1171–1205 C. E.
Before the thick clouds of deadly hatred had begun to gather from all sides over the house of Jacob, darkening the horizon without leaving even one span of the blue heaven; before the elements, pregnant with destruction, had been let loose on the head of the community of Israel, crushing it to the earth; before evil in the name of the Deity roused princes and nations, freemen and slaves, great and small, against the weak sons of Judah, and urged men with all the weapons of murder and the stings of scorn against them, to destroy this small body of men; before the haughty Popes, seated on the throne of God as judges over the living and the dead, fastened a badge of scorn upon the garments of Jewish men and women, and exposed them to persecution and mockery from all who encountered them; before fanaticism prepared instruments of torture for the most innocent of men, who were accused of crimes at which they shuddered more than their accusers, the charges being mere pretexts for torture and ill-treatment; before the gross lies about murdered children, poisoned wells, and witchcraft, became generally accepted; before all the nations of Christian Europe excelled the savage Mongolians in barbarity towards the Jews; before their thousandfold sufferings drove the blood from their hearts, the marrow from their bones, and the spirit from their brains, enfeebling them and dragging down their aspirations to grovel upon the earth; in short, before that life of hell began for the Jews, which, in the days of Pope Innocent III, reached its climax under Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain, it is well to glance around upon the circle of scattered Jewish congregations on the face of the globe, and to note their condition in different countries, in order to see what they still possessed, and of what this devilish fanaticism afterwards robbed them. The cruelty which, in the names of two religions, was preached against the Jews, had not yet succeeded in stamping them altogether as outcasts. Whilst in one place they were despised and hated and execrated, in another they were looked upon with respect as citizens and men; whilst in one country they were servants of the imperial chamber, in another they were appointed by princes and municipalities to important offices; whilst in one place they were reduced to the miserable position of bondmen, in another they still wielded the sword, and fought for their independence.
The number of Jews in Asia far exceeded that in Europe, but the general standard of the latter made them superior, so that Europe must be regarded as the chief seat of Judaism. Here true self-consciousness was aroused; here Jewish thinkers strove to solve the difficult problem connected with the position of Judaism and the Jews among the other religions and nations, and of the task allotted to each member of a community. The heart of Judaism still beat in the Pyrenean peninsula. Jewish Spain still held the highest rank, as the intellect had here reached its fullest development. Jews lived in all the five Christian kingdoms which had been formed in this prosperous peninsula, in Castile, Leon, Aragon, Portugal, and Navarre. Only in southern Spain, in Mahometan Andalusia, since its conquest by the intolerant Almohades, there were no Jews, at least none who openly professed their religion. The former seats of Jewish learning, Cordova, Seville, Granada, and Lucena had been devastated; Toledo, the capital of Castile and of the whole country, had taken their place. The Toledo congregation at this time led the van; it numbered more than twelve thousand Jews. The town, resplendent with magnificent buildings, possessed also many splendid synagogues, "with whose beauty none other could compare." Among the Jews of Toledo there were wealthy and cultured men and brave warriors, who were skilled in the use of weapons. Jewish youths practised the art of war, that they might become distinguished knights. Under Alfonso VIII called the Noble (1166–1214), many talented Jews obtained high positions, were appointed officers of state, and worked for the greatness of their beloved fatherland. Joseph ben Solomon Ibn-Shoshan, called "the Prince," was a distinguished personage at the court of Alfonso (born about 1135, died 1204–1205). Learned, pious, wealthy and charitable, Ibn-Shoshan enjoyed the favor of the king, and was probably active in affairs of state. "Favor was bestowed upon him, and goodwill manifested towards him by the king and the grandees." With great liberality he encouraged the study of the Talmud, and erected, in princely magnificence, a new synagogue in Toledo. His son Solomon equaled him in many virtues.
