Monday:
• Review discussion topics
• Read Breslauer, chapter 5
• Be aware of how your congregation is a
reaction to modernity.
Jews in Christendom.
• Early Church distrusts Jews.
• Blamed Jews for Jesus’ death.
New Testament: Matt. 27:24-25
When Pilate saw that he was
accomplishing nothing, … he took water
and washed his hands in front of the
crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this
Man's blood; see to that yourselves." And
all the people said, "His blood shall be on
us and on our children!"
4-11 century
• Western Church ROME
• Eastern Church CONSTANTINOPLE /
Istanbul
• Formal split: Mid 11th century
– Catholic
– Orthodox
Eastern Church
Constantinople / Istanbul
• Often Treated Jews better than in West
• But often:
– Forced segregation
– Conversion to Judaism banned
– Moments of persecutions.
Blood Libel in Syria: late 4th century
• Soon afterwards the Jews renewed their malevolent and impious
practices against the Christians ... At … Inmestar, the Jews …
indulged in many absurdities, and at length impelled by drunkenness
they were guilty of scoffing at Christians and even Christ himself; and
in derision of the cross and those who put their trust in the Crucified
One, they seized a Christian boy, and having bound him to a cross,
began to laugh and sneer at him. But in a little while becoming so
transported with fury, they scourged the child until he died under their
hands.
•
And thus the Jewish inhabitants of this place paid the penalty for the
wickedness they had committed in their impious sport.
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/socschol-bloodlibel.htm
Rome: Christianized 4th century
• Christianity separates itself from Jewish
heritage:
– Synagogue construction banned.
– Easter no longer same days as Passover.
– Easter liturgies fanned anti-Jewish sentiment
Europe 800-1000
• Jews move into Europe along with
Christian expansions
• Protection by some Christian rulers
• Jewish traders important to economy.
– Resentment
Crusades
• 1095
• 1145
• 1189
First Crusade
2nd Cr.
3rd Cr.
• Attacks on Jews as Christian armies head
for Middle East.
Spain 12-15 century
• Continual advancement of Christian
Europeans
• Islamic discriminations against Jews.
Re-christianized Spain
• First: Attempts to win favour of Jews
– Help with advance against Islam.
– Sephardic Jews flee
to
Christian lands
Turkey, Middle East
European Laws
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conversion to Judaism = death penalty
Jews barred from public office.
Jews cannot have Christian servants
No mixed marriages.
Jews must wear badge, pointed hats.
Jews “owned” by rulers.
– Feudal society
Forced Conversions
• 1391 in Castile and Aragon
• Massacres of Jews
• “Conversos” called “Marranos” (Pigs).
Never trusted as “true” Christians
Frequent violence
European Economy
• Jewish banking becomes necessary
• Christians forbidden to loan money on
interest
Resentment
• Pope Innocent III (13 century) complains
of French legal protection of Jewish
contracts against Christian witnesses
Heresy
• Divergent forms of Christianity = Heresy.
• Beginnings of witch-hunts.
• Jewish rejection of Christianity
Talmud Trial
• Jews forced to defend Talmud in trials
before Christian judged.
• Found to be heretical
• Book burnings.
Blood Libel
• Claims that Jews used the blood of a
Christian baby in Passover rituals.
• Frequent accusations in late middle ages,
persist to present.
• Easter time dangerous.
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/117
1blois.html (1171 ce)
Popes
• Anti-Jewish laws, but refused to accept
Blood-libel claims
• Failed to stop popular bigotry.
17th century blood-libel
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/rinn
.html
• Cult of Saint Anderl von Rinn
Expulsions
•
•
•
•
•
•
England
1290
France
1254
1394
Spain
1492
Germany
13th century
Poland
15th century
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/149
2-jews-spain1.html
Ghettos
• Jews forced to live in specific parts of a
city.
