We are about to begin discussing an excruciating period of Jewish history that is marked by constant and unrelenting Christian persecution.
During this period we will see:
- the Jews expelled from England (1290)
- the Jews expelled from France (1306 and 1394)
- the Jews expelled from Hungary (1349 and 1360)
- the Jews expelled from German states (1348 and 1498)
- the Jews expelled from Austria (1421)
- the Jews expelled from Lithuania (1445 and 1495)
- the Jews expelled from Spain (1492)
- the Jews expelled from Portugal (1497)
And that's only a partial list.
(As often as not, the Jews were expelled and then, when a significant economic decline was noted in their absence, they were re-admitted only to be expelled again. It was the classic "can't live with them, can't live without them" philosophy.)
The story of these persecutions really begins around the year 1000the first millennium. It seems that people get nervous about big dates, especially Christians whose Book of Revelations predicts that at the end of a thousand years Satan will be released from prison and then he's going to wreak havoc on the world.
The approaching millennium led to a religious revival in the Christian world which historians call the "New Piety." The New Piety focused especially on the historicity of Jesus. Focusing on the life of Jesus meant focusing on his death. And, even though the Christian "New Testament" says that the Romans killed Jesus, the Jews were blamed for wanting him to die.
And so at this time, we see the notion of Jews as "Christ-killers"which first surfaced in the 4th century really growing in popularity.
But that alone does not explain the vehemence of Christian persecutions. To fully understand the issue, we have to look at other, more complex reasons.
Replacement Theology
To start off, the very existence of the Jews was an irritant to many Christians. And this is why:
Christian theology accepts the Hebrew Bible. It does not quarrel with the statements therein that the Jews were a special people chosen by God to receive the Torah and bring holiness into the world. But Christian theology says that the Jews failed in their mission. This is why God sent His "son" (Jesus) to straighten things out, but the Jews refused to recognize him as "god."
As a result, God abandoned the Jews and replaced them with the "new chosen people"the Christians. (Hence, the Christian segment of the Bible is called the "New Testament" which is Greek for "scripture.")
By this line of reasoning however, there would no longer be any purpose for Jews in the world. They should disappear, like did so many mightier peoples. But by the first millennium already 1,000 years after the death of Jesus the Jews were still all over the place.
Christian theology had to come up with some sort of answer to this problem and it did. The Jews must have been doomed to wander the earth by God as a "witness people"teste veritatis in Latin. The purpose of a witness people is to survive throughout history to bear witness at the end of days that Jesus is the Messiah, when he appears again for the so-called "Second Coming."
But the explanations of Christian theology could not remove the sore spot that the presence at times, strong and prosperous presence of the Jews represented. At the heart of the matter was the Christian view of Judaism as a direct competitor for the soul of humanity.
The hostility that the Christians felt toward the Jews can be seen readily from the writings of the early fathers of the Christian Church. (See What Did They Think of the Jews? by Allan Gould, pp. 24-25.)
From John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, we get this:
Jews are the most worthless of men ― they are lecherous, greedy, rapacious ― they are perfidious murderers of Christians, they worship the devil, their religion is a sickness... The Jews are the odious assassins of Christ and for killing god there is no expiation, no indulgence, no pardon. Christians may never cease vengeance. The Jews must live in servitude forever. It is incumbent on all Christians to hate the Jews.
From Gregory of Nyssa, we get more of the same:
Slayers of the lord, murderers of the prophets, adversaries of god, haters of god, men who show contempt for the law, foes of grace, enemies of the father's faith, advocates of the devil, brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men whose minds are in darkness, leaven of the Pharisees, assembly of demons, sinners, wicked men, stoners and haters of righteousness.
In some places, such calumny incited people to violence.
(We saw in Part 45, for example, how the Crusader mobs devastated the Jewish population of Europe, slaughtering 30%-50% of the Jews living there. Some 10,000 Jews of an estimated population of about 20,000-30,000 were murdered in 1095 as the first Crusade got under way.)
In other places, such calumny bred other forms of persecution.
Money-Lenders
If one were a reasonable Christian listening to one's Church fathers speak of the Jews, one might quite naturally conclude that such a people had no place in a decent society.
And this is a conclusion that was drawn over time.
Around the first millennium, we see the rise of the Christian trade guilds from which Jews were pointedly excluded. No more Jewish goldsmiths and silversmiths and glass-blowers. Jews were also excluded from owning land, holding office, and from being doctors and lawyers.
Jews were forced to wear a "distinguishing garment"either a badge or a sign or a silly-looking hat which set them apart. This was not only to make them look different but also to humiliate them.
Then, beginning in 1123, when the bishops of the Church undertook a series of meetings called Lateran Councils to decide Church policy, the Jews were assigned a new function in Christian society.
Along with a decree that priests must be celibate, the bishops decided that Christians were not allowed to lend each other money. (This came from a misunderstanding of Biblical commandment that forbids one from charging one's brother interest when making a loan.)
As for the Jews, the bishops promulgated a doctrine decreeing them servants of Christians, and then assigning to them the degrading task of lending money called usury with which the Christians were forbidden to sully their hands.
The bishops were not stupid. They knew that you have to charge interest to have banking, and you had to have banking to have economic development, otherwise there is no growth and your economy stagnates. Someone had to lend money. And that someone, the bishops decided, would be the Jews.
What happened next is that Jews were not allowed to live in various cities in Europe, unless they supplied a certain number of money-lenders.
However, lending money was a very precarious job. For one, it engendered a lot of animosity. After all, who likes to pay back loans?
And what happened if the local nobleman or bishop decided not to pay you back? He'd accused the Jew of doing something terrible like killing a Christian baby. That way he could renege on his loans, confiscate all Jewish property, and then expel or even kill the Jews.
This happened over and over again.
