The Italia Judaica Jubilee Conference Edited by Shlomo Simonsohn Joseph Shatzmiller LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013 © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 CONTENTS List of Contributors ........................................................................................... List of Illustrations ............................................................................................. ix xi Opening Remarks .............................................................................................. Shlomo Simonsohn, Simonetta Dela Setta 1 The Escape from Vasto, Complaints of a 15th-Century Rabbi ............. Dvora Bregman 5 Fortune and Providence: A Paradigm in Isaac Abravanel’s Encounter with Renaissance Culture ..................................................... 13 Cedric Cohen Skalli Jews and the Grain, Oil and Wine Trades in 15th- and 16th-Century Apulia ..................................................................................... 21 Cesare Colafemmina Jewish Book Collection and Patronage in Renaissance Italy ............... 37 Andreina Contessa Joseph Ha-Cohen and His Negative Attitude Toward R. Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam Padova) ................................... 59 Abraham David Re-creating Creation in the Early Italian Yoẓer: Between Tradition and Innovation ......................................................... 69 Yehoshua Granat The Type of Community Minute Books—Some Preliminary Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 85 Yaakov Andrea Lattes Again on the Mobility of Italian Jews between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance .................................................................................... 97 Michele Luzzati © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 vi contents Towards Jewish Emancipation in the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany: The Case of Pitigliano through the Emblematic Figure of David Consiglio .......................................................................................... Davide Mano The Material Context of 15th-Century Hebrew Florentine Manuscripts: A Source of Information on Production, Ownership and Control of Hebrew Books in Their Christian Environment ............................................................................. Nurit Pasternak Italy, the “Breadbasket” of Hebrew Manuscripts .................................. Benjamin Richler 107 127 137 Rhymes to Sing and Rhymes to Hang Up: Some Remarks on a Lampoon in Yiddish by Elye Bokher (Venice 1514) ............... Claudia Rosenzweig 143 A Matter of Quotation: Dante and the Literary Identity of Jews in Italy ................................................................................................. Asher Salah 167 From Sicily to Rome: The Cultural Route of Michele Zumat, Physician and Rabbi in the 16th Century ........................................... Angela Scandaliato 199 The Angevins of Naples and the Jews ...................................................... Joseph Shatzmiller 213 International Trade and Italian Jews at the Turn of the Middle Ages ................................................................................................. Shlomo Simonsohn 223 The Conservation of History: The Archives of the Jewish Communities in the Veneto ................................................................... Ariel Viterbo 239 The Jewish Presence in Sicily as Reflected in Medieval Sicilian Historiography ............................................................................................ Nadia Zeldes 247 © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 contents Index of Names .................................................................................................. Index of Geographical Terms ........................................................................ vii 261 264 © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 THE TYPE OF COMMUNITY MINUTE BOOKS— SOME PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS Yaakov Andrea Lattes Introduction Exactly 50 years ago, Professor Shlomo Simonsohn wrote an important pioneering article, published in Kirjath Sepher, concerning the various registers of the Jewish community of Verona.1 This article starts by arguing that one of the most important sources of information about the history of Jews in Italy is precisely those community registers. During the 16th century, as well as the 17th, the organisations and internal government institutions of many Jewish communities in Italy underwent a unique process as a result of which new forms of Jewish political and public life emerged. Probably the main manifestation of this process was the establishment in each community of a constitution, which laid down clear rules regarding the nature and functions of the various Jewish organisations and the relations between them.2 The ijirst constitution of this kind was enacted in Rome in October 1524, when Jewish leaders called upon the well-known banker Daniel da Pisa to formulate his famous regulations.3 Until then, the Roman community obviously was somehow organised, but lacked a written constitution that enforced a balance between the various institutions and public ofijices, their powers, 1 S. Simonsohn, “Pinkassè ha-Kehillà be-Verona” (Hebrew), Kirjath Sepher 35 (1959), p. 127. 