Another highly honored man at Alfonso's court was Abraham Ibn-Alfachar (born about 1160, died after 1223), "crowned with noble qualities and magnanimous deeds. He was exalted in word and deed, an ornament to the king, and the pride of princes." Thoroughly proficient in the Arabic language, Ibn-Alfachar wrote choice prose, and composed well-sounding verses, whose high merit induced an Arab author to make a collection of them; amongst them was a panegyric upon King Alfonso. This noble king once despatched Ibn-Alfachar on an embassy to the court of Morocco, where ruled the Prince of the Faithful, Abu Jacob Yussuff Almostansir. Although this prince of the Almohades continued the intolerant policy of his predecessors, did not permit any Jew to dwell in his kingdom, and even desired to distinguish the Jews who had embraced Islam from the native Mahometans by a prescribed dress, he was obliged to receive the Jewish ambassador of Alfonso with friendliness. When Ibn-Alfachar presented himself for an audience before the vizir of Almostansir, in order to present his credentials, he was conducted through the charming gardens of the palace, the splendor and fragrancy of which delighted the senses. The gardener was, however, as ugly as the gardens were beautiful. To the inquiry of the vizir, how the garden pleased him, Ibn-Alfachar replied, "I would positively have thought it to be Paradise, were it not that I know that Paradise is guarded by a beautiful angel (Redvan), whilst this has as its guardian an ugly demon (Malek), showing the way to the gates of hell." The vizir laughed at this witty comparison, and thought it worthy of being imparted to Almostansir. The latter remarked to the Jewish ambassador, "The ugly doorkeeper was intentionally chosen, in order to facilitate the entrance of a Jew into this Paradise, because a Redvan would certainly never have admitted an infidel."
A kinsman of this favorite of Alfonso, named Juda ben Joseph Ibn-Alfachar, also bore the title of "Prince."
Although the two patrons of Toledo at this period, Ibn-Shoshan and Ibn-Alfachar, were themselves proficient in the Talmud, and encouraged Talmudical learning, yet this study did not flourish in the Spanish capital to the same degree as with Alfassi, his disciples, and in the school of Rashi. Toledo produced no Talmudists of renown. The congregation was compelled for several centuries to obtain its rabbis elsewhere. The Toledans had a greater inclination for science and poetry. They preferred philosophy, meditated deeply upon religion, and defended their belief against doubt. They were the most enlightened of the Spanish Jews.
The aged historian and religious philosopher, Abraham Ibn-Daud, was still alive, and was an ornament to the congregation of Toledo. At length in the year 1180 he fell a martyr in a riot against the Jews, the origin and extent of which are not quite ascertained. It is possible that the very warm friendship displayed by King Alfonso towards the Jews had caused the riot. This prince, who had married an English princess, had an open liaison with a beautiful Jewish maiden, Rachel, who on account of her beauty was called Formosa. This intimacy was not a passing fancy, but lasted for seven years. Concerning this love, a poet sang:
"For her the king forgot his queen,
His kingdom and his people."
A band of conspirators attacked the fair Jewess on her richly decorated dais, and, in the presence of the king, slew both her and her companions, probably at the instigation of the queen and the clergy. On this occasion, a riot may have broken out against the Jews, in which Abraham Ibn-Daud met his death.
This did not prevent the Jews of Toledo, however, from giving great assistance to Alfonso in his wars against the Moors. When he assembled his immense army in order to subdue the great power of the Almohades, who under Jacob Almansur were again trying to penetrate into the heart of Spain, the Jews poured forth their riches into the coffers of the impoverished monarch so as to enable him to equip his forces. In the battle of Alarcos (19th July, 1195) he was defeated, and the flower of Christian chivalry lay upon the battle-field. The Almohades ravaged fair Castile, and Alfonso was compelled to shut himself up in his capital, where the Jews fought with the other inhabitants, in order to repel the onslaughts of the enemy. They rendered material assistance in compelling the retreat of the foe. The Jews of Castile had a special interest in opposing the Almohades in their attempts to gain possession of the capital, lest they should become subjected to the fanaticism of Islam. They witnessed with joy the withdrawal of the Almohades before the kings of Castile and Aragon, who had entered into a confederacy against them. Through this union, however, the Jews of the kingdom of Leon suffered severely, when the allied forces, ravaging the land, marched through their territory. In this campaign, the oldest Hebrew copy of the Bible in Spain, which had hitherto, under the name Hillali, served as a model for copyists (said to have been written in about the year 600) fell into the hands of the enemy (9 Ab, 1197).