Some have claimed that it was Jewish money-lending practices that engendered such actions and, indeed, were responsible for a great deal of anti-Semitism. This is a total myth. At that time Jews charged an average interest rate of between 33% and 43% on loans. And while this may seem high by today's standards, consider that the Lombards, the Christian Italian bankers living under the nose of the Vatican, charged rates as high as 250%. So we see that the Lombard money-lending practices were many times worse and yet no one went around persecuting Lombard bankers.(1)
Persecutions of the Jews, on the other hand, knew no bounds.
Blood Libel
It is next to impossible to explain the accusations that were hurled at the Jews during this time. Jews were persecuted not only for being "Christ-killers" but as "baby-killers."
The first such accusation better known as a "blood libel"was leveled in 1144 in Norwich, England. There, Jews were charged with kidnapping a Christian baby and draining the baby of blood. The charge became so popular it would sweep, in various forms, through Europe and then spread to other parts of the world.
The most famous of all blood libel legends is that of the ritual murder of the child Hugh of Lincoln, England in 1255. The story was immortalized in a ballad so well-known in England and Scotland that is number 155 in the standard cannon of English and Scottish ballads compiled by Francis James Child in the 19th century. The best-know tale of ritual murder is the Prioress's Tale, found in Chaucer's 14th century classic work or early English fiction, Canterbury Tales. One verse of the tale goes like this: (2)
Now why did Jews need blood in Christian opinion? This is a multiple-choice question:
- Jews suffered from hemorrhoids as a punishment for killing Jesus and drinking blood was the best cure for hemorrhoids at the time.
- All Jewish men menstruate and need a monthly blood transfusion.
- Jewish men, when they're circumcised, lose so much blood because of that surgical procedure that they need to drink Christian babies' blood.
- It's the chief ingredient in matzah, and therefore prior to every Passover Jews would be requiring a large supply.
- All of the above.
What do you think the correct answer is? Shockingly, it's (e)all of the above.
This is a very important lesson in anti-Semitism. You can say anything about the Jews and people will believe it.
It's ironic that Jews, who are prohibited by Jewish law of consuming any blood whatsoever (kosher meat is carefully washed and salted to remove all traces of blood) were precisely the people accused of drinking blood.
The blood libel makes even less sense when you consider that in the 13th century the Church adopted the doctrine of transubstantiation. This is a mystical idea which maintains that when the priest says mass over the wafer and wine, these objects mystically change into the body and blood of Jesus. Christians who consume the wafer and drink the wine are said to be mystically eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood.(3)
It's ironic that the Christian world, while engaged in the ritual of "drinking the blood of Jesus" would accuse the Jews who are forbidden to drink blood of this totally fabricated hideous crime.
But then the accusations got even more wild.
Starting in Switzerland and Germany in the 13th century, Jews were accused of kidnapping communion wafers from churches. Why would the Jews do this in Christian view?
To torture it.
Medieval documents tell stories describing how a Jew (usually called always called Abraham) steals a wafer from a church, sticks a knife in it, and blood starts pouring out. And then he cuts it up into pieces and sends it to different Jews who all torture it.
This would be funny, if not for a fact that thousands of Jews were slaughtered as a result of such stories. For example, the entire Jewish community of Berlitz, near Berlin in Germany, was all burned alive based on the accusation of torturing a wafer!
(To read more about this subject see The Devil and the Jew by Joshua Trachtenburg or "Why the Jews?" by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin.)
Jew Taxes
Throughout this time, the Jews were physically marginalized, beaten, burned, raped. And they were economically marginalized, pillaged, robbed, taxed nearly to death. Indeed, their money was one of the reasons they were tolerated at all. Jews were a good source of income to the crown. They were specially taxed with special punitive "Jew taxes."
We will see later in Germany that 38 special taxes were imposed on the Jews. There was a tax to be born, a tax to die, a tax to wear a kippah, a tax to be married, a tax to be circumcised, a tax to buy Shabbat candles, a tax to exempt you from the German army in which you were not allowed to serve anyway because you were a Jew.
And what would happen eventually, once Jews were drained of their money they would be expelled. In 1182 King Philip II of France, out of the need to acquire some "quick and easy" money, expelled the Jews of France and confiscated all their property. The lure of future Jewish tax revenue caused him to rethink his policy and invite the Jews back to France in 1198.
This is also what happened in England where heavy taxation of the Jewish population of about 5,000 people supplied the crown with almost 20% of all of its income.
In 1290, on the 9th day of Av, which is the same day that the Temple in Jerusalem was twice destroyed, and which is therefore the worst day in Jewish history – drained of their wealth by a crushing taxation ― the Jews were expelled from England and not permitted to return for almost four centuries. King Edward I declared all debts owed to the Jews canceled and that the principal (but not the interest) be paid directly to him. As the Edict of Expulsion stated:
... therefore, we in, in requital of their crimes and for the honor of the Crucified, have banished them from our realm as traitors. We... do hereby make totally null and void all penalties and usuries and whatsoever else... may be claimed on account of Jewry... pay the amount to us at such convenient times as may be determined by you. (4)
Other countries would soon follow suit, but first would come another twist in the persecution of the Jews.
1) Despite the Church's prohibition against Christian involvement in usury, Christians and even members of the clergy continued the practice throughout Europe. For a more detailed description of Jewish and Gentile money lending see: Salo Baron , Arcadius Kahan, Economic History of the Jews, (Keter Publishing, 1975), pp.43-47.
2) Alan Dundes, The Blood Libel ― A Case in Anti-Semitic Folklore, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1991), p.41.
3) "...body and blood [of Christ] are truly contained in the sacrament of the Alter under the species of bread and wine, transubstantiated by the divine power-the bread into his body and the wine into his blood." Text from the decision of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 as cited in: Bernard Lohse, A Short History of Chrisitan Doctrine - From the First Century to the Present, (Fortress Press, 1966), p. 153.
