Part of a series of articles on Jews and Judaism This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...           Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture Image File history File links Star_of_David. ... Image File history File links Menora. ... Who is a Jew? (‎) is a commonly considered question that addresses the question of Jewish identity. ... Look up Jew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews, or even those of religious Jews working in cultural areas not generally considered to be connected... Judaism · Core principles God · Tanakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) Mitzvot (613) · Talmud · Halakha Holidays · Prayer · Tzedakah Ethics · Kabbalah · Customs · Midrash This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ... At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... Tanakh (‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ... Neviim [נביאים] (Heb: Prophets) is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), following the Torah and preceding Ketuvim (writings). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... This article is about commandments in Judaism. ... Main article: Mitzvah 613 Mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: ‎ transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. ... Jewish services (Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah ; plural תפלות, tefillot ; Yinglish: davening) are the prayer recitations which form part of the observance of Judaism. ... Tzedakah (Hebrew: צדקה) in Judaism, is the Hebrew term most commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice .(צדק). Judaism is very tied to the concept of tzedakah, or charity, and the nature of Jewish giving has created a North American Jewish community that is very philanthropic. ... // Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Minhag (Hebrew: מנהג Custom, pl. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct Jewish communities within the worlds ethnically Jewish population. ... Languages Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English Religions Judaism Related ethnic groups Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... Languages Hebrew, Ladino, Judæo-Portuguese, Catalanic, Shuadit, local languages Religions Judaism Related ethnic groups Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions, Spaniards, Portuguese. ... Languages Hebrew, Dzhidi, Judæo-Arabic, Gruzinic, Bukhori, Judeo-Berber, Juhuri and Judæo-Aramaic Religions Judaism Related ethnic groups Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions and Arabs. ... Population (historical) · By country Israel · Iran · Australia · USA Russia/USSR · Poland · Canada Germany · France · England · Scotland India · Spain · Portugal · Latin America Under Muslim rule · Turkey · Iraq · Lebanon · Syria Lists of Jews · Crypto-Judaism Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time, due to the constant streams of Jewish refugees created by expulsions, persecution, and officially sanctioned killing of Jews in various places at various times. ... Jews by country Who is a Jew? Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews Sephardi Jews Black Jews Black Hebrew Israelites Y-chromosomal Aaron Jewish population Historical Jewish population comparisons List of religious populations Lists of Jews Crypto-Judaism Etymology of the word Jew Categories: | ... The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The earliest date at which Jews arrived in Scotland is not known. ... For a list of individuals of Jewish origin by country in Latin America, see List of Latin American Jews. ... Excluding the region of Palestine, and omitting the accounts of Joseph and Moses as unverifiable, Jews have lived in what are now Arab and non-Arab Muslim (i. ... List of Jewish historians List of Jewish scientists and philosophers List of Jewish nobility List of Jewish inventors List of Jewish jurists List of Jews in literature and journalism List of Jews in the performing arts List of Jewish actors and actresses List of Jewish musicians List of Jews in... Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as crypto-Jews. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering... Jewish denominations · Rabbis Orthodox · Conservative · Reform Reconstructionist · Liberal · Karaite Humanistic · Renewal  · Alternative Several denominations have developed within Judaism, especially among Ashkenazi Jews living in anglophone countries. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonised in the Talmudic texts (Oral Torah) and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... This article is about Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of American Jews and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement, based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan, that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. ... Liberal Judaism is a term used by some communities worldwide for what is otherwise also known as Reform Judaism or Progressive Judaism. ... Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the sole reliance on the Tanakh as scripture, and the rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history - rather than belief in God - as the sources of Jewish identity. ... Jewish Renewal is a new religious movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices. ... Alternative Judaism refers to several varieties of modern Judaism which fall outside the common Orthodox/Non-Orthodox (Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist) classification of the four major streams of todays Judaism. ... Jewish languages Hebrew · Yiddish · Judeo-Persian Ladino · Judeo-Aramaic · Judeo-Arabic The Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... The Judæo-Persian languages include a number of related languages spoken throughout the formerly extensive realm of the Persian Empire, sometimes including all the Jewish Indo-Iranian languages: Dzhidi (Judæo-Persian) Bukhori (Judæo-Bukharic) Judæo-Golpaygani Judæo-Yazdi Judæo-Kermani Judæo-Shirazi Jud... Not to be confused with Ladin. ... Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages. ... The Judeo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Arabic-speaking countries; the term also refers to more or less classical Arabic written in the Hebrew script, particularly in the Middle Ages. ... History · Timeline · Leaders Ancient · Temple · Babylonian exile Jerusalem (in Judaism · Timeline) Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin · Schisms Pharisees · Jewish-Roman wars Relationship with Christianity; with Islam Diaspora · Middle Ages · Sabbateans Hasidism · Haskalah · Emancipation Holocaust · Aliyah · Israel (History) Arab conflict · Land of Israel This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. ... For the pre-history of the region, see Pre-history of the Southern Levant. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ... Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Main article: Religious significance of Jerusalem Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE.[1] Jerusalem has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness. ... 1800 BCE - The Jebusites build the wall Jebus (Jerusalem). ... The Hasmoneans (Hebrew: , Hashmonaiym, Audio) were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom (140 BCE–37 BCE),[1] an autonomous Jewish state in ancient Israel. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious. ... For the followers of the Vilna Gaon, see Perushim. ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 1,100,000? Casualties Unknown 1,100,000? (majority Jewish civilian casualties) Jewish-Roman wars First War – Kitos War – Bar Kokhba revolt The first... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the historical interaction between Islam and Judaism. ... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut גלות, exile, Yiddish: tfutses) is the expulsion of the Jewish people out of the Roman province of Judea. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Not to be confused with Sabians followers of an ancient religion in Babylonia. ... This article is about the Hasidic movement originating in Poland and Russia. ... Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; enlightenment, education from sekhel intellect, mind ), the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. ... Dates of Jewish emancipation. ... “Shoah” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Arab nations Israel Arab-Israeli conflict series History of the Arab-Israeli conflict Views of the Arab-Israeli conflict International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict Arab-Israeli conflict facts, figures, and statistics Participants Israeli-Palestinian conflict · Israel-Lebanon conflict · Arab League · Soviet Union / Russia · Israel and the United... Kingdom of Israel: Early ancient historical Israel — land in pink is the approximate area under direct central royal administration during the United Monarchy. ... Persecution · Antisemitism History of antisemitism New antisemitism This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at Jews. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... New antisemitism is the concept of a new 21st-century form of antisemitism emanating simultaneously from the left, the far right, and radical Islam, and tending to manifest itself as opposition to Zionism and the State of Israel. ... Political movements · Zionism Labor Zionism · Revisionist Zionism Religious Zionism · General Zionism The Bund · World Agudath Israel Jewish feminism · Israeli politics Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of the Jewish community. ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... Labor Zionism (or Socialist Zionism, Labour Zionism) is the traditional left wing of the Zionist ideology and was historically oriented towards the Jewish workers movement. ... Palestine (comprising todays Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip) and Transjordan (todays Kingdom of Jordan) were all part of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement, a branch of which is also called Mizrachi, is an ideology that claims to combine Zionism and Judaism, to base Zionism on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement. ... A Bundist demonstration, 1917 The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia, in Yiddish the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (אַלגמײַנער ײדישער אַרבײטערסבונד אין ליטאַ, פוילין און רוסלאַנד), generally called The Bund (בונד) or the Jewish Labor Bund, was a Jewish political party operating in several European countries between the 1890s and the... World Agudath Israel (The World Israeli Union) was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism. ... Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. ... Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... v • d • e

