the first crusade and the kingdom of jerusalem in an unpublished hebrew dirge

19

The First Crusade and the Kingdom of Jerusalem in an Unpublished Hebrew Dirge

Avraham Gross(Ben-Gurion University in the Negev; [email protected])

and Avraham Fraenkel(Independent Scholar; [email protected])

Sixty years ago, when S. D. Goitein published the Geniza letters on the crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, he contrasted the discrepancy between the existence of Hebrew reports and dirges on the 1096 persecutions in the Rhineland with the absolute lack of a Jewish literary or poetic response to the conquest of Jerusalem three years later.1 However, this discrepancy was less pronounced than Goitein assumed. The present paper will draw attention to an unpublished Hebrew dirge that alludes to the call for the crusade, the 1096 persecutions, the conquest of Jerusalem, and its subsequent Christianization. This dirge appears (as of now) only in a single source: the famous Nuremberg Mahzor, written in 1331, now in The Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn Collection, Zurich.2

The fact that the poet describes the peaceful life of the crusaders in their new kingdom, noting that they have been “ruling in the Land for a number of years,” indicates that he wrote it at some point after 1099. It also appears that he was acquainted with some of the 1096 dirges.3 Memories about the massacre of the Jews during the conquest of Jerusalem seem fresh. Since the poet does not mention the Second Crusade and does not hint at any repetition of the First Crusade persecutions, one may posit 1147 as the terminus ad quem.4

We would like to thank Professor Shulamit Elizur for her important comments, and Mr Gabriel Wasserman for the poem’s English translation.

1 S. D. Goitein, “New Sources on the Fate of the Jews during the Crusaders’ Conquest of Jerusalem,” Zion 17 (1952), 129 [Hebrew]. See also idem, “Contemporary Letters on the Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders,” Journal of Jewish Studies 3 (1952), 162; idem, “Geniza Sources for the Crusader Period: A Survey,” in Outremer, p. 308.

2 Fol. 205b. We hereby thank Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn for their gracious permission to publish the poem.

3 The expression בוקקים (line 4) appears in the poem zedim qamu (זדים קמו) by Eliezer bar Nathan. In the same poem we have also the term שוחות (line 28) as referring to the Holy Sepulcher. The phrase could have been influenced by Qalonymos bar Judah’s poem mi yiten (line 31) עוללה זאת בעפרה להתעפרהיתן) :(מי ולהתעפרה להתאבל הריגתם שקולה Another point for consideration is the fact that our poem .כי appears in the manuscript after the 1096 dirges. In many instances this indicates a chronological order; namely, that additional poems were inserted after those that had become part of the canon. Yet this is only a rule of thumb to which there are many exceptions.

4 Many churches were constructed, extended, or renovated in Jerusalem throughout the twelfth century. However, we do not possess precise dates that can aid us in dating the relevant part of our dirge (lines 25–28). For example, the Holy Sepulcher was significantly extended and the ceremony of dedication took place in 1149, however, the construction started and ended many years before and after this date.

Proofs

20 AVRAHAM GROSS AND AVRAHAM FRAENKEL

The dirge was designed to be recited on the Ninth of Av, the day on which according to Jewish tradition both Temples of Jerusalem were destroyed. Each stanza opens with the word Ekhah, the first word of the biblical Scroll of Lamentations recited in synagogues the world over on the eve of the Ninth of Av. The poem consists of a double alphabetical acrostic, with the signature “Samuel” – the poet’s name – figuring in the last stanza. The stanzas have four lines, and the rhythm is of four words per line.

Location of Composition

During the decades that followed the destruction of 1096, German Jewry was occupied with the rehabilitation of local communities. From the middle of the twelfth century, these communities suffered other persecutions, such as those witnessed during the Second Crusade and subsequently throughout the rest of that century. This can account for the fact that liturgical poetry with historical contents written in Ashkenaz during this period deals primarily with occurrences and the general situation within the Ashkenazic world itself. This phenomenon characterizes West Ashkenaz (Rhine area) liturgical poetry much more than that of their counterparts in East Ashkenaz (Regensburg, Austria, and Bohemia). The Hebrew chroniclers, those who recount the 1096 events and those who tell about the later persecutions, also focus on Ashkenaz. Very rarely do we read about a battle in which the crusaders were defeated, and when we do it is mainly in order to show that God is avenging the blood of the Ashkenazic martyrs. There is almost no mention of the situation in the Holy Land. In the post-1096 heated atmosphere of Jewish–Christian religious rivalry and polemics, mentioning the success of the First Crusade in conquering Jerusalem would have been self-defeating for the Jews.