4) Edict of Expulsion ok King Edward I as quoted in: Alexis P. Rubin ed., Scattered Among the Nations ― Documents Affecting Jewish History 49 to 1975, (Jason Aronson Inc., 1995), pp. 76-77.
(60) S.P. Hart, September 6, 2020 10:30 PM
Scared into conversion?
Whoa!! Rabbi, you are scaring me!
Do you think extreme unimaginable anti-Semiticism like you describe above in Europe starting in 1000 C.E. helped keep Jews together? or caused Jews to try (unsuccessfully) to assimilate?
(Read "The Pity of it All" for a brief history of German anti-semitism and some attempts by Jews to assimilate up to, but not including, WW2...also unbelievable!)
Can you imagine this type of anti-Semitism ever occurring in the U.S. and Canada?
(59) Anonymous, April 13, 2019 8:51 PM
Russian Proverb
The Jew will always tell you what happen to him but never tell you why!
(58) Rudolf Budesky, October 3, 2016 5:41 AM
Crusaders and Jews
It is more complicated.
When Muslims took over the Jerusalem defeating Christians,the Jews welcomed Muslims since their life under Muslims were better than under Christians.Moreover, some Jews were also the solders in Muslim army which defeated Christians.
So Crusaders pogroms were payback.
It is also true however that this two episodes (Jews welcoming Muslims and Crusaders pogroms) were separated for a couple hundred years, and were not main reasons for pogroms..
(57) David Bruce, June 8, 2014 9:21 AM
Our God-given mission as "light unto the nations"?
I'm sorry Ken, but you lost me in this chapter. I refuse the victimhood you would depict here. Please, this way of thinking does not move us forward in our mission as light unto the nations. Israel has gotten off-track. But there is plenty of time and God's plan always succeeds. We will succeed, but we will overcome this mode of thought before moving forward.
(56) tim Goodsell, April 2, 2012 10:33 PM
fascinating reading
very well wrotten and engrossing. Lots of stuff I did not know
(55) Golfhobo, January 20, 2011 5:23 AM
An angry "christian" speaks
I only had time to read comments 50 -54. Special kudos to Jason and a nod of my "not so heavy OR simple-minded" head to Kola. Wink. I am the son of a Baptist minister who NEVER taught me to hate Jews. However, I put Christian in quotes, because I'm not so sure that I actually am one. I was born into the "community/faith," but have maintained an open mind. I AM one of the "teste veritatis"... the witness people for the length of my lifetime at least. I consider all of humanity as one big experiment, and ALL religions as suspect. Yes, I found this page in my google search for more info on the "blood libel" referenced by that IDIOT, Sarah Palin. I learned enough from (liberal) TV coverage about it to get by, but I wanted to know more. Now, I am almost sorry I did. KNOWING that Christians (and others) have persecuted the Jews throughout all time is ONE thing. But, knowing the specifics.... more than what we learned about the Hollocaust.... is distressing. It IS.... as Kola says..... a "burden." I have close but "geographically challenged" ties with a Jewish family that once took me in when I needed help. PART of that family was actually "Messianic!" I can't help but wonder how tolerant the regular vewers of this forum would be about that? Anyway, I am ANGRY because of what people do to each other in the name of religion. And I am ANGRY about what people do to each other in the name of political party. And I am ANGRY about people who toss around words and phrases that they have no understanding of! You are correct, Jason, that I don't feel that I owe anyone an apology. No more than a Catholic owes ME one for belonging to a church that took away my "hispanic" daughter and ANNULLED my marriage. Nor does my Morroccan (muslim) neighbor owe me one for the events of 9-11. Nor a Japanese owe any of us one for Pearl Harbor. But, I AM sorry for how the Jews have been treated throughout the years, centuries and millenia. RIP Christina.
(54) chaya lyons, January 18, 2011 3:50 PM
What would we do without Ken Spiro's "Crash Courses??"
Ken you are so thorough and such a valuable asset to us! Thank you for your excellent histories..... It was a gift to hear you all through Israel with JWRP on the June 13th trip....especially the Holocaust Museum...thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(53) Shoshana, January 17, 2011 6:44 PM
Jewish history and intermarriage
When one reads Jewish history and realizes what we have suffered, including the holicost, it unbelievable that any Jewish girl or boy could intermarry.. For even though the particular Christain that he or she choses to marry is not responsibe for the past and it is not his fault, how can one leave the fresh waters of Judiasm and join up with such a people? And even today anti-Semitism is so strong in the world. Of course this does not mean that every Christian is an anti-Semite. There are probably many who are not. But one never knows how deeply it might be rooted in his would-be-spouse''s subconscious and when it will raise it's ugly head, as unlikely as it might seem to the young person who is so much in love. I heard of a happily married couple until one day she was absolutly furious at him and screamed "you dirty Jew!" Also so many problems come up with the education of the children-yes a bris, or not a bris. Or maybe a Christianing? The best thing is for Christians to mary Christians, and Jews to marry Jews. This is not raciasm..It's just common sence. Especially if you want to marry your true soulmate. Be-cause a soulmate is the other half of your soul, and if you are Jewish your other half is a Jew. And maybe you think it doesn't matter in this world, but in the next world, which is forever and ever and ever, it will matter and you will be a very lonely half-soul.
(52) Kola, January 15, 2011 12:19 PM
FOR EVER THANKS KEN SPIRO!
THANK YOU. EXCELLENT HISTORY COURSE, THE BEST I MY OPINION. THE TRUTH NEVER DIES, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THE MURDERERS TRY TO ELIMINATE IT. PLEASE KEEP GOING WITH COURSES AND EDUCATION YOU PROVIDE, LET'S HOPE THAT ALL CHRISTIANS MODELS READ IT AND BY THIS CLEAN AND HEAL THEIR MINDS, ACKNOWLEDGING HOW FULL OF UNSPEAKABLE LIES AND CONS THE HEAVY WEIGHTS OF THEIR SIMPLE-MINDED HEADS ARE. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES, KEN SPIRO, FOR THE TRUTH YOU PROVIDE!
