CHAPTER XIII.

SURVEY OF THE EPOCH OF MAIMUNI (MAIMONIDES).

The Jews of Toledo--Ibn-Shoshan, Ibn-Alfachar--The Poet

Charisi--Sheshet Benveniste--Benjamin of Tudela--The

Jews of Provence--The Kimchis--The Communities of Béziers,

Montpellier, Lünel, and Toulouse--Persecutions of Jews in

Northern France--The Jews of England--Richard I--The

Jews of York--The Jews of Germany--Ephraim ben Jacob--

Süsskind--Petachya the Traveler--The Jews of Italy and of

the Byzantine Empire--Communities in Syria and Palestine--

The Jews of Bagdad--Mosul--The Pseudo-Messiah, David Alroy

--The Jews of India--Conversion to Judaism of Tartars--The

Jews of Egypt.

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).

In Aragon, of which Catalonia was a part since the time of Ramon

Berengar IV, the Jews lived under favorable conditions, and were

able to develop their minds. Alfonso II (1162-1196), a promoter and

patron of the Provençal poetry, favored men gifted with word and

thought, and amongst such the Jews at this time took a foremost place.

Although Saragossa was the capital of Aragon, and since ancient times

had a Jewish congregation, yet at this time the city of Barcelona

was considered the center of northern Spain, owing to its favorable

position by the sea, and the flourishing state of its commerce.

Barcelona was pompously termed by the poet Charisi "the congregation

of princes and nobles." At its head stood Sheshet Benveniste,

philosopher, physician, diplomatist, Talmudist, and poet (b. 1131, d.

about 1210). Well acquainted with the Arabic language, he was employed

by the king of Aragon in diplomatic services, obtained honors and

wealth, and like Samuel Ibn-Nagrela, owed his prosperity to his pen.

Like this Jewish prince, Sheshet Benveniste supported men of science

and students of the Talmud. The poets laud his noble mind and his

liberality in excessive terms. Sheshet Benveniste himself, when in

his seventy-second year, composed a song of praise of one hundred and

forty-two verses in honor of Joseph Ibn-Shoshan of Toledo.

Next to him in importance in Barcelona stood Samuel ben Abraham

Ibn-Chasdaï Halevi (1165-1216), "the fountain of wisdom and the sea

of thought," as the poet Charisi extravagantly calls him. He had five

learned sons, among whom was Abraham Ibn-Chasdaï, who as the author of

a moral romance, "The Prince and the Dervish," and as a translator of

philosophical writings, has made a name in the history of literature.

The community of Tudela, a small town on the Ebro, which was the bone

of contention between the kings of Aragon and Navarre, had on two

occasions courageously fought for equal privileges with the Christian

and Mahometan inhabitants, and won them. They possessed a castle of

their own for their security. Tudela produced a learned traveler,

Benjamin ben Jonah, to whom, not alone Jewish history, but also general

history, is indebted for his interesting and authentic information.

He traveled through a great portion of southern Europe, Asia and

Africa (1165-1173). The object of this journey is not quite known.

He was either an itinerant merchant, or a pious man of an inquiring

turn of mind in search of traces of a Messianic redemption. He made

observations on the peculiarities of each town he visited, and his

record of observations has been translated into many modern languages.

Serachya Halevi Gerundi was born (1125, died 1186) in the little town

of Gerona in Catalonia. He appears to have possessed considerable

knowledge of philosophy, and was probably one of the first in his

country to occupy himself with this subject. He devoted himself

especially to the Talmud, and being acquainted with the labors of

the French and Spanish schools, he united in himself the methods of

Alfassi, Rashi, Joseph Ibn-Migash, and Tam. He was a thorough and

critical scholar, his mind being at once analytic and synthetic. In

his youth, at the age of nineteen, he composed Talmudical works, and

annotated the commentaries of Alfassi. Serachya Gerundi appears to

have suffered persecution at the hands of the community of Gerona, for

which he avenged himself by a satire. He left Gerona, and settled in

Lünel, where he possessed many friends, and where he was maintained

by a patron of learning. Here he composed various writings against a

Talmudical authority of the south of France--Abraham ben David--and

here also, at an advanced age, he finished his acute annotations of

Alfassi's work on the greater part of the Talmud. These he published

under the name of Maor. In this critical work, Serachya displayed his

independence of spirit, and everywhere he insists upon a thorough

understanding of the Talmud. But this very independence was displeasing

to his contemporaries, who were accustomed to hedge themselves in with

the decisions of the old authorities. Serachya was far in advance of

his age in his view of the Talmud, and accordingly his conclusions were

strenuously opposed. Of his life and position nothing further is known.

In the district on the other side of the Pyrenees, in Languedoc or in

Provence, the Jews towards the end of the twelfth century lived most

happily. Southern France partook of the northern Spanish character in

respect of culture and morals. The country was divided into a number

of small states, a circumstance which brought out the versatility of

its genius, and produced a period of literary excellence, which it

never afterwards surpassed. The province belonged at first partly to

the French crown and partly it was a fief of the German empire; then it

belonged to the King of Aragon as Count of Provence, and later to the

Count of Toulouse and St. Gilles; and, lastly, to different vassals,

counts, viscounts, and barons.

These were nearly all actuated by broad views of life; they were

patrons of the flourishing Provençal poetry, they encouraged

learning, and were not bigoted servants of the Church. Besides the

nobility, a free and wealthy middle class had arisen, which guarded

its independence as its dearest treasure. The intimate relations

between the inhabitants and the Moslems and Jews had weakened

western prejudices against the Orientals. The breadth of mind of the

Provençals, which prompted them to resist the Catholic Church, to

disregard papal bulls, to condemn the arrogant clergy, to apply the

scourge to the vices of the Roman court, and which gave rise to the

sect of the Albigenses, also rendered them capable of appreciating

Judaism, and the adherents of that religion. Among the Provençal

free-thinkers whom the stern, unbending Catholic Church branded as

heretics, there were many who secretly and openly acknowledged that the

law of the Jews was better than that of the Christians. Many of the

great and minor lords of southern France appointed Jewish officers,

and entrusted them with the high office of Chief Bailiff (Bailli),

with which, in the absence of the regent, were united the police and

judicial powers. The Jews of this country, which was so highly blessed

by nature, felt themselves favored, carried their heads high, took

the most lively interest in the welfare of the country, and exerted

themselves in spiritual concerns with untiring zeal. As the Christians

showed themselves ready to adopt innovations, so the Jews of southern

France did not accept all tradition with unquestioning faith, but

sought to comprehend its import, and test it before the judgment-seat

of reason. Although the Jews of Provence manifested great interest in

science, they cannot be considered as independent thinkers, able to

strike out into new lines of thought within the limits of Judaism.

Jewish Provence did not produce a single original mind, not one

profound thinker, not one genuine poet, not one distinguished scholar

in any branch of knowledge. The Jewish Provençals were faithful

disciples of foreign masters, whose conclusions they appropriated,

and steadfastly maintained; they were humble workers in science,

translators and propagators of foreign intellectual productions.

Judaism they loved with all their hearts, although ready to pursue the

free investigation of truth. Jewish virtues flourished among them,

their houses were hospitably opened to all strangers; they secretly

assisted the needy, and practised beneficence at all times. The rich

assisted the children of poor parents to receive higher instruction,

and gave them books, which were at that time very costly. Especially

noteworthy is the loyalty with which the congregations stood by one

another, and interested themselves in one another's most intimate

concerns. When danger threatened any particular congregation, the

others immediately took measures to assist, and avert the impending

danger. Their general prosperity was attained partly by agriculture

and partly by commerce, which at that time was carried on with Spain,

Italy, England, Egypt, and the East, and was in a most flourishing

condition.

The principal congregation of southern France was Narbonne; at that

time it contained 300 members. Under the rule of the sensible and

masculine Princess Ermengarde, the head of the congregation was

Kalonymos ben Todros, of an old family, whose ancestor, Machir, was

said to have immigrated in the time of Charlemagne. Kalonymos possessed

many estates, which were secured to him by absolute grants. At the

head of the college was Abraham ben Isaac, who was recognized as an

authority, and bore the title of Chief Justice (Ab-beth-din, died,

autumn, 1172). He was a man of strictly Talmudical pursuits, and

was scarcely affected by general culture. His Talmudical learning,

moreover, was wide rather than deep; his disciples, Serachya and

Abraham ben David, excelled him even in his lifetime. In Narbonne

there lived at this time the Kimchi family, whose achievements cannot

be said to correspond to their fame, but who, directly for Narbonne

and indirectly for posterity, effected more than the greatest masters.

The founder of the family, Joseph ben Isaac Kimchi (flourished

1150-1170), had emigrated from southern Spain to Narbonne, probably

on account of the religious persecution of the Almohades. Having a

knowledge of Arabic, he translated Bachya's work on moral philosophy,

and many others, into pure, fluent Hebrew; composed a Hebrew grammar;

wrote a commentary on Holy Writ, the nature of the extant fragments

of which precludes regret for the loss of the rest, and composed

many liturgical poems, artistic in form, according to the models of

neo-Hebraic poetry, then brought to perfection in Spain, but of little

poetic value. Joseph Kimchi's merit consists solely in the fact that

he introduced the Jewish culture of Spain into southern France, and

permanently established the results of Ibn-Ezra's fugitive activity. A

polemical work against Christianity, in the form of a dialogue between

a believer and an apostate, is also ascribed to him. Whether this work

be genuine or not, in any case it belongs to this time and country,

and throws a favorable light on the state of morality among the Jews

as contrasted with that of the Christian population. The believer

maintains that the true religion of the Jews is attested by the

morality of its adherents. The Ten Commandments, at least, are observed

with the utmost conscientiousness. They adore no being but God, and

they take no false oaths. Among them are no murderers, adulterers,

nor robbers; whilst Christian highwaymen often rob the weak, hang,

or blind them. Jewish children are brought up in purity and fear of

God, and no improper word is allowed to escape them. Jewish girls sit

modestly at home, while Christians are careless of their self-respect.

A Jew practises hospitality towards his brother Jew, ransoms prisoners,

clothes the naked, and feeds the hungry. All these virtues of the Jews

the Christian antagonist admits as generally known, and only blames

the Jews for taking exorbitant interest from Christians. This offense

the Jewish speaker palliates by pointing out that Christians also take

usury even from their co-religionists, whilst Jews lend to the members

of their race without interest.

Joseph's two sons, Moses and David Kimchi, followed in the footsteps

of their father. The first, who flourished 1170-1190, was still more

mediocre than his father, and this character of insignificance is borne

out by his grammatical and exegetical works. The younger brother, David

Kimchi (born 1160, died about 1235), was, in truth, the teacher of the

Hebrew language to the Jews and Christians of Europe; but if any value

is to be set on his grammatical, lexicographical and exegetical works,

we must ignore the fact that Ibn-Janach, Moses Ibn-G'ikatilia and

Ibn-Ezra lived before him, for with these he cannot bear comparison.

David Kimchi did not establish one original point of view. In the

introduction to his grammatical work (Michlol) he is honest enough

to confess that he only sought to arrange the manifold and detailed

results of the labors of his predecessors. At most, it can be said

in his favor that he discovered the difference between the long and

the short vowels, and thereby threw light on the vowel changes, and,

finally, that he preserved in Jewish circles a faint recollection of

a simple, sober, literal exegesis in opposition to the extravagant,

Agadic, pseudo-philosophical method of exposition.

