the Thirteen Articles, in a slightly more poetic
form, beginning with the words Ani Maamin--"I believe"--every day after the morning prayers in
the synagogue.
Rambam was greatly criticized for his principals
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- Some people considered this to be like dogma→ “that which refers to opinion or belief”
- Dogmatism: “unfounded positiveness in matter of opinion” or “arrogant assertion of
opinions as truth”
- Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without
being questioned or doubted
- Trying to reduce Judaism to something that doesn’t require thought but Rambam argues
the contrary that he pushes people to practice consciously
- Joseph Albo refined the principals to Three Principles of Judaism
1. Believe in the existence of G-d
2. Belief in the revelation fo G-d→ torah and the prophets
3. Belief in divine justice→ related to the idea of immortality and afterlife
- He believed that these three principles gave people more options to form their own
opinions as opposed to 13 because 13 made Judaism a little bit more narrow in terms of
how it was observed
- Albo like Rambam was part of a great sephardic tradition in terms of Jewish philosophy
- Philo was one of the first (Greek Jewish philosopher and tried to apply greek philosophy
to Judaism) → somewhat controversial, but his work is the start of applying philosophy
to judaism
- Application of logic to the human experience, the universe, and in this case, Judaism
- In the middle ages these rabbis and scholars start developing their own philosophy and
applying it to Judaism
- Seeking the truth through logical discourse
- Spinoza→ excommunicated after dabbling with unfavourable philosophy Crypto jews
- Hidden jews Conversos
- Forced to convert to catholicism
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of
Spain ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and its
territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.
Idea that philosophy and reason and personalism are essential to how people practice Judaism.
Spinoza was influenced by this.
When Spinoza was excommunicated, he didn’t join the Chruch or Islam, but remains religoin
free and this reflects the idea of personalalism→ starts to deconstruct the idea that you need
religion and that religion is the foundation for the way everyday life is lived
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Global spread of sephardim, many remained prosperous despite the expulsions, many were able
to get out before 1492 so they were able to keep some of their wealth/possessions
Messianism in the Middle Ages:
- The persecution of the period led to a need for hope
- Early rabbinic judaism messianism was a way to dissuade Jews from rebellion
- G-d will bring the messiah when He wills it and Jews should not actively seek war
- The messiah would be a descendant of david
- The messiah will retake israel
- The messiah would take the jews back from diaspora
- The messiah would restore G-d’s will on earth
- The messiah would bring an era of world peace
The Pre-Modern
Medieval period is a time of diaspora for Jews, uncertainness, precariousness
- Massive geographic spread
- Brings ethno diversity
- Combination of limitation of travel for Ashkenazi and boom of travel for Sephardic and
those expelled
- Some travel was forced and other was voluntary By the end of the Middle Ages:
- Firming of the ash and sephardic traditions
- Also a coming together of these two traditions
-
Rabbinic ages
- Begins after the fall of the second temple
- The soferim – the scribes (ezras generation and earlier)
- Zugot – pairs of sages in the second temple period (hillel and shamai)
- The tannaim – aramaic for teachers, generation of teachers and the mishnah
- The Amoraaim – The Talmud generarion, the spokespeople, the people who taught the
Mishnah which was then written down as Talmud
- The Savoraim – reasoner/interpreter, wrote down the Talmud and made it systematic
- The Middle Ages – Geonim→ heads of the Babylonian academies; Rishonim→ Rabbis
that come after the decline of the Babylonian academies and before the Shulcahn Aruch
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(founding fathers of Rabbinic Judaism as it is lived in the Middle Ages)
- The acharonim – the last ones→ Rabbis after the Shulchan Aruch, provide commentary
and deliver wisdom/advice
- Chazal – sages of blessed memory that originate rabbinic judaism
Pre modern Era
- Continuity with the Middle Ages
- solidification /codification of the ways of Talmud
- Shulchan Aruch
- The continual growth of Rabbinic Judaism - Absorption/development of:
- Philosophy and ethics
- Mysticism
- Personal spiritualism
- The diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
- Multiplication of trends and traditions
- Exhaustion and renewal into the Late Middle Ages
- Growth of rabbinic judaism as a habit of the people
- Where/when minhag gets imbedded in most jews of the world
Exhaustion and the End of the Exile
- Been through masacres, oppressions, expulsion
- Stability and uniformity was no longer enough
- Increased frustration within judaism
- Idea of end of the exile comes from a promise in the talmud that g-d would not punish the
jews more than they could handle
- So they thought something was going to change
- This only leads to more exhaustion and frustration
- This desire for change was expressed in tradition religious fashion (desire for the coming
of messiah) but for many it was growing confidence in themselves (maybe I can change
the issues)
1492 expulsion, Chmielnicki massacre, Shabtei Tzvi → all signs as the end of the exile
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1400s-1600s Jews individually and collectively make decision about how Judiams will operate
after experiencing the Middle Ages
Renewal
- The desire to address the exhaustion in light of the middle ages
- To provide change/renewal/revival for a judaism thats tired of offering hope and patience
- Revivalism – religious trend that seeks to return to the root of a tradition and reconnect
people with that tradition
Late Medieval Piety:
- Christian pietism is well known→ christians influenced jews here
- Medieval movement that promoted pious behaviors as spiritual practice
- Emphasis on humility, personal discipline, abstaining from pleasurable foods, meditation,
prayer, emphasis on charity or acts of goodwill - Taken up by many ashkenazi circles
- Pietism was then fairly mainstream within Ashkenazi Jews
- Jewish piotism involved an increase in ethics
- Emphasized ethics over the letter of the law
- A way to demonstrate personal faith and connect personally with G-d - Connected
with the characteristics of G-d: mercy, justice, caring, etc.