The inward perspective of Ashkenazic poetry is even more conspicuous if posed against contemporary Sephardic and French sources, especially the poetry of Judah Halevi and his followers. The latter very often mourn the current situation of the conquest of Zion by the hands of the kingdom of Edom, the medieval “code name” for Christianity. Our poem seems to reflect a similarly broader Jewish view which distinguishes it from the above-mentioned self-centered Ashkenazic concerns. Indeed, though dirge it is, it does not follow the structure of classic Ashkenazic dirges.5

The Nuremberg Mahzor, the only manuscript in which this poem survives, systematically reflects the Ashkenazic liturgical tradition in Eastern Ashkenazic communities.6 The contents of the dirge seem to point in the same direction. The

5 This structure is of three-line stanzas in which the third line is a part of a biblical verse, and the end of the dirge calls on God to take revenge on the enemies.

6 On the Nuremberg Mahzor, the liturgical tradition it reflects, and the poetical treasures it holds, see Jonah and Avraham Fraenkel, Prayer and Poem in the Nuremberg Mahzor, http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/mss-pr/mahzor-nuremberg/intro.html

Proofs

AN UNPUBLISHED HEBREW DIRGE 21

description of the 1096 catastrophe is missing some of the hallmark motifs of Western Ashkenazic poems, notably, the active martyrdom and the abuse of the carcasses of the martyrs. On the other hand, it does contain a reference to a motif which was entirely ignored in the 1096 poems (in contra-distinction to the Hebrew chronicles), namely, forcible conversion (lines 15–20). This subject, we assume, was a highly sensitive one in the two generations following 1096, the span of time during which our poem was in all probability composed. It is plausible to suggest that only a geographically remote poet could refer to the forced converts without being inhibited by the social sensitivities of the survivors in the Rhine communities. All of this seems to indicate that the author of our poem is indeed East Ashkenazi.

Content

The poem is written as a comprehensive dirge on the actual situation of the city of Jerusalem and on the Temple site, which amounts to a new chapter and continuation of the historical destruction of the Temples. It is not a “persecution poem” dealing with specific persecutions, a genre that developed rapidly in the twelfth century. Rather, it is a poem that focuses on the profundity of the actual destruction of Jerusalem. However, though the dirge is Jerusalem-centered with an emphasis on the present, the poet chose to include also a summary of persecutions associated with the First Crusade, starting with the events in Germany in 1096, the massacre of the Jews during the crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, and the contemporaneous repression of the Jews in the Land of Israel.

At the outset (lines 1–4) the poet bemoans the conquest of the Land of Israel by the crusaders, the servitude of the “remnant” – the few Jews who remained in the Land – and the permanent settlement of the crusaders in parts of the Land which were intended for the Tribes of Israel. At this point, he returns to briefly describe the plan and intention of the crusade (5–8). In more detail, he mourns the destruction of the important communities by the crusaders (9–20). The bulk of the poem is devoted to the conquest of Jerusalem and to the actions of the crusaders within the city (21–44). He ends in a conventional manner by asking God to remember His people, to hasten their redemption, and to rebuild the Temple (45–48). In this manner, the poem is connected to an additional and central motif of the Ninth of Av liturgy: the request and hope for the rebuilding of the Temple.

Christianity is described using derogatory terms reserved for idolatry, as we find in contemporary Ashkenazic literature, poetry and prose alike.7 When he describes the present situation in the Land of Israel and in Jerusalem, the poet mentions the fact that the crusaders filled the city with “idols.” He inserts there a stanza which

= אלילים ;filth = טינוף ;idols (originally, pagan worship-items devoted to the sun) = חמנים 7idols, godlets; טמאות ;idols = פסילים ;profane alleyways = מבואות גילולים בתי = “houses of dung,” a term used for pagan idols throughout the Book of Ezekiel (see 6.4 et passim); שוחות קלקולים = “pits of perversion,” i.e., the Holy Sepulcher; יקר נתעב = “abominable glory.”