The old community of Béziers, which had received Ibn-Ezra so honorably,

was at this time, under Viscount Raymond Trencaval and his son Roger,

in a still more fortunate condition than that of Narbonne. The Jews and

Christians of this city did homage to the spirit of free thought. Many

of the citizens were Albigenses, and renounced their allegiance to the

Pope and the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, following the old custom,

the bishop, on Palm Sunday, incited the parishioners against the Jews

as murderers of God, and the people, armed with stones, attacked the

Jewish houses. But as the Jews, who lived together in one quarter,

surrounded by a wall, always took precautions to defend themselves,

there was usually a number of broken heads. The chiefs of the Jewish

community now moved to abolish this custom, more discreditable to

Christianity than to Judaism, and received the consent of the viscount.

Bishop William, who was ashamed of so brutal a practice, also agreed

that it should be discontinued. On May 2d, 1160, an agreement was

concluded according to which every priest who stirred up the people

against the Jews should be excommunicated. The Jews in return pledged

themselves to pay four pounds of silver every year on Palm Sunday. The

assassination of Raymond Trencaval by several conspirators in church

on Sunday (5th Oct., 1167), involved the Jews of Béziers in trouble,

probably on account of their known attachment to the viscount. Certain

citizens preferred accusations against them, and the directors of

the congregation were arrested. Not long after, terrible retribution

overtook the murderers of the viscount and the accusers of the Jews.

Roger procured auxiliary troops from Alfonso, the king of Aragon.

These troops suddenly fell upon the citizens, put the men to death,

and hanged the ringleaders. Roger spared the Jews on account of their

faithful adherence to his father, and besides them only the women and

children (Feb. 1170). The viscount Roger, who favored the Albigenses,

had Jewish sheriffs, Moses de Cavarite and Nathan. Through this

partiality towards the heretics and the Jews, he provoked the anger of

the clergy and the Pope, and in consequence suffered a tragic end.

An important Provençal congregation existed in the flourishing

commercial city Montpellier, which was the capital of southern France;

it had very rich members whose beneficence was much extolled. Like

their co-religionists in Béziers, they had a predilection for learning,

fostered by the existence of a medical academy in the town and the

prevailing freedom of education. The lords of this city were by no

means so friendly to the Jews as their neighbors of Béziers. William

VIII and his son expressly enjoined in their wills that no Jew should

be admitted to the office of sheriff (1178-1201), although the latter

owed a Jew, Bonet, a large sum of money. It is not known who was then

at the head of the congregation of Montpellier, which produced no

men of celebrity, although it possessed learned Talmudists in such

plentiful abundance, that people compared its rabbinical school with

the Synhedrion of the Temple-Mount (Har).

What is now the little town of Lünel, not far from Montpellier,

was, under the lords De Gaucelin, an important city, and the Jewish

congregation, consisting of nearly three hundred members, was

considered, together with Narbonne, the most important outpost of

Jewish Provence. Its Talmudical school, which rivaled that in Narbonne,

educated numerous foreign students, who, if needy, were provided with

all necessaries by the congregation. At the head of the congregation

stood a man who was extravagantly praised by his contemporaries,

Meshullam ben Jacob (died 1170), a scholar and wealthy man, whose

opinion was held to be decisive in all matters of learning and law.

To win his approval was an incentive to an author. "His soul adhered

to the religion of his God; wisdom was his inheritance. He illumined

our darkness, and showed us the right path." Thus, and still more

extravagantly does an independent contemporary describe him. Meshullam

encouraged learned men to turn their attention to various branches,

especially to translating Arabic works of Jewish authors into Hebrew.

He was the first to awaken, among the Jews of Provence, a taste for

learning. He occupied the same influential position in southern France

that Chasdaï Ibn-Shaprut had occupied in Spain. Meshullam had five

learned sons, who illustrated within a small circle the two currents

which were to meet in the next generation in keen conflict. One of the

sons, Aaron, who flourished from 1170 to 1210, although conversant with

the Talmud, had a special predilection for viewing Judaism from its

philosophical side; two others, Jacob and Asher, on the other hand,

paid homage to that teaching which abhorred the light of reason. Jacob,

although rich, led an ascetic life, drank no wine, and on that account

received the name of Nazarite. He is described as the first promoter

of the new Kabbala. His brother, Asher of Lünel, lived, if possible, a

life even more austere, and although equally affluent, he fasted much,

and ate no meat.

On the whole, the scientific tendency prevailed in the community

of Lünel. It was represented by two men, who have made themselves

famous in the history of Jewish literature, viz., the founder of the

family of Tibbon, and Jonathan of Lünel. The latter was an important

Talmudical authority, who wrote a commentary on Alfassi's Talmudical

work. He was none the less fond of science, and was one of the first

who insisted that it should take a high place in Jewish studies. Judah

ben Saul Ibn-Tibbon (born about 1120, died about 1190) originally

came from Granada, and had emigrated to southern France on account of

the persecution of the Jews by the Almohades. In Lünel he pursued the

profession of physician, and in that capacity made himself so popular,

that his services were sought by princes, knights, and bishops, and

he was even sent for from across the sea. He knew Arabic thoroughly,

and he studied Hebrew with enthusiasm. His learning, however, made

him a pedant, he carefully measured every step, and cogitated deeply

whether he should take it or abandon it. At regular intervals he

examined his important collection of books, which he kept in most

perfect order, and was unhappy if he noticed any confusion in them.

He set great value upon elegant handwriting and other unessential

matters. Ibn-Tibbon was thus, as it were, created for translating. At

the instigation of friends, particularly Meshullam of Lünel--with whom,

as with Serachya of Gerona and Abraham ben David, he lived on friendly

terms--he translated in succession from Arabic into Hebrew, Bachya's

"Duties of the Heart," Ibn-Gebirol's "Ethics" and "Necklace of Pearls,"

Jehuda Halevi's religious philosophical work, Ibn-Janach's important

grammatical and lexicographical work, and, lastly, Saadiah's "Religious

Philosophy" (1161-1186). His translations, however, show his pedantic

character; they are absolutely literal and clumsy; they slavishly

follow the Arabic original, and do violence to the Hebrew language.

Jehuda Ibn-Tibbon, who knew perfectly well that a conscientious

translator must thoroughly understand both languages, as well as the

subject-matter of the work, pleaded as an excuse for the stiffness of

his translation, the poverty of the Hebrew language.

The second Tibbonid, Samuel, son of Judah (1160-1239), formed a strong

contrast to the character of his father; though more gifted than the

latter, he was thoughtless, prodigal, and of phlegmatic nonchalance.

His father had spent the utmost care on his education, had himself

instructed him, and put him under highly-salaried masters. Thus Samuel

Ibn-Tibbon studied medicine, the Arabic language, the Talmud, and

other cognate departments of knowledge. His fond father also provided

him at an early age with a wife, and tried to subject his son to

his guardianship and to the rule of his pedantic nature. The latter

revolted against his father's despotic rule, cast his exhortations and

teachings to the winds, and having asserted his independence, became

estranged from his father. He made foolhardy business speculations

instead of applying himself to his profession, losing all his money,

so that he was finally obliged to appeal to his father for means to

keep himself and his family from starvation. His father thought that he

was ruined, but Samuel quietly finished his education, and ultimately

excelled his father both in skill of translating and in philosophical

grasp. He rendered into Hebrew not only works of Jewish authors, but

also some of the works of Aristotle; he also wrote a philosophical

exposition of Ecclesiastes and a treatise on portions of Genesis.

Generally speaking, the chief claim of the Tibbonides to distinction

rests on their skill as translators, as that of the Kimchis on their

grammatical acumen.

Not far from Lünel, in Posquières, there existed at that time a

congregation of forty members. Here was born one of the greatest

Talmudists, Abraham ben David (about 1125, died 1198), son-in-law of

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne. Having been educated under excellent

teachers, and being very rich, Abraham (Rabed II) supported a college

of his own, which attracted many students from far and near. He

provided for the material as well as the intellectual needs of his

disciples. Whilst still a youth, he composed Talmudical works of great

importance, and at the instigation of Meshullam ben Jacob he wrote

a commentary on a part of the Mishna. By nature inconsiderate, and

having little respect for the rules of courtesy, he treated those

whose writings he refuted in a contemptuous manner. He was a dangerous

antagonist. Of the sciences he had no knowledge, nor did he seem

capable of grasping the higher conception of Judaism; he even boasted

of his ignorance of such things; it was quite sufficient in his eyes

for one to be thoroughly conversant with the Talmud. Abraham ben David

and Serachya Halevi were the profoundest Talmudists since the death of

Tam.

Bourg de St. Gilles, the second capital of Duke Raymond V of Toulouse,

had a congregation of a hundred members. This congregation, as well

as the others under Count Raymond, whom the troubadours called the

Good Duke, lived under most happy conditions, and were promoted to

offices of state. Abba-Mari ben Isaac, of St. Gilles, better known

through his learned son, was the sheriff of the town. This son, Isaac

ben Abba-Mari, who was probably a pupil of Tam, had acquired, from the

celebrated master of Rameru, a thorough rather than an ingenious method

of studying the Talmud. In his seventeenth year he composed, at the

instance of his father, a compendium of certain ritual laws, and later

in life summed up all the results of his investigations in the Talmud

in a work, entitled "Ittur," upon the rabbinical civil laws and rites.

Raymond VI of Toulouse favored the Jews even more than his father, and

promoted them to offices (1192-1222). On this account, and for other

like sins, he was virulently persecuted by Pope Innocent III, and

ultimately had to take a solemn oath that he would deprive the Jews of

their offices, and that he would never appoint any Jews, nor favor them

in any way.

Beaucaire (Belcaire), which belonged to the county of Toulouse, also

had a large congregation, at the head of which stood Kalonymos, "the

Prince." In the flourishing commercial town of Marseilles, which at

that time formed an independent state, there lived three hundred Jewish

families belonging to two congregations. The minor congregation,

the members of which dwelt near the harbor, and probably carried on

navigation, or at least engaged in foreign business, had at their head

a noble man, Jacob Perpignano (died 1170). The larger congregation

had a Talmudical college, over which Simon ben Anatolio presided. In

Marseilles also, the Jews were admitted to offices.

The beginning of the last two decades of the twelfth century

constituted the boundary line between fortune and misfortune for the

Jews of northern France, who were partly subject to the king and partly

to the more or less dependent barons. As long as the friendly king,

Louis VII, lived, they continued in their happy condition, and were

protected from the malevolent attacks of the clergy. Louis would not

enforce the resolution of the Lateran Council, that no Jew should keep

any Christian nurses or domestics. He asked the Pope, at the request

of the Jews, whether this resolution must be strictly construed, and

whether the Jews might be allowed to build synagogues. In spite of

the papal decision, he exercised so little energy in enforcing this

canonical law, that even his son Philip Augustus, in whose favor he

abdicated (1169) on account of feebleness, did not feel bound by it.

When the Archbishop of Sens insisted on its enforcement, and endeavored

to bring into effect several other decisions of the Church, which

encroached on the prerogatives of the crown, the young king sent

him into banishment. By and by, however, other considerations, not

different influences, gained the ascendancy over the not very noble

nature of Philip Augustus, at that time only twenty-five years old,

prompting him to change his mind about the Jews, and transforming him

into one of the greatest Jew-hating kings in history.