- Rabbinic Judiams had previously promoted some pro social ethics (make sure orphans
are cared for, care for others, etc.)
- Jews really needed the social safety net promoted by Rabbinical Judaism
Pietism
- Especially compelling to jewish women
- They were often excluded/diminished within synagogues
- Their participation in synagogue was not as intense as we see today
- Pietism was a place in which women were necessary, valued, needed
- It was a way women could express their religiosity while doing good work and feeling
spiritual
- Take over communal health care
- Take care of graves, sick, elderly, children, dissabled
- Increasingly jewish women are engaging with their religion with a practical branded way
- Was a valuable part of the jewish life of women
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- Easy way for people without credentials to help within the community and feel valued all
while worshiping g-d.
Mysticism
- Valued as an example as how islam influenced judaism in a fruitful and productive manor
- Refers to trends and groups that emphasize spiritual experience (mainly on the divine),
transcends the normal states of regular life
- Direct personal spiritual experiences of the divine
- Seeking meditative states, and states of ecstasy through communion with the divine
- A trend around in the ancient world, idea that there is concealed knowledge of the
universe→ this is a fundamental of Greek mysticism that Judaism takes
- Becomes important to christianity during the Middle Ages
- Very very very important in Middle Ages Islam→ sufism
Sufism
- Generally the most famous form of mystical islam
- The desire to connect to g-d through practices, poetry, song and dance
- In palestine in the 15th/16th century you get sufism and judaism living together
practicing mysticism
Kabbalah
- Jewish mysticism - Ancient kabbalah
- Isn't fully formed
- Focuses on ideas found in the torah
- And the visions of profits
- Tries to catch a glimpse of g-d - Rabbinic kabbalah
- Talks about catching a glimpse of g-d
- Maimonides says this is metaphorical because g-d doesn't have a body
- Focuses on the metaphorical meaning of g-d
- 2 phases of g-d
5. Early kabbalah
6. Kabbalah of issac luria (16th century)
Kabbalah is the blanket term for mysticism but it is often used to talk about medieval mysticism
Kabbalah is originally sephardic
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Sefer Ha Zohar: mystical commentary on the Torah, attributed to second century Rabbi Simeon
B Yohai
→ related to the infinite nature of G-d
- In Kabbal, G-d is imminent (G-d is active right now all around us) and transcendent (no
human can even comprehend everything that G-d is)
- Kabbalah seeks to understand G-d by trying to understand the immediacy of G-d
Kabbalah is compelling to jews, not just to love g-d but to know g-d.
- The idea that g-d wants us to know him Luria
- Creates systematic treaty
Mainstream Rabbis embraced kabbalah but also sought to crack down on kabbalah. Women were
not allowed to do Mysticism→ not endanger of being overcome by the power of kabbalah.
It is embraced but there are rules around it so that it is controlled. Bit of a power struggle
involved.
Practical kabbalah: making potions, amulets, etc. → mainstream judaism is uncomfortable with
The Zohar, isn’t as uniformly embraced as a form of sacred text
Some Jews will group Zohar in when they talk about Torah because it is that important to some
people but to others it isn’t really included
Ethics
- Becomes an extinction with jewish philosophy
- Jewish ethics in the middle ages merges with piotism
- How do we live right in particularly difficult times
- Essentially: its easy to be good during good times but how can you be good in difficult
times
- Builds on the idea ethical monotheism – there is one g-d and that one g-d wants me to be
a good person
- Moves beyond just of following the letter of the law, and goes onto intensely pro social
ethics in the Middle Ages
Tikkun→ mending of the world
- Part of what Kabbalah seeks to do is to mend the world
Rabbinical judaism: mend the world through a million little acts of kindness
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- Not just toxic positively – the jews of middle ages knew smiling was not enough, seeks to
address the anger and pain
Mussar
- Instruction
- Refers to moral or ethical instructions
- Mussar = jewish ethics
- Grows out of the pietism movement, specifically on how to focus on the characteristics of
g-d, that whole jewish purpose of life is to be like g-d
- To be good, just, passionate
- How to become the person that g-d wants me to be
- 1040: duties of the heart – form of pietism, practice of self meditation, to promote
accountability as a spirit
- Was i welcoming to strangers, did I take into account that everyone that I met is dealing
with something
- If you weren't good today; its ok just do better tomorrow
Mussari humaneness and mindfulness: being compassionate to yourself and others and trying
again tomorrow
Celanter
- Ethics will always take priority over law
- Always eat outside, why eat inside and waste crumbs when you could eat outside and let
the ants have them
- Known for fasting on yom kippur and for 40 days before yom kippur
- One day on yom kippur he didn't show up, everyone was concerned for him, a lady
couldn't wait longer so she went home to check on her baby. When she got home she saw
celanter caring for her baby whom he heard cry on his way home
- He cares so much for yom kippur bur cares even more for caring for others
- Canceled yom kippur services when a disease was spreading, felt that g-d would
understand his motives
- Image: good example of mussar
- If you have to do something to save a life you do it – confirmed by the talmud - Pias
idiot
- Someone who will let cruelty happen just to follow the letter of the law
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Mussar is a path to passion not a quick fix to perfection
We all have a yetzer tov and and a yetzer rah
- If you practice follow mussar you will less often give in to yezer rah and to follow the
yetzer tov