Proofs


deals with the tearing and burning of sacred books by the crusaders (29–32). Such acts are known to us from the 1096 Hebrew chronicles and poetry, but the present description may well refer to the doings of the crusaders in the Levant.8 Indeed, the burning of the books of the huge Muslim library of Tripoli by the crusaders upon their conquest of that city in 1109 is well known.9 We may have here a testimony about a specific occurrence, brought to our poet’s attention by a Jew who visited the Land of Israel.

The poem may be regarded as a concise history of the First Crusade from a Jewish perspective. The poet sees the entire period – the call for the crusade, the 1096 persecutions in Germany, the conquest of Eretz Zvi (most beautiful land) and Jerusalem, and the continuous situation there under Christian rule – as one historical unit.10 Conventional dirges mourn the historical destruction of Jerusalem and the Temples. Twelfth-century Ashkenazic dirges bemoan the destruction of their own communities. Our poet “covers” the entire destruction, physical and religious, caused by the First Crusade in the past – in Germany and during the conquest of Jerusalem – and the continuous occupation of Jerusalem and the entire Land of Israel at present. The process of the physical Christianization of Jerusalem by building churches and monasteries, and by placing Christian “idolatry” all over the holy city, serves to indicate the dismal state of Exile that has reached, with the First Crusade, its lowest point since the destruction itself. This Christian campaign is, according to this view, but another phase in broadening the destruction of the Second Temple; in this way our poet has no need to refer to the destruction that took place more than one thousand years earlier. The expression Ekhah, which opens the Book of Lamentations, and is often used in conventional dirges, is here applied with ease to the widespread destruction of the First Crusade.

The Poet’s Historical Sources

Jews in western Europe were not entirely ignorant of what took place in the Land of Israel. Most information probably reached them by Christian travelers or pilgrims who returned to Europe and brought news from the Holy Land to anyone ready to listen. They might have been informed also by circulating Latin descriptions of crusader Jerusalem. Some of the information could have been brought from the

8 On crusaders pillaging Jewish sacred books, and on Jewish efforts to redeem them, see Joshua Prawer, The History of the Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Oxford, 1988), pp. 29–30.

9 See, for instance, Youssef Eche, Les bibliothèques arabes publiques et semi-publiques en Mésopotamie, en Syrie et en Égypte au Moyen Age (Damascus, 1967), pp. 117–21.

10 It is interesting to note, inter alia, that “persecution poets” from the second half of the twelfth century express a similar view with respect to their own history, namely, that late persecutions, starting with the Second Crusade, are but a part of a historical unit that started with the First Crusade and the 1096 persecutions. On this subject see the introduction to our critical edition of the 1096 poems in the MGH series (forthcoming).

Proofs


East by Jewish travelers and pilgrims. The sources for specific descriptions of the fate of Jews in the Land of Israel were probably Jewish.11

11 Though much later, this seems to have been the case with an Ashkenazi Jew who knew that Acre fell on Friday, 18 Sivan [50]51 – which is the precise Hebrew date for Acre’s fall on Friday, 18 May 1291. See Benjamin Z. Kedar, “Jews and Samaritans in the Crusading Kingdom of Jerusalem,” Tarbiz 53 (1983/84), 407 [Hebrew].

