When the Muslims conquered Spain at the beginning of the eighth century, the Jews served as a significant element in their army. During the occupation of Granada, and after the city was captured, the Muslims entrusted its guarding to a garrison made up of Jews and Arabs. This image was repeated several times such as in the conquest of Cordoba, Seville or Toledo. This is how the Jews acquired the skills to use weapons, especially the sword.
When the Muslims conquered Spain at the beginning of the eighth century, the Jews served as a significant element in their army. During the occupation of Granada, and after the city was captured, the Muslims entrusted its guarding to a garrison made up of Jews and Arabs. This image was repeated several times such as in the conquest of Cordoba, Seville or Toledo. This is how the Jews acquired the skills to use weapons, especially the sword.
In the tenth century, through the star of Hasdai Ibn Sheprot, a physician, political advisor and lobbyist, with famous military skill, we learn about him, among other things, from a poem by the poet, a contemporary, Donesh Ibn-Labert, dedicated to Hasdai:
And sing a song of glory / to sing a bride's head,
Asher Kalil Kela / The foreign legions (of the Principality of Leon)
Wear glory and honor
Al Zadim conquered / ten forts (the forts were sent by the king of Leon. This refers to the war that took place in the years 960-959).
Also in Yitzhak Ibn-Kapdon's poem, we read words of praise and praise for the legendary figure of Hesdai Ibn-Shafrut, who, besides being a man of literature, was also a man of Saifa:
With the help of a man / in all heroes
- - - - - - - - -
and drew his sword / and cut through the narrows,
who hallucinate, lie / and resemble dogs
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
And the tuphis of the cold / before him are burned
And they walk with spears / before him they swim
– – – – — – – – – – – – –
And the horse riders are also miracles.
In the first half of the 11th century, the star of Rabbi Shmuel Barbi Yosef HaLevi Ibn-Nagrila passed through Muslim Spain, this is Shmuel the Governor. From 1038 he became known as viceroy and commander of the soldiers of the ruler of Addis. He served in this position for 19 years until the year 1056. During all these years he personally led the king's armies, as he clearly testifies in his poem "Mati Shekel": "New rebellions after many old ones" (from Divan Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid p. 77).
A considerable chapter of his poems was devoted to war poems, and their large number (over forty) indicates that he went to war at the head of Muslim armies, such as near the village of Alfuente near Granada, near the city of Lorca, near Ronda, near the Guadira River, near Assija, in Seville, in Albos, and more.
It can be assumed that the choice of Shmuel the Governor to be the commander of the Muslim armies was partly also due to purposeful military considerations, to teach us that during this period Jews with military skills and a military background were known. It can also be assumed that quite a few Jews served under his command.
In one of his poems the experience of the battle and its atmosphere stands out:
And every one who girds a belt on a hot day / And every one who raids for war coats,
And everyone who is quick to me has a sword and everyone who runs / to me kills with kindness and ages in studded leg armor / and shields as red as gills
Horses' leaves are stormy and wet / and on foreheads and round hats...
In another song "Shmuel Kadama sitting in cherubim" he blesses God, who blessed him with noble qualities that helped him in battle and in his life such as courage, bravery, stamina and physical fitness. And this alongside virtues such as wisdom, knowledge of the Bible and science, in terms of continuity with the Greek idealization of harmony between body and spirit.
Phrases borrowed from the world of battle appear in the poets of Spain, such as in the poems of Ibn Gabirul (1057-1022), who speaks to his beloved ("My uncles of the white and red"), draws his sword and rides his horse. Maimonides speaks in praise of "learning to fight" in relation to learning to use the sword.
Famous and important Jews received under their patronage fortresses in Spain in order to serve as a protective force during the long Reconquista (the re-conquest of Spain by the Christians). Thus, for example, a fort down the Tagus River became known as the "Fortress of the Jews", and when King Jacob I invaded Murcia, he placed in the hands of Don Yehud de la Cavalleria (when the family name says Dershani) a garrison in the book forts in the province of Valencia. Don Shmuel Halevi from Toledo received two forts from King Pedro and appointed commanders loyal to him and in Barcelona, at the end of the 14th century, Jews manned the ruling fort.
All these testimonies, which are only a small part of all the testimonies, serve as proof as to the ability and skill of the Jews in Spain in everything related to the use of weapons and their operation.
The rumor of Jews fighting in the Christian royal army in Spain spread to fame even beyond the borders of this country, and as proof we can say that Rabbi Yitzchak bar Moshe of Vienna (1250-1180), who has "Ur Zrue", testifies that "as is still the custom in the land of Spain, that Israelis go with the king to fight" (Or Zeru, Part I, Laws of Agona, Siman Tarzeg).
