By way of introduction, I think the period of the thirty years war is a particularly interesting time when we can see the beginnings of modern Jewish thought and practice in Europe. The key preliminary events here were the Spanish Expulsion of 1492, where the Jews of Andalusia/Iberia were martyred, forced to convert to Catholicism or Emigrated (Mostly to Ottoman and Muslim lands, but also the Low countries and the New World). These Jews were the ancestors of the Sepharadim, while the Jews who originated in the Rhineland and migrated generally Eastward to the Slavic and Baltic areas would become the Ashkenazim.
The second major innovation was of course the printing press. Hebrew printing began in the late 1400s in Italy and radically changed the dynamics of studying sacred text.
The 1600s will bring us such fascinating characters in the Jewish world as Baruch Spinoza, Moshe Isserles, Shabbtai Tzvi, and Menashe ben Israel. And Jewish cultural centers will begin in the former backwaters of Lithuania and Poland.
My notes on Martin Luther (Ep 1.)
At about 80 minutes in, Matt makes reference to Luther's recalcitrance on what initially was a sort of philosemitism. Indeed in "That Christ was born a Jew" Luther appears to welcome Jewish converts into his new purified Christianity.
Towards the end of his life though, and the publication of "The Jews and Their Lies." Its clear than any semblance of openness and decency that Luther had towards Jews as a people was simply based on the assumption that they would quickly convert to Christianity in large number.
Some Historians (I have an essay by Hayim Greenberg to this effect) lay the cultural responsibility for Naziism squarely on Luther, with his synthesis of Religious and Political power combined with a more modern strain of antisemitism.
Thank you for this post comrade! This is very informative. Can an analogous argument to the hinge points episode about Luther be applied to Greenberg's argument? That is to say, is the specific form or the overall existence of the nazi's antisemitism contingent on Luther?
Also wondering if you have any good books to read on this period in Jewish history?
I remember Jacob R. Marcus has a good annotated sourcebook “The Jew in the Medieval world” which runs from the 300s to 1791. (Constantine to Napoleon) .
I think you could argue that Naziism, at least with its relationship to individuality (übermenchen etc) and modernity, is contingent on Luther. however if we’re going to do alternate histories, a specifically Catholic (based in France) or Tsarist/Orthodox antisemitic genocidal regime could certainly have arose in 20th century Europe. Though I believe the monstrosity of the Nazi Holocaust comes in a large part from its scientific efficiency and modernity- I don’t know if that could have happened anywhere except Germany.
I think it would have been interesting if Lutheranism had never emerged instead and instead a moving line of catholicism/orthodox were the dominant conflict. Buffer states would likely be given additional sovereignty/theological wiggle room to buy them in similar to how some unalligned states could put out the capitalist or communist signboard for special consideration without strongly hueing to either camp.
It would also be funny if the drive for theological sovereignty (internal control of a nation's religion) were achieved by contested papacies so the anti-pope would be a meaningful figure.