German Jews have lived in Germany for over 1700 years, through both periods of tolerance and spasms of antisemitic violence, culminating in the Holocaust and the near-destruction of the Jewish community in Germany and much of Europe. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at Jews. ... “Shoah” redirects here. ... Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic or national group. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ...

Today, over 200,000 Jews or persons of Jewish descent live in Germany, one of the largest Jewish populations in a European country.^[1][2]

[edit] Early settlements

The date of the first settlement of Jews in the regions called by the Romans "Germania Superior," "Germania Inferior," and "Germania Magna," is not known. The first authentic document relating to a large and well-organized Jewish community in these regions dates from the year 321, and refers to Cologne on the Rhine; it indicates that the legal status of the Jews there was the same as elsewhere in the Roman empire. They enjoyed some civil liberties, but were restricted regarding the dissemination of their faith, the keeping of Christian slaves, and the holding of office under the government. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Roman provinces | German history | Germany | History of the Germanic peoples ... The Roman province of Germania Inferior, 120 AD Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in todays southern and western Netherlands, the whole of Belgium and Luxembourg, parts of north-eastern France, and western Germany. ... , For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that River Rhine Pollution: November 1986 be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Jews were otherwise free to follow any occupation open to their fellow citizens, and were engaged in agriculture, trade, industry, and gradually money-lending. These conditions at first continued in the subsequently established Germanic kingdoms under the Burgundians and Franks, for ecclesiasticism took root slowly. The Merovingian rulers who succeeded to the Burgundian empire, were devoid of fanaticism, and gave scant support to the efforts of the Church to restrict the civic and social status of the Jews. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... For other uses, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ...

[edit] Under Charlemagne

Charlemagne readily made use of the Church for the purpose of infusing coherence into the loosely joined parts of his extensive empire, by any means a blind tool of the canonical law. He made use of the Jews so far as suited his diplomacy, sending, for instance, a Jew as interpreter and guide with his embassy to Harun al-Rashid. Yet even then a gradual change occurred in the lives of the Jews. Unlike the Franks, who were liable to be called to arms at any moment in those tumultuous times, the Jews were exempt from military service; hence trade and commerce were left almost entirely in their hands, and they secured the remunerative monopoly of money-lending when the Church forbade Christians to take usury. This decree caused the Jews to be sought everywhere as well as avoided, for their capital was indispensable while their business was viewed as disreputable. This curious combination of circumstances increased their influence. They went about the country freely, settling also in the eastern portions. Aside from Cologne, the earliest communities seem to have been established in Worms and Mainz. Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... Bold textItalic text == Headline text ==He was born a 4 headed man but 3 of his 4 heads died along with all but one of his 90 hearts. ... Look up usury in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... Wormser Dom Worms (pronounced ) is a city in the southwest of Germany. ... Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ...

[edit] Up to the Crusades

Jews of Germany, thirteenth century.

The status of the German Jews remained unchanged under Charlemagne's weak successor, Louis the Pious. They were unrestricted in their commerce, merely paying into the state treasury a somewhat higher tax than did the Christians. A special officer, the "Judenmeister," was appointed by the government to protect their privileges. The later Carolingians, however, fell more and more in with the demands of the Church. The bishops, who were continually harping at the synods on the anti-Semitic decrees of the canonical law, finally brought it about that the majority Christian populace was filled with mistrust against the Jewish unbelievers. This feeling, among both princes and people, was further stimulated by the attacks on the civic equality of the Jews. Beginning with the tenth century, Holy Week became more and more a period of persecution for them. Yet the Saxon emperors did not treat the Jews badly, exacting from them merely the taxes levied upon all other merchants. Although they were as ignorant as their contemporaries as regards secular studies, they could read and understand the Hebrew prayers, and the Bible in the original text. Halakic studies began to flourish about 1000. Image File history File links GermanJews1. ... Image File history File links GermanJews1. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Holy Week (Latin: ) in Christianity is the last week of Lent. ... For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). ... Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...

At that time R. Gershom ben Judah was teaching at Metz and Mayence, gathering about him pupils from far and near. He is described as a model of wisdom, humility, and piety, and is praised by all as a "lamp of the Exile." He first stimulated the German Jews to study the treasures of their religious literature. This continuous study of the Torah and the Talmud produced such a devotion to their faith that the Jews considered life without their religion not worth living; but they did not realize this clearly until the time of the Crusades, when they were often compelled to choose between life and faith. Gershom ben Judah best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (in Hebrew: Our teacher Gershom) (c. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

[edit] A period of massacres (1096-1349)

Jews (identifiable by the Judenhut they were required to wear) were killed by Christian Knights during the First Crusade in France and Germany. French Bible illustration from 1250.

