The Economic Foundations of Jewish Revival

Beginning around 1500, profound shifts in European society created new opportunities for Jewish communities after centuries of marginalization. As Europe’s economic systems expanded, Jewish financial expertise – long confined to the stigmatized practice of moneylending – transformed into a respected profession. The rise of mercantilism and capitalism in the 17th century made financial pragmatism outweigh religious prejudice as a tolerance standard.

Jewish economic recovery stemmed from several medieval developments:
– Restrictions forcing Jews into moneylending ironically helped some accumulate capital and financial expertise
– Dispersal through expulsions created transnational commercial networks
– Shared minority status and Hebrew language facilitated trade between Christian Europe and the Islamic East

The Great Migration Eastward

Persecution waves beginning with the Crusades gradually pushed Central European Jews toward Poland and Lithuania. This movement intensified in the late 15th century due to:

Push Factors:
– Increasing exclusion from Western European economic life
– Papal States expulsions and ghettoization (Venice 1516, Rome 1555)
– Inquisition targeting Marranos (Jewish converts to Christianity)

Pull Factors:
– Polish nobility needed managers for vast eastern estates
– Ottoman Sultans welcomed Sephardic Jews for their skills and connections
– Relative autonomy under the Council of Four Lands (1580-1764) governing Polish Jewry

The migration created two distinct cultural spheres:
1. Ashkenazi Jews in Poland developed Yiddish (German-Hebrew-Slavic hybrid) and intense Talmudic scholarship
2. Sephardic Jews in Ottoman territories maintained Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Mediterranean trade networks

Intellectual Revolutions and Their Paradoxes

The Renaissance and Reformation brought mixed consequences for Jewish life:

Humanism’s Contradictions
– Christian scholars like Johannes Reuchlin defended Talmud study (1510-1520 Pfefferkorn controversy)
– Yet most humanists (including Erasmus) maintained medieval anti-Judaism

The Protestant Disaster
– Martin Luther initially criticized anti-Jewish persecution (1523)
– After failing to convert Jews, he published vicious attacks (1543) calling them “venomous beasts”

Counter-Reformation Backlash
– Papal States intensified restrictions (ghettos, yellow badges, book burnings)
– Jesuit conversion campaigns targeted Jews and Marranos

The Dutch Exception

The Netherlands became a haven after its 1579 independence from Spain:
– Amsterdam’s “Portuguese Nation” (Marranos returning to Judaism) flourished
– Jewish merchants invested in Dutch East/West India Companies
– Intellectual freedom produced both Spinoza’s radical philosophy (excommunicated 1656) and magnificent synagogue architecture

The Court Jew Phenomenon

Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) created a new class of Jewish financiers:
– Samuel Oppenheimer financed Habsburg armies against Ottomans
– Samson Wertheimer became “Jeweler to the Emperor”
– These privileged intermediaries remained vulnerable to mob violence

Enlightenment and Emancipation

By the 18th century, new philosophies began dismantling theological anti-Judaism:

Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786)
– Bridged Jewish tradition and Enlightenment rationalism
– Translated Torah into German (with Hebrew letters) to acculturate Jews

Joseph II’s Toleration Edict (1782)
– Reduced discriminatory taxes in Austria
– Promoted German education for Jews

French Revolution (1789)
– 1791 emancipation made Jews individual citizens
– Napoleon’s 1806 Sanhedrin redefined Judaism as purely religious

The Reform Movement Emerges

Facing assimilation pressures, German Jews initiated religious reforms:
– Hamburg Temple (1818) introduced German prayers and organ music
– Abraham Geiger advocated historical approach to tradition
– Orthodox (Samson Raphael Hirsch) and Conservative (Zacharias Frankel) responses developed

The Rothschild Epoch

The legendary banking dynasty exemplified Jewish economic ascent:
– Mayer Amschel Rothschild built fortune serving German princes
– Sons Nathan (London) and James (Paris) financed Napoleonic Wars
– Family supported Jewish causes while assimilating into aristocracy

Persistent Challenges

Despite progress, old prejudices resurfaced:
– “Hep! Hep!” pogroms (1819) during reaction against Napoleon
– Dreyfus Affair (1894) revealed enduring French anti-Semitism

This transformative period laid foundations for modern Jewish identity – as citizens of nations rather than members of a separate people, yet still wrestling with their distinctive heritage in an evolving Europe.