Josel (Joselmann, Joselin, Yoselmann) of Rosheim or Joseph ben Gershon Loanz (c.1480 - March, 1554) was the great advocate ("shtadlan") of the German and Polish Jews during the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Charles V. Events Great standing on the Ugra river - Muscovy becomes independent from the Golden Horde. ... For alternative meanings, see March (disambiguation). ... Events February 12 - After claiming the throne of England the previous year, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason alongside her husband. ... A shtadlan, also known as the court Jew, was an intercessor figure who represented interests of the local Jewish community (such as of a towns ghetto), and worked as a lobbyist pleading for the safety of Jews with the outside authorities of Medieval Europe. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I of Habsburg (March 22, 1459 - January 12, 1519) was Holy Roman Emperor Life and reign in the Habsburg hereditary lands Maximilian was born in Vienna as the son of the Emperor Frederick III and Eleanore of Portugal. ... Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V ( 24 February 1500– 21 September 1558) was effectively (the first) King of Spain from 1516 to 1556 (in principle, he was from 1516 king of Aragon and from 1516 guardian of his insane mother, queen of Castile who died...

His stature among the Jews, and the protected status he gained for himself and for the Jews within the Holy Roman Empire, rested in part on his skills as an advocate and in part from the Jewish role in financing the expenses of the emperor. The Holy Roman Empire ( German: Heiliges Römisches Reich) ( Italian: Sacro Romano Impero) ( Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium) ( Czech: Svatá říše římská) ( French: Saint Empire Romain Germanique) ( Polish: Święte Cesarstwo Rzymskie Narodu Niemieckiego) ( Dutch: Heilige Roomse Rijk) was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the...

Family background

His family probably originated from the French Louhans. One of his ancestors was Jacob ben Jehiel Loans, personal physician to emperor Frederick III, ennobled for his medical achievements, and also Hebrew teacher of the well-known humanist, lawyer and philosopher Johannes Reuchlin. The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Detail of Aeneas Piccolomini Introduces Eleonora of Portugal to Frederick III by Pinturicchio (1454-1513) Frederick III of Habsburg (born September 21 in Innsbruck, 1415; died August 19, 1493 in Linz) was elected as German King as the successor of Albert II in 1440. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... Humanism is a system of thought that defines a socio-political doctrine (-ism) whose bounds exceed those of locally developed cultures, to include all of humanity and all issues common to human beings. ... Johann Reuchlin (January 29, 1455 - 1522) was a German humanist and Hebrew scholar. ...

Despite the favor shown to this ancestor, his family history also shows the precarious position of Jews during this era. In 1470, three of his father's brothers, including Rabbi Elias, were prosecuted in Endingen, brought before the emperor on charges that eight years earlier they had performed a ritual murder at Sukkot. See Semicha for article about ordination of rabbis. ... Endingen is a small village located in the southwestern part of Germany. ... Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... Sukkot (סוכות or סֻכּוֹת sukkōt, booths) or Succoth is an 8-day Biblical pilgrimage festival, also known as the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Tabernacles. ...

Also in 1470, Josel's father, Gerschon, settled in in Oberehnheim (Obernai). In 1476, along with the entire Jewish community of that town, the family fled (pursued by Swiss mercenaries) to Haguenau, where Josel was born, possibly as early as that same year. The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. ... Haguenau (German: Hagenau) is a commune of northeastern France, in the Bas-Rhin département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ...

Early life

Nothing is known of Josel's childhood or youth. As a young man, he was a rabbi at the court of the Lower Alsatian Jewry, and made a living as a merchant and money lender. These three occupations would remain constants in his life. Capital Strasbourg Area 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 1,793,000 1,734,145 209/km² Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Alsace ( French: Alsace; Alsatian/ German: Elsaß) is a région of France. ...

While still young, he worked for the welfare of his coreligionists, and was probably instrumental in thwarting the hostile plans of Johannes Pfefferkorn, who had converted from Judaism to a rabidly anti-Jewish Christianity. In 1507, at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Colmar, a similar attempt was made at Oberehnheim. Josel successfully appealed to the imperial officials, and the Jews of Oberehnheim were allosed to remain. For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... Events The western continent is named America on the maps of Martin Waldseemüller. ... This article is about the city in Alsace. ...

Soon after, in arguing for the right of Jews to participate in the market at Colmar, he invoked the Roman juridical concept of "civibus Romanis" (Roman citizenry) to argue that Jews, like Christians, should have free access to all markets in the realm. The Roman Empire is not the Holy Roman Empire (843-1806). ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ...

