The history of the Jews

by Gotthard Deutsch

LITERARY ACTIVITY OF THE PERIOD

The improvement in the condition of the Jews of Spain, which began with the Arabic conquest of that country in 711, made itself felt in their literary activity. Especially was this the case in the Caliphate of Cordova, under Abderrahman (912-961). At his court, Hasdai ibn Shaprut rose to prominence, and, like the Mohammedan nobles of the time, gathered around him a number of eminent authors and scholars. Among them were Menahem ben Saruk and Dunash ibn Labrat, who first laid the foundation for a scientific Hebrew grammar. Their disciples were Judah Hayug and Mervan ibn Ganah, called Marinus. The center of Jewish learning still remained in Babylonia, where, after the conquest of the Persians by the Mohammedans, a revival of learning took place.

The two principal schools were those of Sura and Pumbeditha, and at the head of each was a president, ‏‎ריש מתיבתא‎‏. The one at Sura was the higher in rank, and was called Gaon (excellency), a title which later was transferred to the president of the school in Pumbeditha. The function of the Gaon was to preside over the regular course of studies, Sidra, and the popular extension course called Kalla, held twice a year in the months preceding the Passover and the fall festivals. He further rendered decisions in important cases submitted to him from all parts of the world. A number of collections of these decisions called Teshubot (Responsa), have come down to us. They are written partly in Aramaic and partly in Arabic, according to the language in which the question was written.

The Gaon licensed rabbis, or judges, as they were called, because their chief function was to act as judges in civil cases. These licenses were endorsed by the Exilarch, Resh Galutha, the political head of the communities in Babylonia, representing them before the government and appointing the Gaon. The former, in turn, was appointed by the Caliph, and his office was hereditary as a rule. The oldest literary works of the period are collections of laws regarding matters of frequent occurrence, such as liturgy, mourning, the reception of proselytes, etc. They are known as the “Small Tractates,” and are usually found in the ninth volume of our editions of the Talmud.

Other compendia of the law are the Halakot Gedolot by Simeon Kayara, written in the eighth century, and the Sheeltot of Ahai of Shabha, the latter arranged according to the Pentateuch, and containing some moral lessons besides the legal exposition of the text. The compilation of these works was opposed by the Gaonim, who considered them injurious to the study of the law and detrimental to their own authority.

In the ninth century the first Talmudic dictionary ‏‎ערוך‎‏ was written by Zemah Gaon. His work has not come down to us, but most of it was incorporated in the Talmudic dictionary of the same name, written by Nathan of Rome in the eleventh century. The title has also been retained by subsequent compilers of Talmudic dictionaries, including the Aruch Completum, edited by Alexander Kohut (1878-1892). At the same time Amram Gaon compiled the first liturgy, Seder Rab Amram, and thus is the originator of our present prayer-book. The form in which this compilation has come down to us is not as the original left the hands of its editor, for quite a number of later texts are found in it and its order of services is not exactly identical with any of the rituals in use at present. Still, it is the groundwork of the liturgy of Judaism to-day all over the world.

From the same period dates, probably, the first Kabalistic book which we possess, the “Sefer Yezirah” (Book of Creation). It may be called a theosophical treatise, written in the language and form of the Mishnah, and based on the philosophy of the Pythagorean and Alexandrian schools. Its subject-matter naturally makes it obscure; from the tenth century at least it has been commented upon. Legend has ascribed its authorship to Rabbi Akiba, and even to Biblical persons such as Abraham.

In the ninth century we meet the first traces of a scientific literature. Prominent here is Saadya Gaon (892-942), born in Fayum, and called to Sura as Gaon, quite an unusual event. His literary activity extends over the whole field of Jewish literature. He wrote commentaries on the Bible besides an Arabic translation, and on Talmudic topics. He also composed religious hymns, but the most important of all his works is his ‏‎אמונות ודעות‎‏ (Dogma and Science), the first attempt at a scientific apology for Judaism from a philosophical point of view. His independence brought him into conflict with the Exilarch David ben Zakkai, to whose dictates he would not submit in a matter which he regarded as unjust; consequently he was deposed. Saadya contended that this act was illegal and excommunicated the Exilarch. The latter proved stronger and Saadya was forced into exile. Later on, however, they became reconciled, and Saadya was reinstated (934).