(51) Jason, January 14, 2011 6:26 PM
Sarah did us a favor and no apology neccessary
Sarah Palin did us a huge favor. Millions of people will now research what blood libel is and now what we went through. As for the many Christians who on this website and others feel the need to apologize for their ancestors sins, I do not feel such an apology is necessary. While I might hold an institution accountable for misdeeds (i.e. the Catholic Church itself), to hold an individual Christian guilty for something done 500 years ago is wrong and not something as I an Orthodox Jew do. So the apology is not necessary, but is appreciated. Acknowledgement that something happened is necessary but the 2 are not the same thing (no guilt attached to acknowledging someone in the past committed an evil). As an American I don't apologize for slavery, I had nothing to with it. However America the country committed a great sin for which it was punished (so says Lincoln at the end of the civil way) and should apologize. Same idea here.
(50) Anonymous, January 13, 2011 11:00 AM
Very interesting article
This is the problem with all organized religions. Wars are started, lies are told. The truth is always the first victim.
(49) Joann Serrano, January 12, 2011 9:10 PM
appreciation of such informitive information
I have finally found a great informative source and answers to so many of the questions I have had since I was a young child to now. I thank you
(48) JohnC, September 24, 2010 6:09 AM
Chaucer's Pardoner not a Jew!
David Buchalter, I hope you have revisited your conclusions about Chaucer's Pardoner. He could not be a jew, as a Pardoner is inherently a Christian.
(47) David Buchalter, January 24, 2008 2:27 AM
Now I get the gestalt
I'm a PhD student at the U of Arizona doing research on Chaucer's Pardoner--I'm suggesting that he's a Jew. Until now, although I had picked up a lot of scraps, I hadn't seen the big picture in terms of the history of Christian oppression of the Jews. That Edward forced his subjects to pay him what they had owed the just-expelled Jews was the clincher for me. Thanks.
(46) Marc Milton-Talbot, October 27, 2007 2:53 PM
Illogical
Christian theology avers,that it was preordained that Jesus would be crucified as a sacrifice in order to save all men.Why,if in Christian eyes the Jews were instrumental in the achievement of this desired outcome,were they persecuted through the ages as the "Christ Killers" when they were actually helping to fulfill God's plan[in Christian eyes]?This illogicity has always mystified me,and has never been explained.It is interesting that in the pre Christian Roman cult of Mithras the son of Sol Invictus,[Invincible Sun] the adherents were exhorted to eat his body and drink his blood lest they not enter paradise.
(45) Anonymous, October 24, 2007 1:38 PM
Horrifying!
It is horrific to see the accusations and anti-semitism that went on in the Christian church; unfortunately that anti-semitism is still alive and well in the church. However, with that being said, there are a new breed of Christians that are now saying "enough is enough"! Hashem's covenant with His people was and still is an everlasting covenant! It should be duly noted that there are Christians that are vigilant in condeming those who are against Israel and Jacob's people, the first born, the Jews!
(44) F, October 24, 2007 7:38 AM
Unfortunatley these Christian myths are now being used by Radical Moslems and there are even movies made in Islamic countries on the basis of such terrible lies. MemriTV.com has a few of these vidoes. One Sepecifically showing that contemporary Jewish religious men take a Christian child (interestingly not a Moslem child !), kill him and use his blood for baking matza. The extent of human evil and stupidity is enourmours. This is how Satan controls the world and billions follow him. Satan or whatever evil force that is trying to misguide humanity hides itself behind the name of G-d and orders people to kill each other and they do. Jews and some other INFIDELS like Buddists, Hindus, Zarothastriasn, and Indian Americans,do not advocate killing, torture and hurting other human beings in the name of G-d or spirituality. G-d bless the INFIDELS and save us from the Radicals of two biggest religions of the world. The religion of Peace and the religion of Love ! Amen
(43) Anonymous, October 23, 2007 10:58 PM
As a Christian (Catholic school teacher) who has become very involved in interfaith education and Holocaust education, I cannot tell you how painful it has been to learn that my church was so involved in antisemitism throughout the centuries. But it is so important to learn about these things, and for me to teach about them, so that NEVER AGAIN will such things happen. You do an excellent job on this website of educating us all. Thank you!
(42) mike, August 26, 2006 12:00 AM
I didn't know about this site until
I heard AJay read your work on his shortwave radio show at 7.145 Mhz (Tuesdays 7-8 PM). He forwarded me your website to review the material he read. I'm sure readers would like his show and the show that follows by Rabbi Yakove Spivak, an orthodox rabbi.Mike in MI
(41) Sheri Levy Bautz, November 5, 2005 12:00 AM
excellent work - thank you
Thank you Rabbi for your excellent work. We stumbled upon your series as we were researching a report for our middle school student - and could not stop reading!
Thank you again
(40) Rodney van Lieshout, July 7, 2005 12:00 AM
I am a practising Roman Catholic and I have only recently come across this website and find it informative, historically accurate and quite refreshing.
I look forward to reading more in the future.
rvl
(39) Ya'aqov, March 14, 2005 12:00 AM
Think "Blood libel" Started then?
The Jewish Historian Yosef Ben-Matithyahu (known by his Latinized name, "Flavuis Josephus" - died c. 100 CE) wrote a wonderful series of "Hertz/Hirsch" style defenses of Torah Judaism from a first century perspective against the institutionalized antisemitism of many "great" greek & roman philosophers.