The wild excitement to which the Germans had been driven by exhortations to take the cross first broke upon the Jews, the nearest representatives of an execrated opposition faith. Entire communities, like those of Treves, Speyer, Worms, Mayence, and Cologne, were slain, except where the slayers were anticipated by the deliberate self-destruction of their intended victims. About 12,000 Jews are said to have perished in the Rhenish cities alone between May and July, 1096. These outbreaks of popular passion during the Crusades influenced the future status of the Jews. To salve their consciences the Christians brought accusations against the Jews to prove that they had deserved their fate; imputed crimes, like desecration of the host, ritual murder, poisoning of wells, and treason, brought hundreds to the stake and drove thousands into exile. They were accused of having caused the inroads of the Mongols, even though they suffered equally with the Christians. When the Black Death swept over Europe in 1348-49, the Jews were accused of well-poisoning, and a general slaughter began throughout the Germanic and contiguous provinces, causing a massive exodus east to Poland, where they at first were warmly greeted by the Polish King, forming the future foundations of the largest Jewish community in Europe. Jews being killed by Crusaders, from a 1250 French bible File links The following pages link to this file: History of the Jews in Poland ... Jews being killed by Crusaders, from a 1250 French bible File links The following pages link to this file: History of the Jews in Poland ... The Jewish poet Süßkind von Trimberg wearing a Judenhut (Codex Manesse, 14. ... Combatants Christendom, Catholicism West European Christians, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Seljuks, Arabs and other Muslims The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of destroying the peaceful Islamic civilizations and confirming the barbaric nature of European society. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... Noble Family or Dynasty Piast dynasty Coat of Arms Piast Eagle Parents Władysław I the Elbow-high, Jadwiga Kaliszka, of Gniezno and Greater Poland Consorts Aldona Ona, Adelheid of Hessen, Christina, Jadwiga of Glogow and Sagan Children 5 daughters Date of Birth 1310 Place of Birth Kowal Date...

[edit] In the Holy Roman Empire

Etching of the expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt on August 23, 1614. The text says: “1380 persons old and young were counted at the exit of the gate.”

Nevertheless, the legal and civic status of the Jews was undergoing a transformation. They found a certain degree of protection with the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who claimed the right of possession and protection of all the Jews of the empire in virtue of being the successor of the emperor Titus, who was said to have acquired the Jews as his private property. The German emperors claimed this right of possession more for the sake of taxing the Jews than of protecting them. Ludwig the Bavarian especially exerted his ingenuity in devising new taxes. In 1342 he instituted the "golden sacrificial penny," and decreed that every year all the Jews should pay to the emperor one kreutzer in every gulden of their property in addition to the taxes they were paying to the state and municipal authorities. Image File history File links Expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt on August 23, 1614, after riots in the Jews Street led by Vincent Fettmilch. ... Image File history File links Expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt on August 23, 1614, after riots in the Jews Street led by Vincent Fettmilch. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ... Louis IV of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach (born 1282) was duke of Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his brother Rudolf, also count of the Palatinate until 1329 and, German king since 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. ...

The emperors of the house of Luxemburg devised still other means of taxation. They turned their prerogatives in regard to the Jews to further account by selling at a high price to the princes and free towns of the empire the valuable privilege of taxing and mulcting the Jews. On the reorganization of the empire in 1356, Charles IV., by the "Golden Bull," granted this privilege to the seven electors of the empire. From this time onward the Jews of Germany gradually passed in increasing numbers from the authority of the emperor to that of the lesser sovereigns and of the cities. For the sake of sorely needed revenue the Jews were now invited, with the promise of full protection, to return to those districts and cities from which they had shortly before been cruelly expelled; but as soon as they had acquired some property they were again plundered and driven away. These episodes thenceforth constituted the history of the German Jews. Emperor Wenceslaus was most expert in transferring to his own coffers gold from the pockets of rich Jews. He made compacts with many cities, estates, and princes whereby he annulled all outstanding debts to the Jews in return for a certain sum paid to him, adding that any one who should nevertheless help the Jews to collect their debts should be dealt with as a robber and peacebreaker, and be forced to make restitution. This decree, which for years injured the public credit, impoverished thousands of Jewish families during the close of the fourteenth century. Luxembourg - a small country in west Europe Luxembourg (city) - the capital city of the country Luxembourg (district) - a district in the country Luxembourg, province of Belgium Luxemburg, Iowa - a city in the USA Luxemburg, Wisconsin - a village in the USA Luxembourg Garden, Paris, France Luxemburg Township, Minnesota - a township in... Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. ... The Golden Bull of 1356 issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. A Golden Bull or chrysobull was a golden ornament representing a seal (a bulla aurea or golden seal in Latin), attached to a decree issued by monarchs in Europe and the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages and... Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ...

