ePerreorrlenin Olitgactm PAGE SIX ■■■■•■■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■•■•■■•■■■0 the very nature of this stiff - necked race to resist all destructive and per- nicious forces. Modern sociology gives much credit to the purity and influence of the home as an institu- By SARAH GOLDBERG tion of the Jews in the Middle Ages. . The home and the morality and I "On account of our many trans- the long and cruel centuries. A na- gressions," cried the wretched Jews tion without a home, without a land, love which it fostered were the main- as they saw their beautiful temple without a spiritual and political cen- stay of the Jews during those evil destroyed, their beloved city leveled ter, lived and mocked at the ravages times, and because the home centers and their brethren scattered over the of time. Lived and prospered in spite so largely about the wife and mother, face of the earth. Back in the dim of the infinite hatred and hostility the Jewess may justly claim a large past, God had promised Israel that allied against it. In the midst of in- share of the glory in the miraculous his descendants would be numberless credible and unparalleled persecu- preservation of her people. and that they would replenish the tiers, wholesale massacres and intel- Then too, much bravery was need- world. Yet here they were, in the le.tual soil spiritual isolation, it con- ed in those days of massacres and second century of the Christian era, tinued to live, to flourish and to mul. forced baptisms. The Jew had to their homes and temple in ruins, and ti ply know how to fight and how to die for Throughout 16 centuries—from his religious beliefs. And the Jewess a mere few millions of them dispersed —some in captivity, some in slavery, the beginning of the supremacy of knew how to sacrifice herself hero- but .all . in adversity. Truly,. their Christianity up to the inodern, en- ically 'for her God. In this she was transgressions must have been both lightened 'free era—the dominant at- more courageous than the stronger titude toward the Jew had been either sex. She inspired and spurred on numerous and great. In the beginning of the Middle annihilation or baptism. There passed her brothers to suffer torture and Ages, Jewish communities were to be ages of oscillation between massa- death rather than receive the cross. found in all the larger towns and cres, inquisitions and expulsions, yet And by the inspiration of her mar- cities of Spain, Italy, Germany and the Jews were neither annihilated nor tyrdom she helped to save her people France, as well as in the East. There baptized. The complete isolation nei- from obliteration. The peculiar organization and con- they lived in the small quarters which ther paralyzed nor degenerated their later became the legalized and com- intellectual and spiritual propensities. ditions of Jewish life in the Middle Ages were not only favorable to the When they were finally emancipated pulsory ghettos; imitated their Chris- tian neighbors in dress, customs, and from their dismal, mediaeval Ghettos, status to which the Talmud assigned women, but even fostered it. Every- when they were permitted to see the habits; and, whenever tolerated, took active part in the life and problems light of a kinder, superior age—the where the Jews were a small state within a larger and hostile state. Jews emerged numerically, morally of the city. Yet, in spite of every- thing, they did not forget the God of and spiritually stronger and greater Their only contact with the outside Christian world came through the ex- their fathers nor the laws of the Holy than when they had entered, though Scriptures and the Talmud, Faith- wanting a cultural life and its habits. orbitant taxes wrung from them by Wherein lie the causes of this enig- the kings and their nobles. In their fully, zealously they adhered to the Torah and lovingly performed all the matic mysterious preservation of the secluded quarters, the Jews contin- Jewish nation? The religious still ued to live In le old, traditional duties prescribed by the Talmud. Sphinx-like; the small Jewish na- contend that it was the will of the manner. Thu synagogue was the center and tion, now consisting of little commu- true and only God to prevent His nities scattered all over the East and people from being conquered and ex- pivot of the mediaeval Jew's exist- the West, continued to exist during terminated. Others argue that it is in ence and his attitude to it was his Jewish Women in the Middle Ages L 0114110140•400•1•1011110110011111010011 THOUGH, I SIT IN DARKNESS 0 silent Dove, pour out thy whispered prayer, Stricken amid the tents of Meshekh; And lift up thy soul tilito God— Thy banner, thy charffit and thy horseman— Who kindleth the light of thy sun: Who formeth light and createth darkness. We Wish You All 71 1 a P P To the whole He called with His word, And it arose in a moment, at His bidding, To show unto all the strength of His glory In a world which, no longer void, Ile had formed, What time, from the east, unto His light He called and moved the darkness. And the host of His heavens heard The word: "Let there be Light;" and it was known That•there is a Rock by whom are cleft The clouds, and the corner-stones laid. And they gave thanks to their Maker, since they knew The excellency of light over darkness. So will Ile yet light up my gloom, And uphold him who raiaeth my fallen