His works are freely available online, but notice this quote for example, made by Apion, an antisemitic greek philosopher who allegedly was told the following by (how interesting) Antiochus Epiphanes:
"...and was was informed by them that it was in order to fulfill a law of the Jews that they must not tell them... that they used to catch a Greek foreigner, and fatten him up like so every year, and then lead him up to a certain forest, and kill him, and sacrifice him with their usual rituals, and taste of his entrails..."
- Josephus, "Against Apion", Book II, Ch. 8
Seems like, with most of Christian tradition, old pagan superstitions always outweigh the clarity of the Tanakh.
(38) Anonymous, January 18, 2005 12:00 AM
My head is swimmingly dizzy at this appalling history.
I came across the term "blood libel" on a web site and decided to look into it. Shocking, heartbreaking and evil in it's intent to harm innocent people (the Jewish people). More heartbreaking is that this same pack of lies and deadly intent is alive and well today, 2005. To read it in the news about the Middle East is revolting enough, now it is in the United States as well. Here come the tears, my heart will always have a saddness from this realization. Thank you Rabbi Spiro
(37) Anonymous, December 26, 2004 12:00 AM
Rabbi Spiro, Kol Hakavod to you! Very very interesting article. It makes my blood boil when I'm reminded of how much our people have suffered through out history. The sad thing is, most people, non jews in particular, aren't aware of the facts, perhaps they should teach them what their ancestors really did to ours in "sunday school".
shkoyach
(36) reed wetzel, November 15, 2004 12:00 AM
wow , and it started as just a report
i must thank you for the help that , your report has show me , i first read this just wanting to know what the blood libel was for a 12 grade report im doing of the the story " the prioress's Tale" , not really knowing what it was , and after reading this , i am amazed what when on back then and how chaucer when he wrote his story , how well be protrayed it , once again thanks ,and with this , i can do my oral report knowing im saying the right info , behind the story thanks
(35) Anonymous, November 2, 2004 12:00 AM
Have mercy
I never learned that the reason for Jesus was because (from Replacement Theology paragraph above) "Jews failed in their mission." I am a Catholic Christian and NEVER was this or any negative comments about Jews or them being to blame for Jesus' death part of my 12 years of Catholic schooling or my upbringing. I have never read this as part of the Church's teaching. When I taught 3rd grade in a Catholic school, I never said (or believed, as stated in also above paragraph) that after Jesus arrived on the scene that now the Christians were the next best thing to sliced bread and that now God abandoned His Chosen People. Perhaps it felt that way to His people, but I wasn't taught that. I inspired my students (and myself) to think of reasons why people believe what they do and that God has known us since the beginning of time and THAT makes us valuable and loved by Him, and hence we should try and look at the value and love in each other.
Please forgive each other for our transgressions and those of our forefathers, and let's realize that many of us don't think, nor maybe ever even thought, about all these heinous ideas and accusations that unfortunately have been so prevalent throughout history and at so many different peoples.
I have learned SO much from reading these Jewish Lessons and I will finish them, all the while taking notes and reflecting and praying about these things in my heart. I understand that Rabbi Spira feels deeply and personally about these things... but OUCH...Have mercy on me! I am with you, not against, and if God is for us, who can be against? Also, I would never support any of my clergy or friends if there were to be anti-Semetic comments (or negative comments about any peoples) made.
This is all tough, heartbreaking, soul-searching information from history that hasn't improved over time.
(34) Anonymous, April 13, 2004 12:00 AM
Reading "Constantine's Sword" led me to "Blood Libel" sites...
God help us... We must learn to tolerate each other and not continue to promote such God-awful myths as "Blood Libel."
(33) Menashe Kaltmann, October 26, 2003 12:00 AM
Maharal of Prague
Again an excellent article Rabbi Spira!
Unfortunately throughout the ages this terrible false accusation of Blood Libel has been labelled against us. Perhaps one of the most well known Jewish leaders of 400 years ago Rabbi Lowew of Prague also known as The Holy Maharal who directly appealed to The Emperor to not listen to these false accusations.
During The Maharal's time it was a constant false accusation labelled against the Jewish Community.
On Pesach (Passover) these accusations were magnified with many Church leaders and lay people feeding the lies.
The Maharal spent so much of his valuable time trying to show the authorities that these accusations were baseless a complete falsehood and libel. Many times the Maharal would rely on proofs from The Torah to show the Jewish concern for all life and revulsion of eating anything with blood to proof that these accusations were utter falsehoods.
On the night of The Maharal's birth the first night of Seder The Maharal's family called for a Doctor and uncovered a non Jew trying to attempt a blood libel. The Maharal's birth even led to this unscruplulous person's arrest.
(32) Anonymous, May 29, 2003 12:00 AM
It still goes on...
Congratulations are in order for this series of articles. I live in a country which is vastly Catholic, and although there is no public anti-Semitism here, Catholic priests keep on making very unfavourable comments against the Jews when they have the chance.
Thus the anti-Semitic trend that was set forth in the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church is still alive and well in some places.
(31) Anonymous, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
I am so sorry
Crash Course in Jewish History 46
As a very sheltered English 'Christian' I had no idea of the extent the Jewish people suffered over past centuries at the hands of Christians. [I of course know recent history but not centuries ago, it certainly is not taught in our schools]. Until I read the above. It sickened me, and made me weep; it made my heart heavy. I was brought up by my parents that Jews are very precious people and we should support them. They are the apple of G-ds eye and we the gentiles are grafted in. But it is to the Jew first. I will continue to support Jewish people and Jewishness.
Please forgive my ignorance.
Jan
(30) Marc (Ya'akov) Pollack, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Ken Spiro's article is an excellent summary of The History of Europeon Anti-Semitism.
Dear Sirs,
I must say that Ken Spiro's article very articulately instructs us as to the root causes of christian anti-semitism is a concise and clear fashion. I would like very much for such a lucid writer to try his hand at current political science regarding Israel and the Middle-East.