Although lord of the whole of France, and feudal suzerain of the

mighty king of England, the French king at that time had little

land of his own. The small tract of land, Isle de France, with a

few scattered provinces, constituted his only inheritance, and the

rest of the land was under the dominion of powerful barons. The

policy of Philip Augustus aimed at enriching the French crown by the

acquisition of landed estates, and by transforming the ostensible

vassalage of the barons into a reality. To accomplish this he needed

money, above all things, in order to raise troops and to support

them. The wealth of the French Jews appeared to him a ready resource,

and prompted him to devise a scheme to appropriate it. He had no

need for lengthy consideration, for he had only to give ear to the

prejudice that prevailed against them, in order to obtain the right

to plunder and oppress them. Although the Jews of France were not

the only persons who practised usury--for Christians also, in spite

of canonical prohibitions, took exorbitant interest--and although it

was perhaps only the rich Jews of that country that were usurers,

Philip Augustus nevertheless made the Jews one and all responsible

for the impoverishment of reckless debtors; and although personally

he did not believe that monstrous lie which somehow arose in the

twelfth century--whence and on what ground we know not--that the Jews

slaughtered Christian children on the Passover festival, and drank

their blood, he nevertheless acted as if they were incarnate murderers,

so as to have a convenient pretext for exacting and extorting money

from them. Even before the death of the old king, Philip Augustus

caused all the Jews living on his estates to be seized whilst they

were praying in their synagogues, and cast into prison (19th January,

1180). He calculated that the Jews would offer a large ransom for their

liberation. When they had collected fifteen hundred marks of silver

they were set at liberty. This extortion was only a prelude to further

demands. Before the end of the year 1180, the king declared all claims

of Jews against Christians to be null and void; but, nevertheless, took

care to appropriate a fifth part of the debts of the Christians to the

exchequer. A hermit of Vincennes encouraged him, by explaining to him

that it was godly work to rob the Jews of their wealth. Philip Augustus

was not yet satisfied that he had made the rich Jews beggars, and

shortly afterwards published an edict commanding all the Jews in his

province to leave it between April and St. John's Day (1181). They were

allowed to sell their movable property. Their fields, vineyards, barns

and wine-presses, which must have yielded a fine revenue, escheated to

the king, and the deserted synagogues were used as churches. That it is

untrue that the Jews of France were hated by the people on account of

their usury, alleged child-slaying, and other crimes, is proved most

decisively by the circumstance that counts, barons, and even bishops

strenuously endeavored to turn the king from his purpose, and to induce

him to repeal the edict of banishment against the Jews. All their

efforts, however, were in vain; young Philip Augustus, who had much

of Louis XIV in him, was, in spite of his youth, so obstinate that

(as his biographer says) a rock could be shaken more easily than his

resolution. And so the Jews of Paris and its environs once more had to

take the wanderer's staff, and leave the places where they had lived

for many centuries. The offer that they might retain possession of

their property if they would submit to baptism, they held as opposed to

their profession of faith in the unity of God. Only a few went over to

Christianity.

Fortunately for the Jews, the hereditary estate of the king, as

mentioned above, was at that time not very large, and the vassals

were still independent enough to refuse obedience to the order to

expel all Jews from their provinces. They dwelt in the greatest part

of France, and even those who had been driven out of the territory

of Philip Augustus were allowed to settle among them. The Talmudical

College of Paris was closed, but those in the Champagne, where the

Tossafists pursued their work, still flourished. The small town of

Rameru continued to be the center of study. Here Isaac ben Samuel, of

Dampierre (Ri), a great-grandson of Rashi, held his school. He was

the chief authority after the death of his uncle Tam. Learned and

acute, like his ancestors, Isaac occupied himself with completing

Rashi's commentary, with collecting and arranging his notes on the

whole Talmud, and supplementing the questions on knotty Talmudic

points presented to the Tossafists, and their decisions. It required a

profound knowledge of the enormous material of the Talmud to undertake

this work, to adjust the most irreconcilable opinions, to discover an

inconsistency here, and explain one away there. The story is told that

in the college of Isaac the Elder there were sixty learned members,

all of whom not only were proficient in the whole of the Talmud, but

each one of whom knew by heart and could explain in a masterly manner

one of its sixty treatises. Isaac's first collection of the glosses was

called "the old Tossafoth." In consequence of the hostile spirit which

began to prevail in northern France, through the persecution of Philip

Augustus, Isaac's son, named Elchanan, who, although young, had gained

renown among the Tossafists, fell a martyr to his religion, in the

lifetime of his father (1184).

Some years later (1191) Philip Augustus sent fresh victims to the

martyr's grave. In the little town of Bray (on the Seine, north of

Sens), which belonged to the county of Champagne, a Christian subject

of the king murdered a Jew. The relatives of the murdered man appealed

to the countess, and obtained her permission, through rich presents of

money, to hang the murderer. By design or accident, the execution took

place on the Purim festival, and this circumstance reminded the people

of Haman's gallows, and perhaps of something else. As soon as the king

had received news of the execution of his subject, in a distorted

report, moreover, saying that the Jews had bound the hands of the

murderer, crowned him with a crown of thorns, and dragged him through

the streets, he hastened to Bray with a force of men, and surrounding

the houses of the Jews with guards, offered them the alternative

between death and conversion. The congregation did not hesitate a

moment, its members bravely determined to kill one another rather than

die by the hand of the executioner. Philip caused nearly one hundred to

be burnt, and spared only the children under thirteen years. A few days

later the king, with blood-imbrued hands, was consecrated as champion

of the Cross, and sailed to Syria, to the crusade. The so-called Holy

War improved him but little.

All efforts to dislodge that really great hero, Saladin, from

Jerusalem and the district belonging to it, had hitherto proved

fruitless. Richard the Lion-hearted was compelled to patch up a truce

discreditable to the Christians, and the only favor that he obtained

was that Christian pilgrims were to be allowed to visit at any time the

Church of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

A new crusade had to be preached; the dying embers of fanaticism once

more had to be rekindled, and naturally the Jews again were the first

to suffer. Pope Innocent III, the most thoughtless and arbitrary of all

princes of the Church, took the cause in hand with frantic energy. He

commissioned a preacher, Fulko de Neuilly, who had till then lived a

reckless, sinful life, to preach the crusade in towns and villages; and

this agent, a second Rudolph, used the unpopularity of the Jews and the

prospect of plundering them as convenient means for enlisting soldiers

for the armies of the Cross. He preached that Christian debtors,

having taken the Cross, were absolved from their debts to their Jewish

creditors. Many barons of northern France inspired, or pretending to

be inspired by Fulko's fanatical harangues, enrolled themselves as

crusaders. Now that their hatred of the Jews was once more inflamed,

they drove them out of their provinces; for, having been impoverished

by the canceling of their debts, the Jews had nothing left which the

barons could extort from them.

Contrary to all expectations, Philip Augustus, the arch-enemy of the

Jews, received the exiles in his own territory, and allowed those who

had formerly been expelled by him to return again to their hearths

(July, 1198). This inconsistent and tolerant action of the king, who

had been hitherto invariably severe, occasioned much surprise. It seems

that Philip Augustus had taken this step for the purpose of mortifying

the clergy and Pope Innocent III, because they had declared against

his second marriage, he having divorced his first wife without the

sanction of the Pope.

At first glance it appears as if the French king and the barons were

filled with solicitude for the Jews, as if the latter were so dear to

them that they could not exist without them. They looked jealously

at one another if Jews emigrated from one province to another; they

reclaimed them, and entered into compacts whereby any Jews who had

changed their places of abode were to be delivered over to their

original lord; and they went so far as to place the Jews under oath not

to pass beyond their borders. But behind this apparent solicitude there

lurked the most contemptible greed for money. The Jews of northern

France were considered by the kings and barons as convenient sources

whence to obtain gold. As early as the year 1198, Philip Augustus

entered into an agreement with Thibaut of Champagne, that neither

should detain any Jews who had emigrated from the territory of the one,

and settled in that of the other, but that the Jews should be sent back

to the province whence they had come. Philip Augustus, however, like

most of the kings of France, was not a man of his word; he refused to

give up the Jews who had, on account of excessive oppression, moved to

Francia from Champagne, which was thickly populated with Jews.

Thus, from the time of Philip Augustus, the Jews of northern France

lost one of the most precious privileges of mankind, freedom of motion.

Whilst formerly they were able to move about at will from place to

place, they were now compelled to remain in their native place like

serfs. If they ventured to move from it, the lord of the land seized

their real property, and confiscated it. At first the Jews did not know

what to make of this state of affairs, and the rabbinical authority of

the time, Isaac of Dampierre, decided that no Jew should buy property

that had been confiscated; and if he did buy such property, he was to

return it to its original owner. Gradually this robbery became law.

Not only freedom of motion, but even the right to possess property was

denied them. "The property of the Jews belongs to the baron" was the

leading principle of the legislation of northern France concerning the

Jews. The king and the barons, indeed, allowed the Jews to take a high

rate of interest (two deniers a week on a livre), because it served

their purposes. The bonds had to be drawn up by a notary, sealed with

the public seal, and witnessed by two notables. In this manner the lord

of the province could obtain information of all money transactions.

On every settled account the lord levied a large tax (cens). The Jews

of northern France were valued only for their possessions; they were

treated as revenue-producing bondmen. A nobleman sold to the Duchess

of Champagne all his "chattels and Jews." The Jews were thus secure

from expulsion and persecution, because they were needed, but they

suffered from innumerable annoyances, and their moral sense was thereby

blunted. They were restricted to the business of money getting, and

they acquired as much as possible in order to be able to satisfy

their tormentors. The clergy did not fail to add fuel to the fire of

hatred against the Jews, and shut them out of the Christian world

like lepers. Bishop Odo, of Paris, who issued canonical constitutions

(1197), forbade Christians to buy meat of Jews, to hold discussions

with them, and generally to have any intercourse with them. Those who

disobeyed were subject to the sentence of excommunication. If the Jews

of northern France had not then been possessed of a burning passion for

the study of the Talmud, they would certainly have become as degenerate

as their enemies pictured, and wished them to be. The Talmud alone

saved them from brutalized selfishness and moral decay.

After the death of Isaac, the compiler of the Tossafoth (about 1200),

the study of the Talmud in northern France was furthered by three

men of his school: Judah Sir Leon ben Isaac, the Pious (ha-Chasid),

in Paris (born 1166, died 1224), Samson ben Abraham in Sens (died

before 1226), and the latter's brother, Isaac the Younger (Rizba), in

Dampierre. All three expounded the Talmud in their schools in the usual

manner, decided religious questions that were submitted to them, and

wrote Tossafoth, those of Samson existing in a separate form under the

name of Sens Tossafoth.

These three rabbis of northern France did not lead the way to new

developments in any branch of learning. They had no taste for science

or poetry, and they studied Holy Writ, only in the light of the Agadic

method of exposition. They were not destitute of acuteness, but they

wanted breadth of view. Samson was so incapable of doing justice to

the sincerity of religious feeling in the Karaites, who, if possible,

were over-scrupulous in the discharge of their religious duties, that

he not only held it illegal to intermarry with them, but wished them

to be regarded as idolaters, whose wine a Rabbanite might not drink.

Judah Sir Leon wrote a book in which he endeavors to hold up the

higher ideals towards which the truly pious should strive. This work

is, indeed, instinct with religious feeling, and of singularly pure

morality; but it is also full of perverted ideas of the world, and of

crass superstition. It mirrors faithfully the spirit of that time:

that religious scrupulousness which fearfully considers at every step

whether it does not commit or occasion a sin; that gloomy disposition

which detects in every natural impulse the incitement of Satan; that

paltry spirit which treats every trifling occurrence as full of

significance. Side by side with sentences of which philosophers need

not be ashamed, in this "Book of the Pious," there occur absurdities

which could have been produced only by the decline in all conditions of

life, which the Jews had experienced since the reign of Philip Augustus.

Judah Sir Leon, the Pious, became the master of many pupils, who

afterwards acquired renown: Solomon of Montpellier, Moses of Coucy,

Isaac of Vienna, and others became rabbis, and promoters of the study

of the Talmud in Spain, France, and Germany. All were guided by his

spirit, beheld Judaism only as through a thick layer of fog, and were

opponents of free investigation. The disciples of his school later on

arrayed themselves against the Spanish exponents of a higher conception

of Judaism.