2 On this subject, see Y.A. Lattes, “Aspetti politici ed istituzionali delle comunità ebraiche in Italia nel Cinque-seicento,” Zakhor 2 (1998), pp. 21–37, and “The Constitutional Documents of the Italian Jewish Community,” Jewish Political Studies Review, 8/3–4 (5757/1996), pp. 11–65. 3 This ijirst document was published by Attilio Milano in his article, “I capitoli di Daniel da Pisa e la comunità di Roma,” La Rassegna Mensile di Israel 10 (1935), pp. 410–426. The ijirst idea of collecting various statutes in order to analyse the development of political thought was suggested to me by the late Professor Daniel Elazar. On this subject, see D. Elazar, “The Constitutional Documents of Contemporary Jewry: An Introduction to the Field,” in A Double Bond, D. Elazar, J.D. Sarna, and R. Monson (eds.) (Lanham 1992), pp. 3–34. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 86 yaakov andrea lattes their duties, and so on.4 Following in the footsteps of Rome, many other Jewish communities enacted constitutional regulations: Verona in 1539,5 Mantua in 1539 and again in 1587,6 Florence in 1572,7 Venice in 1603 with the ijirst “Conventions,” which were renewed in 1624,8 Pisa in 1636,9 and Livorno in 1655.10 Almost all of these documents contained a provision to appoint a secretary or scribe to draw up decisions taken by communal committees,11 and despite Boksenboim’s claims,12 I am not convinced that these rules existed even before this documentation. As a consequence, from the beginning of the 16th century, there began to appear written minute books of communities, as well as other kind of registers of various companies and associations that were active within the community. Some Italian community registers, or minute books (in Hebrew ‫)פנקס‬ ‫קהל‬, have already been published. In particular, I refer to ijive modern editions: the Register of Verona (the oldest),13 the Register of Padua,14 the 4 A. Milano, Il Ghetto di Roma (Rome 1964), p. 175. 5 I. Sonne, “Avnè binyan le-toledoth ha-yehudim be-Verona,” Kovetz ʿAl Yad 3 (13) (1940), p. 151 [Hebrew]. 6 V. Colorni, “Le magistrature maggiori della comunità ebraica di Mantova,” Judaica minora (Milano 1983), pp. 273, 293–4. 7 U. Cassuto, “I più antichi capitoli del ghetto di Firenze,” Rivista Israelitica 9 (1912), pp. 203–211; 10 (1912), pp. 32–40, 71–80. 8 D. Carpi, “Taqqanoneha shel Qehillat Venezia, 1591–1607,” Galut ahar Golà, Mehqarim be-toledoth ʿam Israel muggashim le-Professor Haim Beinhart (Jerusalem 1988), pp. 451– 460; id., “Le ‘Convenzioni’ degli anni 1624 e 1645 tra le tre ‘Nazioni’ della Comunità di Venezia,” in Shlomo Simonsohn Jubilee Volume, Studies on the History of the Jews in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Period (Tel Aviv 1993), pp. 30–40. 9 R. Toaff, La Nazione ebrea a Livorno e a Pisa, 1591–1700 (Florence 1990), pp. 500–515. 10 R. Toaff, La Nazione ebrea, cit., pp. 555–568. 11 Simonsohn, “Pinkassè ha-Kehillà be-Verona,” p. 131; D. Carpi (ed.), Pinkas vaad K.K Padova [Minutes Book of the Council of the Jewish Community of Padua 1577–1603], 2 vols. (Jerusalem 1973–80), 1, para. 249 [Hebrew]; Y. Boksenboim (ed.), Pinkas Kahal Verona [Minutes Book of the Jewish Community of Verona], 3 vols. (Tel Aviv 1989–90), I, p. 35 [Hebrew], and also inside the Register, para. 3, p. 61; also D. Avron, Pinkas ha-kesherim shel kehillat Pozna [Acta electorum communitas judaeorum posnaniensium 1621–1835] (Jerusalem 1966), para. 12, p. 3, para. 64, at p. 14 [Hebrew]. 12 Boksenboim, Pinkasè Verona, p. 17 states: “From the style of the earlier agreements which dealt with appointments, it seems that this rôle was deijined for the ijirst time. But it is not true, because it reflects a writer’s routine, a mechanical repetition of previous agreements, words concerning repetitive issues, to save effort in drafting each time.” 13 Boksenboim, Pinkas Kahal Verona, cit. 14 D. Carpi, Pinkas vaad K.K Padova, cit. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 the type of community minute books 87 Register of Venice,15 the Register of Rome,16 and ijinally the later one from Lugo di Romagna.17 In addition to these ijive documents, there are also several registers of synagogues and other public institutions, such as the Register of the Italian Synagogue of Venice recently published by the late Daniel Carpi,18 and the minute book of Ghemilut Hasadim from Rome, some parts of which were published by Ariel Toaff.19 Minute Books Outside of Italy Furthermore, if we look outside Italy, we will ijind similar documents in both Germany and Poland. The best known is the Register of the Four Countries Council (‫;)פנקס ועד ארבע ארצות‬20 other well-known documents of this kind include the minute book of Lithuania, published by Simon Dubnov21 and the Acta electorum, or Register of Electors of Posen.22 There are obviously other registers extant, such as the Kleve Register studied by Ytzhak Baer23 and the Schnaittach Register published by Meir Hildesheimer,24 and there are probably other Italian minute books still in unpublished manuscript form. 15 D.J. Malkiel, A Separate Republic: The Mechanics and Dynamics of Venetian Jewish Self-Government (1607–1624) (Jerusalem 1991). 