The last two Gaonim of any importance lived in Pumbeditha. They were Sherira, who died in 999, and his son, Hay Gaon, who died in 1038. From the former we possess a very important historical treatise on the development of Rabbinic law known as the epistle of Sherira Gaon. It was written at the request of a man in Morocco, and was inspired by apologetic motives to prove that the law had been handed down unaltered from generation to generation. From Hay Gaon we have various Talmudic works, many responsa, and a didactic poem. Their contemporary was Samuel ibn Hofni, a rationalistic writer, who rejected the belief in the miracles related in the Talmud. Otherwise the age of the Gaonim is characterized by a blind faith, not only in Bible and Talmud, but also in popular superstitions and in the preservation of superstitious customs. Hay was succeeded by Hezekiah, who after holding his office for two years was put to death by the Caliph in 1040. After this time the office lost all significance. Names of a few of those who held office after this time are found, but nothing is known of their activity, nor has any literary work of this age come down to us.

The blind faith which characterized the period of the Gaonim aroused considerable opposition, culminating in the foundation of a religious sect called the Karaites, ‏‎בני מקרא‎‏ “Sons of the Bible.” Their founder was Anan ben David (760) who claimed the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, and therefore rejected all Rabbinic law. His successors founded a congregation in Jerusalem, and very soon spread in the East. The most prominent teachers of the Karaites are Benjamin of Nehawend, and Salman ben Jeroham, the latter of whom carried on a literary controversy with Saadya. Judah Hadassi, in the thirteenth century wrote ‏‎אשכל הכפר‎‏ the standard work of the Karaite law, written in rhymed prose. Other important Karaite scholars are Aaron ben Elijah, who died in 1369, the author of ‏‎גן עדן‎‏, a compendium of the religious law, and ‏‎עץ חיים‎‏, a work on religious philosophy.

In the fifteenth century Elijah Bashjazi wrote another compendium of the Karaite religion entitled ‏‎אדרת אליהו‎‏. By this period a large Karaite community settled in Lithuania, where Isaac of Troki wrote a very able polemical treatise directed against Christianity, known as ‏‎חזוק אמונה‎‏. In 1698, Jacob Trigland, professor at Leyden, made inquiries concerning the Karaites by means of a letter addressed to their chief sent through an ambassador to Poland. He received a reply, ‏‎דודמרדכי‎‏, written by Mordecai ben Nissim. This was, for a long time, the only source of information on the history of the Karaites. The last Karaite author of any consequence was Abraham Firkovitch (1787-1874) of Russia, who discovered and published important Karaite documents. Some of these, however, he forged in the interest of the Karaite claim that the Karaites represent the original Judaism from which the Rabbanites seceded.

At the same time that the Karaite schism occurred, the Chazars, a Tartar tribe, were converted to Judaism. Reports of the existence of a Jewish kingdom had reached the Jews of Western Europe. Hasdai ibn Shaprut wrote a letter of inquiry on this. He received a reply from the King of the Chazars, and these two letters are the chief source of information concerning this remarkable event. Toward the end of the tenth century the kingdom of the Chazars was conquered by the Russians. Judah Halevi, who wrote his Kuzari about 1140, used the story of the conversion of the Chazar King in the form of a philosophic dialogue between him and the rabbi who converted him. The knowledge he had of an independent Jewish state was the basis of the fanciful reports circulated by an adventurer who called himself Eldad Hadani and pretended to be a descendant of one of the lost ten tribes. Their habitation and modes of life he described in a book. He appeared in the tenth century in Morocco, but nothing is known as to what finally became of him.

In the ninth century, the literature of religious hymns, Piyut, begins. The authors of these are called Payetanim (poets). Their works are characterized by arbitrary handling of the Hebrew grammar, by the creation of new words in an arbitrary style, and finally, by obscure allusions to the Midrash. The oldest of these poets are Jose ben Jose and Jannai. Their successor, Eleazar ben Kallir, is the most prolific of all. Of his life we know nothing with certainty.