In England, and in those French provinces which at that time belonged

to England (Normandy, Bretagne, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, Guienne,

Poitou and Gascony), the Jews lived under Henry II, for a long time,

in undisturbed and happy quiet. They inhabited the large towns, and

in London many of them attained to such wealth that their houses

had the appearance of royal palaces. The summons to the first and

second crusades found no response among the stolid islanders, and in

consequence no martyrs were found among the Jews of England at that

time. Many Englishmen had conceived such a predilection for Judaism

that they entered into the covenant. There existed a congregation which

consisted entirely of proselytes. Their communal and intellectual life

was like that of France, which at that time stood in close connection

with England. In London, Jacob of Orleans, a pupil of Tam, a famous

Tossafist, founded his school. Benjamin of Canterbury was likewise a

disciple of the teacher of Rameru. The knightly son of Henry, Richard

the Lion-hearted, was equally averse to persecution, and the Jewish

community of England might have developed peacefully under him, had

not the fanaticism kindled by Thomas à Becket included them among

its victims. At Richard's coronation (3d September, 1189), the first

persecution broke out against the Jews, culminating a century later in

their general expulsion. Richard's coronation ceremony was the first

scene of a bloody drama for the Jews.

When Richard had returned to his palace from his coronation in the

church, there entered, among others who came to do homage to the

king, a deputation of the richest and most prominent members of

the congregations of England to hand in their presents. On their

appearance, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, a fanatical church

dignitary, remarked fiercely, that no presents ought to be accepted

from Jews, and that they ought to be dismissed from the palace, for

on account of their religion they had forfeited the privilege to

rank among other nations. Richard, who did not think of the evil

consequences that might follow, innocently obeyed the instruction of

the archbishop. The palace menials, who showed the Jews out of the

palace, thought themselves privileged to abuse them. The gaping crowd

likewise fell to, and pursued the Jewish deputies with blows of the

fist, with stones and clubs. Soon there spread about in all parts of

London the false report that the king desired the humiliation and

destruction of the Jews, and immediately the mob and the crusading

rabble banded together to enrich themselves with the possessions of

the Jews. The pillagers made an attack upon the houses in which the

Jews had sought refuge, and set fire to them. Meanwhile night had

come, and covered with her shadows the ghastly butchery of the Jews.

It was in vain that the newly-crowned king sent one of his courtiers,

Ranulph de Granville, to make inquiries about the uproar, and put a

stop to it. At first he could not make himself heard, and was moreover

assailed with jeers by the raging mob. Many Jews were murdered;

others killed themselves, because they were called upon to submit to

baptism, among them Jacob of Orleans. Most of the Jewish houses were

burnt, and the synagogues destroyed. The fire, which had been applied

in order to destroy the records of the debts of Christians to Jews,

spread, and consumed a part of the city. Only one Jew apostatized to

Christianity, the wealthy Benedict of York, who with his fellow-deputy

had been ejected from the palace, and dragged into a church, where

he had pretended to submit to baptism. When Richard, however, learnt

the real circumstances of the affair, he ordered those implicated to

be executed. Richard was so careful of the welfare of the Jews of

his realm that, fearing that the persecution in London might spread

through England and his French dominions, he promulgated edicts that

the Jews were to be inviolate, and even sent deputies to Normandy and

Poitou to suppress any outbreaks against the Jews that might occur.

He, moreover, allowed Benedict of York to return to Judaism, when he

learnt that he had been baptized under compulsion, and heard from him

the confession that he had remained a Jew at heart, and wanted to

die as such. The fanatical Archbishop of Canterbury, who was present

at the interview, being asked his opinion, answered, "If he will not

remain a son of God, let him be a son of the devil." As long as Richard

remained in London, the Jews were at peace; but as soon as he crossed

the Channel, in order to inaugurate a new crusade together with Philip

Augustus, the scenes of London were repeated all over England. It

was not only religious zeal which incited the Christians against the

Jews of England, but rather envy of their prosperity, and, above all,

desire for their property. The first to suffer was the wealthy and

notable congregation in the flourishing commercial city of Lynn. If we

may believe Christian writers, it would appear that the Jews first

provoked the fury of the Christians against themselves. They are said

to have attacked a baptized Jew, and when he fled for refuge into a

church, they captured it by storm. Thereupon the Christians are said to

have been called to arms. At the time there happened to be crusaders in

the city. The Jews, being defeated by the latter, took refuge in their

houses, and there were assaulted with fire and sword, but few escaping

with their lives. It is impossible, however, that the Jews should have

been the first to attack, for the citizens themselves, when called upon

by royal commissioners to explain these disturbances, fixed the blame

on the crusaders, who, in the meantime, had decamped with the booty of

the Jews. A Jewish physician, who, by his modesty and skill, had won

popularity even among the Christians, was murdered by these ruffians

for mourning too much for his people, and invoking the justice of

heaven upon their murderers.

Soon after the Lynn massacre, the Jews of Norwich were surprised in

their houses, and butchered (6th February, 1190). A month later (7th

March), the Jews of Stamford were severely maltreated, because on the

market day many crusaders and strangers happened to be in the city,

who were sure to be in stronger force than their opponents, in case

the Jews, assisted by the citizens, should offer them resistance. They

believed that they were performing a godly act if they treated as

enemies those whose property they were lusting after, and they hoped to

extort from the Jews their traveling expenses for the crusade. Without

the least provocation, they fell upon the Jews, murdered some, forcing

others to flee to the royal castle, broke into the houses, and carried

away everything valuable. The robber crusaders absconded from the town

with their booty, so that none of it might fall into the hands of the

royal judges. One of these brigands was all but declared a saint; he

deposited his plunder at the house of a friend, who murdered him to

get possession of his ill-gotten gains. The Jews of Lincoln nearly

shared the fate of their brethren of Lynn, Norwich, and Stamford; but

on getting wind of the danger threatening them, they betook themselves

with their property to the royal castle for protection.

But most tragic of all was the lot of the Jews of York, because among

them were two men, who enjoyed princely fortunes, had built magnificent

palaces, and had accordingly aroused the envy of the Christian

inhabitants. One of these was Joceus, the other was Benedict, who had

been so brutally ill-treated at Richard's coronation. The latter, who

had reverted to Judaism after his compulsory baptism, died from the

wounds which had been inflicted on him in London. Crusaders who wanted

to obtain wealth, citizens who were chagrined at the prosperity of the

Jews, noblemen who owed money to them, and priests who were animated

by a bloodthirsty fanaticism, all entered into a conspiracy to destroy

the Jews of York. In the dead of night, during a conflagration which

had either broken out by accident or been kindled by design, the

conspirators broke into the house of Benedict, which was inhabited only

by his wife and daughters, carried away all the valuables, and set the

house on fire. Joceus, who had foreseen the danger threatening him,

repaired with his family and most of the members of the congregation

to the citadel, and demanded protection. But few Jews remained in the

town, and these were attacked by the conspirators, who appeared openly

on the day following their successful experiment, and offered the Jews

the choice between baptism and death. The Jews in the tower, however,

were besieged, by an immense multitude of people of all classes, and

were called upon to embrace Christianity. One day the governor of the

citadel sauntered out of the fortress, and as the Jews feared that he

would betray them, and hand them over to their enemies, they refused

him re-admittance into the fortress. The latter made complaint before a

high royal official, the lord-lieutenant of the province, who happened

to be present at the time, that the Jews had had the audacity to shut

him out of the fortress which had been entrusted to him. Infuriated in

the highest degree, the lord-lieutenant gave orders to the besieging

multitude to demolish the fortress, and take vengeance on the Jews. He

even brought up re-inforcements in order to ensure victory. The siege

lasted six days; the Jews repulsed all attacks bravely. The governor

was beginning to repent of having given orders to storm the place, and

many noblemen and prudent citizens were withdrawing from an enterprise

which promised so many evil consequences to them, if it became known

to the king, when up rose a monk in a white robe, who exhorted the

besiegers by voice and example to continue their work. He held a

special, solemn service, read mass, and took the Host to assure himself

that divine assistance would be rendered them in conquering the weak

little troop of Jews in the castle. He was nevertheless struck to the

ground by a stone hurled by a Jewish hand, and yielded up his fanatical

spirit.

The Jews had, in the meantime, exhausted their provisions, and death

stared them in the face. When the men were deliberating what to do, one

learned in the Law, who had come over from France, Yom Tob, of Joigny,

counseled them to slay one another, saying, "God, whose decisions are

inscrutable, desires that we should die for our holy religion. Death is

at hand, unless you prefer, for a short span of life, to be unfaithful

to your religion. As we must prefer a glorious death to a shameful

life, it is advisable that we take our choice of the most honorable

and the noblest mode of death. The life which our Creator has given

us we will render back to Him with our own hands. This example many

pious men and congregations have given us in ancient and modern times."

Many were of the same way of thinking; the timid, however, would not

abandon the hope of being able to save their lives. In the meantime,

the heroic rabbi made preparations for the sacrifice. All valuables

were burnt, fire was applied to the doors, and the men with the courage

of zealots passed the knife across the throats of those dearest to

them. Joceus, the leader of the congregation, first slew his beloved

wife Anna, and to him was allotted the honor of being sacrificed by

the rabbi. Thus most of them perished at one another's hands, on the

day before that great Sabbath which forms the introductory festival in

celebration of the redemption from Egyptian bondage, at about the same

time when the last Zealots had put themselves to death in a similar

manner after the destruction of the Temple, to avoid falling into the

hands of the Romans. The few survivors had to contend during the night

with the spreading fire, and secure for themselves some sheltered

places. On the Sabbath (17 March, 1190), when the enemy advanced to the

attack, the survivors declared their willingness to open the gate, and

receive baptism; and to convince their foes of the shocking sacrifice

that had been made, they threw the corpses of the suicides from the

wall. Scarcely were the gates opened, when the leader of the Christian

conspirators, together with his guardsmen, cut down the Jews, who were

begging with tears in their eyes to be baptized; thus not a single

member of the Jewish congregation of York survived; altogether about

500 Jews perished. On the following day, Palm Sunday (18th March),

750 Jews were butchered by crusaders in Bury St. Edmunds. Throughout

England, wherever Jews were to be found, unless protected by the

citizens, they met with the death of martyrs. A congregation of twenty

families, consisting only of Jewish proselytes, likewise suffered

martyrdom. King Richard was greatly enraged at these cruelties, and

commissioned his chancellor to institute inquiries, and punish the

guilty. But the crusaders had decamped, the guilty citizens and

noblemen fled to Scotland, and the rest escaped punishment. Only the

governor of York was deposed from his office.

But on the accession of Richard's brother, King John, who by his

unprincipled conduct degraded England into a vassalage of the papal

chair, the Jews were robbed even of the help of generous citizens. If

John behaved ruthlessly towards all the world, the Jews certainly could

not expect to be well treated by him.

Somewhat more fortunately placed than their co-religionists in France

and England were the Jews of the German empire, which at that time

was very extensive. The German nations, by nature more religious, and

therefore more fanatical than the French and the other Romance nations,

often indeed made existence for the Jews a veritable hell upon earth;

but as emperors and princes protected them, the hatred against them

could not produce any material effect. As Henry IV, during the first,

and Conrad III, during the second crusade, protected the Jews, the

notion arose that the German emperors had constituted themselves the

guardians of the Jews, that any one who harmed them committed high

treason, and that in return for his protection they became his "servi

cameræ," the serfs of the imperial chamber. Frederick Barbarossa, the

most powerful German emperor, who took Charlemagne for a model, was

the first to begin the conversion of free Jews into "servi cameræ."

