presented by

Yad Vashem’s Christian Leadership Seminars 2010–2016 Graduate Meeting

Washington, DC

August 18–21, 2016

Herschel A. Hepler Exhibition Curator

presented by

Yad Vashem’s Christian Leadership Seminars 2010–2016 Graduate Meeting

Washington, DC

August 18–21, 2016

Herschel A. HeplerExhibition Curator

FRANCE

GERMANY

MESOPOTAMIA Babylon

SPAIN

ENGLAND

Jerusalem

ENGLAND

Jewish history is punctuated with persecution and hardship. Since the Babylonian Exile in the early 500s BCE, Jewish communities have been dispersed and experienced various degrees of persecution, oppression, and marginalization. Some communities were segregated as second-class citizens under Muslim rule, while others—especially during the Crusades of the Western church—were massacred or forced to flee. Over the centuries, the Jewish people have often faced horrifying events.

While filled with pain and suffering, the stories of medieval Jews are also filled with resilience and hope. This small exhibition features objects from Europe to Mesopotamia that speak to these stories and ask us to remember them.

FRANCE

GERMANY

MESOPOTAMIA Babylon

SPAIN

ENGLAND

Jerusalem

ENGLAND

CODEX VALMADONNA IThe only dated Hebrew manuscript from England before the Jews were

expulsed in 1290.

In a colophon (or endnote) the scribe wrote that he completed this manuscript in 1189.

In 2012, for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the Jewish community in Great Britain presented an object of

their cultural heritage. They chose Codex Valmadonna I.

Codex Valmadonna I In Hebrew and Aramaic

Parchment England

July 9, 1189 CEGC.MS.000858

Pogroms across Northern Europe: EnglandWilliam the Conqueror established his rule of England in 1066. It is reported that soon after, he invited Jews from Northern France to England as part of his effort to stimulate the economy of his newly-conquered land. In 1189, at the coronation of Richard the Lionheart, dozens of Jews were killed outside Westminster Abbey. Shortly after Richard left on the Third Crusade in 1190, the townspeople of York rioted, annihilating the Jewish community there. After continued tension and turmoil, King Edward I expelled all Jews from England in 1290.

FRANCE

WestminsterAbbey

Emigrated1070

Expulsed1290

ENGLAND

WestminsterAbbey

FRANCE

ASHKENAZIC TORAH SCROLL

One of the oldest, most complete surviving Torah scrolls.

“Ashkenazi” is a term describing Jewish communities in the region of Ashkenaz, which referred to regions east of the

Rhine River valley.

Shortly after this scroll was completed, a German knight named Rindfleisch led a violent mob across Germany, killing thousands of Jews. The violence stretched from 1298 to the

early 1300s and is remembered as the “Rindfleisch massacres.”

Ashkenazic Torah Scroll In HebrewParchment

Northern Europe and Germany 1200s CE

Pogroms across Northern Europe: Germany

The Jews in Northern Europe arrived largely after 1000 CE. As Jewish communities moved north from Italy and Spain, they began to populate towns throughout France, Germany, and England. Even though Germany had laws protecting Jews, anti-Jewish sentiment developed during the eleventh century. With the start of the First Crusade in 1095, deadly attacks erupted against Jewish communities in Worms, Cologne, Mainz, and Speyer. These communities recovered, but anti-Jewish violence increased over the next 200 years.

In 1298, the “Rindfleisch massacres” spread across Germany launching widespread violence against Jews. Later, many blamed the Jews for causing the “Black Death,” the plague killing between 75 and 200 million people across Europe.

SEPHARDICTORAH SCROLL

A scroll written during the Almohad Caliphate (1121–1269), a period when many

Jews were killed.

This scroll contains rare features, including unexplained letters in the margins.

The name al-Andalus referred to the region of medieval Spain

controlled by Muslims.

Sephardic Torah ScrollIn Hebrew

Gevil and ParchmentIberian Peninsula

ca. 1200 CEGC.SCR.000748

Jewish Communities in Muslim Spain

Jewish communities first began to settle in the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman era, expanding during the 500s and 600s under the rule of the Christian Visigoths. Muslim conquest of the peninsula in the early 700s initiated a Muslim–Christian struggle that Jews deliberately avoided.

Muslims dominated the peninsula by 800, but Jews were often treated as second-class citizens. Sometimes this meant they had higher taxes, restrictions on property ownership, and were excluded from certain professions. Occasionally Jews were also forced to convert to Islam. Around 1050, the Christian re-conquest of the peninsula began and tensions rose. Jewish communities were caught between Muslims and Christians.

MUSLIM SPAIN900 CE

SEPHARDICTORAH CODEX

In Hebrew with Arabic and Aramaic translations.