- This is the idea of having an angle and devil on your shoulder and picking who you want
to listen to
Mussar is about being a mensch Mensch
- Be a good person
- Be a person
- About having the courage to be humane, even if the world is being inhumane
Hasidism:
- Starts in eastern Europe (poland, lithuania, ukraine)
- Began as a spiritual renual movement, meant to revive mainstream rabbinic judaism
- Conflict wit origins and originally banned when they started
- Gave off almost a hippy vibe at first→ worship with simsha and love
The Baal Shem Tov:
- A practical kabbalah that is the founder of the Hasidic movement
- Started as a teacher at a cheder
- Went from town to town selling potions and doing mystical healings
- He was exactly what the rabbis were afraid of when they were worried about kabbalah
- Considered to be a saint by his followers→ the sotries of this life were kept and often
exaggerated
- He established a characters that was charismatic and unique for his time and this was how
he gained his following
- He used mysticism, kabbalah, and elements of Muzzar
- He preached a connection to G-d, not with Torah or the law
- In mainstream judaism, your connection with G-d was through the Torah, he goes around
that and says you have have direct connection with G-d
- One can take such joy, and that can define their Judaism
- Telling people that you should be so happy that you are Jewish, and that you need to
celebrate this and that this joy is more important than studying
- This was not received very well by the rabbinic jews
- He taught to worship of the creator over the letter of the law
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- Focus on faith not education→ this was important to the people who couldn’t afford to be
talmudim chachamim
Hasidism
- Emphasizes hitlahavut (passion/enthusiasm) and joy
- Love of g-d (dont just obey g-d); love of israel; love of torah (be torah)
- G-d desires the heart and the soul not just the following of the laws
- You are to love the Tzaddikim – the saints – the baal shemtov, the saints of jewish
history, your Rebbe (affectionate title for rabbi)
- If you love g-d you should love to be with the rebbe because when you are with them that
is when you will feel the most divine spark
- Not always mainstream rabbis, charismatic leaders
- Hasidism was a democratic movement
Kavanah→ intention
Rebbe
- Rabbis feared they would declare themselves as maasai
- Rabbis said they are like cult leaders
Tanya→ first piece of hasidic literature
Dov Baer: inheritor of the Baal Shem Tov
Now there were hasidic centers: jews can have a choice of synagogues
Hasisidm became permanent in Jewish villages
They then get into a big fight with the people who oppose the hasidics, these become the
Orthodox Jews.
Hassidic butchers use sharper knives then orthodox butchers
- Wanted to be even more kosher
- Then everyone started going to them
- Hassidism got excommunicated
- So hassidic people said their people can no longer eat with the orthodox
- In judaism, who you eat with is like your family/community
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The Vilna Gaon:
- Genius as he had the Torah memorized by 5
- Not a congregational Rabbi, he was a posek and a commentator
- He was asked when no one else knew the answer
- He excommunicated the hasidic movement multiple times
- The tradition of the Gra becomes the backbone of orthodoxy along with the Shulchan
Aruch
- Criticized hasidim for their time/place and methods of worship
- Said it criticized g-d
- Seemed like they were drunk
- Said they seem like they believe that g-d is everywhere (which is not monotheism more
paganism)
- Prayed in forests (looked like witchcraft)
- Labeled their saints as dangerous, leading to permanent ruptures in the community
- Not fully wrong
- Yeshivah based Rabbis: followed orthodoxy for the most part
- The hasidim and the mitnagdim are very opposed to each other, after the reform
movement comes along they sort of band together to oppose the movement
Hasidism left women fairly on their own since the men were always with the Rebbes
- Hasidism changed to incude fatherhood, and that being a father is just as great as being
with the Rebbe
- Big emphasis on family
- Chabad→ 17th century
- Institutes the policy of CHaBaD
- G-d wants your full mind→ this fixes complaints about not being educated
Review:
- Creation of ashkenazi and sephardic traditions
- Creation of anti-semitism
- Continuing productivity of rabbinic judaism
- Creation of several sacred texts – ex; shulchan aruch
The Jewish Middle Ages
•Cogency
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•The Survival/Dominance of Talmudic/Rabbinic Judaism
•History and Continuity; Explanations, Codifications, Articles of Faith
•Production and practice (main figures and concepts)
•Diversity and Overlap
•Non-Talmudic Judaism
•Local Judaisms (global minhag); Karaite Judaism
•Ashkenazi (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Christianity
•Sephardim (and its Spread)
•History and Character; Encounters with Islam (and Christianity)
•Late Middle Ages
•Diversification of Rabbinic Judaism
•Continuity and growth
Timeline
70-650 CE → Age of definition
4th-10th century→ Dark Ages or Pre-Middle Ages
10th-15th century→ Middle Ages
1492 → Jews were exiled from spain, start of anti-semitism
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600-800 CE → Age of Cogency 6-
16th Century → Diaspora
- Babylonia (ca. 2nd to 5th century CE): 2 000 000
- UK (1290): Ca 16 000
- germany/russia/poland/hungary (end of middle ages) ca. 1 000 000
- Spain (1492): ca. 200 000
- “Arabia” (1107) ca. 100 000
- Persia and India (1107 CE) ca. 100 000
- Egypt (1160): ca. 5 000
- China: unknown numbers, “settlements” first recorded in 6th century
10-11th century → first crusades, European Jews lost touch with Babylonain Jews
1562-1562 → Shulchan aruch written by R. Yosef Karo
1574 → Karo combined his writings into 4 volumes combined with “Mappah” of R. Moses
Isserles
RE 204: Unit 2
4CE- 10CE known as the Dark Ages, Academics didn’t know much about before, this is when
the classical age of the roman empire fell.