In 1510 he was made by the Jewish communities of Lower Alsace their parnas u-manhig (sworn guide and leader), a title that he originally shared with Rabbi Zadoc Parnas. As such he had "to keep his eyes open in special care of the community," and possessed the right to issue enactments for the Jews of his district and to put under the ban (cherem, the equivalent of excommunication) refractory members. On the other hand, he had to defend individuals and communities against oppression, and, if necessary, to appeal to the government and to the emperor. During the first years of his public activity Josel lived in the town of Mittelbergheim. In 1514 he, with other Jews of this place, was accused of having profaned the consecrated host, and was put in prison for several months, until his innocence was established. Soon afterward Josel moved to Rosheim, Alsace, in which place he remained until his death. Cherem (or Herem), is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. ... Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... Events March - Louis XII of France makes peace with Emperor Maximilian. ... The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ...

In 1515–16 he aided his oppressed brethren in Oberehnheim by bringing their complaints personally before the emperor Maximilian I and obtaining a special imperial safe-conduct for them.

Advocate of the German Jews

Becoming steadily better known, even beyond the borders of Alsace, as a defender of Jewish communities in religious and legal matters, Josel gradually acquire a status as advocate, and even leader ("Befehlshaber") of all the Jews in the German empire. His status was not absolute: on one occasion he was fined for styling himself "Regierer der gemeinen Jüdischkeit", "ruler of the Jewry".

Soon after Charles V ascended the throne at Aachen in 1520, Josel procured a charter or letter of protection from him for the whole German Jewry, confirmed ten years later by in the Edict of Innsbruck, May 18, 1530. Several times he interceded successfully with King Ferdinand, brother of the emperor, in favor of the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia. Map of Germany showing Aachen Aachen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km to the west of Cologne, and the westernmost city in Germany, at 50°46 N, 6°6 E. Population: 256,605 (2003). ... Events January 18 - King Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Asunde. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (March 10, 1503 - July 27, 1564) was one of the Habsburg emperors that at various periods during his life ruled over Austria, Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary. ... Bohemia is also a place in the State of United States of America: see Bohemia, New York. ... Moravia (Czech: Morava) is the eastern part of the Czech Republic. ...

During the Peasant Wars, in 1525, the peasants of Alsace had decided to storm the city of Rosheim. With the peasants drawn up at the city gates, Protestant reformers Wolfgang Capito and Martin Bucer (or Butzer) failed to dissuade them from their plans, but after lengthy discussions Josel convinced them to leave the city and its Jews in peace. This stood in stark contrast to Sundgau, where the peasants had all of the Jews driven from the city. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Martin Bucer (or Butzer) (1491 - 1551) was a German Protestant reformer. ...

In 1530, in presence of the emperor and his court at Augsburg, Josel had a public disputation with the baptized Jew Antonius Margaritha, who had published a pamphlet Der gantze Jüdisch Glaub (The Whole Jewish Belief) full of libelous accusations against Judaism. The disputation terminated in a decided victory for Josel, who obtained Margaritha's expulsion from the realm. (Despite this legal decisoin, this work would be repeatedly reprinted and cited by anti-semites over the coming centuries.) Augsburg is a city in south central Germany. ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ...

At this same Reichstag, Josel defended the Jews against the strange accusation that they had been the cause of the apostasy of the Lutherans. Josel's most important action at the Reichstag of Augsburg was the settlement of rules for business transactions of the Jews. They were forbidden to exact too high a rate of interest, to call a negligent debtor before a foreign court of justice, etc. Josel announced these articles to the German Jews as "governor of the Jewish community in Germany", by means of a takkanot, a modification of Jewish law. Look up apostasy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Apostasy (Greek απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is the formal renunciation of ones religion. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... In finance, interest has three general definitions. ...

In Bohemia

While still occupied with the Augsburg articles, Josel had to hurry to the court of Charles V of Brabant and Flanders in order to defend the calumniated German Jews there (1531). In this to him most inhospitable country—for no Jews were living there then—he spent three months, occupying himself, when he was not officially engaged, with Hebrew language studies. Though his life was once in danger, he succeeded in attaining the object of his journey. At the Reichstag of Regensburg (1532) he tried in vain to dissuade the proselyte Solomon Molko from carrying out his fantastic plan to arm the German Jews and to offer them as a help to the emperor in his wars with the Turks. Molko did not follow Josel's advice, and soon after was burned as a heretic. In 1534 Josel went to Bohemia to make peace between the Jews of Prague and those of the small Bohemian town of Horovice (Horowitz). He succeeded in his mission, but the Jews of Horowitz plotted against his life, and he had to seek refuge in the castle of Prague. Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries. ... This article is in need of attention. ... 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. ... This is the disambiguation page for the terms Turk, Turkey, Turkic, and Turkish. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ...