A Jew of Swabia.

Nor did the fifteenth century bring any amelioration. What happened in the time of the Crusades happened again. The war upon the Hussite heretics became the signal for the slaughter of the unbelievers. The Jews of Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia passed through all the terrors of death, forced baptism, or voluntary immolation for the sake of their faith. When the Hussites made peace with the Church the pope sent the Franciscan monk Capistrano to win the renegades back into the fold and inspire them with loathing for heresy and unbelief; forty-one martyrs were burned in Breslau alone, and all Jews were forever banished from Silesia. The Franciscan monk Bernardinus of Feltre brought a similar fate upon the communities in southern and western Germany. As a consequence of the fictitious confessions extracted under torture from the Jews of Trent, the populace of many cities, especially of Ratisbon, fell upon the Jews and massacred them. Image File history File links SwabianJew. ... Image File history File links SwabianJew. ... Germany, showing modern borders. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... The Hussites comprised a Christian movement following the teachings of the reformer Jan Hus (circa 1369–1415), who was influenced by John Wyclif and became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Flag of Moravia Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava; German: ; Hungarian: ; Polish: ) is a historical region in the east of the Czech RepublicCzechia. ... Silesia (English pronunciation [], Czech: ; German: ; Latin: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlůnsk) is a historical region in central Europe, located along the upper and middle Oder River, upper Vistula River, and along the Sudetes, Carpathian (Silesian Beskids) mountain range. ... Immolation means a sacrificial killing by burning, such as: Animal sacrifice Human sacrifice Sati is a Hindu funeral custom involving immolation. ... Capistrano is an open source tool for deploying web applications. ... Motto: Miasto spotkaÅ„ (the meeting place) Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Lower Silesian Powiat city county Gmina WrocÅ‚aw Established 10th century City Rights 1262 Government  - Mayor RafaÅ‚ Dutkiewicz Area  - City 292. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Trent is the name of several places: Trento in Italy, famous for the Roman Catholic Council of Trent Trent, Texas, USA Trent, South Dakota, USA Trent, Dorset, UK Rivers: River Trent in the UK, or one of several other Trent Rivers People: John Trent, US writer and president of Strong... Regensburg (English formerly Ratisbon, Latin Ratisbona, Czech Řezno) is a city (population 146,824 in 2002) in Bavaria, south-east Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. ...

The end of the fifteenth century, which brought a new epoch for the Christian world, brought no relief to the Jews. They remained the victims of a religious hatred that ascribed to them all possible evils. When the established Church, threatened in its spiritual power in Germany and elsewhere, prepared for its conflict with the culture of the Renaissance, one of its most convenient points of attack was rabbinic literature. At this time, as once before in France, Jewish converts spread false reports in regard to the Talmud. But an advocate of the book arose in the person of Johannes Reuchlin, the German humanist, who was the first one in Germany to include the Hebrew language among the humanities. His opinion, though strongly opposed by the Dominicans and their followers, finally prevailed when the humanistic Pope Leo X permitted the Talmud to be printed in Italy. Johann Reuchlin (January 29, 1455 - 1522) was a German humanist and Hebrew scholar. ... Pope Leo X, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici (11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521) was Pope from 1513 to his death. ...