The legend is interesting which characterizes the connection of the

German emperor with the Jews in history. After the destruction of

Jerusalem by Titus, a third of the Jews is said to have been sold

as slaves at the rate of thirty for a bad penny. These, scattered

throughout the Roman empire, were the property of the Roman emperor,

and became his "servi cameræ." The emperor, however, had taken upon

himself the duty of protecting them, as a reward for Josephus' service

to Titus, whom he had cured of gout. The rights and obligations of the

Roman emperors towards the Jews passed over, through Charlemagne, to

the German emperors, and hence the latter were similarly constituted

the protectors of the Jews, and the Jews became their "servi cameræ."

The Jews had, in all essentials, been "servi cameræ" before, in France

and England; that is, they were half-and-half the property of the king

or the barons, and under one or another title they constantly had to

hold their purses in readiness to replenish the empty coffers of their

lords. In Germany, however, they had in return the protection of the

emperor. It was certainly not to be expected that the successors of

Vespasian, of the house of Teut, should fulfil this office of champion

of the Jews quite disinterestedly. On the contrary, they needed more

revenue than other princes, as they had no land, and received but

little money from their vassals. It seemed, therefore, only right that

the Jews should, in return for his imperial support, supply the emperor

with pocket-money.

Although the Jews of Germany were "servi cameræ," they were not robbed

wholly of their personal rights in the twelfth century. They were

allowed to carry weapons, and even to fight single combats. During the

siege of Worms, Jews fought side by side with Christians, and the rabbi

even permitted them to use weapons on the Sabbath for the purpose of

defense. They had their own jurisdiction, and were not compelled to

appear before an alien judge. Now and again some of them attained a

higher position. The brave Duke Leopold of Austria, renowned in history

for his capture of King Richard of England, had a Jewish treasurer,

who, in spite of the canonical resolution of the Lateran council, was

allowed to keep Christian servants. In Silesia, in the neighborhood

of Breslau, Jews owned several villages with the bondmen appertaining

to them. But as the prohibition to keep Christian domestics gained

ground, the Jews were obliged to sell their landed estates, to remove

to the towns, and there to engage in business and money-lending.

In spite of the imperial protection, they were often exposed to

ill-treatment. The infamous invention that the Jews used Christian

blood found credence also in Germany, and here more than in any other

place, and wherever the dead body of a Christian was found, princes

and people immediately laid the murder at the door of the Jews. A ship

containing Jews was proceeding from Cologne to Boppard, and after it

there sailed another with Christian passengers. The latter found the

dead body of a Christian woman in Boppard, and forthwith they jumped

to the conclusion that the Jews of the first ship had slain her; the

Christians immediately pursued and overtook them, and called upon them

to submit to baptism, and on their refusal hurled them into the Rhine.

In the general peace which the emperor decreed before his expedition to

the Orient, the Jews were also included. He warned priest and monk not

to stir up the people against them; but they had to supply funds for

the crusade.

Under Frederick's successor, Henry VI, a horrible massacre of the

Jews took place, the fanatics breaking loose upon them at different

places from the district of the Rhine to Vienna. Under such afflicting

circumstances, when they were not sure of their lives for one moment,

it was impossible for them to advance to a high degree of culture. They

were deeply religious and beneficent, and they assisted one another,

and foreign immigrants, with everything that they possessed. Religion

and the cohesion of the members of the community were the pillars on

which they had to lean for support; but they were without enthusiasm or

taste for any branch of knowledge. The study of the Talmud continued

to be the only occupation of the more intellectual among them; but

even in this they only followed the road marked out by Rashi and the

Tossafists, without ever diverging from it. Those who desired to give

spiritual nourishment to their mind, as well as acquire intellectual

acuteness, absorbed themselves in a kind of mystic lore, the import and

significance of which is lost to us.

Ephraim ben Jacob, of Bonn (1132-1200), made a name for himself at

about this time. He was not, indeed, a rabbi by profession, but

was none the less adept in Talmudical lore, and in addition was an

extraordinary linguist. At the age of thirteen he was shut up with

his relatives in the tower of Wolkenburg during the persecution

that attended the second crusade; there he saw the sufferings of

his brethren in faith, and described them later on in an impartial,

enthusiastic and vividly written martyrology, which he brought down

to the year 1196-97. Ephraim was also a skilful versifier, and he

composed many liturgical poems, particularly lamentations on the

sufferings of his time. His verses possess no poetical beauty, but they

are characterized by a certain wit, which is displayed in ingenious

allusions to Biblical verses and Talmudical passages.

It seems scarcely credible that Germany, hostile as it was towards the

Jews at that time, should have given birth to a Jewish poet who was

able to sing in beautiful strains, knew how to handle rhyme, meter,

strophes in the vernacular, and was so warmly appreciated that he was

received into the circle of poets. Süsskind (Süzkint) of Trimberg,

a small town on the Saale in Franconia, adopted the poetic style of

Walter von der Vogelweide and Wolfram of Eschenbach. He was probably

a physician by profession, but nothing is known of the events of his

life. In the castle of the lords of Trimberg, which stood on the ridge

of a vine-covered hill, and was reflected in the winding Saale, or in

the neighboring castle, Bodenlaube, in the company of noble knights

and beautiful dames, he poured forth, lute in hand, his melodious

strains, and the largesses which were showered on him formed his sole

means of support. Süsskind sang of the high worth of the pure woman,

and pictured to the knights his ideal of a nobleman: "Who acts nobly,

him will I account noble." He speaks of the freedom of thought, not

yielding to force:

"No man can bid a fool or sage from thought refrain,

A thought can glide through stone, and steel, and iron chain."

Süsskind also composed a German psalm. He describes the awesome thought

of death and dissolution, mocks at his own poverty, and prescribes a

virtue-electuary. Once the noblemen, whose bread he ate, appear to have

given him a bitter reminder that he, as a Jew, did not belong to their

select circle. His despondency arising from this reminder he embodied

in beautiful verses, wherein he bids farewell to poetry. With the

best of intentions, the Jews could not cultivate German poetry, since

the Jewish poets received kicks instead of the laurel crown, as their

reward. Being shut up in their own circle, their sense for the euphony

of language became blunted, and it is probable that German poetry has

lost considerably by it.

Bohemia also must be enumerated in the list of Talmudical centers, for

it produced some men famous for Jewish knowledge. Isaac ben Jacob

Halaban of Prague takes an important place among the Tossafists; he

wrote a profound commentary on several Talmudical treatises. His

brother Petachya made distant journeys (about 1175-1190) through

Poland, Russia, the land of the Chazars, Armenia, Media, Persia,

Babylonia, and Palestine. His abridged description of his journeys

gives interesting notices on the Jews in the East. Even the Jews living

in Poland and Russia began to take part in Talmudical learning, which

in later times they were to possess as a monopoly.

It is remarkable that the Italian Jews of this period seem more

destitute of intellectual productions than the Bohemian or Polish

Jews. They did not produce a single authority on the Talmud. When it

was said in Tam's time, "The law goes forth from Bari, and the word of

God from Otranto," it was meant ironically, for they did not advance

the study of the Talmud in any way. The times were most favorable to

them; certainly as favorable as to the Jews of southern France. With

the exception of a single case, the expulsion of the Jews from Bologna

(1171), the Jews in Italy were about this time remarkably free from

persecution. The clever Pope Alexander III was well-disposed to them,

and entrusted the management of his finances to a Jew, named Yechiel

ben Abraham, a member of the family dei Mansi, and nephew of Nathan,

the famous author of the Aruch. On the entrance of this pope into

Rome, whence he had been banished for many years by a rival pope,

the Jews among others came to meet him with a scroll of the Law and

with banners, an honor to the pope shown by Jews which the chronicles

do not fail to record. They were treated with respect, and were not

obliged to pay any imposts or Jew-taxes. The favorable feeling of

Alexander is proved in the resolutions of the great council in the

Lateran Church (1179), at which more than three hundred princes of

the Church were present. Several anti-Jewish prelates endeavored to

pass certain mischievous laws against the house of Jacob. The Jews, who

received information of their hostile intentions, lived in tormenting

anxiety, and in many congregations a fast of three days and special

prayers were ordained, that Heaven might frustrate the wickedness of

men. History has not recorded the discussions of the great Church

assembly, but the final decrees bear witness that the gentle spirit of

tolerance prevailed over the mania for persecution. The council only

forbade the Jews to keep Christian servants, or in other words, an old

Church prohibition was renewed. On the other hand, it was particularly

insisted upon that they were not to be forcibly baptized, nor to be

apprehended without a judicial warrant, nor robbed, nor disturbed on

their religious festivals. The limitation of a privilege of the Jews,

that henceforth Christians were also to be competent witnesses against

Jews, was justly decreed. It was said in explanation that the evidence

of a Jew was valid against Christians, and it was surely not equitable

that the Jews, who in reality were subject to the Christians, and were

tolerated only out of pure humanity, should in this respect enjoy an

advantage over the Christians. What a contrast to that old Byzantine

law and the resolution of the Visigothic council, that Jews could

not act as witnesses against Christians! Not that the spirit of the

Church had grown milder during these five centuries; but the Jews had

earned respect for themselves, and accordingly the representatives of

Christianity durst not repeat that old charge, "He cannot be true to

men who denies God," _i. e._, the Christian God.

In southern Italy, in Naples, and the island of Sicily, under the

Norman dominion, Jews were still less fettered. Roger II and William

II expressly confirmed the privilege of trial according to their own

laws, equally with the Greeks and Saracens. In Messina they enjoyed

equal rights with the Christians, and were eligible to office. A

favorite minister and admiral of King Roger of Sicily had a leaning

towards Judaism, frequently visited the synagogues, donated oil for

their illumination, and in general subscribed money to meet the

requirements of the community. Seeds of a higher culture were scattered

in profusion at that time in Italy, in consequence of its close

intercourse with the East during the crusades, and of the immigration

of the Greeks and Arabs into the kingdom of Naples. The Jews, who

have special facility in mastering foreign languages, spoke Arabic

and Greek, in addition to the vernacular and Hebrew. The versatile

Ibn-Ezra, during his residence in Rome, Lucca, Mantua, and elsewhere,

was the means of spreading among them a loftier conception of the holy

Scriptures and of Judaism. His disciple, Solomon ben Abraham Parchon,

of Calatayud, stayed in the university town of Salerno for a long time,

and endeavored to make the Italians acquainted with the science of the

Hebrew language and Bible exegesis, they being very ignorant in these

departments, and for this purpose he composed a Hebrew lexicon (1160).

But all these incitements had no effect on the Italian Jews. They

remained ignorant, and the history of Jewish literature is unable to

mention even an insignificant literary production by an Italian till

the second half of the thirteenth century. The land which in later

times gave rise to a new style of Hebrew poetry, cannot at this period

show one Hebrew poet.

In the circumstance that the northern and central Italian cities were

mostly engaged in trade, is to be found the true reason why they were

not so numerously populated with Jews as the southern Italian cities.

The great commercial houses, which had a determining voice in the

municipal council, would not suffer the competition of the Jews. In

Genoa there lived only two Jewish families, who had emigrated to that

place from Ceuta, on account of the oppression of the Almohades. Pisa,

Lucca, and Mantua had only small congregations. The two largest,

which consisted of 1300 and 200 families, dwelt in Venice and Rome

respectively. On the other hand there were 500 families in Naples,

and 300 in Capua, who were well treated and respected. The chief of

the Neapolitan congregation was David, who bore the title of prince

(principino). In Benevento there was a congregation of 200 Jews, in

Salerno 600, in Trani 200, in Tarentum 300, and in Otranto 500. The

Jewish congregations in the island of Sicily were still more numerous.

