Frankfurt rabbinical conspiracy
The Frankfurt rabbinical conspiracy is a (defamatory) term that was used to describe an assembly of Jewish representatives from various parts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1603. On the one hand, the meeting was about clarifying various questions relating to rites . On the other hand, it was about closer Jewish cooperation in Germany. From this a renegade participant and the elector of Cologne Ernst von Bayern constructed a conspiracy against the Christian authorities. Against this background, the resolutions of Frankfurt am Main could not be implemented.
Course and resolutions
24 rabbis and representatives of Jewish communities met at the Frankfurt Autumn Fair of 1603 . They came from the south and west of Germany. There were seven or eight rabbis among them, the rest were lay rulers. The Frankfurt Jewish community played a major role as the likely initiator of the plan for cooperation between the Jewish communities in the Reich. In the run-up to the event, regional assemblies of Jewish personalities were held in some cases to determine their representatives for the Frankfurt assembly. In Westphalia, for example, the corresponding meeting took place in Kamen . Menachem and Moises von Hamm were elected. The Frankfurt Jews had also campaigned for the latter.
The task was formulated: "[...] to have an understanding of what the community is doing, to preserve and prevent, as the time requires, so that our people can walk as a sheep without a shepherd." Many of the resolutions were based on similar older regulations. According to this, only Jewish courts composed of rabbis in five cities (Frankfurt am Main, Worms , Fulda , Friedberg and Günzburg ) should decide to settle internal Jewish disputes . Judgments by (Christian) courts should not be recognized in purely internal Jewish questions. This did not mean that the non-Jewish courts were fundamentally rejected. Various religious law resolutions were also made. It was about the inspection of the slaughterers by the rabbis and the ban on enjoying the wine of non-Jews. Milk had to be produced under ritual supervision. The behavior of Jewish women in contact with Christians was also regulated. A warning was given against visiting the inn. The Jews should be externally distinguishable from the non-Jews by wearing special clothing. The ordination of the rabbis has been clarified. A ban by foreign rabbis on Jews in the Reich was rejected as invalid. It was also determined that Jewish books could only be printed with the consent of three rabbis. In economic terms, the meeting forbade trading in bad coins and lending stolen goods.
But it was also about maintaining or creating a certain uniformity of the Jews across the borders of the territories. The initiative ultimately wanted to consolidate the direct position of the Jews in the Reich . Charges for common purposes have been set. Every Jew was supposed to give a penny for every 100 guilders of his fortune per month. Central locations for the regional Jewry were also determined as collection points for the taxes, namely Frankfurt, Worms, Mainz, Bingen , Hamm , Friedberg, Schnaittach , Wallerstein and Günzburg. Among other things, the money was to be used to pay the heads of the Jews so that they could better perform their function as representatives of interests. The results were recorded in an extensive document in Hebrew. These ordinances should be read in synagogues on the Sabbath .
Charge of conspiracy
The fact that the resolutions did not take effect was initially due to Levi von Bonn (also Levi Krause, Löb Kraus, Juda bar Chajjim), who himself was a participant in the meeting. This had been in conflict with various Jewish communities and people for a long time. A year after the meeting, he was a defendant in a trial in Menden in the Duchy of Westphalia . In order to incriminate the plaintiffs, he stated that it had been decided in Frankfurt not to recognize any judgments of the authorities in the future. At the beginning of the trial he had already turned to the elector of Cologne, Ernst von Bayern, and said that there had been an outrageous conspiracy against the Christian authorities in Frankfurt. Levi's strategy worked, he was acquitted and plaintiffs had to pay compensation. His opponents were arrested.
Elector Ernst von Bayern saw an opportunity to improve his financial situation. In addition, he and the other sovereigns who were interested in territorialization of the Jews wanted to prevent an unified empire organization. Seriously stylized the meeting as the danger that the Jews could even use the money they received to recruit troops and turn away from the Reich. Ultimately, they would threaten all of Christianity. Emperor Rudolf II was convinced. He criticized the "unheard of Jewish regiment and law". He threatened that the Jews could lose all privileges and forbade them to adhere to the Frankfurt resolutions in the event of corporal punishment.