estate, And make the light of mine assembly shine forth. Then the chosen one yet shall boast herself : "Behold the light of the Rock of my praise Is mine, though I sit in dark ness." --JHUDAH IIALEVI. E IJ.nsh Publication Sociatf•/ ear e111 Detroit Mirror _ Works — Manufacturers of MIRRORS Beveled Plate and Leaded Art Glass attitude toward life in general. It matics, physics, astronomy and phi- ruled his moral, social, legal and com- losophy." Kolonymos lived in Prov- mercial ideas and behavior. It was ence, where the Jews, influenced by the supreme institution by which both their Spanish co-religionists, had ab- the fanatic, semi-ignorant German sorbed the Greek culture and philoso- Jews and the aristocratic, cultured phy then known to the intellectual and liberal Spanish and Italian Jews world. The home continued to be the Jew- were guided. Though the architec- 2132 TO 2144 BAKER STREET ture of the synagogues, the customs ess' domain. Her position and influ- ence there were not inferior to those in and the manner of prayer differed Corner Fourteenth accordance with the wealth and cul- held by her sex in Talmudic times ture of the various Jewish communi- She was still the loved helpmate, tin Phone Cadillac 4216 ties, the Talmud remained the leading respected consort of her husband, tin devoted mother and tutor of her chil principle of all. dren. Her lack of knowledge of and In fact, the Talmud was the very training in religious ritual and dutie raison d' etre of the synagogue. For resulted in the domesticity of he that reason its philosophy was univer- husband, who often went to market sally accepted and its laws and de- to buy the food, assisted in its prep- crees faithfully executed. The Tal- oration and arranged and conducted mudic conceptions of woman, for ex- the religious services in the home. ample, prevailed. The wealthy, pol- There seems, however, to have been ished, educated Spanish Jewess had no disharmony on that ground. All the same legal and social status as accounts indicated that it was a happy her less fortunate German sister. and congenial life, the only clear light Their position in the community was in their gloomy existence. the same. Though the Spanish Jewess Many inspiring stories are told of had a smattering of Greek philoso- the religious enthusiasm and fearless- phy, Arabic poetry and literature her ness of the medieval Jewess. The ignorance of Ilebrew culture and re- pious monks discovered to their great ligion was no less than that of the Cadillac 3285 3402 Beaubien surprise that the pale and sad-eyed German and French Jewess. women actually prevented their weak- As the synagogue was the court of er brothers from openly accepting justice, the justice it meted out and Christianity in order to save their PERRY FEIGENSON, President the laws it set up were those of the lives. Thereupon, these religious Talmud. The same inequality be- Christians burnt 67 Jewesses at the BEN FEIGENSON, Vice-President tween the legal status of the sexes stake, as a warning to the women of MILTON BERNSTEIN, Secretary-Treasurer continued. In this, woman's position other ghettos. During the first cru- was both negative and inferior. Still, sade, the Jewish women of Maycene the times had changed, new problems assembled themselves and their chil- came up which required solutions not dren and begged the men to kill them .....................................\ given by the Talmud and a few new and then commit suicide rather than ) laws were added. Due to early mar- forsake their God. The women of riages—s girl of 7 and a boy of 10 the congregation at Treves killed /I were married in those days—and to their small children when they learnt 1 p the ease with which men obtained it, that an army of monks was coming to divorce was very prevalent. Rabbi carry them off to a monastery nearby Gershon prohibited wilful divorce of where they were to be taught the husbands and made the laws more Christian religion. Many women, stringent as well as less unfavorable weighted down by stones, threw them- to women. selves into the river in order to es- In the early Middle Ages there cape forced baptism or disgrace. The were still many lapses from monog- historian Greets reports that over amy, while in the East and in Spain 100,000 thus met death. A touching story is related of the polygamy prevailed up to the four- teenth century. The rabbinical 'syn- wife of a certain Rabbi Moses, who ods formed a law prohibiting a man sought death rather than be forced from marrying a second time without into unfaithfulness. Attracted by her the consent of his wife. If he mar- beauty, the captain of the vessel on ried against her wishes, she had the which they were crossing the Mediter- right to obtain a divorce and get ranean made persistent advances to back her dowry. There was a decree her. One bright morning, while the which enabled a woman to get a di- captain was standing beside her, she vorce for being beaten, or, if she pre- asked her husband in Ilebrew whether ferred, to compel her husband to give those who perished in the sea could hope for resurrection and receiving her separate maintenance. The synagogue was also the com- an answer in the affirmative, she munal center of the ghetto. There threw herself into the Mediterranean. Glass Automobile Replacements. 06 - . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■■ •■ ■ ■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■■ ■ INCORPORATED 1923 ESTABLISHED 1883. ROSH HASHONAH GREETINGS . Feigenson Brothers Co. HIGH—LOW LARGE or SMAL., HOTEL or APARTMENT HOUSE SEASON'S GREETINGS "WHERE ONLY THE BEST HAS BEEN CONSIDERED YOU MAY EXPECT TO FIND A.B.SEE ELEVATORS" -- from — JOHN C. NAGEL If the heart of an apartment house is its elevator service, it must follow that the type of elevators installed should be determined entirely on the basis of which will give the maximum service to the tenants. COUNCILMAN A. B. 0.Y E E ELEVATOR COMPANY the Jews gathered to rejoice over each other's sorrow's. It was an amuse- ment, lecture and wedding hall, as well as a place of prayer. In the thirteenth century the sexes were sep- arated in the synagogue. The piet- ists, witnessing the gross immorality of their Christian neighbors and wishing to prevent any such possible conditions in their own community, decided upon this radical change. Then, too, the horrors and miseries they had suffered during the Cru- sades had made them even more re- ligious and fanatically ' desirous of performing each letter of the law. And somewhere in the Talmud they had read that it was best for the sexes to be separated. With their sep- aration in the synagogue came their segregation in all social and commu- nal functions held there. Men and women were forbidden to dance, feast or communicate with each other. Children played with only their own DETROIT OFFICE 56 Henry St. Cadillac 2167.8 OFFICES DETROIT NEW YORK BOSTON HARTFORD 5686 PHILADELPHIA WASHINGTON BALTIMORE CLEVELAND MAIN OFFICE 52 Vesey St., New York City FACTORY Jersey City, N. J. holiday Greetings 1925 The Grange Life Insurance Co. Through Its Detroit Representative MEYER LASSER EXTENDS TO ITS HUNDREDS OF JEW- ISH FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES ITS HEARTIEST WISHES FOR A HAP- PY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR MEYER LASSER GRANGE LIFE INSURANCE CO. 1020 LAFAYETTE BUILDING MEYER LASSER, Detroit Manager CADILLAC 7698 III The Jewish New Years, Rosh Hashonah, being the most important and significant occasion in the lives of the Jewish people, may I not offer my most sincere felicitations and best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year. As a whole, the life of the Jewish woman in the Middle Ages was nei- ther unhappy nor disparaging. Theo pcwor mswpowissompocwoomsomswommoompatmcv relic inferiority, legal disqualifica- tions and unequal opportunities were We Wish All Our Friends and Patrons a Happy and evidently not fully maintained. Many names of gifted, capable women of Prosperous New Year. that period have come down to us. The number of mothers who did prac- tical cultural and social work is too numerous to be dealt with in a short treatise. In fact, one may take the type of personality and the kind of fame these women achieved as an in- dex to the cultural and spiritual achievements of their people. In Moslem Spain, where the Jew s enjoyed much liberty and opportu- COFFEE ROASTERS nity, they developed a great Spanish- MEATS — BAKERY Jewish culture, rich in poetry, phi- losophy, science and philology. At its zenith, it produced Jehudah Haley', EUCLID 3081 LINWOOD AND GLADSTONE one of the greatest Hebrew lyric - sex. No educational system was provid - poets of all time, the philosopher ed for women. The Talmud was ad- Maimonides and the theologian, Ibn verse to the education of women and Gabirol, as well as many lesser of poets cul- 5.:257.525" age their religious duties required little and critics. This golden 111111111111111111111111111C 11111111111111MMIN11111111111111111111 knowledge of the Talmud, which to ture also produced poetesses and the medieval Jews was the only knid many learned and cultivated women. of learning necessary. One critic, sa- In the light of their inequality of tirist and philosopher of fourteenth opportunity and subordinate position, century Jewry, summed up her edu- the achievements of these women can- cational standing when he ironically not be considered inferior to those remarked that he "wished he were of the men. The daughter of Jehudah Halevi ----- from — born a woman, for he would then not have to bear the burden of 613 reli- was a poetessof much note, but be- cause of her illustrious father and gious laws, besides so many Talmud!. cal restrictions and rigorous ordi- poet-husband, Ibn Ezra, her fame and accomplishments were lost. The Ivric nances. As a woman he would not have to trouble himself with so much poems of the Jewess Xemosa were reading, studying of the Bible, Tal- sung and admired at the time. The mud and subjects belonging to it, nor wife of the great Spanish Jewish was torment himself with logic, mathe- statesman, Joseph Ibn Magdilo, A. N. Andrews & Co. GROCERS ;New gessage amesj.Murphy Councilman SEASON'S GREETINGS to the Jewish People o betroit and Everywhere. Let 'Jack" do your PLUMBING We are equipped to ren- der immediate service on all kinds of plumb- ing. Some of the finest buildings in Detroit have had their plumb- ing done by JAMES J. MURPHY "Jack the Plumber " CADILLAC 2244 1531 ST. ANTOINE Naar Gratiot Ave. JACK LEWINE YOUR REPAIR WORK Will Command Our IMMEDIATE ATTENTION May I not offer my heartiest congratulations on this auspicious occasion and hope with you that Jewish world affairs may turn favorably in the ensuing year and that happiness and prosperity may greet and reward you.