Study Guide to Parts I & II

Jacob Katz, Tradition and Crisis (1993)

Remember that when you read a scholarly book you should first develop a "plan of attack" which guides your reading. Ask yourself the following questions:

a) what is the title of the book and what are the implications of the words used? What is likely to be the author’s goal in writing the book?

In this case, what do the two words "tradition" and "crisis" suggest? Are they synonyms? variants on each other? opposites? What does the sub-title, "Jewish Society at the End of the Middle Ages," tell you about the book? What is the relation between the two parts of the title?

b) how does the table of contents show the structure of the author’s approach? Note especially the major divisions of the book?

In this case, ask yourself what is the difference between the two first parts of the book? Does the title of part III tell you anything about the meaning of the book’s title? Do you think the author believes that Jewish society continues in familiar paths at the end of the Middle Ages, or does he probably believe there was some change? If the latter, does he think the change was gradual or sudden?

c) in the first paragraph of the first chapter, the author tells us what the point of his book will be. How does this summary fit in with the conclusions you have already drawn from the title and table of contents?

Now close the book, sit back and try to summarize what you have realized from your first analysis. What do you expect the author to tell you in this book? Can you think of arguments or kinds of proofs that he is likely to use? Can you think of questions that you would like to have answered about this argument?

Look around the room carefully. Is there anyone sitting near you who can overhear what you say? If not, try to summarize what you think this book will be about out loud and in a few brief sentences. (If someone might overhear you and think you are strange for talking to yourself, do this in writing on a piece of paper.)

Now you are ready to read the book.

Chapter I.

This chapter is an introductory chapter that sets the rules for the rest of the book. Like most introductions it is probably a little more abstract and obscure than the rest of the book. It will try to set the work in the context of other work by historians. Read it quickly to get a sense of the author’s purpose, and then plan to come back to it later when you have finished the book.

I.1 What does the author mean by a "traditional society"? Does this term refer to a way of acting or to a state of mind? Has this society remained intact until today?

I.2 What period will the book treat?

I.3 Make a short list of some of the trends or events which the author feels were important in his period. Keep this list as a reference. The words will come up often. If you don’t know these events, you might want to quickly look them up in the Encyclopedia Judaica and jot down a note about each.

I.4 Katz says he will write "social history," something which he feels is different from mere chronology. What is the difference between the two? How does the social historian discover what is "typical" or "normal"?

I.5 Though Katz feels that the Jewish nation can be seen as one nation world-wide, he also stresses that his book will deal only with one section or "center" of the Jewish world. Why does he do this? Do you agree with him that there are significant differences in the social history of the different "centers"?

I.6 What are the two movements which mark the end of traditional Jewish society? Make sure you know what these words mean. (Use the Encyclopedia Judaica.) What does Katz mean by "charisma" and "rationalism"? How are these related to the two movements which Katz saw as ending the traditional period?

Ask yourself the following question: Is there anything odd about the fact that Katz equates Hasidism with Haskala as both marking the end of traditional Jewish society?

II.1 Will this chapter deal with internal or external factors in Jewish history?

II.2 What was the population of Ashkenazic Jewry like in this period?

II.3 What things separated the typical Jew from his non-Jewish neighbor?

II.4 Did Jews have the right to live anywhere in this period?

III.1 How did Jewish society separate itself from the outside world a) in Talmudic times? b) in the medieval and early modern times?

III.2 What are is the problem facing Jewish leaders in the Middle Ages in trying to enforce clear separation between Jews and non-Jews?

III.3 Did medieval Judaism recognize the "legitimacy" of Christianity?

IV.1 How much contact was there between Jews and non-Jews in this period? What factors determined the extent of this contact for the individual Jew?

V.1 Is medieval Judaism able, according to Katz, to adjust to the radically altered situation of Jewish life since Talmudic times?

V.2 How do Jewish leaders try to rationalize the requirements for getting along with non-Jewish neighbors?

VI.1 What is the nature of Jewish economic activity in this period? How had it changed? Is it "capitalist"?

VII.1 What is the special form of capitalism which is of advantage to Jews in this period? Why?

VII.2 Explain which elements within the Jewish economy flourish in this period, and which remain marginal.

VII.3 Katz notes that Jews tried to restrict competition among themselves; why? Are they true capitalists?

VIII.1 How does Judaism as a religious system react to the new economic activities? What are the specific problems and how are they solved?

VIII.2 What is the Jewish attitude to usury between Jews? between Jews and non-Jews?

VIII.3 What is the heter iska? How did it work?

VIII.4 What was the rabbinical attitude to wealth? [Is this different from what you might have expected?]

VIII.5 A famous sociologist named Max Weber argued, in an influential book, that a proper study of the "Protestant Ethic" would show how that religious movement led directly to the growth of capitalism. Does Katz feel that there is a link betwee the Jewish religion and an aptitude for capitalist activity?

Summary of part 1:

What are the major issues about the Jewish stiuation at the end of the Middle Ages for Katz? What is there relation to the outside world? How does that express itself a) in religious terms; b) in economic terms?

