The Ways of Jewish Martyrdom »

Jewish martyrdom in the Middle Ages is a most intriguing social, cultural, and religious phenomenon. It was stimulated by ancient Jewish myths, and at the same time it was influenced by the Christian environment in which the Jews lived and operated. The result was a unique and unprecedented event in which the Jews did not simply refuse to convert to Christianity; they were ready to kill themselves and their children so they would not be forced to convert. The Ways of Jewish Martyrdom discusses the phenomenon of Jewish Martyrdom in medieval Germany, northern France, and England from the time of the First Crusade (1096) until the mid-fourteenth century (that is, the time of the 'Black Death'), in light of modern research and with ample use of hitherto-neglected primary sources. In order to understand the unique phenomenon of Jewish martyrdom, the various Jewish and Christian antecedents that might have influenced the notion of Jewish martyrdom in the Middle Ages need analysis. The texts on which the analysis is based are various, ranging from chronicles through memorial books to liturgical materials and piyyut. The last part of the book reviews the development of this phenomenon after the fourteenth century and delineates the essential changes and transformations therein at the dawn of the early modern period and beyond.

Preface     ix
List of Abbreviations     xiii
List of Maps and Tables     xv
The Idea of Martyrdom: Nine Hundred Years
April, May, June and July of the Year 1096     3
Christianity: the First Nine Hundred Years     13
Who Were the Martyrs?     13
What Was the Source of the Martyr's Behaviour?     18
The First Martyrs     28
From Martyrs to Martyr-Warriors     36
The Jews: The First Nine Hundred Years     47
During the Religious Persecutions of the Second Century of the Common Era     48
The Death of Rabbi Akiba: 'I Have Said, When Will I Have My Opportunity to Fulfil this Commandment?'     49
The Question of the Destruction and Suffering: 'This is the Torah and this is its Reward?'     52
The Nations of the World and the Ultimate Sacrifice: 'Who is Like You Among the Gods, O Lord'     59
The Halakhic Perspective: 'Be Killed and Do Not Transgress'     69
Additional Heroes     73
The Book of Josippon     80
In the Face of the Victorious Sister: 1096-1348
'We Were Silent and We Sat in Darkness Like the Dead     85
'Death in Sanctification of God's Name: Ritual, Myth, and Message     95
The Central Motifs     96
Figures from thePast     98
The Covenant at Mount Sinai     101
The Sacrifice in the Temple     101
Community and Family Behaviour and the Question of Leadership     103
The Commandment to Die     106
Heaven     106
Women and Children     112
The Concept of Being 'Perfect'     117
Converts and Forced Converts     119
Methods of Commemoration     123
Prayer     124
Memorial Books     129
Martyr Texts in Prose: The Chronicles     130
The Story of Mainz     137
Koln and Other Towns     144
Prose and Poetry: The Writings of R. Eliezer bar Nathan     150
Methods of Education     163
Circumcision     167
The Ceremony upon Beginning Education     174
The Myth Becomes a Norm     179
The Crusades of the Twelfth Century     179
France     193
England     202
Germany     209
The Destruction of the Jewish Communities     213
Introduction to Explusion and Destruction     213
A Halakhic (Jewish Legal) Opinion: 'Perhaps it is Like the Case of Saul'     223
Memorial Days      240
Theology, Sociology, and Memory
Theology and Sociology of Christian Martyrs     247
Theology and Sociology of Mekadshei Hashem (Those Who Died for Sanctification of God's Name)     263
Use of the Term     263
'Death for Sanctification of God's Name': Tradition or Innovation?     270
Theological Aspects and their Application in Reality     276
The Religious and the Practical Struggle     290
Memory as Action     313
Theology and Memory     325
Isaac, Father of Jewish Martyrs     325
An End and a Beginning
An End and a Beginning     341
Postscript     363
The Sources for the Attacks on the Jews During the Crusades and their English Translation     369
Bibliography     375
Index     393