Sincerely, Marc Pollack
(29) Mary Kirsner, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Excellent history lesson
I enjoyed every line of this teaching. I is very well written with all the writings supported by dates and times. I pass these teachings on to my non Jewish friends because they are blinded by Christianity and often confuse Judaism with Islamic practices. Ironic how we are totally different religions and are proven enemies and yet almost every Christian is confused. This is the greates teachings for myself, my family, and my friends.
(28) Donna Lagarde, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Dear Rabbi Spiro,
It is so painful for me to read these stories, but it's beter to know the truth than persist in a lie. I am a Christian, so it grieves me to hear what was done to the L-rd's people in the name of G-d. I say ton all who will hear that i will stand for the Jewish people this day. I will not faint in the day of adversity, for the L-rd has set me on a Rock that is higher than I, and I will not be moved. Feel my tears wept for you in repentance of what my fathers did to your fathers. Today is the day to stand for the G-d of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.
(27) Morris Givner,Ph.D., May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Truly outstanding and should be part of every history course in high schools throughout the world
Rabbi Spiro has the courage and knowledge to describe the suffering of the Jewish people throughout the ages and refuses to compromise with the truth in order to win acceptance from the Christian and Moslem worlds. The past teaches us to be prepared for the present and future as humans progress very slowly if at all.
(26) James Sprunger, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Heartsick
Much of the content of this article is new information for me. These stories would be laughable were they not so tragic. The people who did such things had no concept of the teachings of the scripture.
(25) Anonymous, May 19, 2003 12:00 AM
Distinction needed between "christian" the use of the term in the name of evil.
The excellent article provided a good overview of much of history. A fullsome discussion of Jewish/Christian relations should have included distinguishing among various sects of Chritianity as the abhorent behavior is not accurate anymore that saying Modern Orthodox Jewish people are the only Jews.
One less known fact is that an organization funded almost exclusively by Christians is/has been the first or second largest giver of funds (without 'strings') to Israel the past few years. The article is accurate, but not all Christians should be painted with the "blood" brush.
(24) Anonymous, May 18, 2003 12:00 AM
Christian
I can not answer for what happened in
the past but I can tell you I am one
Christian who is 100% for the Jewish
people and their land God promised them
through Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
(23) Raisy, May 18, 2003 12:00 AM
too much to bear
The suffering you are describing and will continue to do is almost to much to bear...and I'm sitting comfortably in Democratic Canada reading this all.
It makes me even more awed at the fact that I'm a jew, that my ancestors had suffered unbearable hardships and had remained G-d-fearing Jews, and bequeathed this priceless gift to me. I treasure it all the more.
Thanks.
(22) jay beilis, December 17, 2002 12:00 AM
20th century blood libel
the blood libel accusation continued into the 20 th century when my grandfather, Mendel Beilis was accused of one
After the trial Sholem Alcheim visited him at his home & told him that the weight of twelve million Jews were on his shoulders for every day he spent in prison
(21) Tamar Zucker, March 5, 2002 12:00 AM
It's always a shock to discover ones friends are Jew haters.....
On a message board I frequent I was both very disappointed and very disturbed to read this from the keyboard of a friend of a friend: "...Seems their race has been a troubled people since recorded history."
And another person " If you think the Jews are faultless why have they been run out of most other countries they tried to settle in? Is everyone wrong and they are right? Study history and see why the big wars were started, economics and money control. Even the Russian Revolution. Who was behind that?"
And on and on. It is very depressing. It never ends. Worse it often comes out of the mouths of people one expects to know better. We are not so far away from the bad ole days and I would not be real suprised at a national policy institutionalising Jew Baiting and Blood Libels, even today. I thought 9/11 would be a wake up call bringing support to Jewish issues and adding support for pro Israel policy. Not in NYC it wasn't!
Went to your site for amunition. Probably shouldn't even bother.
(20) Anonymous, December 20, 2001 12:00 AM
blood libel info.
thanks for having this on the internet, helped me with my college final in jewish history. =)
(19) Sherry Redding, October 15, 2001 12:00 AM
So amazing
It is hard for me sometimes as a Christian to read about how those that called themselves such could behave in such a way. I personally do not believe in replacement theology. It is
totally unbiblical. I just recently returned from a trip to Israel. It was a wonderful trip and very heart warming and very emotional for me. I believe that God's chosen people will always be His chosen people and that the land is theirs no one else has a right to it. I feel the same as Mr. Long and come to this sight as often as possible. I have learned so much and appreciate your teachings. I have even sent a question to Ask the Rabbi. I have contributed financially as well. I want the Jewish people to continue to prosper and when I read about these horrible acts by people that claim to be Christian I get sick to my stomach. I hope to return to Israel some day when my finances allow. I was so blessed to be able to go when I did. We were there when the attacks on the US happened. It was a very trying time. Everyone that we came in contact with were just so kind and told us how sorry they were. Now as Mr. Long says Christians do care. God bless you and please continue you wonderful and insightful teachings.
Thank-you
Sherry Redding
Odessa, Texas
(18) Hope B, October 12, 2001 12:00 AM
The only One God
I love this crash course in Jewish history. This is in reference to Mr. Rudolph Moseh Schneider's statemen that Jews, Muslims and Christians all pray to the same God. I pray to the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses, the One and only true God. I do not pray to Allah, the god of the Muslims, if you pray to him that is you business, but please do not say that we all pray to the god of the Muslims, that is just not true. There is only One true God and his name is not Allah!! There is only One God, the God of Israel, and Israel was, is and will always be his chosen people.
(17) Anonymous, October 11, 2001 12:00 AM
Christians do care
I am sorry such falsehoods and things were said by so-called Christians.
But not all Christians are anti-Jewish. I am a Southern Baptist Pastor, and I have the greatest respect for the Jewish people, and regardlless what people may say, God has his hand upon the Jewish people, and God will make them a great nation, ever greater than now. I am a new reader to your web site, and find it very informative, I read it often.