[edit] During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

The feeling against the Jews themselves, however, remained the same. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were still subject to the will of the princes and the free cities, both in Catholic and in Protestant countries. The German emperors were not always able to protect them, even when they desired to do so, as did the chivalrous Emperor Maximilian I; they could not prevent the accusations of ritual murder and of desecration of the host. The unending religious controversies that rent the empire and finally led to the Thirty Years' war further aggravated the position of the Jews, who were made the prey of each party in turn. The emperors even occasionally expelled their "Kammerknechte" from their crown lands, although they still assumed the office of protector. Ferdinand I expelled the Jews from Lower Austria and Görz, and would have carried out his vow to banish them also from Bohemia had not the noble Mordecai Ẓemaḥ Cohen of Prague induced the pope to absolve the emperor from this vow. Emperor Leopold I expelled them in 1670 from Vienna and the Archduchy of Austria, in spite of their vested rights and the intercession of princes and ecclesiastics; the exiles were received in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The "Great Elector," Frederick William (1620-1688), deciding to tolerate all religious beliefs impartially, protected his new subjects against oppression and slander. In spite of the civic and religious restrictions to which they were subjected even here, the Jews of this flourishing community gradually attained to a wider outlook, although their one-sided education, the result of centuries of oppression, restricted them in European culture and kept them in intellectual bondage. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Maximilian I of Habsburg (March 22, 1459 – January 12, 1519) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. ... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway (Until 1643) Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire ( Catholic League) Spain Austria Bavaria Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I of... Ferdinand in 1531, the year of his election as King of the Romans Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was an Austrian monarch from the House of Habsburg. ... Map of Lower Austria showing districts and the four quarters (Waldviertel in green, Weinviertel in red, Mostviertel in yellow and Industrieviertel in blue) Lower Austria (de: Niederösterreich) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. ... Gorizia (Slovenian Gorica, German Görz, Friulian Gurize) is a small town (pop. ... Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Silver coin of Leopold I, 3 Kreuzers, dated 1670. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... susan kroh was a very important asset to austrias devolepment The Archduchy of Austria (German: ) was one of the most important states within Holy Roman Empire, the center of the Habsburg Monarchy, the predecessor of the Austrian Empire. ... Coat of arms Capital Brandenburg Berlin (from 1417) Religion Roman Catholic Lutheran Calvinist Government Monarchy Margrave  - 1157–70 Albert I  - 1797–1806 Frederick William III History  - Margraviate established 3 October, 1157  - Electorate established 25 December 1356  - Brandenburg-Prussia 27 August 1618  - Kingdom of Prussia 1 January 1701  - Dissolution of the... Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. ...

[edit] Migration of Polish and Lithuanian Jews to Germany

The atrocities of Chmielnicki and his Cossacks drove the Polish Jews back into western Germany. This trend accelerated throughout the 18th century as parts of Germany began to readmit Jews, and with the worsening conditions in Poland after the Partition of Poland in 1765 and 1795 between Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi (Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький in Polish as Bohdan Zenobi Chmielnicki; in Russian as... This article needs cleanup. ... The Partitions of Poland (Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ...

[edit] Jewish life through the Holy Roman Empire

German Jews of the upper Rhine, sixteenth century.

Fortunately, the Jews had kept their piety and their intellectual activity. They were devoted to the study of the Halakah. In the eleventh century Rabbi Gershom's pupils had been the teachers of Rashi, and his commentaries on the Bible and Talmud marked out new paths for learning. The German Jews contributed much to the spread and completion of these commentaries. Beginning with the twelfth century they worked independently, especially in the fields of Haggadah and ethics. R. Simon ha-Darshan's "Yalḳuṭ." (c. 1150), the "Book of the Pious" by R. Judah ha-Ḥasid of Ratisbon (c. 1200), the "Salve-Mixer" (Rokeaḥ) of R. Eleasar of Worms (c. 1200), the halakic collection "Or Zarua'" of R. Isaac of Vienna (c. 1250), the responsa of Rabbi Meïr of Rothenburg (d. 1293), are enduring monuments of German Jewish industry. Even the horrors of the Black Death could not completely destroy this literary activity. Profound and wide scholarship was less common after the middle of the fourteenth century, which led to the institution of allowing only those scholars to become rabbis who could produce a written authorization to teach ("hattarat hora'ah") issued by a recognized master. To this period of decline belong also a number of large collections of responsa and of useful commentaries on earlier halakic works. The customs and ordinances relating to the form and order of worship were especially studied in this period, and were definitely fixed for the ritual of the synagogues of western and eastern Germany by Jacob Mölln (Maharil) and Isaac Tyrnau. As it was difficult to produce any new works in the field of the Halakah, and as the dry study of well-worn subjects no longer satisfied, scholars sought relief in the interpretations and traditions embodied in the Cabala. There arose a new, ascetic view of life, that found literary expression in the "Shene Luḥot ha-Berit " by Rabbi Isaiah Horovitz of Frankfort-on-the Main (d. 1626), and that appealed especially to the pietistic German Jews. The end and aim of existence were now sought in the aspiration of the soul toward its fountainhead, combined with the endeavor to saturate the earthly life with the spirit of God. By a continuous attitude of reverence to God, by lofty thoughts and actions, the Jew was to rise above the ordinary affairs of the day and become a worthy member of the kingdom of God. Every act of his life was to remind him of his religious duties and stimulate him to mystic contemplation. Image File history File links GermanJews2. ... Image File history File links GermanJews2. ... It has been suggested that River Rhine Pollution: November 1986 be merged into this article or section. ... Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), a rabbi in France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Haggadah for Passover, 14th century Haggadah in Hebrew means Telling. ... Tombs of Meir of Rothenburg and Alexander ben Salomon Wimpfen on the jewish cemetery in Worms, Germany Meir of Rothenburg (c. ... Rabbi Yaakov Moelin (c. ... Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau is best known as author of Sefer Minhagim (Hebrew: Book of Customs). He was active in Hungary in the late 1400s and early 1500s, and attended yeshiva with the Maharil (Yaakov Moelin). ... Isaiah Horowitz (c. ...