The literary activity of the Jews of Europe began in the ninth century. The first work is probably the Josippon, a history of the Jews from the destruction of Babylon by Cyrus to the downfall of Jerusalem in 70, which was ascribed to Josephus Flavius. Another anonymous writer, who lived in Italy in the ninth century, is the author of the Midrash, called Pirke Rabbi Eliezer. But the first Jewish author who lived in Europe, known by name, is Sabbatai Donolo (913-982), who wrote on medicine, astrology, and Kabbala.

CHAPTER V
THE JEWS OF EUROPE (1040-1215)

The first mention of Jews in Germany is found in two orders of Emperor Constantine (321), in which he regulated the condition of the Jews of Cologne. It is possible that this settlement was of a temporary character, for nothing is heard of the Jews in Germany until the tenth century. A statement to the effect that Charlemagne called Rabbi Kalonymus of Lucca in Italy to be Chief Rabbi of all the Jews of Germany is first reported in the sixteenth century, and is in all likelihood legendary. Under Charlemagne the Jews appear in Germany only as travelling traders. In 1016, however, there was already a bloody persecution of the Jews in Mayence. Gershom ben Judah, a native of France, was rabbi in Mayence. He occupied so prominent a position that he was called ‏‎מאור הגולה‎‏ (light of the exile). He wrote commentaries on various parts of the Talmud, responsa, other Talmudic works, and liturgical poetry. He died in 1028. To him are ascribed various rules, among them a prohibition of polygamy and an injunction to respect the secrecy of letters. At the same time there lived in Mayence Simeon bar Isaac, the liturgical poet, whose hymns are found in the ritual of the German Jews for the second day of Rosh Hashana.

In 1090 Emperor Henry IV granted charters to the Jews of Worms and Speyer. These are the oldest laws regulating the status of the Jews in Germany, granting to them freedom of trade and travel, proclaiming the inviolability of their cemeteries, and prohibiting the kidnapping and baptism of their children. Six years later the first crusade broke out, and the mobs composing the army of the crusaders on the Rhine invaded the Jewish settlements, chiefly Cologne, Mayence, Speyer and Worms, in that part of the country. Houses were sacked, synagogues desecrated, and many Jews cruelly murdered; others committed suicide after killing their own children in order to save them from forced conversions. A number of Jews who had been converted to Christianity, in order to save their lives, later on returned to Judaism in spite of the ecclesiastic law which put this under the penalty of death. The Emperor, who at that time was in Italy, sanctioned this in spite of the protests of the Pope.

Another persecution broke out in 1146, when the second crusade began. But the consequences were not as serious as those of the first crusade. Bernard of Clairvaux strongly condemned all acts of violence toward the Jews, who found refuge in the castles of the lords, and the Bishop of Speyer opened his castle, the Wolkenburg, to them, protecting them from the attacks of the mob. Still, in Wuerzburg, quite a number were killed, under the charge of having murdered a Christian. This may be considered the first blood-accusation on the European continent, although no particular motive for the crime was given. There is, however, a case on record in England in 1144, where the Jews were accused of having murdered a boy, William of Norwich, and nailed him to a cross in order to mock the crucifixion of Jesus.

During the course of the twelfth century, local outbreaks of mob violence occurred everywhere in Europe, notably at Blois, France, in 1171, where thirty-four Jews were burned at the stake. In 1189, on the occasion of the coronation of King Richard Cœur de Lion, a bloody persecution took place in London, and soon spread over the other cities of the kingdom. Notable is the case of Benedict of York, who, in order to save his life, turned to Christianity and returned to Judaism on the next day. Both King Richard and the Archbishop of Canterbury permitted this, although it was against the canonical law.

The climax of the ill-treatment of the Jews was reached in 1215, when the Lateran Council, presided over by Pope Innocent III, passed various laws repeating the usual prohibition against office-holding by Jews, and decreeing that they should wear a distinct mark on their outer garments. This is the origin of the Yellow Badge, which in some countries continued to be in force until the end of the eighteenth century. The Pope stated that the Jews should be like Cain, singled out for their wickedness, and that their treatment should be an object lesson to Christians.