I only wish I could visit Israel, and get to see the land of the Bible, and to know the people of Isreal, till then this Christian will not only read your site, and support it, but also seek to support Israel, and God's people there.
Thanks and God Bless
Ron Long
(16) j kelley, October 9, 2001 12:00 AM
lets clarify
christians = catholics are not one and the same. many christians were persecuted and martyred by the Roman catholic church, millions were killed. So before you stereotype think about it. I for one dont blame any Jew today for killing the Messiah, It would have been outside their power to do otherwise as G-d had already decreed way ahead of time.
(15) Dawlin Urena, October 9, 2001 12:00 AM
Not all Christians hate Jews
Other Pentecostal denominations and we Protestant Christians (Assemblies of God, etc.) actually love our brothers in Israel and all around the world with Jewish blood. We constantly pray for you. You are the apple of God's eyes and NOBODY has replaced you!
(14) Rudolf Moshe Schneider, October 8, 2001 12:00 AM
This point of view is to simple and forces misunderstanding
In this time we should not start to list everything what religions have done wrong like ammuniton against each other. We should find out where we can find the tings which we share... for example: GOD himself. Jews, Muslims and Christians are praying to the same one God. He
must be a father in trouble, because his
kids do have nothing more to do than to fight against each other... and to force
misunderstandings. In this time we need
other goals. Now we are looking for people who have the power to bring us all together and not to devide us...
us means us all: Jews, Muslims and Christians and of course the rest of all mankind.
Cordially
Rudolf Moshe Schneider
(13) Andrew, October 8, 2001 12:00 AM
Protestantism No Different Than Catholicism
I enjoy reading Rabbi Spiro's series on Jewish history. This most recent article illustrates time and again how G-d still keeps His people intact, and would never forsake them, even in times of distress. They have a mission to fill the earth with the knowledge of the One G-d. This is what they are chosen to do, and G-d has promised never to forsake them. G-d will protect them, so that they may fulfill their special mission.
That having been said, I would address some of the comments made by Protestant Christians wishing to distance themselves from their Catholic forebears. There are numerous Christians who respect the Jews, sometimes even regarding their Torah and theology. But that is only a recent development in the West.
While the Reformation movement was a dramatic departure in some ways from the Church of Rome, the two still share core doctrines, namely Replacement Theology. From a liberal interpretation of Jesus' criticisms of Jewish sects, and of the writings of Paul bemoaning the reluctance of the Jews to see Jesus as Mashiach, some ecclesiastical leaders (ignorant of Torah) decided that G-d Himself (G-d forbid) rejected the Jews entirely. That it was because of the faith of their Gentile neighbors, who merited being "grafted into the tree," and being deemed spiritual Jews; the so-called “circumcised of the heart,” as opposed to the “circumcised of the flesh.”
Add to this grave misconception, the Greco-Roman worldviews that were often diametrically at odds with Jewish thinking (remember what brought about the Maccabean Revolt), and the iron hot grudge against the Jews that carried over from the leaders of the Roman Empire. This hostility was passed on down to the so-called Church Fathers and various bishops who would shape core Christian doctrine. As these were the shepards of the flock, so the Christian faithful followed. And they still do today.
While Western Civilization has raised itself to a standard in which persecution of religious faith is viewed as a great evil, many Christians, in particular Evangelicals and missionaries, still hold to a notion of superiority by virtue of this ignorant teaching called Replacement Theology. Christians who wish to missionize to Jews would dare not dream of doing violence on them (G-d forbid), but their efforts to convert the Jewish mind to accept the idolatry of Trinitarianism, Messianic Divinity, redemption through an intermediary, and ultimately rejection of G-d’s Torah is an assault on the Jewish soul. Death by assimilation, rather than by bloodshed.
This may seem harsh, however, I only wish to address comments made by others saying that true Christianity is not what the Medieval Church of Rome practiced. Sincere G-d-fearing Christians should seriously re-examine exactly what is being taught in the core doctrine of their religion. In the way that Replacement Theology and classic Christian contempt for Jews via Jesus and Paul’s criticisms (at least as most theologians interpret them) engender a mindset of religious supercession, Protestantism is no different than Catholicism, or any of the other denominations.
I do not mean to offend anyone, but you have to look at what Christianity, or at least what its most influential leaders deem as gospel truth: at best Jews are lost sheep who must accept Jesus as the ultimate revelation, or they are spawn of the devil (there are plenty who still believe the latter). Regardless of whatever praise modern clergy might give to the Jews, belief in Christianity’s ultimate superiority to Torah Judaism is at the core. As long as the Jews exist, they are a thorn in the side of those religions that would try to lay claim to the Avrahamic covenant by inventing their own. It is out of ignorance of and contempt for their ways, and jealousy of their status that “blood libel” is born.
As a follower of the Seven Laws of Noach, I would heartily suggest to any Christians wishing to seek G-d’s truth to listen to what the Jews have to say about the Bible they hold. It was given to them first, and they are its eternal stewards. Israel is called to be a nation of kings and priests entrusted with the transmission of Divine revelation. As this covenant still stands, no other nation or group can claim this, even if the Jews do not (G-d forbid) succeed in their mission. For we Gentiles, who are as much G-d’s children as Israel, we should assist the efforts of the true monotheists to share the wonders of the One G-d, indivisible and incorporeal. There is a covenant for the Nations, and there is a covenant for Israel, but they are both paths of the same G-d, not the path of a covenant that seeks to destroy another.
(12) Anonymous, October 7, 2001 12:00 AM
Good Reading!
Great article!
