HISTORY 178 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Middle Ages, Mikveh, Nazi Ghettos
Document Summary
Lecture 2 1/19/17 (a) medieval jewish social and economic life (b) changing christian attitudes in the 17th century (c) on the eve of emancipation. Most distinctive feature of jewish life prior to onset of modern time was jewish self governance -- autonomy, breaks down late 18th cent with french rev (1789) Corporate exclusivity -- laws that pertained exclusively to jews, also subject to law of land when disputes with gentiles. Board of elders -- jews safety, taxation (maintenance of temples, mikvah, torah, schooling) religious, political autonomy and freedom to police themselves. Voluntary societies in jewish community - visit the sick (taxation pays for food cooked for sick), ritual, burial society, free loans, funds set aside for redeeming of captives, religious academys. Prechristian roman rulers recognized jewish comms as polity (political unit) Emperial roman law required jewish judges to rule comm w/ ancestral customs. Rome changing from pagan to christian changes everything in 312ce.