King Jacob I distributed land to some Jews after the conquest of the island of Mallorca so that they could exercise their rights as military settlers.
Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Virga in his book "The Tribe of Yehuda" cites a case that happened in 1367 when a Muslim king invaded Spanish Castile and conquered many cities, and when he arrived in Toledo the Jews came out to meet him and fought against him fiercely and killed many of the invaders.
Two years later it was reported that about a third of the warriors of the king's brother, Don Pedro, were Jews and Moors.
So much for Spain, and the question arises, has a similar image been discovered in Ashkenaz? Well, an important chronicle from the time of Charlemagne indicates that even during his time the Jews served in the army and used weapons, and even in one case a Jewish warrior in his army rescued the king.
Rabbi May Barbi Shimon (year 1245) paints a similar picture as follows: "King Karlash (that is Charlemagne) ... who conquered many lands and all those who came after him, with the help of the Israelites, who were with them in faith, in their bodies and in their money, who themselves would have entered the thick of the war And they put themselves to death to save the kings and ministers who were with them..." (Neubauer, p. 9).
Even if we regard with a hint of skepticism the testimony of Rabbi Meir Barbi Shimon that Karl and his successors conquered many countries with the help of the Jews, here too the core of the story is acceptable. Moreover, Rabbi Meir wrote the above section in 1245, that is, at least until the middle of the 13th century, Jews served in the king's army, or in the armies of the nobles and barons, and his words there - "and the king Carles... and all those who came after him...".
During this period, in the eighth-ninth centuries, Jews began to acquire skill in everything that involved the use of weapons. The reason lies, it seems, in the feudal reality of the Middle Ages. Jews were neither ruling feudal lords nor protected vassals. That intermediate situation did not provide the Jews with protection from one patron or another, and at a time when there were many wars and insecurity on the roads, the Jew had to learn the secret of using weapons - a sword or a dagger.
In practice, we are witness to quite a few sources, which tell about Jews as taking up arms. For example, in 1084 when the Jews were granted a fortress in Mainz (Magenza) in Germany, the local bishop stated that the night watch, protection and fortification also apply to the Jewish residents.
The knowledge and ability of the Jews to take up arms was discovered during the First Crusade (1096), when the precarious security situation put everyone, especially the Jews, in real danger.
One of the most interesting incidents in Magnetza this year happened when Amicus arrived with his entire army in the city, and the townspeople opened the gate for him, and when the Jews saw this they realized that they were about to be harmed, "... Then the armorers put on their armor and girded on their weapons of war, large and small, and Rabbi Kalonymus Barbi was paid at the head... And they all approached the gate to fight with the strays (a nickname for the crusaders) and the townspeople. And they fought one against the other into the gate, and they caused injustice and the enemies were defeated and the gate was captured..." (Act of the old decrees, Haberman edition - Ashkenaz and France decrees, pp.
We will learn a few things from this passage. At first the armor and the weapons were in the hands of the Jews, and they knew how to use them); Second - the head of the audience stood at the head of the group of defenders; Thirdly - the owner of the source claims that the failure of the Jewish defenders was not caused by their laxity and cowardice, but by the intervention of a superior force. Only such a response can calm the spirit of the certificate holder and deal with his astonishment.
Sefer Hasidim, in which testimonies about Ashkenazi Jews in the 12th and 13th centuries are buried, knows how to tell about Jews who "go to war and one of his lovers is killed, one should not say in the middle of the war, lest he curse his heart and they kill him" (Simen Kenev). Elsewhere, the owner of Sefer Hassidim admits that Jews who wear swords are an accepted phenomenon, and when there is a lack of safety on the roads, even women are allowed to wear men's clothing, including a sword belt on the hip.
In the answers of the Maharam of Rothenburg it is said, among other things, that Reuven claims that Shimon gave him armor as a guarantee for his debt, to teach us that weapons were found in the possession of the Jews. In another place he asserts that able-bodied Jews guarded the city gates and its walls according to Torah, and does not forget to clarify that this practice existed in various cities of Ashkenaz. Interestingly, he is not satisfied with this and recommends that it is better to do so and not to get rid of this job for a ransom.
The going of Jews to war brought with it a host of halachic problems in the field of marriage such as marriages, but the arbitrators did not restrict the very participation of Jews in the armies of kings and princes. One of the clear halachic dilemmas in this regard was the question of carrying weapons on Shabbat and actually participating in war on Shabbat.