Middle Ages
You weren't able to not be religious, you couldn't just opt out. The social system and everyday
life is embedded in religion, and the public space is all religious based, with no
compartmentalizing religion. The Middle ages were 10th-15th CE, the Jewish middle ages ended
around 1492 CE when the Jews were expelled from Spain. The middle ages are really important
to judaism yet not talked about a lot because people assume that Jews were stable and okay in
the middle ages and people always frame middle ages in jewish history as depressing. This is
called lachrymose. This is the period where rabbinic judaism becomes normal for jewish
families and becomes minhag, where torah becomes the normal code of conduct for Jewish
communities. Rabbinic Judaism is created, is normalized, and then dominates. There have been
anti Judaism segments prior to the middle ages, but the middle ages is where antisemitism is
created. Theological and productive communication with responsa which were responses to
religious communication between rabbis. There were lots of summaries of religious laws and
commentaries.
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During the middle ages there's a thousand years of interaction and co-relations of influences both
ways with Christians and Muslims.
Rashi
He massively produces commentary in the early middle ages.
Ethnoreligions: THe way in which ones ethnicity and religion and the peoplehood work
together in slightly different ways
THe Diaspora 6th-16th Centuries
The jewish diaspora started with the exiles and continued after the ROman wars, with Jews
expanding into Africa, Europe, and Asia.There was a desire to remain together and enact
covenant together though it was difficult. This is the development of Kulturbereichs which is a
german word for the development of cultural regions (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and
independents) these are not sects but cultural flavours. They are mostly rabbinic and have some
disagreements but similar
The Babylonian Hegemony
The closer you are to the center the more normalized you are to the norm. In babylon they also
had the exilarch, the spokes person for the jews, an older office and claimed divinic heritage
disendent of david. The patriarch was the leaderin roman palestine and still looked to the
exilarch. Comes to an end in around the 11th CE. There was a desire to remain together and
enact covenant together though it was difficult.
The First Crusaid
10th-11th CE Europe lost contact with babylon due to the first crusaid
The Ashkenazi 8th-10th CE origin
Largely marked by Yiddish culture, which is midevil german written in a Hebrew script. SHUM
cities are the origins of the ashkenac.
Mizrahi: Jews from midevil middle east and there languages were ladino and judeo-arabic.
There are other independent groupings like the JEwish of Amsterdam and the italkim and the
Romaniotes.
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The idea of “Normative Judaism”
There are elements of truth but it not. The assumed “norm” of mainstream judaism like rabbinic
but not all the same. What old men in beards think not how judaism is practiced in the domestic
sphere. People simply dont see the diversity and overlook the smaller forms of diversity within
judaism like jewish women.
Middle ages
Women tended to be more formally educated and more literate than non jewish women.
WOmens judaism within the middle ages is a form of diversity.
Jewish women laws- rabbinic judaism
7- Niddah, Period laws
8- Blessings- candles on shabbat
9- Separation of the bread- a portion when making the bread should be taken off and burnedlike
sacrifice
Non rabbinic judaism in the middle ages
Etheopian jews and Kariet jews
The Jews of AFrica and Asian
- Most forms of african jews are befroe rabbinic judaism, many came over with the
muslims
- Beta Israel- pre rabbinic to the time of solomon
- Ibo Jews- torah only jews who predate rabbinic jews from nigeria - Lembra Connection-
oral history of jews migrating into the region
- India- portages jews moved over to india and english jews who moved in which are bene
israel (pre dates rabbinic judaism) and cochin jews (have elements of rabbinic judaism)
- Kaifeng Synagogue (1722– it was built and destroyed a few times and then didnt have the
funds to rebuild) Jewish settlement ramped up to 600-1000 CE of rabbinic jews who
went along the silk roads and were strongly misrahi. Its the longest lasting 10CE-19CE.