16 Y.A. Lattes, Pinkas Kahal Kadosh Roma (1615–1695), PhD dissertation, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 2003. A critical edition is being published by the Ben Zvi Institute of Jerusalem. 17 A complete edition of this register is also in press: M. Perani, Y.A. Lattes, A. Ferri, A. Pirazzini (eds.), La Comunità ebraica di Lugo nelle fonti documentarie interne, secoli XVI–XX. Testimonianze epigraijiche antiche e prime registrazioni amministrative, 1. Some excerpts of this document were published by B. Rivlin, “Pinkas K.K. Lugo YaZaV,” Asufot 7 (1993), pp. 173–213 [Hebrew]. 18 D. Carpi (ed.), Pinkas Vaad K.K. Italiani beVenezia 1404–1471 (Jerusalem 2003). 19 A. Toaff, Ghetto Roma ba-meà ha-XVI, (Hebrew) (Ramat Gan 1984). 20 I. Halperin (ed.), Pinkas Vàad Àrba Aratzot [Acta Congressus generalis Judaeorum Regni Poloniae 1580–1764], (Jerusalem 1945) [Hebrew]. Isaiah Sonne already sensed that there might be a link between the community organisation in Italy and in Poland; see I. Sonne, “I Congressi delle Comunità Israelitiche Italiane nei secoli XIV–XVI, ed il Sinodo dei Quattro paesi in Polonia,” L’idea sionistica (March 1931), pp. 3–19. 21 S. Dubnov (ed.), Pinkas ha-Medinà o Pinkas vaad hakehillot ha-rashiot bi-medinat Lita (Berlin 1925). 22 D. Avron, Pinkas Pozna, cit. 23 Y. Baer (ed.), Das Protokollbuch der Landjudenschaft des Herzogtums Kleve (Berlin 1922). 24 M. Hildesheimer (ed.), Pinkas Kehillat Schnaittach (Jerusalem 1992) [Hebrew]. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 88 1500 yaakov andrea lattes 1520 1540 Verona 1560 1580 Padova 1600 1620 Venice 1640 1660 1680 Rome 1700 Lugo Figure 1. The Periodisation of Italian Minute Books Verona Padova Venice Rome Lugo 1539 1578 1607 1615 1621 1690 1590 1624 1695 1630 Since all these documents are now available to scholars, we should be able to draw some preliminary conclusions about their deijining characteristics, as well as about the special perspective they can contribute. Periodisation of Community Documents The most obvious task is the periodisation of the aforementioned Italian documents. In fact, all the documents belong to the same historical period, starting with the ijirst quarter of the 16th century. The Veronese Register © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 the type of community minute books 89 covers the years 1539–1690; the Paduan, the years 1578–1590; the Venetian the years 1607–1624; the Roman the years 1615–1695; and the Lugo minute book the years 1621–1630. In his article, Professor Simonsohn posed the question of whether there were earlier registers that had not yet been found,25 but we assume that this exact kind of register did not exist at all, and we shall see now immediately the reason for this supposition. The non-Italian communal documents also belong to this era. In fact, the Register of the Four Countries Council runs from 1581 to the late 18th century; the minute book of Lithuania starts in 1623 and ends in 1761; and the Register of the Electors of Posen begins in 1621 and was used until 1815. 1500 1520 1540 1560 1580 1600 Verona Rome Padova Lugo Lithuania Posen 1620 1640 1660 1680 1700 Venice 4 Countries Figure 2. Comparison with Registers of Other Countries 25 Simonsohn, “Pinkassè ha-Kehillà be-Verona,” p. 127. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 90 yaakov andrea lattes Table 1. Topics Covered by the Minute Books ELECTIONS COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS TAXES LOANS BROTHERHOODS Verona Padova Venice Rome Lugo √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Other Common Elements But beyond this aspect of perodisation, there are many other common elements among the documents. I refer, of course, to the main subjects recorded, as well as to the literary style. In fact, all these documents deal mainly with two different topics: the organisation of the Jewish political system, i.e., the community, and its ijinances. A simple statistical table of the topics most frequently discussed yields a list like this: collection of taxes, elections of leaders and treasurers, loans, appointment of other community ofijicials, and selection of new members of the council, fraternities, and other associations that operated within the community. The Italian documents are characterised by a similar literary style and frequent use of the same idiomatic expressions, such as ‫( לשים פרטי‬lasim parte) to indicate a proposal, and andar la palla, to vote. Also, ‫סדר הערכה‬ (seder ha’aracha) or ‫( תורת הערכה‬torat ha’aracha) designated tax regulations, while the verb ‫( נשאר‬nishar) meant “was decided.”26 Similarly it is important to note, as Boksenboim already wrote,27 that their literary style is somewhat skimpy; not one of these documents records the debates or the discussions that led to the decisions, or internal divisions along ideological or party lines. There is also no record of important events that had a great impact on the community. The clean style of writing, almost without corrections, suggests that the registers were not written during the committee meetings, but rather that the scribe recorded the decisions taken afterwards.28 26 This aspect of linguistic style has not yet been extensively studied. In any case, see Carpi, Pinkas vaad K.K Padova, cit., 1, p. 58; Boksenboim, Pinkas Kahal Verona, cit., 1, p. 13. 