16th century drawing of two Jews from Worms, Germany, each wearing the required yellow badge, and the man holding a moneybag and a garlic bulb.

Image File history File links A Jewish couple from Worms, Germany, with the obligatory yellow badge on their clothes. ... Image File history File links A Jewish couple from Worms, Germany, with the obligatory yellow badge on their clothes. ... Wormser Dom Worms (pronounced ) is a city in the southwest of Germany. ... Compulsory Jewish badge under the Nazi occupation of Europe: the Star of David with the word Jew inside (this one in German) A yellow badge, also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a mandatory mark or a piece of cloth of specific geometric shape, worn on the outer garment...

[edit] Separation from the world

The oppressions under which the Jews suffered encouraged an austere view of life. They lived in fear in their Jews' streets, subsisting on what they could earn as peddlers and as dealers in old clothes. Cut off from all participation in public and municipal life, they had to seek in their homes compensation for the things denied them outside. Their family life was intimate, beautified by faith, industry, and temperance. They were loyal to their community. In consequence of their complete segregation from their Christian fellow citizens, the German speech of the ghetto was increasingly interladen with Hebraisms, and also with Slavonic elements since the seventeenth century. When the atrocities of Chmielnicki and his Cossacks drove the Polish Jews back into western Germany. As the common people understood only the books written in this peculiar dialect and printed in Hebrew characters, a voluminous literature of edifying, devotional, and belletristic works sprang up in Judæo-German to satisfy the needs of these readers. Although this output was one-sided, presupposing almost no secular knowledge, its importance in the history of Jewish culture must not be underestimated. The study of the Bible, Talmud, and halakic legal works, with their voluminous commentaries, preserved the plasticity of the Jewish mind, until a new Moses came to lead his coreligionists out of intellectual bondage toward modern culture. Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi (Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький in Polish as Bohdan Zenobi Chmielnicki; in Russian as... This article needs cleanup. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

[edit] From Moses Mendelssohn (1778) to the Nazis (1933)

[edit] Moses Mendelssohn

Moses Mendelssohn located with true insight the point of departure for the regeneration of Jewish life. The Middle Ages, which could take from the Jews neither their faith nor their past intellectual achievements, had yet deprived them of the chief means (namely, the vernacular) of comprehending the intellectual labors of others. The chasm that in consequence separated them from their educated fellow citizens was bridged by Mendelssohn's translation of the Torah into German. This book became the manual of the German Jews, teaching them to write and speak the German language, and preparing them for participation in German culture and secular science. Mendelssohn lived to see the first fruits of his endeavors. In 1778 his friend David Friedländer founded the Jewish free school in Berlin, this being the first Jewish educational institution in Germany in which the entire instruction, in Scripture as well as in general science, was carried on in German only. Similar schools were founded later in the German towns of Breslau (1792), Seesen (1801), Frankfurt (1804), and Wolfenbüttel (1807), and the Galician towns of Brody and Tarnopol (1815). In 1783 the periodical "Der Sammler" was issued with the view of providing general information for adults and of enabling them to express themselves in pure, harmonious German. Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohns glasses, in the Berlin Jewish Museum Moses Mendelssohn (Dessau, September 6, 1729 – January 4, 1786 in Berlin) was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah, (the Jewish enlightenment) is indebted. ... Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more humans. ... David Friedländer (Born 16 December 1750 in Königsberg, died 25 December 1834, Berlin) was a German German writer and Jewish communal leader. ... Motto: Miasto spotkaÅ„ (the meeting place) Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Lower Silesian Powiat city county Gmina WrocÅ‚aw Established 10th century City Rights 1262 Government  - Mayor RafaÅ‚ Dutkiewicz Area  - City 292. ... Seesen is a town and a municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... For other uses, see Galicia. ... Tarnopol Voivodeship bis 17 September 1939, location the city A church in Brody (1625). ... Ternopil (Тернопіль in Ukrainian, Tarnopol in Polish, Ternopol in Russian) is a city in Western Ukraine, located at the banks of the Seret river. ...