2 cultural groups by 13th century
• Islamic regions
Sephardi
• Christian Regions
France and Germany
•
Ashkenaz
Sephardi
• N. Africa,
Spain
Middle East
• Very cosmopolitan
• Educated in non-Jewish subjects
science, literature
• Humanistic: universal values often upheld.
Ladino language
• Mix of
• Spanish / Hebrew / Aramaic / Arabic
• Spoken in Turkey, Balkans after Spanish
expulsions.
• In danger of being lost
Judah Halevi
•
•
•
•
•
1075-1142
Poet
Influenced by Arabic poetry
Poems entered Jewish liturgy
Tisha B’Av
J. Halevi Kuzari
• Fictive dialogue illustrating superiority of
Judaism and proper life.
• God both distant and near
• Humanity, low and privileged to approach
God.
Shulkhan Arukh: “Set Table”
• Joseph Caro 1488-1575.
• Most important Handbook on Sephardic
Halakhah
Ashkenazi Judaism
•
•
•
•
France, Germany,
Education more based on Jewish tradition
Ethics more devoted to Jewish unity.
Reaction to frequent expulsions,
migrations.
Yiddish
• German / French with Hebrew / Aramaic
influences
• Widely spoken today
Yiddish
• Schtik = routine
• Goy
= non-Jew Heb. “nation”
• Schpeel = A salesman’s pitch
Ger. Spiel, to play.
Ashkenazi Education
• Women would often write religious works
in Yiddish
– Often assumed leadership roles
Yeshiva
• Jewish School.
• Torah, Talmud.
• Scholarly elite develops.
• Bar Mitzvah become important.
Mappah (tablecloth)
• Moses Isserles (1530-1572)
• Ashkenazi commentary on Shulkhan
Arukh.
RAMBAM and RASHI
Maimonides: Sephardic 1135-1204
– Physician
– Summarizes Torah (14 vols.)
– Guide for the Perplexed:
• Philosophy not superior to Jewish knowledge.
• Miracles do not conflict with science
• Revelation, divine justice, are not contrary to
reason.
RAMBAM and RASHI
• Maimonides: Abstract, comprehensive
theology and philosophy.
• R. Shlomo Iskaki: Practical, accessible to
a wider audience.
– Responsa:
RASHI 1040-1105
Askenazic
• God concerned with all humanity and Judaism’s
place in the world.
• Biblical commentaries give a digest of Jewish
Law, Lore and Culture.
• Torah scholars are “fathers” of students.
• Torah study brought into the house
Askenazi culture
• Dominant in Israel, USA
• Immigrants from East Europe.
Mysticism.
Pp. 113-115
http://jewfaq.org/kabbalah.htm
Modernity and discontinuity with
the past
3 ways of confronting discontinuity
• Baruch Spinoza
disc. a virtue
• Moses Mendelssohn
balance possible
• Hasidim:
disc. a fact: but
can return to
idealized past
Excellent exam essay question.
• J. Neusner says most of middle ages Jews
were pessimistic in the short term but
remained optimistic in the long term.
• After the rise of modernity and its hopes
for liberation but increased anti-semitism,
this changed to long term pessimism
unless a radical change occurred.
B. Spinoza (1632-1677)
• Spanish decent in Holland
• Traditional and secular education
• Philosopher.
• Broke with Jewish tradition.
First “Free Jew”??
• Lives independent of Jewish community.
• Theological-Political Treatise
critical analysis of Bible.
Bible result of politics, not revelation.
Religion is rules that bring happiness
• Any such rules are “word of God”.
Spinoza & rituals
• Rituals served the purposes of the ancient
society and were valid in that time.
• No longer necessary.
• Irrelevant in modern state.
• Says Bible supports separation of religious
institution and state
Spinoza:
• State and philosophy to be kept separate
• Inclusive and universalistic
• Issues with spinoza
• Example of his biblical intepretation
• Role in Zionism
• Backlash against him.
Moses Mendelssohn.
• 1729-1786
• Accommodation.
• Individual Citizen and Jewish
• Defense of Judaism as a modern faith