This codex was written roughly 100 years before the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.

Mentioned in Obadiah 1:20 as an unknown location, “Sepharad” was applied by Jews to the Iberian Peninsula

during the Middle Ages.

Sephardic Torah CodexIn Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic

ParchmentIberian Peninsula

ca. 1400 CEGC.MS.000457

Jewish Communities in Christian Spain

As Christians regained the peninsula in the 1300s, Jewish communities became more settled and wealthy. But anti-Jewish sentiment rekindled, resulting in the destruction of the Jewish communities in Seville, Castile, and Aragon in 1391. Thousands of Jews were killed, but many became conversos, converts to Christianity, to avoid being killed.

Violence greatly increased in the 1480s with the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition, the church and state sanctioned persecution of many groups, including the Jews. This culminated in 1492 with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelling all Jews and Muslims from Spain.

CHRISTIAN SPAIN1300 CE

Castil leAragon

Seville

PROTO-JEWISHPRAYER BOOK

The oldest liturgical Hebrew codex in the world.

It contains selections from Psalms and daily prayers, as well as poetry, an apocalyptic text, and a Passover haggadah

section that was mysteriously written upside down.

This manuscript pre-dates the standardization of the Jewish prayer book, which did not begin until the mid-800s. Natronai

Gaon (850s), Amram Gaon (860s), and Sa’adia Gaon (early 900s) later contributed to standardizing Jewish prayers.

Proto-Jewish Prayer Book In HebrewParchment

Middle East Early 800s CE

MOTB.MS.000764

Dispersion and Exile in Medieval Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, conquered Judah and Jerusalem around 587 BCE. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and many Jews were taken as captives to Babylon. This exile lasted until 538 BCE when Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to their land. Some Jews chose to stay in Babylon, establishing a major Jewish center there.

Muslims conquered the region in the mid-600s CE, shifting the culture’s laws, language, and religious influence to Islam. Although Jews were marginalized and experienced oppression, they thrived under Muslim rule.

Turkey

Jerusalem

Mediterranean Sea

Tigris

Euphrates

MESOPOTAMIA MESOPOTAMIA

COMPILATION OF COMMENTARIES BY SA’ADIA

GAON AND OTHERSA unique text containing portions from

Sa’adia Gaon’s commentary on the Torah.

This manuscript was used for study, possibly in one of the Babylonian academies.

Sa’adia ben Yosef al-Fayyumi was appointed gaon of the Sura Academy in 928 CE. The term gaon (meaning “excellency”) was a leadership title in Talmudic academies. As a leading

intellectual, he is simply remembered as Sa’adia Gaon.

The paper-making techniques reflected here—first developed in China—reached Babylonia in the late 700s. Paper was

cheaper than parchment and facilitated the spread of ideas, including Sa’adia’s influential works.

Compilation of Commentaries by Sa’adia Gaon and Others

In Judeo-ArabicPaper

Middle East1000s CE

GC.MS.000766.15

The Academies of Medieval Babylon

Muslims recognized Jews as “People of the Book,” but higher taxes and social oppression affected many non-Muslims, including Jews. Nonetheless, Islamic culture heavily influenced Jewish thought and education, especially in poetry and philosophy.

The Jewish academies in Sura and Pumbedita, led by gaonim, expanded during this period. The gaonim were Jewish educational and spiritual leaders considered the primary authorities over their communities. One such important leader, Sa’adia Gaon, led the Sura Academy in the early 900s, and made important contributions to Talmudic and biblical studies, as well as Hebrew grammar, that are still referenced today.

Jerusalem Sura Academy

BabylonIRAQ

TURKEY

EGYPT

Mediterranean Sea

Stories of Medieval Jewish Persecution & Diaspora is an exhibition of Museum of the Bible curated specifically for

Yad Vashem’s Christian Leadership Seminars 2010–2016 Graduate Meeting

Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC August 18–21, 2016

Exhibition LendersAll items with the prefix “GC” are courtesy

of the Green Collection.

Exhibition Guide and Artifact Diagnostics byHerschel A. Hepler, Exhibition Curator

Edited byStacey Douglas, Writer and EditorJared N. Wolfe, Writer and Editor

Copy Edited bySamantha McIntosh, Publications Assistant

Cover Design and Layout byRichelle McKinley, Creative Lead

Alex Waldo, Graphic Designer

Published byMuseum of the Bible

7507 SW 44th StreetOklahoma City, OK 73179

405-996-4900museumoftheBible.org

© Museum of the Bible, 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written

permission from Museum of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

presented by

Yad Vashem’s Christian Leadership Seminars 2010–2016 Graduate Meeting

Washington, DC

August 18–21, 2016

Herschel A. Hepler Exhibition Curator

museumoftheBible.org