JEWISH LIFE IN EARLY MODERN ITALY
The early modern period (approximately ranging from 1500-1800), which is perceived as the period leading up to the modern period, was characterized by unprecedented developments on the intellectual, cultural and demographic level. Those developments were fostered by the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution (a force which spread the scientific view across Europe from the 16th century leading up to the Enlightenment), the Reformation and the expulsion of Jews across Europe. Anti-Semitism was a widespread phenomenon which culminated in the Jews being expelled from their homes all over Europe. In the current era, anti-Semitism is still flourishing, mainly in the Middle East. Israelian Jews are segregated and living physically apart from the non-Jews. Might there be a way to learn from the 'Jewish problem' in the early modern period and employing these lessons to contribute to improvement of the relationship between Middle Eastern Jews and their Muslim counterparts?
Italian Jews in the early modern period were very much influenced by the rapidly changing society because they were trying to maintain their own cultural values and identity, while their Christian counterparts were suppressing this desire by trying to force them to convert to Christianity. Through the 16th century the Jews were segregated by the construction of ghettos in cities across the Italian Peninsula. The views of scholars on the way Jewish people lived, while being surrounded by their non-Jewish counterparts, differs from a view of isolation to a view of amalgamation. Some historians perceive, despite the ghettoization, a significant amount of cultural exchanges between Jews and Chrisians, whilst others stress the isolated position of Jews in relation to non-Jews. What follows will be a depiction of the extent to which Italian Jews in the early modern period succeeded to live their lives according to their own cultural values.
Expulsion of the Jews
The Jews were first expelled from England in 1290, followed by France (1306 and 1394), the Holy Roman Empire (1348), Spain (1492) and Portugal (1497). Jews migrated all over Europe and the distribution of the Jewish population changed dramatically. Especially the expulsions from the Iberian Peninsula (current Spain and Portugal) caused dramatic demographic changes. This is illustrated by the following passage an Italian Jew wrote in Hebrew in 1495 for his fellow Jews:
‘About their number there is no agreement, but, after many inquiries, I found the most generally accepted estimate is 50000 families, or, as others say, 53000.’
Where the Jews initially mainly lived in cities and next to important European trade routes, they now had to live in other areas in which Jews of other origins lived. And there was a far greater non-Jewish, Christian population as well.
Italy already knew its own Jewish community and now other Jews migrated there in several waves. From France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Iberian Peninsula, Jews rushed in and later many others migrated to Italy from the Middle East. The migrations led to some conflicts and struggles between the different ethnic Jews over religious authority and it especially gave rise to hostility among the non-Jewish population. This sometimes led to riots, to non-Jews attacking Jews and in some cases even to the temporal expulsions of Jews from several cities. The Jews were clearly not warmly welcomed in the Italian Peninsula:
‘(...) To those who escaped and arrived at Genoa the people of the city showed themselves merciless, and oppressed and robbed them, and the cruelty of their wicked hearts went so far that they took the infants from the mothers’ breasts.’
Nonetheless, Jewish life in Italy never died out, due to the political fragmentation that was to be seen all over the Peninsula. There were a couple of papal states, a great amount of city states and different areas belonging to several kingdoms. For this reason,
non-Jewish outrage was always quite local and Jewish life was never completely suppressed in Italy. After the local waves of violence were over, Jewish life always rose again to flourish.
Ghettoization
The century between 1450 and 1550 can roughly be categorized as the period of Jewish immigration into the Italian cities; the second half of the 16th century was the age of ghettoization. Jews were living apart from non-Jews before ghettoization too, not in the last place because they wanted so themselves for maintaining their own cultural values and for protection against anti-Semitism. But in the second half of the 16th century Jews were systematically segregated, whether they liked it or not. The ghetto era was introduced by the formation of the Venetian ghetto in 1516 and after a papal bull in 1556, which led to the construction of a ghetto in Rome, ghettoization spread across the cities of the Italian Peninsula.
Sicily reflected the ‘distribution of Jews’ that would characterize the Italian Peninsula in the century to come. On Sicily, most Jews were settled in a Jewish neighborhood, centered around the synagogue. This neighborhood was clearly separated from the non-Jewish neighborhoods. The Jews living there were suffering violations, excluded from Christian facilities and forced to participate in certain Christian activities. Obadiah Yareh da Bertinoro, a rabbi in 15th century Italy who started travelling to the Holy Land in 1486. On this journey he went via Sicily, through Rhodes, Alexandria and Palestine, before arriving in Jerusalem in 1488. During those travels he wrote letters to his father, for feeling guilty about leaving him. While traveling through Palermo in 1486, he wrote to his father:
‘Palermo is the chief town of Sicily, and contains about 850 Jewish families, all living in one street, which is situated in the best part of the town. They (...) are despised by the Christians because they wear tattered garments. As a mark of distinction they are obliged to wear a piece of red cloth, about the size of a gold coin, fastened on the breast. The royal tax falls heavily on them (...).’
The rapidly changing policies of the pre-ghetto period, ranging from admission to expulsion and everything in between, was no longer exercised. Jewish customs, values and religious practices could now be performed openly within the ghetto gates. The aim of the ghetto constructors was forcing the Jews to convert to Christianity or at least break down contact between Jews and the rest of society. But instead, by creating a physical space where the Jews could act, perform and practice the way they wanted, Jewish identity and culture was strengthened and the Jews could construct it in their own way. To the dissatisfaction of clerical and non-clerical authorities, interaction between Jews and Christians did not break down and by granting the Jews a place to live their lives, they became a more accepted part of society.
