JEWS OF MEDIEVAL SPAIN DURING THE TIME OF ABD AL RAHMAN III

Jewish Quarter, Cordoba

One of the many talking points that anti-Semites like to use is that Jews had it so much better under Muslim rule than under Christian rule. It’s one of their core arguments against the ancestral Jewish homeland (as if one has anything to do with the other). So I thought it would be a good idea to examine this talking point. The fact is, yes and no. Generally speaking, Jews were treated much better by Muslims – generally speaking. But being treated better does not mean being treated like kings. It simply means that if 1000 Jews were massacred in Europe, 999 Jews would be massacred in Islamic lands. It depended on the region which determined how well Jews were treated. In Yemen for example, Jews were usually treated like filth. In medieval Spain, Jews were treated very well. And this is what I decided this article would focus on today – medieval Spain, and specifically the period of the Caliph Abd al Rahman III who ruled in Cordoba in the 10^th century. (Other aspects of Muslim rule over Jews will be talked about in later posts.) This period in Spanish history was a glory period for the Jews. All subjects under Abd el Rahman were treated equally under the law and this brought in a period of a cultural renaissance. Jews achieved high positions in government and also excelled in science and medicine, the arts, literature, philosophy, scholarship. And no one personified this better than Hasdai ibn Shaprut. He became physician to the Caliph, but also was very influential in government and was well respected internationally as a talented diplomat and politician. He encouraged Hebrew poetry and of the study of Hebrew grammar among his coreligionists by the purchase of Hebrew books, which he imported from the East, and by supporting Jewish scholars whom he gathered about him. Among them, Rabbi Moshe ben Hanoch, great halakhist and rabbinical figure; and Menahem ben Saruq of Tortosa, the protégé of Isaac, Hasdai's father. Also prominent at this time was Dunash ben Labrat who was born in Morocco, had studied in the great yeshivot in Babylonia, then returned to Morocco, later, being invited by Hasdai to make his dwelling place in Cordoba.

With the guidance of Hasdai, Hebrew literature flourished and with it, a strong sense of a personal connection to the Land of Israel. In fact, Dunash himself had lived in Israel (Gaza specifically) for a period before moving on to Babylonia. Much of the Hebrew poetry of the time had a very deep religious and Biblical connection to Israel and even Hasdai himself was proud of that connection. He mentioned so in his letter, written in Hebrew, to Joseph, the king of Khazaria, a Jewish kingdom in Eastern Europe: “I, Hasdai, son of Isaac, son of Ezra, belonging to the exiled Jews of Jerusalem in Spain, a servant of my lord the King, bow to the earth before him and prostrate myself towards the abode of your Majesty from a distant land. I rejoice in your tranquility and magnificence and stretch forth my hands to God in heaven that He may prolong your reign in Israel. …I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs who bring gifts about our brethren the Israelites [notice, he never says “Jews” – ed.], the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have languished in bondage and have found no rest. .. I pray for the health of my lord the King, of his family, and of his house, and that his throne may be established forever. Let his days and his sons’ days be prolonged in the midst of Israel!”

Hasdai retained his high position under Abd al Rahman's son and successor, al-Hakam II, who even surpassed his father in his love for science and culture.