In Messina there lived 200 families, and in the capital, Palermo, 1500.

This congregation had been strengthened by the arrival of Greek Jews,

whom King Roger, after his conquests, had transplanted to that place,

in order to establish the breeding of silk-worms.

If one sailed from Brundisium across the Adriatic Sea, he landed in the

Byzantine empire. Here were numerous and populous Jewish communities,

especially in Greece proper, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace. In

Arta (or Larta) there dwelt 100 families, whose president, curiously

enough, was named Hercules; in Lepanto the same number; in Crissa, at

the foot of Mount Parnassus, 200, who pursued agriculture. In Corinth

there were 300 families, in Negropont 200, in Jabustrissa 100, in

Saloniki 500, who had a Jewish mayor of their own (Ephoros), appointed

by the Greek emperor. In Rodosto there lived 400 Jewish families, in

Gallipoli 200, in the island of Mytilene there were 10 congregations,

in Chios 400 families, in Samos 300, in Rhodes the same number, and

in Cyprus several congregations, among which was one that had the

custom of commencing the Sabbath in the morning, not in the evening,

and continuing it till Sunday morning. The most important congregations

in the Græco-Byzantine empire were those of Thebes and Constantinople,

in both of which were nearly 2000 families, the latter containing 500

Karaites besides. The Theban Jews were the most skilful manufacturers

of silk and purple in the whole of Greece. They had among them also

rich merchants, silk manufacturers, and learned Talmudists. A wall

separated the rabbinical from the Karaite community in Constantinople.

If the Byzantine empire in the time of its glory under Justinian and

Alexius oppressed the Jews, we may be sure that it was not better

disposed towards them in the time of its decline, when it lay in the

throes of death. The principle that Jews and heretics were not to be

admitted to any military post, or office, but were to be thoroughly

despised, was, of all the enactments of this most erratic of states,

the one most strictly and consistently adhered to.

The rich and the poor, the good and the bad Jews were, without

distinction, hated most bitterly by the Greeks. No Jew was allowed

to ride on a horse, the privilege of freemen; it was only by way

of exception that the emperor Emanuel vouchsafed this privilege to

Solomon, the Egyptian, his physician in ordinary. Any Greek might

molest the Jews publicly, and in general treat them as slaves; the

law did not protect them. Byzantium, from time immemorial celebrated

for its avarice, imposed burdensome taxes on them. They endured this

insolent brutality with the resignation of martyrs; nor did it make

them forget to practise virtue, and extend charity to the poor. But

the Greek Jews were unable to pay any attention to the cultivation

of their minds. Not one of their Talmudists has immortalized his

name by a work. There were indeed many skilful Hebrew versifiers

among them, but their poems are ungainly, "hard as granite, without

taste and fragrance." Charisi concedes merit to the verse of only

one Jewish poet, Michael ben Kaleb, of Thebes, and he explains this

circumstance by the fact that the poet had learned his art in Spain. In

Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine, the size of the Jewish congregation

at a given place might have been taken as the criterion by which

to compare Christian with Mahometan tolerance. Where the cross was

supreme, there were but few and poorly populated Jewish communities

to be found, but where Islam had the ascendancy, there were many and

populous Jewish communities. In Antioch, which belonged to a Christian

prince, there lived only 10 families, nearly all glass-workers. In

Leda (Laodicea), 200; in Jebilé, which belonged to the Genoese, 150;

in Bairut (Berytus), 50; in Saida (Sidon), 10; only in Tyre was there

a congregation containing 400 members, and there the Jews possessed

farms, and were even allowed to pursue navigation. At their head stood

Ephraim of Cairo. On the other hand, in Haleb (Aleppo), which had been

raised, through the great Mahometan prince, Nureddin, to the position

of second capital after Bagdad, there lived 1500 Jewish families,

among whom were many opulent men, respected at court. Here dwelt the

Hebrew poet, Jehuda ben Abbas, the friend of the prince of poets,

Jehuda Halevi. He had emigrated to this place from Fez on account of

the religious persecution. In the neighborhood of ancient Palmyra

there lived nearly 2000 Jewish families, whose men were warlike,

and often carried on feuds with the Christians and Mahometans. The

congregation of Damascus counted 3000 members, among whom were many

learned Talmudists, one of them being the famous Joseph ben Pilat, who

originally came from France. In Damascus there was also a Karaite

congregation of some 200 families, and a Samaritan congregation of

400 families, who, although they did not intermarry, nevertheless

carried on a peaceful intercourse with the Rabbanites. In the whole

of that part of Palestine in the hands of the Christians, there lived

scarcely more than 1000 families. The largest congregations, each

of 300 members, existed at that time in Toron de los Caballeros, in

Jerusalem and Askalon; in each of the most important towns of Judæa, on

the other hand, there lived only about 200 Jews. The Jewish inhabitants

of Jerusalem were mostly dyers, having bought the exclusive right to

exercise this trade from the Christian king; they lived at the end of

the town to the west of Mount Zion. Between the years 1169 and 1175

they were all, except one, expelled from that city (probably under

the youthful and leprous phantom king, Baldwin IV), and he had to pay

a high price for the privilege of carrying on the dyer's trade. The

Christians, deeply sunk in vice, believed the holy city to be polluted

by the continent Jews. In Askalon there lived, at about this time,

300 Samaritan and 40 Karaite families. In Cæsarea, which had before

harbored many thousands of Jews, there lived then only 10 families and

200 Samaritans. Of this sect there were many also in their aboriginal

seat, Samaria and Neapolis (Shechem), with not one Rabbanite Jew among

them. Minor congregations of 50 there were in Tiberias and Ulamma,

20 in Gischala, 22 in Bethlehem, and in each of the other towns from

one to three families. Thus was the heritage of Israel given away to

strangers. The Jewish inhabitants of Judæa vegetated rather than lived;

not even the study of the Talmud was cultivated by them. Accho alone

possessed Talmudists, one Zadok, and another Japhet ben Elia, and

these were foreigners. About this time many emigrants from Europe, and

particularly from southern France, settled in Palestine; and these

enjoyed such recognition among the Jewish natives, by reason of their

intellectual superiority, that they were able to move them to celebrate

the New Year's festival for two days, which, till then, and from time

immemorial, the Palestinians had been accustomed to solemnize, like the

other festivals, for only one day.

From the point of view of number and material importance, we must

consider the district between the twin rivers, Euphrates and Tigris,

as the chief seat of Judaism. Here there were congregations which

numbered thousands. The former academical cities, Nahardea, Sora,

and Pumbeditha, had certainly disappeared; but in their stead the

congregations of Bagdad and Mosul (called New Nineveh) had gained an

ascendancy over all Asia. The Bagdad congregation contained 1000 Jewish

families with four synagogues, and lived in undisturbed quiet as in the

best days of the Caliphate. So free did the Jews of this part feel that

they even dared try to hinder the Mahometan crier in his business in

a mosque in Madain (near Bagdad), because he disturbed their service

in the synagogue. The caliph, Mahomet Almuktafi, had conceived an

affection for an estimable and wealthy Jew, Solomon (Chasdaï?), and

bestowed on him the office of Exilarch, and created him prince over

all the Jews in the caliphate. The Prince of the Captivity was once

more allowed to be surrounded by a retinue, to ride on a horse, to

wear silk clothes and a turban; to be accompanied by a guard of honor,

and to use an official seal. If he appeared in public, or repaired to

court for an audience, both Jews and Mahometans were bound to rise

before him, on penalty of being bastinadoed; a herald went before

him, crying, "Make way for our lord, the son of David." The Exilarch

appointed and confirmed rabbis, judges, and readers, in all parts of

the caliphate, from Persia to Khorasan and the Caucasus, and as far as

Yemen, India and Thibet. He appointed these officials by commission,

for which he expected gifts. Thus the exilarchate was once more raised

to the splendor of the time of Bostanaï. There also arose in Bagdad

an important Talmudical college, whose principal assumed the title of

Gaon. Isaac Ibn-Sakni, who had emigrated from Spain to the East towards

the end of the eleventh century, appears to have once more awakened, in

these circles, an interest for Talmudical learning. The Exilarch was

himself a learned Talmudist. Ali Halevi was at that time the principal

of the college, which was once more numerously attended by students.

The city of Akbara, in the neighborhood of Bagdad, contained 10,000

Jews, but it had no special importance.

The congregation of Mosul was still more considerable than that of

Bagdad. It numbered nearly 7000 families. This city was elevated to

the position of capital through the hero Zenki, father of the great

Nureddin, and like him the terror of the Christians, and as Zenki

was not ill-disposed to the Jews, they enjoyed extensive liberties

under him. The Arabic historians relate the following story. Once he

came with his army to the city Jesirat-ul-Amar (on the upper Tigris),

where there dwelt 4000 Jewish families. They had a synagogue which

they believed had been built in the time of Ezra, and Zenki took up

his quarters in the house of a Jew. His host complained to him of the

impoverishment of the city through these constant military expeditions,

and Zenki thereupon left the city, and ordered his army to encamp in

tents before the gates. His successor, Saif-Eddin Ghasi (1146-1149),

observed the same friendly attitude towards the Jews. At the head of

the Mosul congregation was a man named Zaccaï, who also proclaimed

himself to be a scion of the house of David, in consequence of which he

bore the title of "Prince." He divided his authority with another, who

was considered a distinguished astronomer, and bore the honorable title

"Profound Connoisseur of the Sphere of Heaven," and was in the service

of the Prince of Mosul.

The Jewish inhabitants of New Nineveh were regarded as the most

ignorant among the Jews, and were not even conversant with the Talmud.

North of Mosul, among the Carduchian mountains, or among the mountains

of Chaftan, there were many large congregations, some of which were

oppressed under the Sultans and the Persians, but others were free

and wild as the mountains on which they dwelt. These free Jews in the

land of Adher-Baijan (Aserbeidsan) used weapons, lived in friendly

intercourse with the fanatical assassins who dwelt in that part, were

the enemies of every one who was not one of their co-religionists or

allies, and often made descents into the valley for booty. They were

themselves inaccessible, and lived in primitive ignorance, without

knowledge of the sources of their religion. They accepted the rabbi

whom the Exilarch sent to them, and acted according to his directions.

There suddenly appeared amongst them (about 1160) an ambitious and

versatile man, who thought to profit by the military ability, the

bravery and ignorance of these Jews for a purpose which is now unknown.

This man, named David Alrui (Alroy) or Ibn-Alruchi (Arruchi), achieved

considerable notoriety in his time, and in our own days became the

hero of a brilliant novel. This young man, an inhabitant of Amadia,

of handsome appearance, clear mind and high courage, had attained

to deep knowledge of the Bible and the Talmud, as well as of Arabic

literature. On his return to Amadia, which appears to have been his

birthplace, the Jews were not the only persons who were amazed at

his vast acquirements, but others also, among whom was the commander

of the town, named Zain-Eddin. At this time violent tumults arose in

consequence of the crusades, and of the weakness of the Caliphate,

and made the whole of the country as far as Asia Minor a veritable

pandemonium. The government was divided among the weak Caliph, his

vizirs and generals, the Seljuk Sultan, and the Emirs, every one of

whom played a distinct part, and sought only conquest and increase

of power; and subordinate persons like Nureddin and Saladin obtained

mighty conquests. All these circumstances combined in encouraging

David Alrui to play a political part. He wanted, however, to gain as

confederates his countrymen and co-religionists, many of whom were

efficient warriors. This he could only accomplish if he were able to

awaken their national sentiment. David Alrui, or as he was sometimes

called, Menahem ben Solomon, accordingly issued a spirited appeal to

the Jews of Asia, saying that he was appointed by God to deliver them

from the yoke of the Mahometans, and to bring them back to Jerusalem.