In 1535 Josel traveled to Brandenburg-Ansbach to intercede with the margrave Georg in favor of the Jews of Jägerndorf, who had been falsely accused and thrown into prison; and he obtained their freedom. Two years later Josel tried to help the Saxon Jews, who were threatened with expulsion by the elector John Frederick. He went to Saxony with letters of high recommendation to that prince from the magistrate of Strasbourg and to Martin Luther from the Alsatian reformer Capito. But Luther had become embittered against the Jews on account of their faithfulness to their creed, and he refused every intercession, so that Josel did not obtain even an audience with the elector. But at a meeting in Frankfurt (1539) he found occasion to speak to the prince, whose attention he attracted by refuting, in a public dispute with the reformer Bucer, some spiteful assertions about the Jews. In the same Reichstag Philipp Melanchthon proved the innocence of the thirty-eight Jews who had been burned in Berlin in 1510, and this helped to induce Kurfürst Joachim of Brandenburg to grant Josel's request. The Elector of Saxony then also repealed his order of expulsion. See Ansbach, Austria for the Austrian town of the same name. ... With an area of 18,400 sq. ... City motto: – City proper ( commune) Région Alsace Département Bas-Rhin (67) Mayor Fabienne Keller ( UMP) (since 2001) Area 78. ... Martin Luther (originally Martin Luder or Martinus Luther) (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German theologian and an Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Lutheran, Protestant and other Christian traditions (a broad movement composed of many congregations and church bodies). ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... Melancthon, in a portrait engraved by Albrecht Dürer, 1526 Philipp Melanchthon (February 16, 1497 - April 19, 1560) was a German theologian and writer of the Protestant Reformation and an associate of Martin Luther. ... Berlin (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004); down from 4. ...

Refutes Luther's Charges

The same year Josel heard that the Hessian Jews had to suffer many persecutions because of a pamphlet by Butzer. He therefore wrote a defense of Judaism in Hebrew, to be read in synagogue every Sabbath for the comfort of his coreligionists. The magistrate of Strasbourg having expressed the belief that attacks on Christianity were contained in the defense, Josel had a verbatim translation made and sent to him. Soon Josel had to defend the Jews against the attacks of Luther himself, who in 1543 had published a very spiteful pamphlet, entitled Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen ("Of the Jews and Their Deceits"), which had led to harsh treatment of Jews in different Protestant districts. Josel refuted Luther's assertions in a voluminous petition to the magistrate of Strasbourg, and the latter thereupon inhibited a new edition of Luther's book. In 1541 Josel appeared as "chief of the Jews in the German lands" at the Reichstag of Regensburg, and succeeded in averting a dangerous edict which would have forbidden the Jews to engage in any monetary transaction. He succeeded at the Reichstag of Speyer in 1544 in obtaining a new letter of protection for the German Jews from the emperor, wherein they were expressly allowed to charge a much higher rate of interest than the Christians, on the ground that they had to pay much higher taxes than the latter, though all handicrafts and the cultivation of land were prohibited to them. At the same time Josel paid to the emperor in the name of the German Jews a contribution of 3,000 florins toward the expenses of the French war (the French having at this time allied with the Turks). In the Speyer letter of protection, referred to above, the emperor disapproved of the accusation of ritual murder, and he ordained that no Jew should be put in prison or sentenced for this crime without sufficient proof. Josel was anxious to obtain this order because in 1543 at Würzburg five Jews accused of ritual murder had been imprisoned and tortured. After having personally interceded in favor of these prisoners Josel at length obtained their pardon from the emperor. Hesse is also the name of the German writer Hermann Hesse, as well as the German mathematician Otto Hesse. ... A synagogue (from Greek συναγωγη, transliterated sunagoge, place of assembly literally meeting, assembly) is a Jewish house of prayer and study. ... Shabbat, or Shabbos (Ashkenazic pronunciation) (שבת shabbāṯ, rest), is a day of rest that is observed once a week, from sundown on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, by practitioners of Judaism, as well as by many secular Jews. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Speyer (English formerly Spires) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. ... Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... Würzburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ...

