Jews in Europe to 1789

Biblical Israel and Judah• Jewish ancestry flows

from biblical patriarch Abraham through Isaac and Jacob

• Led from slavery in Egypt to the “promised land” of contemporary Israel

• Joshua fought Canaanites and Philistines for land

• David and Solomon established Jerusalem

• Babylonians captured Judah in 6th century BC

“Abraham’s Sacrifice” by Rembrandt, 1635

Jewish Beliefs• Jews believe in one God, the

same God worshipped by Christians and Muslims

• Jews believe they are the chosen people of God

• Jewish history, law, and prophecy are written in the Torah (the “Old Testament” for Christians)

• Jews believe that following God’s law (“Mosaic law”) leads to righteousness

• Rabbinical interpretations of scripture are compiled in the Talmud

• Jews look for a messiah: a redeemer and leader to return Jews to glory

“Abraham’s Sacrifice” by Rembrandt, 1635

Jewish Culture• Both a religious group and a

hereditary race

• Conversion to Judaism was far more common in Roman times than today

• Two groups of European Jews: Sephardic (“Spanish”) and Ashkenazy (“German”). Most US Jews are Ashkenazy.

• Mosaic law prescribes worship, communal law, social behavior, dietary rules, etc.

• Jews attend weekly synagogue service, presided by rabbi

• Most teens learn basic Hebrew for Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah

• Today, many denominations: Orthodox, Hassidic, Reformed, etc.

Costumes of Jews in Medieval Nuremburg

The Roman Empire• After Greek control of

area, Maccabees established kingdom 165-63 BCE

• Civil war led to Roman occupation

• 2nd Century AD: Romans put down rebellion and sacked Jerusalem

• Many Jews left area, sold into slavery or becoming citizens elsewhere in empire

Detail of Arch of Titus, Roman Forum

Polish Toleration• By 1000, large Jewish

community was in Poland

• Jews tended to live in ghettos or own villages

• Early Polish toleration attracted Jews expelled from west during Crusades, starting 1098

• Later, Catholic church and German protestant influences curbed toleration in Poland

• Later, partition of Poland led to increase of Jewish population in Russia

• “Ashkenazy” Jews originate in eastern Europe (Poland, Russia, Germany)

The Crusades and Catholicism• Crusades brought

pogroms along route to Holy Land, including Danube

• From time to time, Jews were required to wear identification symbols

• 1215 the 4th Council of the Lateran declared that Jews must wear Judenhut

• 1555: Pope Paul IV declared Judenhut must be yellow

Illustration from a 1250 French Bible

Jewish poet wearing a Judenhut hat

Spain• Jews first went to Spain in

days of Roman Empire

• “Sephardim” Jews originate from community in Spain

• Until Roman adoption of Christianity, Spanish Jews had close relations with others

• Spain attracted European Jews during tolerant years of Muslim rule of Spain, enriching Sephardic culture

• Jews held diverse jobs, especially academic and professional

• 12th C: Jews persecuted by new rules; 1492: expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella Barcelona Haggadah (14th century),

Jews departing synagogue

Spanish Jews’ Migrations

“Court Jews”• Christian texts prevented

lending money at interest (“usury”): Jews became money lenders

• Some Jews became (or forced to become) money lenders, tax collectors, financial middlemen

• Monarchs borrowed during crisis; often refused to repay

• Most Jews worked in lowest ranking professions: peasants, tinkers, cobblers

Jewish money lender, lending behind closed door

Persecution and Pogroms• Prejudice probably created by:

– Separated communities

– Separate beliefs

– Low socioeconomic standing of most Jews

– Prejudice against those to whom money was owed

• Periodic violent oppression of Jews started with Crusades

• Jews massacred as scapegoats during Black Death outbreaks

• Money lending led debtors to rise against Jewish creditors

• Expulsion from Spain led Jews to flee to Holland, Poland

Russian Jews fleeing from a pogrom

The Dutch Republic• 1492: Sephardim fled Spain,

many to Holland

• 1579: Dutch could not be persecuted for their faith; Holland became haven

• 1674: Ashkenazy Jews outnumbered Sephardim 2:1

• Jews lived among non-Jews, not in ghettos

• Many high-ranking Jewish professionals, but most poor

• Jewish publications exported to rest of Europe

• 1800: Jews were 11% of Amsterdam population; many on gov’t charity

“Old Jewish Man” by Rembrandt, 1701

Common Social Conditions at 1750• At 1750, most Jews lived in

Poland, Lithuania, and Russia

• Most Jews lived in Jewish-only neighborhoods known as ghettos or separate villages

• No legal rights in most countries, especially Eastern Europe

• Most countries prohibited Jews from most professions, keeping most Jews poor, vulnerable

• Jews suffered increasing prejudice

“A Jewish Woman with her Veil and Rich Ornaments” France 1722

Hassidism• Founded in 1700s by Rabbi

Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), known as the Ba'al Shem Tov

• During persecution, Jews had turned inward toward academic Talmudic study

• Discontent with Rabbinic, academic Judaism led to appeal of mystical, emotional Judaism

• Hassidism:

– scholarship plus joyous love for God

– Oral teachings and sayings

– Exuberant worship

– Common in Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania Hassidic Jew at Wailing Wall

The Enlightenment• Criticism of miracles under-

mined authority of scriptures

• Spinoza (1632-1677)

– rational study of scripture

– felt that churches and synagogues led people astray and created persecution

– respected in Enlightenment because he was persecuted for rationalism

• Mendelsohn (1729-1786)

– Called for toleration among and within religions

– Religions were each one of many revealed paths to God

– Called for Jews to join European society

Baruch Spinoza