Very well documented site with clear harmony between Jewish needs and chinese culture.
With mikvah, dinning hall, kitchen, shofet, and a symbiotic relationships with the
muslims of the era as well. Here is the muslim context of good realations as well.
Minhag (customs of the elders)
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Points to how jews live generationally and how judaism adapts and passes down traditions.
Minhag is good to fill in a whole in the laws, a minhag acts as a lacuna which is a hole in a
religious tradition.
Who is a Jew?
- Early israelites didnt have a clear cut of who was a jew and who wasnt but the babylonian
excile changed this, this is when the rabbinic teaching did under the mother. For the
Karaites its as long as you are raised jewish.
- For ancient israelites; if you were born to an israelite father/clan you were included
- Abraham just gathered up everybody
- Not an easy way of knowing who
- Babylonian exile changed this
- Urge to formulate membership
- You are a jew if you were born to a jewish mother, or if you convert to judaism (but don't
convert away)
- But in torah it doesn't say anything about a jewish mother
- For Karaites they allow pateralinial jewishness (as long as your raised jewish it doesn't
matter which of your parents is raised jewish)
- For traditional rabbinic judaism→ you only need a jewish mother to be considered a Jew
- So while rabbinic jews recognize Karaites as jews they have doubt as to how their lineage
is holding up
- Every jew is responsible for holding up the covenant → if you let in jews that won't hold
it up, you can be held accountable for the sins the convert did
- Needed jewish mother, circumcision, keep shabbat, and kashrut were the cornerstones of
what a jew was with regards to rabbinic judaism
Judaism is diverse but often not shown that way.
Judaism in the middle ages is marked by rabbinic judaism as it pretty mich had become the most
dominant form of judaism. The diaspora of judaism has also come from the ideas of persecution.
This is when antisemitism is created and happens, prior had been anti-judaism sediments as
opposed to sudo scientific racism as we know it in the modern age, the idea that jews are
different by blood and this is a major change in how the jews are trwated.
The “age of Cogency” the period where rabbinic judaism becomes recognizable, hibitual and
incredibly stable in jewish familes.Rabbinic judaism emphasised chairty, compassion,
community, and home and the family, domestic rituals and safer for jews of the middle ages.
Jews were discouraged from having anymore jewish wars as god will save them and gave hews
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the feeling that you need to survive and teach your children and all you need to do is survive and
god will do their part. Talmud Torah becomes the standard rabbinic practice– to learna nd to
teach this is where the development of yeshivas come to play, rabbinic academies but open to not
just those who wanted to be rabbis. Jewish women in medivle europe tended to be much more
literate at the age of 3 studying hebrew and the bible as opposed to non jewish women. During
the babylonian excile the idea of learning the text is solidified but in rabbinic judaism it is about
you needing to be able to interpret and apply jkewish law. More professional diversification goes
on but it is important to be connected to a valid authority that you trust. Rabbinic judaism
extrapulates meaning
Not literal.
PaRDeS- Pshat, Remes, Derash, Sod
Pshat- the literal meaning, simple meaning, important but dont stop there
Remes- hints, the texts is guiding you to other texts or stories
Darash- interpretation, the application of the law
Sod- the hidden meaning of a text
Posaks- people who can answer questions in changing times and changing authorities
This allows uniformity to have elasticity to it
There is allowance for debate and not agreeing and polosemy is built into the talmud there is a
built in thing that people can debate and interpret nad not be in sync.
Orthodoxy- correct belief
Orthopracy- correct practices
Rabbinic judaism is going for the range of correct practices but there is a l
The Shulchan Aruch
Yosef Karo was a genius of his time— he was Sephardic and Sephardic tradition. The Isserles
provided a commentary with the azi work. This brings in a uniformity at the end of the Middle
Ages. This is a groundbreaking thing like its super important
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch- smaller version of what jewish homes need to know
This leads to general social cohesion in the Middle Ages as they needed access to their religious
resources and they were of similar beliefs and a lot of collectivity in their lives in this period. A
lot of this is a response to a forced response to isolation and self ruling.
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A lot of jewish life today has roots in the Middle Ages both home and in the institutions, the
feasts and fasts, Shabbat and kosher etc
The Ashkenazi was originally the area of Germany, but now it's used to describe traditions that
come from central and eastern European Jewish tradition. They are still rabbinic but with a
European flavour. The pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to
live and then had to live.
The Shum settlements: you lived where you were born, and it was really difficult to move from
where you were going, and you were an outlaw if you ever did anything else. Jewish charters
were agreements from bishops or monarchies that allowed Jews to settle, work a limited amount
of trades and have an allotment of land that they could live; this was the Jewish quarter that
became the Jewish ghetto steel. They were allowed to say as Jews but only under like an alien
residency as long as the charter was practiced.
Shum Takkanot- regionally binding decrees that pressing new issues that arise as Jewish
representative make degrees that become laws for people. This is where ashkenazi practice
becomes increasingly distinguished. A main figure is rabbi Gershom 10th CE, he was the head
rabbi when they started to introduce this so hes like a founder of ashkenazi. He did the letter of
the law, follow the law as long as it doesnt conflict with jewish law and he also said jews are not
allowed to open anothers mail, he also prohibits poligamy for the jews in this region as he saw
christian european marriages and thought it would make them look sinful or pornigrafic so they
need to sanctify the name of god, kadesh hashem.