27 Boksenboim, Pinkas Kahal Verona, 1, p. 12. 28 Boksenboim, ibid., p. 11; Carpi, ibid., p. 57. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 the type of community minute books 91 At this point we must ask the question why? Is there perhaps a common denominator or a link between the registers? Should they perhaps be considered to all belong to the same genre? Or rather are they the reflection of particular historical contingencies? Political Aspects Dealt with by the Registers Certainly, the bulk of entries recorded in these documents deal with the internal politics of Jewish communities. In fact, this kind of document sheds light on certain aspects of public life that until now have not been studied extensively.29 These include the different methods of holding elections, issues related to social stratiijication and poverty within the community, various manifestations of political behaviour, development of tax systems, and so on. These minute books provide many details that offer scholars fascinating and wide-ranging insights into the vibrant goings-on of Jewish communities. The fact that these documents were created by similar institutions in different communities suggests that they were based on a common model, or they all derive from a similar outlook and perspective, the same zeitgeist.30 As we have seen, all the Italian registers record, or at least refer to, a particular constitution that sets the parameters for the communal political system, which in turn provided the legal basis for the creation of the registers themselves. On the other hand, from what is described here, it can be deduced that if there were similarities between the different registers, there was also a similar political context. But that is also not entirely true; in fact, the political context varied from city to city, as did the attitude of the authorities towards the Jews, and as a consequence, the registers reflect only a similar social context, but not the same one. But one element that is quite astonishing is the level of political control. At a time when power was absolute, and whoever held it could act he saw ijit without reporting to any other authority, the demand for control 29 On this topic, see Lattes, “Aspetti politici ed istituzionali delle comunità ebraiche in Italia nel Cinque-seicento,” cit. 30 It was Daniel Elazar who suggested looking at Jewish institutions created in a particular period, although in different countries, as a way of identifying a single stage in the development of political thought. See D. Elazar and S. Cohen, The Jewish Polity: Jewish Political Organization from Biblical Times to the Present (Bloomington 1985), pp. 160–203. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 92 yaakov andrea lattes placed some limits on his actions. In Rome, for example, all the institutions of power were under the control of particular entities such as the Difensori dei Capitoli. Obviously, this begs the question of whether the situation stemmed from a well-established Jewish political tradition, dating back even to medieval jurists like Rabbì Shelomò ben Adereth,31 who upheld the need to restrict the power of rulers via an external body or an outside influence. For instance, the statutes of the Roman municipality, published just one year before those of the Jewish community, placed all actions of the governors under the control of the so-called “Defenders of the Decrees.”32 The way in which the city of Rome organised itself therefore had a clear influence on the Jewish community. Sometimes these documents also reflect social tensions between different ethnic groups or social classes; to mediate these tensions, it was decided to abide by a set of written rules. This was, for instance, the situation in Rome and in Verona, where disputes were resolved according to the rules and power-sharing arrangements laid down by the constitutional documents. Methods for Holding Elections Another very interesting feature of these kinds of documents is the descriptions of the various elections for positions of responsibility within the community. In fact, through an analysis of these documents, it is possible to draw a comprehensive picture of the various electoral systems throughout Italy. Although Boksenboim stated that the registers of Verona do not report election rules,33 the ijirst paragraph of the register that he published states that the eleven committee members were elected by bossole e ballotte, that is, they were elected directly by the public,34 and this was the case also in Padua and Venice.35 Electoral rules can also be inferred from the Register of Rome. In Rome, the sixty members of the community council were selected through 31 On this speciijic subject, see Responsa Rabbì Shelomò ben Adereth (RaShBA) (ed. var.) IV, No. 185. 