Proofs


קינה

ארץ צבי נמסרה לאויבים איכה ארית בה יושבים איבדו הש

בוקקים מדיקים כל הסובבים בנחלת שבטים הם מתרבים

גבה לב עריצים להבינה איכה 5גורו מכל צד בתואנה

דרשו יקר נתעב להדלינה דרכם הסלילו לאבן פינה

השחיתו בלכתם ברוב הקהילות איכה האנשים והנשים בחורים ובתולות 10

ואלופים בעלי חמורות וקלות ותלמידים המשמשים רובצים עגולות

זדו כהנים ולוים לחבל איכה זממו שם קודש לנבל

חולל יחום פרץ ואשבל 15

חמנים לעבוד עליהם לקבל

טפשו להגאיל צאוי יקרים איכה

טינוף הרגילו בכל עברים יחיד החזיר לשמו ממרים

יחדיו מלטמע בין הבתרים 20

1 lovely land = the Land of Israel; cf. Jeremiah 3.19, and see Tractate Megillah 6a: גידלה צבי 'ארץ שעשועיה'2 the remnant: cf. for instance II Kings 21.14.3 For בוקקים in the sense of “destroy,” see Nahum 2.3. For מדיקים in the sense of “crush,” see אכלה in Daniel 7.7, referring to the Fourth Beast that “devoured and brake.” Jewish tradition identifies ומדקה'this beast with the Roman Empire and western Christendom, and thus with the crusaders.7 abominable precious. This term refers not only to the Holy Sepulcher, as indicated in the translation here, but also to Jesus himself.to raise it up. Cf. Ecclesiastes 20.5. Or, possibly, “to ascend to it.”8 cornerstone. Cf. אבן בחן פנת יקרת (Isaiah 18:16).12 sitting in circles. Seated like the Sanhedrin in a semicircle. Cf. Mishnah Sanhedrin 4.3, and Bereshith Rabbah 98.12 (p. 1262). 15 The seed of Perez [a sub-tribe of Judah] and Ashbel [a sub-tribe of Benjamin]. See Numbers 26.21, 38. Of the twelve tribes of Israel, only Judah and Benjamin (and the priestly tribe, Levi) survived into the post-Biblical period, so the sub-tribes Perez and Ashbel here are a synecdoche for the entire Jewish people.

Proofs


Translation

The meaning of some of the lines is not certain; their proposed translation is approximate only (see lines 3, 19, 28).

1 How is it that the lovely land hath been given over to enemies, Who have destroyed the remnant [of Jews] living there! [The crusaders] destroy and crush all those who surround them, And they have become numerous in the inheritance of the Tribes [of Israel].

5 How is it that the heart of the tyrants hath become too haughty to act with comprehension! Tremble ye from every side, [when they make their] claim! They seek their abominable precious [goal, the Sepulcher], to raise it up, And they have made their path to [Jerusalem], the cornerstone [of the universe].

How is it that in their treks through the many [Jewish] communities, they have destroyed10 Men and women, youths and maidens, Scholars, experts in both small and great [precepts of the law], And students, serving [these scholars], sitting in circles!

How is it that they have acted wantonly, to harm priests and Levites, And have conspired to profane the Holy Name!15 The seed of Perez [a sub-tribe of Judah] and Ashbel [a sub-tribe of Benjamin] hath been

violated, [By being been forced] to accept upon themselves to serve idols.

How is it that [the foes] have foolishly befouled the ho no rable [Jews] with their filth [baptismal water]!

They have made grime common on all sides. Yet the Unique One hath restored to His name those [forced] apostates,20 Together, so that they not be absorbed by the nations.

hath been violated. Probably referring to the forced conversions, as can be surmised from the following lines. References to those forced converts, which can be found abundantly in the Hebrew chronicles (e.g. below, lines 19–20), are extremely rare in the 1096 piyyutim.16 idols = the cross.17 grime. Another Jewish derisive term for baptismal water common in Ashkenaz.ho no rable [Jews]. Cf. בני ציון היקרים (Lamentations 4.2).19–20 Meaning of Hebrew uncertain. The lines may mean that God ensured that the apostasy of these Jews to Christianity would be only temporary, for eventually they would safely return to Judaism. See, for example, Eva Haverkamp, ed., Hebräische Berichte über die Judenverfolgungen während des Ersten Kreuzzugs, MGH. Hebräische Texte aus dem mittelalterlichen Deutschland 1 (Hanover, 2005), pp. 481–83.20 by the nations. Literally, “between the pieces.” In Genesis 15.9 ff., Abraham cuts up the corpses of various animals into pieces. According to rabbinic tradition (Bereshith Rabba 44.9, p. 437), these pieces of animals represent the kingdoms of the gentile nations.