Judaism in the middle ages was a time of varied periods of isolation nd autonomy for jewish
communities. The jewish quarters were historically jewish enclaves within a city of
predominantly non-jews, where only jews live, either voluntery or involuintatry in the ghettos
(shtetl) no freedom to move or of occupation but yes of laws to their own people.This changed in
1096 with the crusades.
Discussion Post:
Week 6 (Oct 20-26): Define "Ashkenazi" and describe some of the ways in which this group
was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the Ashkenazi
Middle Ages?
The Ashkenazi culture was originally the area of Germany, but now the term is used to
describe traditions that come from central and eastern European Jewish traditions. Ashkenazi
culture has a makeup of geography and climate, external influences and Yiddish. The
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Ashkenazi practices still follow rabbinic practices with a European flavour of influence. The
pale of settlements is the SHUM, an area where Jews started to choose to live and then had to
live. The SHUM settlements were the areas one was born in and lived. It was really difficult to
move from where you were because you would be considered an outlaw. There were Jewish
Charters as agreements made by bishops or monarchs that allowed the Jews to settle, work
limited trades and have an allotment of land that they could live in under a somewhat alien like
residency as long as long as they practiced the charter. These areas were known as the Jewish
quarters which later became the Jewish Ghettos, also known as Shtetl. The Jewish quarters and
Jewish ghettos gave the Ashkenazi Jewish communities a great ability for independence and
creation within their community. Yet it also made it easier for the Jewish people to be rounded up
during the Crusades.
Domestic Judaism
Family, women, children, education
Communial judaism
Leadership, the synagogue, the bet din
Jesus said a line that was related to jews being like thier father the devil so it created a thing that
jews are the devil and how christians should belihave against jews. St. augustine says jews need
to be alive to see christian be superior but they should suffer big time. They made myths in the
medival times that jews poision wells and thats why people were dying in the black plage. But
then Martin Luther with his 95 theseises
Medival synagogues are very low key and not grand– really mikvahs were very valuable at the
time. It was hard architecturally because of being covered but also like rain water yet not
freezing, they are hard core in ashkenazi things, this is more important than sysgoges in many
communities. There was urgency cuz no one could fuck otherwise. Like people could sell torah
scrolls to have a mikvah so they could fuck. Synagogues then were mainly for the men but the
mikvahs were more for the women. Rosh hodesh becomes the womens holiday in the middle
ages.
Glucklen Hameln- one of the most business success women of her generation, she made an
ethical will with 12 volumes. This was in the 16th century.
Rishom- the father of ashenasi movement and made the takkaot. He created the yishivahs and his
school in the SHUM cities became the place where people went to learn to be rabbis.
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Rabad was rich so he had time to read what people were saying and could be critical about the
ways in which rabbinic judaism is taught as it focuses too much on orthodoxy. He love
mistisysm, personal inclinations, spiritual.
Rashi- one of the greatest figures to come out of the middle ages, like he is so beyond relevant
today he is so popular within judaism. Known to be the greatest teacher within judaism, not just
ashkenaz btut also sephardim. His family owned winery. He was a teacher and a posek and a
writer on commentary. He taught for free because the winery made money. He studied in the
yeshiva Rishom established in Mince. His daily for generations went on to become also great so
he left a legacy.
In ashkenazi there was a lot of teaching judaism so you can defend it against others
The catholoic church said that talmud contained magic/witchcraft, put a copy of talmud on trial
for its participation in witchcraft, polemics, blasphemy, and dissing christianity. Torah was safer
to argue than talmud with a christian arguemtn becuawse the talmud christians thought was
witchcraft. There was no wins just which will make things less bad.
Conversion in judaism
For ancient israelites there wasnt any real conversion process- it was a loose society but then
after teh exiles there were clean rituals and processes. It was illegal in christian middle ages to
seek or to convert someone to judaism this is where the rabbinic process of turning a potential
convert away 3 times. A more common concern were jews converting away from judaism to
christianity there were lots of dangers and social implications. Even jews who converted to
christianity they had jewish blood so there was scrutanty. This is a ton of stealing jewish kids,
dunking them in the water and then the kid is christan and cannot live with their family. If a jew
was near a river and you pushed them iand said the right thing then they were no longer jewish
and cant live with jews anymore. Those forced to convert some people had a funeral like they
died.
Jews wer alone at being the non christians in ashkenazi but in the islamic world it varries in
religions other than Christians. Spain is the center of major jewish civilization in the middle
ages, jews main influences in this area is islam. They are less restricted to professions and
education. Their ability to mingle with others is way more advanced than ashkenazis in the
modern world.
Sephardim- the jews who have their orgins in spain in north Africa (not always sephardim
identifying), they developed ladino which is medival spanish mixed with arabic in hebrew script,
but they carry on greek, latin, aramaic, hebrew, arabic, and judeo-iranian.
