the hierarchical nature of medieval Jewish society. Wealth and scholarship
set rabbis and lay leaders apart from rank-and-file Jews.
Still, it is important to remember that, the growing complexity of com-
munal life notwithstanding, Jewish communities in the Middle Ages were
small, and without deep roots. Indicative of this characteristic was the status
of Jewish women. Jewish society was generally highly patriarchal in nature,
with communal leadership and public life dominated by men. Women, con-
signed (at least ideally) to the home, had domain over family life and the
private sphere.
In more recently established Jewish communities, however, women and
other groups who were relegated to subordinate status in more developed
communities were given greater latitude. Thus, women in these communities
were given a larger voice in communal matters, particularly more affluent
women. They were also given greater leeway in marriage and divorce. Most
noteworthy in this regard was Gershom’s ban on polygamy, the need for
which is a telling indicator of the subordinate status of women. In general,
Ashekanazic women were less encumbered by local custom than their coun-
terparts in the Islamic world.
The next major step in this direction was taken a generation later by one of
his intellectual progeny, Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040–1105), commonly
known by his rabbinic epithet, Rashi. Born in Trois, Rashi studied in
Mayence with one of Gershom’s students. Later, he returned to Trois and
founded an academy there in 1070.
Though no less involved in communal decision making and economic life,
Rashi’s main contribution was in the area of Jewish learning. His glosses on
the Bible and the Talmud were lucid and easy to understand, and would even-
tually become a staple of biblical commentary and Talmudic study. He
clarified difficult words or concepts, sometimes using a medieval French
word to explain. He often appended a Midrashic tale to a legalistic interpre-
tation, to appeal to children.
In addition, Rashi, like other commentators such as Ibn Ezra, engaged
critics of Judaism through his biblical commentary. Commenting on
Genesis 1:1, Rashi asked why the Torah began with the story of creation
rather than the first commandment given to Jews. His answer: “The whole
world belongs to the Holy One, blessed is he; he created it and gave it to
whomever he deemed fit. Through divine will it was given to them [i.e.
Muslims or Christians] and through divine will it can be taken from them
and given to us” – a striking comment for a Jewish exegete to make at the
moment when Christians were claiming control over of the Land of Israel.
Rashi was not the only Jewish scholar to polemicize against Christian ideas.
Two anonymous texts appeared at around this time as well. The first, Toldot
Yeshu(History of Jesus), retold the life of Jesus as the story of a charlatan who
deceived his followers by the improper use of magic through which he
The Jews of medieval Christendom 81