Ashkenz Essay
If I was a Jew living in the Medieval period and I had the opportunity to choose which Jewish community to belong to I would have chosen to belong to the 10th century Ashkenaz Jewish community. “Ashkenaz is an ancient name for Germany, however in modern Hebrew the name for Germany has been reworded” (Limmer Slide 2).
“The name Ashkenaz appears three times in the Bible and was understood to refer to an area that included the Jewish communities of the German empire and of northern France (the latter sometimes was also called “Tsorfat”)” (Efron et al. pg. 186). It is believed that the Ashkenaz migrated during the tenth century when a group of Jewish merchants made their way from Italy across the Alps and established themselves in towns of the German empire. Until the later part of the eleventh century, the most important of these northern Jewish communities was the one in Mainz. In the meantime, many communities emerged throughout different parts of Germany. As more Jews began settling in these towns, the number of Jews began to grow and some historian estimate …show more content…
that by the end of the fourteenth century, a total of about 100,000 Jews lived spread out over 1,000 different towns in the German empire. While in Germany the Jews of Speyer were granted the opportunity to adjudicate their own their own internal affairs by the by the bishop of that town. However, the Jews were still subject to the rules and regulations of the royal authorities.
However, even though the Ashkenazi groups in Germany had the privilege of adjudicating their own internal affairs they were restricted from many jobs and also from owning properties or lands, therefore the Ashkenazi Jews had a hard time earning money for a living leaving them to live of off trade and money lending.
Money lending was what got some of the Jews associated with the royalty and nobility and some of the people resented the apparent wealth of these Jews. However, the Jews were not insured against theft of their wealth, because they could at any time be thrown out by the kings to avoid payment or charged huge sums of money in taxes. If a Jew had a decent sum of money they could be guaranteed an income through money lending, because the Christians of the area could not loan money to other Christians and charge interest. However, there was nothing against loaning money from a non-Christian with
interest. I think that living in the 10th century Ashkenazi group would have been a good time to live in, because this is the time that the Jews started to migrate to different areas. While immigrating to a new area might be a scary thought it is also an adventurous experience and the Jews had the opportunity to experience a whole new culture and land. The Jewish population in the German empire during the 10th century was very small at about 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and I feel that this small number of Jews living in one single area allowed the Jews to be more tight knit with one another and share many similar beliefs and experiences together.
“The name Ashkenaz appears three times in the Bible and was understood to refer to an area that included the Jewish communities of the German empire and of northern France (the latter sometimes was also called “Tsorfat”)” (Efron et al. pg. 186). It is believed that the Ashkenaz migrated during the tenth century when a group of Jewish merchants made their way from Italy across the Alps and established themselves in towns of the German empire. Until the later part of the eleventh century, the most important of these northern Jewish communities was the one in Mainz. In the meantime, many communities emerged throughout different parts of Germany. As more Jews began settling in these towns, the number of Jews began to grow and some historian estimate …show more content…
that by the end of the fourteenth century, a total of about 100,000 Jews lived spread out over 1,000 different towns in the German empire. While in Germany the Jews of Speyer were granted the opportunity to adjudicate their own their own internal affairs by the by the bishop of that town. However, the Jews were still subject to the rules and regulations of the royal authorities.
However, even though the Ashkenazi groups in Germany had the privilege of adjudicating their own internal affairs they were restricted from many jobs and also from owning properties or lands, therefore the Ashkenazi Jews had a hard time earning money for a living leaving them to live of off trade and money lending.
Money lending was what got some of the Jews associated with the royalty and nobility and some of the people resented the apparent wealth of these Jews. However, the Jews were not insured against theft of their wealth, because they could at any time be thrown out by the kings to avoid payment or charged huge sums of money in taxes. If a Jew had a decent sum of money they could be guaranteed an income through money lending, because the Christians of the area could not loan money to other Christians and charge interest. However, there was nothing against loaning money from a non-Christian with
interest. I think that living in the 10th century Ashkenazi group would have been a good time to live in, because this is the time that the Jews started to migrate to different areas. While immigrating to a new area might be a scary thought it is also an adventurous experience and the Jews had the opportunity to experience a whole new culture and land. The Jewish population in the German empire during the 10th century was very small at about 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and I feel that this small number of Jews living in one single area allowed the Jews to be more tight knit with one another and share many similar beliefs and experiences together.