Rabbi's Musings

In our continued consideration of Jewish history, we have reached the Middle Ages and the rise of Ashkenazi Jews. As we have learned, Jews in Muslim lands were granted more rights than in Christian countries at the same time. The competition between Judaism and Christianity was fiercer, truly a zero-sum game. For Jews to be wrong was essential to the Christian polemic; therefore, they had to be seen as suffering. The restrictions on what they could do were severe. And yet Jews found a home in the European Ashkenazi countries in which they lived. They were more insulated, and therefore there was less dialogue with non-Jews. 
 
Then in 1096, the First Crusade began. Although the reason for the crusade was to attack the Turks in Jerusalem, the Jews were a convenient target en route. Mob rule often took over, and countless Jews were murdered. Jews were never more vulnerable. Eventually, they migrated to Polish lands and began a period of major spiritual and physical growth.  The story in Poland ends poorly, of course, but in the interim, a great culture flourished.
 
In the meantime, the mystical side of Judaism also came into its own. Next time, the Kabbalah.