The church did not like its believers to dance, however both Christianity and Judaism were unable to eradicate the phenomenon and in some periods even encouraged it
Early Christianity absorbed the signs of dance from three main sources - from the Hellenistic East, from the pagan culture of the tribes that invaded Europe in the fifth century AD and brought about the end of the ancient Roman Empire, and from the pagan cultures that the church sought to inherit.
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However, little by little the "slave" rose up against his "master", i.e. the Catholic Church aspired to reject, with the help of dance, the hedonistic, hedonistic philosophy that belonged to the classical ancient world of Greece and Rome.
Theater performances and other dramatic experiences were forbidden by the church. However, the dance became an official and acceptable part of the religious rituals and etiquette, as part of the prayers and supplications mainly until the 12th century when the tendency to boycott it increased. Ambrose, the bishop of the city of Milan, supported church dances at the end of the fourth century, whenever they were used as a spiritual and sacred means.
The church dance was an integral part of the rites of joy and mourning. Indeed Father Claude of Nestria the Jesuit wrote thanks to the dances that became famous and became known in their ritual context since the days of the Bible. It is also known that Father Maltius encouraged the holding of dances in the British churches during the seventh century.
The dances were performed in the mud, separating the sexes, with the lead dancer appearing at the head of each group.
Not all dances received the blessing of the church. Such dances spread in the various villages, and in any case carried a special character different from the church dances, such as the "dance of death" and various grave dances. The church expressed its displeasure by dancing alongside the dances of wizards and witches. At that time, the "tarantella" dance became known in Italy, which began as a medical measure (strange in itself) to deal with the bite of the poisonous spider and to prevent the spread of the poison in the stung body.
In the 11th to 14th centuries, the dance craze spread in Europe, such as wars, epidemics, fires, and more, and all the Church's prohibitions against this phenomenon only show how explosive it is.
During the Middle Ages, an atmosphere of itinerant groups of entertainers spread, consisting of singers, poets, actors, jugglers and dancers. These wandered between the villages and performed their performances in front of the audience. These were troubadours, who were called in Germany by the name "Spielmann" or "Ukulator".
The dance became more popular in the Middle Ages and especially during the Renaissance, after the warriors in the age of chivalry showed a skeptical attitude towards the dance due to it being too "feminine". That's how they like it. With the strengthening of the influence of the Renaissance on other European countries, and this in the 17th century onwards, the dance in the Renaissance style even entered conservative Britain, where it was also taught in schools, as well as in France and Spain. When the ballet became famous in Europe, it provided the social life of the court with elegant dimensions.
And Judaism? It is known that dancing had a very ancient tradition, dating back to the times of the Bible, the second verse and onwards. And from this we could expect that in the Middle Ages the foundation of dance would not be added to Jewish culture, and this despite the difficult times that befell the Jews of Europe. And perhaps precisely in view of the troubles that sometimes came in bunches, Jews found solace in dance, and of course in the required setting of engagement and marriage.
During the Genius period, we hear the following testimony from the mouth of Rabbi Hai Gaon: "And it is the custom of Israel to enter the canopy with her husband in revelry" (part 106 Berkat Hatanim XNUMX p. XNUMX). When the box "revelry" is interpreted as dancing. In another place (S. Asaf, Toldot Ha'Gaoniim, p. XNUMX) we read that "But tofin and dances that are made for every company in the world during the bride's wedding ceremony, and not during the feast, some despise it, and if it is set, it is beautiful." The distinction between the affinity for marriage and just a feast is interesting.
We cannot rule out the possibility that dancing in the Middle Ages among the Jews was involved in the development of music and drama, and in the days of "Purim Spil", an examination of a means of escape from everyday troubles, and environmental effects of the local society.
In Córdoba, in Spain, there is a large number of teachers and judges, Rabbi Yitzchak ben Yehuda Ibn Giath (1089-1038) that "it has been customary with us ever since to dance in it, even some old men when they are saying kilosim to the Torah... and they danced in it in excess of the Torah alone" (Shaari Simcha part XNUMX Halchut Lulav p. Ki ”g). Rabbi Yitzchak mentions that the dance was a practice that existed in Spain already in the periods that preceded his time and sages "practiced it excessively" whenever it involved religious ceremonies and their manners.
A contemporary of Rabbi Yitzchak Ibn Giath was Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi, who is the famous rabbi (1103-1013), who testified that "despite what they say, there is no cultivator, no provider, and no markadin. And we see today that many break into it. On this the sages said: 'Leave Israel to be a Shuggin and let no one be a slanderer, since it is impossible to abolish their custom' (To the Babylonian Talmud, Bizza Pe p. XNUMX). The RIF expressly informs here that the Jews do not observe the ruling of the Sages that "there is no Matafhin (that is, slapping the palm) and there is no Spakkin (slapping the palm) and there is no Markadin", and the great teachers of the teaching had already instructed before him, that the issue should not be made stricter, since the practice of dancing is simple in many places and common. In the language - "let them be shoggin and let no one be slanderous" hides an important testimony to the approach of the halachic greats, who understood that even if they try to enforce the ruling of the Sages, they will not succeed. And the obvious conclusion, as in many other cases, was that there is no pressure on the public that it cannot withstand."