By the 4th Century, the Christian Church, which began as a sect of Judaism (Jesus and his apostles, his family, his friends and most of the people he knew were, in fact, Jewish), was overrun by Gentile Converts. The Jewish Synagogue often expelled teachers who even mentioned the name of Jesus, because, in effect, he did not fit the mold of the Moshiach - and therefore,was not to be held in esteem. Furthermore, to consider Jesus "god" was unthinkable!!! Pagan philosophies were used to try to explain how Jesus could be considered divine and Greek words like hypostatic union, person, nature, substance, homoousios, etc. were employed to bridge the gap. The animosity of Christians against Jews which developed through the ages found its basis in the rejection of "Christians" from the synagogue moreso than from the "rejection" of Christ. It was only later that the "rejection" of Christ was used to theologize the Christian animosity (oh! but I am too kind! HATRED is a more applicable word!) of the "Jews". By the 4th Century, with the Edict of Constantine, the Church came into its own power and was set to wreck its revenge upon the Jewish people. It was not until this century that the Catholic Church addressed the issue in any major form, finally revoking the slanderous "Christ killer" and cautioning that the Paschal Gospels (read during Holy Week and Easter) are not to be used as invectives against the Jewish people as a whole, but are to be seen in the context of their human origins, reflecting the erroneous (my word) opinions of the Gospel writers in dealing with the Jewish Authorities at the time of Jesus.
(11) Anonymous, October 7, 2001 12:00 AM
Not all "Christians" the same in their believes.
I am totally agree with dwills1@jumo.com. The Christians that I am associated with today, do not in anyway resemble those told in the article. We in fact love and have strong sympathy with the Jews perhaps more than any other people. As our Lord himself declared to Abraham:
"I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU,
AND WHOEVER CURSE YOU I WILL CURSE;
and all peoples on earth will be bless through you...Genesis 12:2-3.
With just this one verse, how would a Bible believing Christian not to be in obedience to this command of the LORD?
(10) Michael Levinson, October 6, 2001 12:00 AM
Article Comments
I enjoyed reading the article and I will continue to read them. thanks for having this website...etc...
(9) Anonymous, October 3, 2001 12:00 AM
Money
The Christians, more often than not, abused the extreme longsuffering of the Jewish people - the Dark Ages, Inquisition, and the time of the Plagues being some of the most horrific and dishonorable representations of so called "Christian Love".
However, on another note, if I recall correctly, there was a slight misunderstanding by the author. In the previous article, there was a mention of Christians not being permitted to loan money to other Christians. Perhaps the author is informed of some extremely rare event, because the Christians were forbidden to charge any interest to other Christians. Being that the collection of interest was not permitted, the Christian population all-but stopped lending money and relied on the Jewish (primarily) money-lenders to supplement.
(8) David Wills, October 1, 2001 12:00 AM
Not all
Please understand, that the midieval Catholic church does not represent all of Christianity. That same church persecuted Christians who did not bow to its authority--Hugenots in France, various people in the Spanish Inquisition, hanged and beheaded various people who worked on translating the Bible from Latin and Greek into native languages that people could read, and more. Just as there are various "denominations" of Judaism, there are similarly varied "denominations" of Christianity, and not all of those support the hatred that is directed toward Jews, Moslems, atheists, or whatever. It is just as wrong to throw all Christians into the same ideological kettle as it is to do so with Jews.
In other words, just as all Jews do not keep kosher, all Christians are not medieval Catholics. Some have no animosity toward Jews at all.
(7) Michael Devolin, October 1, 2001 12:00 AM
Having read Rabbi Shapiro's aritcle on the history of Xtianity I am reminded again of why I eventually rejected this "homocidal religion." I have been a B'nai Noach for almost two years now, yet still I am ashamed that I ever was a Xtian. How can I ever say "I'm sorry" to the Jewish people without feeling ashamed and stupid. To think that Rabbis have befriended me and are helping me is just another example of how beautiful and gracious is the Jewish people. May I be as faithful to the truth. Baruch HASHEM.
Michael Devolin
(6) Myrna Finnerud, October 1, 2001 12:00 AM
Thank you
Fascinating article --will send it to several friends and read the related articles
(5) JoAnne, October 1, 2001 12:00 AM
Maybe the catholics,
I can hardly believe the things I have read in this article. It the first time I've heard of such things. If it is true, that things accusations and things really happened, I would imagine that it was by the catholics (hence the mentioning of the vatican, bishops, etc) but I seriously doubt that it was Christians who did these things. Many Christians were killed by the catholics during the Crusades, and many Christians were killed during the holocaust by the Nazis- usually for harboring Jews.
So the truth of this article probably refers to catholics, not Christians. I know you probably won't print these comments, because the editor here refuses to see the differences in catholics and people who follow the Bible- which are the ones called "Christians" (The catholics do not follow the Bible, although they "claim" to. They discourage anyone from really reading it, because once they do, they realize that the teachings of the church do not match up, and the catholics leave the "church")
(4) Anonymous, September 30, 2001 12:00 AM
I'd like to apologze for all of the horrible acts Christians have inflicted on the Jews over the centuries. I hope you are aware that not all Christians feel or act this way and frankly, i am most fond of the Jewish people. Blessings...
(3) Anonymous, September 30, 2001 12:00 AM
I was surprised by this history....
I still am learning alot. What I am wondering, is what all of us can do now to create a "Oneness" with God and those in our Human race? Why must there be peace time divisions? Don't many in this world of humanity create their own divisions? Shouldn't we all try not to be like that? What do you think?
(2) Sandy Davis, September 30, 2001 12:00 AM
Although I am a Christian I have enjoyed
reading your articles. If more Christians would read these articles maybe we would have a better world.
(1) alan cutshall, September 30, 2001 12:00 AM
catholic beliefs not christian
true christians don't view communion as the real flesh and blood of jesus. these christians that you describe are not of true christian beliefs. they don't even deserve to be called christians. cristian beliefs are based on the teachings of jesus. jesus never taught us to persecute the jews.