Rabbi Eliezer of Wormeiza, for example, testifies about "a deed, that large soldiers attacked the city of Virmesh (Wormeiza-Worms) on Shabbat, and we allowed all the Jews to take their penises... All those who go out to kill or be killed, are allowed to go out and return with penises. Furthermore, if the Jews did not help the townspeople, they would kill themselves. This is why it is allowed even with a sexual instrument" (The Great Apothecary Book, end point).
Two motives stood behind the permission to fight on Shabbat. First - this is a war of defense, in terms of soul control, and second - in view of the special situation in the Middle Ages, in which Jews lived next door to Christians, a need arose for joint protection and mutual help.
A similar situation took place in the communities of Bohemia, in light of the testimony of Rabbi Yitzchak Barbi Moshe of Vienna, owner of "Ur Zerue", "On our brothers in their home (it is Bohemia), it is not good for them to lead their swords and blinds (that is, their shields) on Shabbat eve. Miho, when sometimes they fear and guard the city, then it is permissible" (part XNUMX Siman Pad, XNUMX). The displeasure of the above-mentioned Rabbi Yitzchak is not understandable except against the background of the prevalence of the phenomenon of the Jews of Bohemia, who go out on Shabbat evening with their swords and shields in public. It is a matter of fact that on the rest of the days of the week they went out with their weapons, and the sages allowed them to do so.
According to medieval research (Kish, The Jews in Medieval Germany) the right to bear arms (Waffenrecht) and the elements accompanying it, are of primary importance for understanding the status of the Jews in the Middle Ages. This right is based on the general law applicable to the individual. It was an honorable right of belonging to certain institutions and classes, which was connected, among other things, to the right to bear arms. This right gave the bearer of arms a special status, a status of honor, which distinguished them from those deprived of that right.
In a manuscript from Dresden, Germany, from the middle of the 14th century, an armed Jew appears, standing out from a group of armed Christian soldiers with his hat ("the Jew's bonnet"), but his weapon is no different from those of his comrades in arms. It is about the halberd which is a special bayonet, to which a battle ax is attached.
In another constitution we find that Jews are not prohibited from carrying weapons. Rather, it is their duty to keep weapons at home for the purpose of chasing rebels and capturing them. In this way we will understand more clearly the words of Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna mentioned above, that under special circumstances Jews carried weapons even on Shabbat.
It should be emphasized that this right was expressed in the general non-Jewish law in Germany.
In times of war, the Jews were called to the flag, for military service, and fulfilled their role to the best of their ability. For example, the queen, the sister of Emperor Wilhelm, emphasizes the obligation to pay tribute to those who fell defending the state with the addition of a note - "and even if they are Jewish".
A similar picture emerges from evidence regarding the Jews of England and France. Jews girding weapons of war appear in Rabbi Shimshon of Shanz in the middle of the 12th century. And in the chronicle of the city of Colmar in 1288, the Jews of Alsace claimed before the king that the Christians shamefully killed forty Jews for iniquity and crime. In response, the king ordered the culprits to trial, fined them and demanded that the local archbishop deliver a sharp sermon against the rioters, and during his sermon more than five hundred armed Jews sat, and if there was one Christian who dared to protest against the matter, they would have cut him down with their swords (so in the language of the certificate).
In Rabbi Yochanan Luria, who refers to the 15th century, the members of the Jewish group are described as "scholars of war, possessing a bow and spear and a sword, who will stand against (their enemies)" (A Nice Commentary on the Torah, manuscript 123, LD p. XNUMX).
And in Italy it is said in the compilation of the Achimetz scroll that Rabbi Peltiel wore armor, and in the Emanuel notebooks there are many expressions taken from the world of battles.
As part of the Cambrian alliance between France, the Duchies of Ferrara and Savoy as well as the Marquis of Mantua to Spain in 1508, a war broke out against the Venetian Republic. The Indians there were tempted to go to battle "and also many Jews from the people's door put on armor and weapons of war and will come among the Gentiles" (from the French chronicle of Forges).
David the Reuben testifies at the beginning of the 16th century about many Jews in Rome and throughout Italy, who are strong "and worthy of war and heroes and whose hearts are lions for everything" (above, pp. 38-37). And when David the Reuben left for Pisa, he was accompanied by Rabbi Raphael HaCohen, who is "a hero and a man of war" (perhaps a bodyguard?).
In the documents attributed to the year 1642, an interesting picture emerges of the influence of the local society, the advanced Renaissance in Italy, on the Jewish one, such as the one that describes young Jews walking outdoors with no head covering and their long hair visible to all and they are carrying weapons.
It is true that all the evidence presented here in this chapter does not show even a hint of the subject of our discussion, that is - the culture of the body and sports among the Jews of the Middle Ages, but it, like the previous one, proves the infrastructure on which the physical culture developed, as we will see later.