Proofs


כבשו שלם קרית חנה איכה כלו דריה בחרב שנונה

לוים שמו למשל ולשנינה לינת הצדק היתה כאלמנה

מלאם לבם לעשות אלילים איכה 25מבואות טמאות טמאו בפסילים

נוצרים בנו בתי גילולים נדבו להתהלל בשוחות קילקולים

שרפו כתבי יראה טהורה איכה סחוב והשלך ניתקום בעברה 30

עוללה זאת בעפרה להתעפרה עליה כל עין נגרה

פשטו להלך בהיכל ובעזרות איכה

פוסעים במקום הלשכות והכיורות צועדים באולם ובדביר החדרות 35צפירת תלפיות נשחת בהעברות

קידמו מלכים לשערי העיר איכה קם ארי מסובכו העיר

ריקים עתה פחזו להכעיר רצו והגיעו בחרץ להגעיר 40

שולטים בארץ כמה שנים איכה שקטים שוכנים דשנים רעננים

תחתיהם דורכים כל המונים תמימים מתפחדים בשלות עוינים

21 Salem. That is, Jerusalem; cf. Genesis 14.18 and Psalms 76.3.23 Levites. Should probably be understood as a synecdoche for Jews in general. Cf. הנלוים על ה' לשרתו (Isaiah 56.6).24 the city where justice dwelt. Jerusalem, at the time of its glory. Cf. Isaiah 1.21.widow. Cf. Lamentations 1.1.28 And have donated [money] in order to engage in self-praising prayers in the profane Sepulcher. Hebrew uncertain; this translation is merely one way to understand the words. שוחה is a common “code name” for the Holy Sepulcher in the 1096 piyyutim. Cf., for example, הצלוב הקבור ונתון

Proofs


How is it that they have conquered the city of Salem, where [David] camped, And they have finished off its inhabitants, with a sharp sword! They have made its Levites into objects of scorn and ridicule, And the city where justice dwelt hath become like a widow.

25 How is it that their heart hath inspired them to make idols, And they have contaminated alleyways, making them contaminated with graven

images! Christians have built idolatrous temples, And have donated [money] in order to engage in self-praising prayers in the profane

Sepulcher.

How is it that they have burned writings of pure reverence [i.e., of Scripture],30 Dragged them around and hurled them, and cut them up in rage! This [the Torah] hath been abused, rolled around in the dust, And every eye hath shed tears for her.

How is it that they have spread out to walk in the [places of the] Temple and its courtyards!

They trod upon the place of the chambers and the lavers,35 They march around the rooms of the Temple hallways and the sanctum, And the crowning glory to which all [Jews] turn hath been destroyed by their passing

through.

How is it that kings have hastened to the gates of the city, And the lion hath arisen from his lair, whom [God] hath aroused! Empty men have now become wanton, to do ugly deeds,40 They have run, and arrived, to terrorize [the city] with utter destruction.

How is it that they have now been ruling in the [Holy] Land for a number of years, Dwelling quietly, calmly, and happily! Beneath them, they trod upon the nations, And the pure [Jews] are terrified by the stability of the hostile [conquerors].

.(Eliezer bar Nathan, elohim zedim qamu, line 19) בשוחה עמוקה35 sanctum. Cf. אל דביר הבית אל קדש הקדשים (I Kings 8.6).36 And the crowning glory to which all [Jews] turn. That is, the city of Jerusalem. In Song of Songs 4.4, Jerusalem is called “built unto talpiyyoth.” This last word is extremely obscure, but the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhoth 30a) explains it as meaning: “The hill (tel) to which all [Jewish] mouths [piyyoth] turn.”38 And the lion hath arisen from his lair. Cf. Jeremiah 4.7.42 calmly and happily. Cf. Psalms 92.15 (translated as “fat and flourishing” in the King James Bible).

Proofs


ש'כחת מרום אמוניך לעולמים איכה 45מ'פואר ונחמד בנה בנעימים

ו'א'ורך תזריח ל'מעוטי עמים וחוש לנחמם באחרית הימים

46 Build thou the glorious and delightful [Temple]. Cf. מי שלא ראה ירושלים בתפארתה לא ראה כרך נחמד .(Tractate Sukkah 51b) מימיו. מי שלא ראה בית המקדש בבנינו לא ראה בנין מפואר מעולם47 smallest of nations. Cf. כי אתם המעט מכל העמים (Deuteronomy 7.7).48 the Final [Redemption]. Literally, “the End of Days.”

Proofs


45 How is it that Thou hast forever forgotten, O lofty One, Thy faithful ones! Build thou the glorious and delightful [Temple], And shine Thy light upon the smallest of nations [= the Jews], And hasten to comfort them, by means of the Final [Redemption].

Proofs

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the first crusade and the kingdom of jerusalem in an unpublished hebrew dirge

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