Emperor Rudolf II initiated an investigation into the allegations. This was carried out over several years. At first the Hebrew resolutions were translated into German by several rabbis. The Archbishop of Cologne and Mainz were appointed as investigators . Ernst was promised a third of the Jewish fines. Those accused of high treason were interrogated. The archbishops initiated a process against the Jewish community in Frankfurt. Imperial commissioners accused the Jews of attempting to diminish the emperor's authority. They are to be convicted of conspiracy and lese majesty. The convening of the meeting was an offense against the emperor, empire and church. The inner-Jewish court, the collection of funds and also the religious decisions were viewed as presumption of authority. The Jews defended themselves by pointing out that such gatherings were a common practice. The Frankfurt Council saw no culpable behavior. The Archbishop of Cologne held fast to his position. Ultimately, a conspiracy could not be proven. But the Frankfurt Jewish community had to reimburse the elector for his large expenses. The empire-wide organization of the Jews had failed. Even later, nationwide meetings did not take place. A last rabbinical meeting in Hanau failed in 1659.
meaning
The evaluation of the events of 1603 is debatable in research. Arno Herzig compares the resolutions with the organization of the imperial knighthood . Volker Press interpreted the meeting as the last attempt at a large-scale amalgamation of a personal association in the Reich. Others consider this to be an overinterpretation and point out that the assembly followed a tradition of earlier decisions and did not pursue any political goals.
Individual evidence
- ^ Mordechai Breuer / Michael Graetz: German-Jewish history of the modern age . Vol. 1. Munich 1996, p. 91.
- ↑ Diethard Aschoff: The Jews in the Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia , Vol. 1: The Duchy of Cologne from the beginnings of Cologne's rule in southern Westphalia to the secularization of 1803 . Münster 2009, p. 685.
- ^ J. Friedrich Battenberg: The Jews in Germany from the 16th to the end of the 18th century . Munich 2001, p. 25.
- ↑ Birgit Klein: Levi von Bonn alias Löb Kraus and the Jews in the old empire. On the trail of a betrayal with far-reaching consequences . Diss. Duisburg 1998, p. 11f; Friedrich Battenberg: The Jews in Germany from the 16th to the end of the 18th century . Munich 2001, p. 25.
- ↑ Birgit Klein: Levi von Bonn alias Löb Kraus and the Jews in the old empire. On the trail of a betrayal with far-reaching consequences . Diss. Duisburg 1998, p. 253; Diethard Aschoff: A drama in Menden. News on the early history of the Jews in Menden . In: Sauerland 1/2007, pp. 23–26.
- ^ Volker Press: Wars and crises: Germany 1600-1715 . Munich 1991, p. 78.
- ↑ Diethard Aschoff: A drama in Menden. News on the early history of the Jews in Menden , In: Sauerland 1/2007, p. 26.
- ^ Mordechai Breuer / Michael Graetz: German-Jewish history of the modern age . Vol. 1, Munich 1996, p. 93.
- ^ Arno Herzig: Jewish history in Germany: From the beginnings to the present . Munich 2002, p. 13.
- ^ J. Friedrich Battenberg: The Jews in Germany from the 16th to the end of the 18th century . Munich 2001, p. 75f.
literature
- Diethard Aschoff : The "Rabbinical Conspiracy" in Frankfurt 1603 and the Westphalian Jews. In: Westfälische Forschungen 59/2009, pp. 397-408.
- Volker Press : Emperor Rudolf II and the merger of German Jewry. The so-called Frankfurt rabbinical conspiracy of 1603 and the consequences. In: On the history of the Jews in Germany in the late Middle Ages and early modern times . Stuttgart 1981, pp. 243-293.
- Birgit Klein: Benefit and high treason. Elector Ernst of Cologne, Juda bar Chajjim and the Jews in the old kingdom. Hildesheim 2003.
- Birgit Klein: Levi von Bonn alias Löb Kraus and the Jews in the old empire. On the trail of a betrayal with far-reaching consequences. Diss. Duisburg 1998 digitized version (PDF; 4.1 MB).