For this purpose they were to assist him in waging war against the

nations. The first place to which David Alrui turned his eyes was the

strong castle of Amadia, which he thought would serve as an excellent

base of operations for his enterprises. To get possession of it, he

wrote to the Jews of Adher-Baijan, Mosul, and Bagdad, to come in great

numbers to Amadia, and bring swords and other weapons under their

cloaks. In response to this summons, many Jews who believed Alrui to

be the promised Messiah, met in the town at an appointed time, with

sharpened weapons concealed about their person, and the commandant at

first entertained no suspicion, as he thought that this great crowd was

attracted to the town by Alrui's fame as a scholar.

At this point history abandons us, and we can only have recourse to

legend, which continues the thread of the story as follows: At the

invitation of the Persian Sultan, David Alrui is said to have appeared

before him, unattended by his retinue; he then boldly declared himself

to be the Messiah, and was thrown into prison in Taberistan. Whilst

the Sultan was deliberating what punishment he should mete out to him

and his adherents, Alrui suddenly entered the council chamber, and

informed him and his astonished counselors that he had set himself free

from prison by the aid of occult arts, adding that he feared neither

the Sultan nor his ministers. The Sultan ordered Alrui to be seized,

but the latter, it is said, made himself invisible, and in this manner

crossed a river, defying capture, and traveled in one day to Amadia,

a journey which ordinarily took ten days. When he suddenly made his

appearance among his credulous followers, and related to them his

adventures, the authorities were seized with a panic. The Sultan gave

orders to the Caliph that he should inform the Jewish representatives

in Bagdad, that, if they did not turn David Alrui from his purpose, he

would put all the Jews of his empire to the sword.

The enthusiasm for David Alrui had spread, especially among the Jews

of Bagdad, and afforded two knaves an opportunity for defrauding the

ignorant populace of their property. They produced letters, which they

gave out were written by the hero of Amadia, in which the redemption

was fixed for a certain night. The two impostors now practised on the

credulity of the enthusiasts; they were all to fly from Bagdad to

Jerusalem on the appointed night, and for this purpose they were to

mount their roofs, put on green robes, and await the hour. In their

confidence that the hour of redemption was about to arrive, they

committed their property into the hands of the two impostors for proper

distribution. The night came, the crowd was assembled on the roofs of

their houses in eager expectation; women wept, children shouted, every

one was on tiptoe of anxiety to try to fly, until daybreak opened their

eyes to the imposition practised on them. The rogues had decamped with

the property entrusted to them. The people of Bagdad called this time

"the year of flying," and thereafter reckoned time from this event.

The Exilarch and the principal of the college in Bagdad conceived it

their duty, partly on account of the enthusiasm, which was passing all

bounds, and partly on account of the punishment with which they had

been threatened, to address themselves to David Alrui, and try to turn

him from his purpose by threats of excommunication. The representatives

of the congregation of Mosul, Zaccaï and Joseph Barihan Alfalach, wrote

to him in the same strain; until at last the Mahometan commandant

of Amadia, who was most of all eager to be rid of him, persuaded

the father-in-law of Alrui to put him out of the way. He killed his

son-in-law whilst asleep, and thus put an end to the disturbance.

The Sultan nevertheless decreed a persecution of the Jews of those

provinces which had adhered to Alrui, and the Prince of the Captivity

with difficulty appeased his wrath with a present of a hundred talents

of gold. It is only after his death that a Messiah is actually believed

in and revered; many Jews of the congregations in Adher-Baijan

continued to venerate the murdered Alrui for a considerable time; they

called themselves Menachemists, and swore by his name.

There dwelt an independent, warlike Jewish tribe, at that time, east of

Taberistan, in the province of Khorasan, on the highlands by Nishabur.

This tribe numbered 4000 families, and was governed by a Jewish prince

named Joseph Amarkala Halevi. These Jews around Nishabur believed

that they were descendants of the tribes of Dan, Zebulon, Asher, and

Naphtali. They bred cattle in the valleys and on the mountain slopes,

were good archers, had in their midst learned Talmudists, and stood in

friendly relation with the Turkish hordes called Ghuzz. The latter,

who lived on the banks of the river Oxus, between Balch and Bokhara,

were accustomed to make incursions in the surrounding countries, and

were the terror of the civilized nations. Once, when the Ghuzz had been

on a ravaging tour, the Seljuk Sultan Sinjar Shahin-Shah undertook an

expedition against them (1153). His army, however, lost its way in the

desert, and many of the men perished through hunger and exhaustion. At

length he came to the country of the free Jews, and demanded of them

provisions and a free passage to the province of the Ghuzz. The Jews

objected that they owed no one any allegiance beyond their own prince

and his allies, adding that they would treat their friends' enemies as

their own. Immediately they prepared for battle, but Sinjar sent them

a message that, if they refused to satisfy his demands, he would on

his return order the execution of all the Jews in his dominions. This

threat had effect; the leaders of the Jews met in council, and decided

that they would consider the safety of their distant brethren, and give

the Seljuk army provisions; but at the same time they warned the Ghuzz

of the danger menacing them, and bade them be prepared. In consequence,

Sinjar's army, which pressed forward, was routed by the Turkish hordes,

and their leaders were taken prisoners.

The congregation of Ispahan in Persia numbered at that time 15,000

Jews, and at their head stood Sar Shalom, who had been appointed by

the Exilarch rabbi over all the congregations of Persia. In the second

Persian town, Hamadan, there are said to have been 50,000 Jews, and in

Shiraz 10,000. In the city of Tuster, formerly called Susa, there were

still 7000 Jews, who lived on the banks of the river. The community had

fourteen synagogues, and near one of them was supposed to be the grave

of Daniel. As the markets of the town lay on one side of the river, and

the Jews of the other side were thus shut out from all commerce, those

on the one side were more affluent than the others. The latter ascribed

their poverty to the circumstance that they had not Daniel's grave in

their midst; and they requested that the coffin should be allowed to be

in their possession. The others, however, were not prepared to give it

up, and the consequence was that feuds and bloody fights arose between

the two congregations, until they came to an agreement that each side

of the town, in turn, should enjoy possession of the coffin each time

for the space of one year. The removal of the coffin was effected

every time with great pomp, and it was accompanied by crowds of Jews

and Mahometans. When the Sultan Sinjar once came to Susa, and saw

this procession in honor of the removal, he thought it shameful that

the bones of the pious Daniel should be disturbed in this manner, and

commanded that the coffin should be deposited at a spot midway between

the two parts of the town. As the river was at an equal distance from

both, the coffin was hung on chains over the river, and under it no one

dared fish. The bier of Daniel nevertheless proved unable to protect

the congregation. At the time when Petachya of Ratisbon was there

(about 1180), only two Jews, who were dyers, lived in Susa. The cause

of this decrease is not known.

North of the Black Sea and in the Crimea there were only Karaite Jews;

these lived in the most primitive ignorance, and had no knowledge of

their rival doctrine, the Rabbanite law; they even cut their bread

before the Sabbath, and on the evening of the Sabbath remained in total

darkness. The Rabbanite Jews, however, had spread to Khiva, where there

was a congregation of 8000 families, and to Samarkand, which had as

many as 50,000 Jews, at whose head was Obadiah. About the community in

India, Petachya mentions that there existed Jews with dark skins, that

they lived according to the precepts of their religion, but had very

little knowledge of the Talmud. Many Jews knew nothing more of Judaism

than the celebration of the Sabbath and the circumcision. In the island

of Kandy (Ceylon) there are said to have been at this time 23,000 Jews,

who stood on an equality with the rest of the inhabitants. The king of

this island had sixteen vizirs, four of his own nation, and the same

number of Jews, Mahometans, and Christians.

In Aden, the key to the Arabian and Indian seas, there was a large

Jewish congregation, which was independent, and had several castles; it

carried on war with the Christians of Nubia, and was in communication

with Egypt and Persia.

In Arabia there were likewise Jewish congregations, although the first

Caliph banished them from the country. It is true they were not allowed

to dwell in Mecca and Medinah, cities sacred to the Mahometans, and it

may be that there was nothing specially attractive for them in those

cities, for they had become quite insignificant during the five hundred

years since Mahomet. But in the fruitful and commercial city of Yemen,

and in the desert tracts of northern Arabia, on the other hand, there

were Jewish congregations. In Yemen there dwelt, it is true, only about

3000 Jews, who, on account of their busy commercial relations with

the neighboring countries, were by no means uncultured, and numbered

learned Talmudists in their midst. The most learned among them was

Jacob ben Nathaniel Ibn-Alfayumi. The Yemen Jews were known for their

benevolence: "Their hand is stretched out towards every traveler,

they keep open house for strangers, and every weary person finds rest

among them." The Jews of northern Arabia, on the other hand, were more

numerous, and, as in the time before Mahomet, they formed independent,

warlike tribes, possessed castles, pursued agriculture, and to some

extent also cattle-breeding, and journeyed in caravans to transport

goods, or, after the fashion of Bedouins, to attack travelers and

plunder them. Their number is said to have amounted to 300,000 souls,

but this is certainly exaggerated. A large portion dwelt in Taima, and

had a Jewish prince named Chanan, who boasted of Davidic descent. They

had among them ascetics, who had borrowed from the Karaites gloomy

principles; they refrained from wine and flesh, and generally fasted

the whole week, with the exception of Sabbaths and festivals; lived

in caves or rickety houses, clothed themselves in black, and called

themselves "the Mourners of Zion." The farmers and cattle-owners

allotted to these pious men, and also to those who occupied themselves

with the Talmud, a tenth part of their yearly produce. A second group

of Arabian Jews lived in the neighborhood of Talmas, and likewise had

a prince named Solomon, brother of Chanan, of Taima. This prince lived

in the old capital Sanaa (Tana), in a strongly fortified castle. Among

these, too, there were ascetics who fasted forty days every year, in

order to bring about redemption from the dispersion. A third group,

some 50,000, inhabited the province of Chaibar; they were most warlike,

but also possessed some Talmudical scholars. Even at that time the

legend was spread about that the Chaibar Jews were remnants of ancient

Iraelitish tribes, Gad, Reuben, and half Manasseh. The semi-Arabian

cities Wasit, Bassra and Kufa, also had numerous Jewish inhabitants,

the first 10,000, the second 2000, and the third 7000.

As a large part of Asia, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus,

acknowledged the supremacy of the Abbassid Caliphs of Bagdad, the Jews

of this dominion were subject to the Exilarch of Bagdad. The second

Prince of the Captivity, who was surrounded with pomp, was Daniel,

the son of Solomon (Chasdaï), who held office about 1165-1175. He was

as much respected by the Caliphs Almustanjid and Almustadhi as his

father had been by Almuktafi. Under Daniel, the Talmudical college of

Bagdad was raised to such a height that it recalled the old times of

the Amoraim and Geonim. It owed its rise to a man who, at the end of

the twelfth century, was called upon to play an important part. Samuel,

son of Ali Halevi, the rabbi of Bagdad, who traced back his genealogy

to the prophet Samuel, possessed profound knowledge of the Talmud,

such as but few in Asia equaled. But as he was unacquainted with the

advance of the study of the Talmud in Spain and France, he continued

to maintain the letter of the Talmud, and had not the ability to form

an independent opinion. Samuel ben Ali had also a thin varnish of

philosophical culture, but in that branch he was three centuries behind

his time, being a disciple of the school of the Mutazilites. He knew

nothing of the new discoveries of Ibn-Sina and Alghazali, nor of the

later development of the philosophy of his Spanish co-religionists, of

Ibn-Gebirol, Jehuda Halevi, and Abraham Ibn-Daud. Despite his limited

range of vision, he deemed his own attainments very considerable, and

was extremely proud of them. He was an arrogant and ambitious man. It

appears that Samuel ben Ali assumed the pompous title of Gaon, that his

college might obtain supremacy over the whole of Judaism. Two thousand

students attended his Talmudical discourses; but before they were

admitted to his lectures, they had to complete a preparatory course

under another Talmudist. Samuel ben Ali delivered his lectures from a

kind of throne, and clothed in gold and embroidery; he re-introduced

the old custom of not personally addressing the audience, but of

expounding the Law to an interpreter (Meturgeman), who repeated in a

loud voice what he heard from the master. Besides him, there were nine

men, who likewise delivered lectures, and decided questions of law. But

Samuel ben Ali was regarded as judge of appeal, and every Monday he sat

in court surrounded by the nine men who occupied subordinate positions.