A youthful enthusiasm for new ideals at that time pervaded the entire civilized world; all religions were recognized as equally entitled to respect, and the champions of political freedom undertook to restore the Jews to their full rights as men and citizens. The humane Austrian Emperor Joseph II was foremost in espousing these new ideals. As early as 1782 he issued the "Patent of Toleration for the Jews of Lower Austria," establishing thereby the civic equality of his Jewish subjects. Prussia conferred citizenship upon the Prussian Jews in 1812, though this by no means included full equality with other citizens. The German federal edicts of 1815 merely held out the prospect of full equality; but it was not realized at that time, and even the promises that had been given were modified. In Austria many laws restricting the trade and traffic of Jewish subjects remained in force down to the middle of the nineteenth century, in spite of the patent of toleration. Some of the crown lands, as Styria and Upper Austria, forbade any Jews to settle within their territory; in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia many cities were closed to them. They were, in addition, burdened with heavy taxes and imposts. Joseph II (full name: Joseph Benedikt August Johannes Anton Michel Adam; March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... “Styria” redirects here. ...

In the German Kingdom of Prussia, also, the government modified materially the promises made in the disastrous year 1813. The promised uniform regulation of Jewish affairs was time and again postponed. In the period between 1815 and 1847 there were no less than twenty-one territorial Jews' laws in the eight provinces of the Prussian state, of which each one had to be observed by a part of the Jewish community. There was at that time no official authorized to speak in the name of all German Jews. Nevertheless a few courageous men came forward to maintain their cause, foremost among them being Gabriel Riesser, a Jewish lawyer of Hamburg (d. 1863), who demanded full civic equality for his race from the German princes and peoples. He aroused public opinion to such an extent that this equality was granted in Prussia April 6, 1848; in Hanover and Nassau respectively Sept. 5 and Dec. 12 of the same year. In Württemberg equality was conceded Dec. 3, 1861; in Baden Oct. 4, 1862; in Holstein July 14, 1863; in Saxony Dec. 3, 1868. After the establishment of the North-German Union by the law of July 3, 1869, all existing restrictions imposed upon the followers of different religions were abolished; this decree was extended to all the provinces of the German empire after the events of 1870. For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... Gabriel Riesser. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ...

[edit] The Jewish enlightenment in Germany

The intellectual development of the Jews kept pace with their civic enfranchisement. Recognizing that pursuit of modern culture would not at once assure them the civic status they desired, their leaders set themselves to reawaken Jewish self-consciousness by applying the methods of modern scholarship to the study of Jewish sources, and to stimulate the rising generation by familiarizing them with the intellectual achievements of their ancestors which had been accumulating for thousands of years; and at the same time they sought to rehabilitate Judaism in the eyes of the world. The leader of this new movement and the founder of modern Jewish science was Leopold Zunz (1794-1886), who united broad general scholarship with a thorough knowledge of the entire Jewish literature, and who, with his contemporary Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport of Galicia (1790-1867), especially aroused their coreligionists in Germany, Austria, and Italy. The German scholars who cooperated in the work of these two men may be noted here. H. Arnheim wrote a scholarly manual of the Hebrew language; Julius Fürst and David Cassel compiled Hebrew dictionaries; Fürst and Bernhard Bär compiled concordances to the entire Bible; Wolf Heidenheim and Seligmann Baer edited correct Masoretic texts of the Bible, and Solomon Frensdorff subjected the history of the Masorah to a thoroughly scientific investigation; the Bible was translated into German under the direction of Zunz and Salomon; Ludwig Philippson, Solomon Hirschheimer, and Julius Fürst wrote complete Biblical commentaries; H. Grätz and S. R. Hirsch dealt with some of the Biblical books; Zacharias Frankel and Abraham Geiger investigated the Aramaic and Greek translations. Nor was the traditional law neglected. Jacob