In 1546 Josel was called upon to interfere in behalf of the whole body of German Jews, who suffered much during the Smalkaldic war. Through Granvella, the influential counselor of the emperor, Josel obtained an imperial order to the army and a mandate to the Christian population in favor of the Jews, so that they were not molested in the course of the war. As a proof of their gratitude Josel caused the Jews to provide the imperial army with victuals wherever it passed. In recognition of the great services rendered by Josel to the emperor on this occasion and previously, Charles V renewed at Augsburg in 1548 the safe-conduct for Josel and his family, which thereby received the right of free passage throughout the German empire and free residence wherever Jews were allowed to live. Josel's life as well as all of his belongings was thus protected by a special imperial order. Even in the last years of his life Josel was able to make himself useful to Charles V. In 1552 he sent to the emperor at Innsbruck by a special messenger a warning that Elector Moritz of Saxony intended to invade Tyrol, and the emperor was thus enabled at the last moment to effect his escape. Innsbruck City Center Innsbruck and Nordkette from south Innsbruck (population 120,000) is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the Tyrol province. ... This article is about Tyrol, the shire. ...

Josel is believed to have died in Rosheim in 1554, although there is no written record of his death, nor does a tombstone survive. No successor was able to win as favorable a status for the Jews of the Holy Roman Empire. Events February 12 - After claiming the throne of England the previous year, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason alongside her husband. ...

Literary Activity

Josel worked for the welfare of his people to the last, dying suddenly in March 1554. In his active life he always found time to study religious literature, and besides his apologetic pamphlets he wrote several religious and ethical works, which in part are still extant. His most important books are:

• Derek ha-Qodesh, written 1531 in Brabant, containing rules for a pious life, especially in cases where a Jew has to bear martyrdom. Two fragments of this work, otherwise lost, are retained in the book Yosif Ometz, by Joseph Hahn, Frankfurt am Main, 1723.
• Sefer ha-Miqnah, finished 1546, the first part of which contains words of admonition against traitors in the midst of Israel, the second part being cabalistic. A manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Neubauer, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS." No. 2240), contains the greater part of this work.

Josel's memoirs (printed in the Hebrew original with a French translation in Revue des Etudes Juives, xvi. 84) contain reports (incomplete) of some important events in his life until 1547, especially some relating to his public activity. They seem to have been written down soon after that year. Events January 26 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake-- thousands die October 1 - Battle of Kappel - The forces of Zürich are defeated by the Catholic cantons. ... The tree of life Kabbalah (קבלה Reception, Standard Hebrew Qabbala, Tiberian Hebrew Qabbālāh; also written variously as Cabala, Cabalah, Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabala, Kabalah, Kabbala, Qabala, Qabalah) is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature. ... Entrance to the Library, with the coats-of-arms of several Oxford colleges Oxford University Libraries Service (OULS) comprises over 30 of the University of Oxfords central and faculty libraries: from the world famous Bodleian Library, established 400 years ago, to the modern digital library ventures. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ...

Representation in fictional works

Josel was the title character of the now-lost 1892 Yiddish language operetta Rabbi Yoselman, or The Alsatian Decree by Abraham Goldfaden. 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Operetta (literally, little opera) is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. ... Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (July 24, 1840 – January 9, 1908), born Abraham Goldenfoden (first name alternately Avram, Avron, Avrohom, Avrom, or Avrum, last name alternately Goldfadn; the Romanian spelling Avram Goldfaden is common) was a Russian-born Jewish poet and playwright, author of some 40 plays. ...

Article References

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. Please feel free to update it like any other article.The relevant article there is: The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...

• Deutsch, Gotthard and Feilchenfeld, Alfred Josel (Joselmann, Joselin) of Rosheim (Joseph Ben Gershon Loanz) (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=440&letter=J)

That, in turn gives the following references:

• H. Bresslau, in Geiger's Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, 1892, v. 307-334
• M. Stern, ib. iii. 66-74
• Kracauer, in Revue des Etudes Juives, xvi. 84, xix. 282
• Scheid, ib. xiii. 62, 248
• Grätz, Geschichte, ix., passim
• M. Lehmann, Rabbi Joselmann von Rosheim, Frankfort am Main, 1879
• Ludwig Feilchenfeld, Rabbi Josel von Rosheim: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte: der Deutschen Juden im Reformationszeitalter, Strasbourg, 1898, where the earlier bibliography is to be found.

Further information comes from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia, retrieved 19 March 2005. Besides also citing Feilchenfeld, that article cites:

• Stern, Selma, Josel von Rosheim: Befehlshaber der Judenschaft im Heiligen Römischen Reich Deutscher Nation, Stuttgart, 1959.