32 E. Rodocanachi, Les institutions communales de Rome sous la papauté (Paris 1901), p. 248; Y.A. Lattes, Una società dentro le mura (forthcoming). 33 Boksenboim, Pinkas Kahal Verona, cit., 1, p. 13. 34 Ibid., p. 59. 35 Carpi, Pinkas vaad K.K Padova, cit., p. 30; Malkiel, A Separate Republic, cit., p. 11. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 the type of community minute books 93 Table 2. Methods for Holding Elections Verona Padova Venice Rome Lugo Direct elections Direct elections Direct elections Co-optation Drawing lots co-optation, i.e., the members themselves voted on the inclusion of a particular candidate for life.36 Another common method was the candidates’ lot, a method practised in Lugo di Romagna.37 Incidentally, from the community registers it is possible to glean a plethora of personal names, which could form the basis for an important database for onomastic research, as well as for social studies. Very often, the Jewish leadership was drawn from a small group of bankers and moneylenders, rather than the majority, but poorer, classes. Therefore, the data contained in these documents is often helpful in reconstructing the stratiijication of social classes and even demographic statistics: who had political rights and who did not, who could vote and who could not, who could be elected, and so on. The Register of Rome reveals much about social divisions within the Jewish population there. The Genre of Minute Books As we have seen, all these documents ultimately represent a single uniform model with recurring components and characteristic forms. An examination of these many similarities allows us to speak about a speciijic genre of community register, at least with regard to settlements in Italy. Furthermore, we must note that these documents have nothing to do with the establishment of the ghettos, but rather are the reflection of a phase of Jewish political and organisational awareness and thinking. This awareness marks the transition from a disorganised, or at least unsophisticated, 36 See, for example, in the Register of Rome, paragraphs 30, 69, 71, and so on, in Lattes, Pinkas Kahal Kadosh Roma (1615–1695), cit. This electoral system was established by Daniel da Pisa in his famous statute in paragraph 8; see A Milano, “I Capitoli di Daniel da Pisa,” p. 412. 37 Perani, Lattes, Ferri, Pirazzini, La Comunità ebraica di Lugo nelle fonti documentarie interne, cit., in the manuscript at page 4b. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 94 yaakov andrea lattes poor 75% lenders 5% rich and middle class 20% Figure 3. Various Population Strata within the Jewish Community of Rome lenders 85% rich and middle class 15% poor 0% Figure 4. Distribution of Wealth Jewish infrastructure towards an organised community with a range of institutions and electoral procedures, as well as an internal division between different social classes and political leadership. In other words, only in the middle of the 16th century do the Jewish settlements reach the stage of organisation that permitted the establishment of their own institutions. This phase is marked primarily by the issuance of constitutions, such as the Chapters of Daniel da Pisa, but also the establishment of political institutions, and thus the recording of institutional activities. For this reason, minute books dating from earlier periods have not been found in Italy. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6 the type of community minute books 95 This phenomenon is unique. Before this period, if there had been community rules or other types of records, these were ad hoc documents written for a particular purpose but never intended to serve as the permanent chronicle of a congress convened regularly to provide for the needs of the community. Conclusion In conclusion, it seems possible to include the community minute books in the context of the long-term process of Jewish urbanisation, of which the ghetto is only one aspect, as evidence of one phase in the development of Jewish political and legal institutions. This phase is indeed recognisable and very important, and the registers mark a shift in which institutions became more complex and representative. However, it is possible that this political and legal process was not particular to Italian Jewish communities, but rather indicative of a much more general trend, extending also to other European countries. Therefore, in this context, we can easily relate the Italian Jewish registers to those of Eastern Europe. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-24331-6