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Mizrahi is the jews of what we would refer to as middle east. They were the first Jews to come
under islamic rule. The Jews were allowed to move within the islamic empire which when the
islamic empire was unified so babylon and other mizrahi groups could have engage and
influenced by the babylonian influence for a lot longer than in Europe.
There were a lot of meghrebi jews which are north african jews
1492- the sephardims had the second great dispersion.
472- 711, the visigoths took spain who converted to catholicism arounf this time . the jews did
not like the visagoths, they were happy to tourcher the jews of spain to such an extent jews
would hide their kids from being taken so they were happy that from 711-12CE when the
muslims took over. But then in the 8th century-1492 reconquista.
Covivencia- the living together during the golden age of spain
Dhimma- people of the book
In lue of service they have to take the tizya a tax for not fighting in their army of religion.
It becomes applied in the pact of umare nad it becomes way bigger. This is where Umar says
jews and christians have to wear other things, to not be negative to anyone who wants to convert,
pay tax, no public anything that shows wealth or pride. This becomes the key precedence
throughout the Islamic world with different varients . Jews of yemen had to wear bells so
muslims knew they were coming around the corner, jews couldnt go out in the rain incase the
impureness went into the waterstresm of the ground.
1066 Granada massacure- inspire by the downfall of a flash extreme wealth jew and too
much attention to himself. 4 thousand jews were murder.
1147 the first sephardic displacement for spain– the end of the golden age in medival
spain happened. The purging of Dhimma from spain. The almohads had tolerated the dihmma
for too long nonsense, they had plenty of time to see the truth and it is time for muslims now to
stop tolerating tehm.
COnversos– a personalized judaism while shoing they do catholocism on the outside.
They are someone for christians not to trust, the idea that conversion is not enough to irradicate
someones jewishness
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Week 7 (Oct 27-Nov 2): Define "Sephardim" and describe some of the ways in which this
group was shaped by its historical contexts – what were some of the main factors in the
Sephardic Middle Ages?
The Sephardim are the Jewish people who have origins in Spain and possibly North
Africa (not all north Africans identify as Sephardim). Within the Sephardim culture and regions,
languages such as ladino (medieval Spanish mixed with Arabic in Hebrew script), Greek, Latin,
Aramaic, Hebrew Arabic, and Judeo-Iranian. Languages are one of the critical factors of the
Sephardic middle ages as they were able to communicate with other groups in their societies
while maintaining the Hebrew language.
A significant Sephardic figure of the time was Yosef Karo. He was a part of creating the
Shulchan Aruch. His work helped bring uniformity into the middle ages. Under Muslim Spain,
the Dhimma was a tax that allowed the Jewish people (and others that fell under the category) to
live without being Muslim– this was in hopes of conversion. Though there were many rules, like
not being able to tell another not to convert to Islam if they desired, it was generally a good
situation for the Jewish people there.
This was until 1147 when the first Sephardic displacement ended the golden age in
medieval Spain. This was when a decree stated that Mohammed did not want the non-muslims
to have leniency for this long time. That time was up, and the Jewish people had time to see the
truth of Islam is the ultimate religion. Now Muslims are told to stop tolerating those who fall
under Dihmma. More specifically a passage within The Pact of Umar that highlights the changes
and outlooks within hte 7th Century is “We shall not display our crosses [any non-islamic
religious symbols] or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims. We shall use only
clappers in our churches very softly…We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims” (Pact of
Umar). This passage specifically highlights a change in mindset under this new wave of Muslim
rule. Though the Abrahamic religions have aspects in common and have shared in language,
customs and have been able to live rather well cohesively, this passage signals change. The
change being the display of any non Muslim religious symbols, the quieting of ones religion and
it being stated in writing that the dead need to be seperated by religion. The concept of these
practices being a decree in writing is also interesting as it reinforces that this is a decree rather
than a social norm of the time. Though these decrees may at first glance seem intense, in
comparison to what was happening to the Jewish community in europe at the time this was
minor. The Jewish and Christian communities were clearly different yet they were still apart of
the society with language, business, and able to receive an education.
Pact of Umar, 7th Century. Internet history sourcebooks project. (n.d.). Retrieved October
28, 2022, from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/pact-umar.asp
Supplemented by Lecture discussions and analysis
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SPanish golden age- where sephardim have their roots. Jewish spain in the middle ages has a big
amount of being literate, lots of languages
Cosmopolitanism- citizens of the world
Procial- all of education and experiences are within your religious community
Sa’adiaah ben yosef Gaon- Known for the application of knowledge and reason to philosophy,
understanding islam through religion, faith and reason. He had a systematic defense of his book
of beleifs and opinions to fight against the carights. He produced the first universal prayer book
for the sephardim.
Rambam- He gives a good snapshot of jewish theology of this period in relation to the messiah.