The Kabbalah and Halakah
Early modern Judaism used ‘Halakah’ as a system to establish what Jews have to behave like to live a good Jewish life: on the basis of statements of authoritative Jewish scholars, mainly rabbi’s, rules were postulated to inform the individual Jew how he had to sanctify his day. Halakah revealed the way things had to be done in a daily context and in that way was a system with authority, when it came to the right way of behaving, believing and performing ritual. It was not attached to time and place and appealed to be universal. The doctrines of Halakah were important in settling legal disputes and performing ritual.
The Kabbalah and Halakah
Early modern Judaism used ‘Halakah’ as a system to establish what Jews have to behave like to live a good Jewish life: on the basis of statements of authoritative Jewish scholars, mainly rabbi’s, rules were postulated to inform the individual Jew how he had to sanctify his day. Halakah revealed the way things had to be done in a daily context and in that way was a system with authority, when it came to the right way of behaving, believing and performing ritual. It was not attached to time and place and appealed to be universal. The doctrines of Halakah were important in settling legal disputes and performing ritual.
In the 16th century a mystical system developed to which only a small group was 'initiated'. This system was based on ideas preached by R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534-1572), a rabbi who lived in Safed. It played an important role in developing ritual customs and also contributed to developments in Jewish mysticism, which means that it was aimed at transforming Judaïsm. Luria, as well as the people following up on him, were part of the Kabbalah. The Kabbalah was a guide for the Jewish believer and learned him about the right way to live in the eyes of God.
The doctrines of the Kabbalah developed through time and place; being initially anti-philosophic, anti-Christian and stressing mythology and mystical practices, it changed very much while traveling through Northern-Africa and Spain. When the Kabbalistic notions reached Italy, it was much more tolerant towards Christians and encouraging Jewish-Christian dialogue, philosophical in nature and encouraging freedom of interpretation of the Jewish faith. This dramatic change in the Kabbalistic doctrines arose by its contact with the new concepts and ideas of Renaissance while traveling across Europe. The doctrines of the Kabbalah encouraged the formation of confraternities and Jews participating in common activities not just within the walls of the synagogue, but also outside of them. The introduction of Kabbalistic notions in Italy led to modernizing transformations in the ways in which Jews related themselves to each other, to the Christian majority and to the secular sphere.
The influence of Halakah and the Kabbalah on Jewish life in Italy illustrates that life was not only structured via non-Jewish state institutions, but also via Jewish systems. Nonetheless, those systems were not hostile towards improving relations between Jews and Christians.
The influence of Halakah and the Kabbalah on Jewish life in Italy illustrates that life was not only structured via non-Jewish state institutions, but also via Jewish systems. Nonetheless, those systems were not hostile towards improving relations between Jews and Christians.
Jewish identity
Jewish identity in the early modern world can be formulated in the context of an ongoing dialogue and negotiation of Jewish culture with new alien cultural concepts, values and standards of the Christian world. In this connection, the Italian Jew standing in the middle of the Renaissance developments was struck by two ambiguous forces: his own desire to be able to keep his own identity and distinguish himself from the Christian majority on the one hand, and the Christian majority feeling the need to assimilate the Italian Jew in customs and practices on the other hand.
Jews found themselves in the middle of a process of self-definition. Jewish identity was mirrored in their Christian counterparts, because they naturally compared themselves to the Christian majority, noticing certain similarities, but definitely some profound differences. This disjunction between the Jewish Self and the Christian Other made Jews trying to work out their own identities. The Italian Jews were part of a distinct culture within an overarching culture and they were very much aware of their unique position in the societies of which they were part.
The Jews in early modern Italy lived their own lives culturally, but did so within the framework of a broader culture trying to impose its values on them. Although they were able to maintain their own cultural values, the Jews were affected by this broader culture. For example, Jewish communities did not remain free from humanistic and scientific influences. The Jews living across the Italian Peninsula kept in contact in several ways and formed a network within Christian society which was further fostered by the ghettoization of the 16th century.
Despite the firm separation of the Jews from society, interaction and adoption of certain customs between Christians and Jews took place frequently. The Jews brought in economic and political knowledge that was new to the non-Jews and Jews adopted Christian values, though modelling them to their own liking. Borders between Jews and Christian remained permeable, even after the formation of ghettos. Despite this interaction, Jewish life differed from non-Jewish life in every aspect. Political and cultural differences stayed intact naturally, social and economic differences were constructed by the rulers of the Italian cities by the construction of ghettos and other measures to impoverish the Jewish population. Within society, amalgamation only took place when the Christian community felt they would benefit from it. Despite the strict separation of the Italian Jews in the early modern period and the conservation of their separate Jewish identity, cultural exchange took place. Might encouragement of cultural exchange be contributory to improving the current situation in the Middle East?
GtB
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Images
1. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Italia_1494.svg
2. http://brabosh.com/2010/06/21/intrede-van-rabbijn-obadiah-van-bertinoro-in-1488-in-jeruzalem/
3. http://mymorningmeditations.com/2012/09/27/jesus-halakhah-and-the-evolution-of-judaism-part-5/
4. http://zivabdavid.blogspot.nl/2012/07/itzhak-luria-e-reparacao-do-mundo.html