Most historians, speaking of the history of Jews in the Christian West during the Middle Ages, address issues of anti-Semitism. Katz takes a different approach, looking at the relationship between Jews and non-Jews from a different angle. Can you sum up what he is trying to do? How successful is he?

In part 2, Katz describes the social organization of Jewish life in Central and eastern Europe during the late medieval period. He shifts the focus of his treatment from the Jews’ relations with the outside world to their internal organization and self-government. As you read, watch for those elements that show that Jews had an autonomous culture which made decisions about society based on its own values.

Note: Katz uses the word "rational" and "rationalize" in the sociological sense meaning that society becomes more "rationally" ordered as offices and institutions are more clearly defined and staffed according to the needs they address. Thus, a "king" is a ruler not because he is best able to rule but because he is the son of another king, and because there is a tradition that members of this family rule. On the other hand, our president is chosen (at least in theory) because he is best able to carry out the duties of his office. This is a more "rational" approach.

IX.1 What does Katz mean when he says that the kehila is "intended to articulate the religious and cultural ties that linked individual Jews to one another"? By stressing that the kehila expresses the internal values of Jews, what is Katz excluding?

IX.2 What texts and traditions preserve the Jews’ internal values? How do the rabbis try to use these traditions?

IX.3 What are takanot? How do they add to the halakhic texts upon which rabbis lean?

IX.4 Katz describes in detail the usual officials of the Ashkenazi kehila —the parnas, the shtadlan, the rabbi, etc. Make sure you understand the difference between these figures, their powers, the way in which they were chosen, etc. Are you surprised by the role of the rabbi? Is he a leader or a servant of the community?

X.1 Explain how the kehila depends on external institutions for its power. Is the kehila really autonomous?

X.2 Make sure you understand how taxes were allocated. What strikes you as odd or different about these methods? Can you think of reasons why the Jewish communities used these methods as opposed to those which we use here in America?

X.3 What dangers are posed by the kehila acting as an independent financial or economic agent in its own right?

X.4 How much power did the community have over the individual? (Compare your answer to the situation in America today. Does the majority have the right to dictate to the minority in America?)

X.5 What are the implications of the fact that most cases were judged by laymen rather than rabbis? Why was this true?

X.6 Why is the community hesitant to allow individuals to seek justice in non-Jewish courts?

X.7 What punishments are available to the kehila in imposing its will on others? What do you think the advantages and limits of each form of punishment were?

XI.1 How does the community decide who belongs and who does not belong? Why would the community want to limit membership?

XI.2 What are the rules which governed officeholding? Why did the community want to limit the manner in which offices were distibuted?

XII.1 What are yishuvim? How did the large kehilot relate to them?

XII.2 How are decisions made concerning issues affecting more than one community? Why is there an "aspiration to supra-communal institutions"?

XIII.1 What are the limits of the power of supra-communal institutions? How did these institutions differ from kehila organization?

XIII.2 What are the special advantages of the supra-communal over local institutions?

XIV.1 Describe the typical Jewish family of this period.

XIV.2 What is the Jewish concept of sexual morality?

XIV.3 What factors made someone more or less marriageable?

XIV.4 How important was "love" in arranging a marriage? Why?

XIV.5 Why, according to Katz, was this society loathe to encourage divorce?

XIV.6 What does Katz mean in stressing that "everyone in the society, even the promiscuous, shared in the battle against perversion….Deviance did not derive from an ideology of licentiousness"?

XV.1 What is the importance of the extended family in this society? How did the ties of extended family express themselves?

XVI.1 What forms of non-familial recreation are available to Jews in this society? Why is it a problem for people just to have a good time?

XVI.2 How do religious confraternities solve this problem?

XVI.3 Are the confraternities methods of opposing or reinforcing the existing power structures in society?

XVII.1 What are the functions of the rabbi in this society? What are his qualifications?

XVII.2 How does the synagogue function as a social institution? How does it become a place through which to express status?

XVIII.1 What are the educational goals of this society? Which institutions carry them out?

XVIII.2 How is education supported? What are the implications of this financial arrangement?

XVIII.3 What is the focus of the curriculum? Which institutions teach which subjects?

XVIII.4 How is Talmud studied? Who is the excellent student?

XIX.1 How stratified and how mobile is this society? What elements contribute to status and how is mobility achieved?

Summary of part II:

Katz has provided a summary portrayal of Jewish society in the late medieval-early modern period. What elements did he describe? Are there things you expected him to treat which he ignored? Are there things about this picture that surprise you? How did this society differ from that of the modern world (Jewish, minority, or general)? Can you think of parallels with contemporary groups that help to explain why Jews in this period acted as they did?

We have asked you to read carefully the first two sections of this work, leaving out the third part which deals not so much with "tradition" as with "crisis." In getting ready to write your review of Tradition and Crisis ask yourself first if you sensed any way in which Katz opened up a side of Jewish life not adequately represented in the other readings and the lectures for the course. What did he add to your understanding of Jewish history? Once you have at least a tentative answer to these questions, try to write it down in outline form. Beside each point of interest, jot down the specific examples or chapters which illustrate your point. Finally, ask yourself what questions remain to be answered. Now you have your paper. Happy hunting!