After the reconquista he was invited to engage in a disputation on the bible– a lose lose situation
of being able to bring trouble to the jewish community. The king at the time put him up against
someone who was a big person who converted. From RAMBAM we got one of the least
guarded disputation because he got the king to say nothing will go against them. One of this will
be about the jewish view of the MEssiah. He said the messiah had not come and why Jesus is
not the messiah, as the messiah would bring about peace and jesus had not brought about more
peace but more violance. Judaism is expecting a whoely human messiah, there is no diary
humans in judaism. Torah is eternal and nothing has happened to change the applicability of
Torah. He said that if anyone follows torah then its the true law otherwise its not. He fled to Ciro
where he was a Nagid, a leader of the community political and religious leadership along with
this he was a significant posif, He was also one of the best facitions of the time. A lot of his work
is in Arabic. He said that the arguments in judaism are inherintly rational and not about if spirits
of good and evil are here in the world but to produce a pro social movement working with a
covenant. He writes the 13 principles, the first 5 focus on g-d, nature of g-d, all about g-d etc in
here he is completely rejecting dualism or the trinity. Then its all about Torah stuff, then directly
against islam, then g-d knows it all and messiah would be good and messiah will come in
resurrect the dead. People thought these 13 things were robotic repetition which is known as
dogma but htat is wrong in judaism. Joseph Albo then reduces thing into three principles
JOseph albo: sefer ha-ikkarim
7) Belief in the existence of G-d
8) Beleif in torah and the prophets and in the revelation of g-d
9) Belief in divine justice (as related to the idea of immorality and the afterlife
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Joseph Karo- author of the SHulchan Aruch. THe mappa was later added by R. Moses Isserles
which is the ashkenazi law coming out of ashkenazi tradition to add to the medival period that
Karo made.
Conversos- many jews forced to convert and ket juddaism hidden
Crypto jews- jews who were secret jews
The Alhambra Cecree- 31 march 1492
The begging to the end of the middle ages as the jews are expuled from spain and go into the
americas, northern africa, and europe.
Personalism rises, the beginning of the end of hard core authority during the middle ages
Messiah will be a dessendeant of david, Back to israel gather jews from diaspera, restore gods
presence back on earth, world peace– this was a fatih based not political thing
Judah Halevi- beleived in the spiritual purity of israel and moved from spain to israel. It is
evolutionar. The idea that some were movin gon their own accord is big. He ,ade a story of
pride, the kezARI, becomes super popular.
Shabbetai Tzvi- in 1648 the Chmielnicki Massacre, was so beyond violant like disgusting how
bad it was. Jews begin to see this as a sign that hte messiah has to come and that is when
Shabbetai Tzvi claims to be the first messia adn so does an influential writer. People started
packing thier trunks for the messiah. He had very radical behaviour. Hes known as a false
messiah. He ended up converting to islam because he was ofrced to
Innovations inspired by the medival period but technically passed the medival period
FOr the majority of jews in the world the middle ages is a time of massive religious spread and
the ethnoreligiousy that it brings with both the explosion of travel and limitation of travel. The
movement of jews in this period are often not voluntary. The swirls of culture are not clean and
tidy, it is swirls. The remurgance and firming up of ashkenazi and sephardim traditions. In the
modern period theres an explosion of innovation when paths are crossed.
These habits that were formed through the isolation and autonomy continues in the pre modern.
This is the solidification of rabbinic judaism as something imbedded in minchag for jews in the
world. This is an era of new growth with diversification in rabbinic judaism.
In talmud there was a understanding that god would not give them more than they could handle
but there were signs of the end of the exile and there was the desire ofr change. This was through
changing ones life through themselves, this is a crossroad where jews make decisions to how
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there judaism is going to run after the experience of the middle ages. This is where the renewal
period comes in, to provide change, revival, to a judaism that feels tired.
Revival and renewal
- A religious trend to reconnect with the route of a tradition in light of the mideval
movement.
The late medival piety
- Super compelling for jewish women in the middle ages as women were diminissed or put
away from synagogue and not as intense as in the ancient period or as seen today
- In charity women were needing, able to do good work in a piety way taking care of
engaging with religion in a practical gaguing way
- An easy way for people without credientials to be helpful and respected in their
community. Also a good way that christianity influenced judaism
Mystisism
- A direct spiritual connection to the devine to transend - Islam positively influencing
the jews
Kabala
- The blanket term for mysticism in Judaism but moost likely from the middle ages
- It was embraced by the ashkenazi but was began with the sephardim
- Sefer ha-Zohar made the mystical commentary on hte torah, seeon within torah secret
messages that relate to the Ein Sof the secret nature of god. God is transcendent, no
human could even begin to get god but hes also active in here right now
- The idea one could get to know elements of god or that god wants this is attractive to
people
- Not rabbis but democratic available to non rabbis
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Hasidism– means pois ones
- A revival movement that was bannedoriginally by jewish movments
- Its rabbinic judaism but its the first split
- Founded by the Baal Shem tov who started teaching at hte cheder
- He emphasized personal relationship with g-d over regulation, and event study; a purely
devoted, joyous religious spirit matters more than scholarship
- Emphasized enthuizatic enjoyment of creation as worship of the creator
- He preached that people can have a direct relationship with god
- Revoltuionary that you could feel good about being jewish is woah after the middle ages
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- LOVE god, torah– be torah with love of god, love israel
- God loves the heart and soul not just the ideas of the law