When the Exilarch Daniel died (1175), Samuel thought the time

propitious for obtaining the highest dignity and authority over the

Asiatic congregations. Daniel left no male heir, and two of his

nephews, David and Samuel, both of Mosul, were now contending for

the Exilarchate. But whilst each of them was endeavoring to win over

the political leaders and the congregations to his cause, Samuel ben

Ali assumed all religious and judicial power. He appointed rabbis,

judges, and other functionaries on his own authority, appropriated

the revenues of the congregation, and delivered the specified portion

to the state. His seal was more respected than that of the pretenders

for the Exilarchate; his name was a protection to travelers, and

through it they obtained access to all curiosities. The political and

religious officials acknowledged only Samuel ben Ali, the principal

of the college, and the Gaon of Bagdad. He, moreover, maintained his

dignity by rigorous measures. Sixty slaves were continually at his

call to bastinado any one pointed out by their lord. He had a palatial

mansion in Bagdad, and magnificent pleasure gardens in the neighborhood

of the capital. Thus Samuel ben Ali ruled at that time over all the

Asiatic congregations from Damascus to India, and from the Caspian Sea

to Arabia. His daughter was looked upon as a marvel, being so learned

in the Bible and Talmud that she used to deliver lectures to young

men, but in such a manner that she could not be seen by her audience.

Ambassadors from a heathen nation, from the Moshic hills in Armenia

(Tartars?), came to him to obtain Jewish religious teachers for their

country, to instruct the people in the tenets of Judaism, seven of

their chiefs having resolved to embrace that faith (about 1180-1185).

The traveler Petachya, who has recorded these facts, and is a

trustworthy witness, saw the ambassadors from the Caucasian hills with

his own eyes. Many poor students from Babylonia and Egypt determined to

repair to this remote nation of proselytes, and instruct them in the

Bible and Talmud.

The condition of Judaism in Asia was at that time very low indeed.

Without higher knowledge, without spirit or enthusiasm, the Jews of

Asia, learned as well as unlearned, discharged their religious duties

in a perfunctory, mechanical way. Even Talmudical scholars thought of

the divine essence as a bodily form, with limbs, eyes, and motion.

The Agada had so far perverted their understanding that they could

not comprehend what was purely spiritual; and so saturated were these

literalists with these perverted notions, that they looked upon those

who upheld the belief in a spiritual God as heretics and atheists.

The Asiatic Jews had borrowed from the Mahometans and Christians the

custom of making pilgrimages to the graves of pious men. A chief resort

of pilgrims was the grave of the prophet Ezekiel in the neighborhood

of Kufa. Seventy thousand to eighty thousand Jews came annually from

New Year till the Day of Atonement, or Feast of Tabernacles, to pray

at the supposed grave of the prophet of the exiles, among them also

the Exilarch and the principal of the college at Bagdad. The tomb was

protected by a vault of cedar wood, overlaid with gold and adorned

with beautiful tapestry. Thirty lamps burned there day and night.

Beside the tomb there was a handsome synagogue, which was regarded as

a temple in miniature, and alleged to have been built by King Joachin

and the prophet. In this synagogue a scroll of the Law of considerable

size was shown, which was believed to have been written by the hand of

the prophet himself. A separate room (Ginze) was set aside for books.

Sepulcher and synagogue were enclosed by a turreted wall, the entrance

to which was through a low narrow gate, which, however, according to

popular belief, became higher and wider at the time of the pilgrimage.

In the space inside the wall the pilgrims used to erect their booths

for the Feast of Tabernacles. At this sepulcher they were not only

devout, but also merry. The period after the Day of Atonement was

dedicated to gaiety and feasting. As the Mahometans also reverenced

the tomb, and even the wild Karmates, who lived nearby, swore by the

God of Ezekiel, the region became a peaceful asylum, and later on an

annual market (Pera) was held there, and a city (Kabur Kesil) sprang

up. The offerings for the maintenance of this mausoleum proved so rich

that the surplus was used for the support of Talmudical students and

marriageable orphans.

Another resort of pilgrims was the supposed mausoleum of Ezra the

scribe. Although this great regenerator of Judaism exercised his

activity only in Judæa, legend nevertheless fixes his grave at

Nahar-Samara, in the neighborhood of the Tigris. The Mahometans, as

well as the Jews, reverenced this tomb, offered presents for its

maintenance, and made pilgrimages to it. Like the Catholic Church,

the Jews of Asia also showed sacred relics: the tree, separating into

three parts, against which the angels who visited Abraham leaned, and

the stone with which Abraham circumcised himself. All these mythical

stories arose during the period of degeneration which followed the

dissolution of the Gaonate.

It is possible that it was owing in part to this decay that many

educated Jews apostatized to Islam. One apostate was a celebrated

physician of Bagdad--Nathaniel, with the Arabic name of Abul-Barkat

Hibat-Allah ben Malka, one of the three leading medical men of like

name, but different creeds. The Jewish Hibat-Allah was surnamed

"The only one of his time" (Wachid-al-Zeman), on account of his

extraordinary accomplishments. In addition to a knowledge of medicine,

he was versed in philosophy and Hebrew philology, and, whilst still

a Jew, wrote a commentary on Ecclesiastes. A son of the itinerant

Ibn-Ezra, named Isaac, who had accompanied his father in his travels,

and remained in Bagdad, was assisted by the rich Hibat-Allah, and wrote

spirited verses in praise of his benefactor and his commentary. At the

end of his poem, Isaac Ibn-Ezra expressed a wish that his life might

extend to the time of the Messianic redemption, and that he might yet

behold the majesty of new Jerusalem. Neither, however, waited for this

time, but renounced Judaism, and embraced Islam (1160-1170).

A third apostate of this time was Samuel Ibn-Abbas, son of the poet

Jehuda, of Fez. A poet using beautiful Hebrew, a profound mathematician

and philosopher, Samuel had emigrated to the East on account of the

religious coercion exercised by the Almohades. His father settled

at Haleb, and Samuel took up his residence in Adher-Baijan, entered

into the service of the ruler of that place, and ultimately became a

convert to Mahometanism. The old Jehuda Ibn-Abbas, on hearing of his

son's change of religion, hastened to him full of grief, in the hope of

bringing him back to his hereditary faith, but was suddenly seized with

illness in Mosul, and died there. Samuel became a rancorous enemy of

Judaism and his former co-religionists. He wrote a polemical work, "To

the confusion of the Jews" (about 1165-1175), in which he lays bare and

exaggerates their faults, and affirms that the Jews had eliminated all

passages alluding to Mahomet in their holy writings.

If the Rabbanites in Asia were degenerate, the Karaites of this time

were still more so. The Karaites, after an existence of 400 years, had

failed to establish Judaism on a purely Biblical basis, but had of

necessity been compelled to adopt many precepts of the Talmud, in spite

of all their endeavors to steer clear of Talmudical tradition.

As the Mahometans of Egypt, under the dynasty of the Fatimides, were

separated from those of the Abbasid Caliphate in Asia, the Egyptian

Jewish community likewise had no connection with the Asiatic community.

They had a chief of their own, recognized by the Caliph, who exercised

spiritual and judicial functions, bore the title Nagid (Arabic,

Reïs), and was, in a sense, the Egyptian Exilarch. The Nagid had

authority to appoint or confirm rabbis and precentors, and to impose

fines, scourgings, and imprisonment, for transgressions and crimes.

He received a regular salary from the congregations and fees for the

drawing up of legal documents. There is a legend that the institution

of the Nagid was introduced into Egypt at the instance of a Bagdad

Caliph's daughter, who was married to a Fatimide Caliph. About this

time Nathaniel, succeeding Samuel Abu-Mansur, was invested with this

dignity. His Arabic name was Hibat-Allah Ibn-Aljami, and he served as

physician in ordinary to Aladhid, the last Fatimide Caliph of Egypt,

and later on to Saladin. Ibn-Aljami was a man of considerable culture

and learning. He spoke Arabic with great fluency, wrote several

medical treatises, among others a guide for the soul and the body,

and a treatise on the climatic character of Alexandria. He was much

praised for having cleverly discovered life in a man who was about to

be interred. This accomplished man was also chief of the college in the

Egyptian capital, but he had no reputation as a Talmudist.

The chief congregation was in Cairo (New Misr), and it consisted of

2000 Jewish families, including many men of great wealth. The city had

two synagogues, one following the Palestinian ritual and the other the

Babylonian. According to the first the reading of the Pentateuch on

Sabbaths extended over a cycle of three years. The adherents of the

Babylonian system, on the other hand, completed it in a cycle of one

year. Only on the Feast of Weeks and on the Festival of the Rejoicing

of the Law the two congregations had a common service. In Cairo there

existed also a Karaite congregation which is said to have been still

more numerous than that of the Rabbanites. It also had a Chief Rabbi

who possessed plenary power in religious and judicial matters, and bore

the title Prince (Nasi, Reïs). About this time, Chiskiya and Solomon I,

who believed themselves to be descendants of Anan, successively held

this office (about 1160-1200). Many Karaites in Egypt enjoyed favor at

court, and were in general superior to the Rabbanites.

The congregation next in importance was that of Alexandria, numbering

3000 families; they had a rabbi from Provence, Phineas ben Meshullam.

So poor were the Jews of Egypt in Talmudical authorities at this time

that they were obliged to import a Talmud instructor from France. A

Karaite congregation existed also in Alexandria. In Bilbeïs (east of

the Nile) there was a large congregation, consisting of 3000 members,

which suffered much during the campaign of Amalrich, the Christian king

of Jerusalem. In Fayum, the native city of Saadiah, there lived at that

period only twenty Jewish families.

The state of culture of the Egyptian Jews about this time was not more

brilliant than that of their Asiatic brethren. They added nothing to

the wealth of Jewish literature. The lower classes were so ignorant of

the principles of their own religion that they borrowed customs from

the neighboring Karaites, even such as stood in glaring contradiction

to Talmudical Judaism. The Egyptian congregations also had a pilgrims'

shrine of their own. In Dimuh, not far from Fostat, in the neighborhood

of the Pyramids, they showed the synagogue of Moses, which they

believed the greatest of the prophets had built; they admitted that it

had been rebuilt after the destruction of the Temple by Titus. Near

this synagogue there was a tree of stupendous height, with evergreen

leaves and slender stem. This tree, according to the belief of the

Egyptian Jews, had shot up from the rod of Moses. On the Feast of Weeks

the Jews of Egypt used to make a pilgrimage to Dimuh, and pray in the

hallowed synagogue. And it was out of this land of ignorance that there

went forth a second Moses for the deliverance of the Jewish race,

whose mission it was to promulgate a more refined Judaism, to declare

relentless war against superstition, and put an end to ignorance. Egypt

became, through Moses Maimuni, the center of Judaism.