The Gates of Heaven Will Never be Closed: The World of the 1538 Sanhedrin
- Thread starter jacob ningen
- Start date
It's noteworthy that, as seen many times before, some minor changes can turn the final picture into something completly different.
ITTL keeping a modest sized Jewish presence in Eretz Israel with a somehow unified leadership has made Jews to ressemble much more to other minorities elsewhere,more focused in productive branches of economy than in all day long prayers or living on alms from abroad. It's also allowed a certain level of stabilizing influence on the power structure of their Muslim Zaydan overlords. (IMHO this even could be a decisive blow to prevent the very notion of modern just-pray-not-work hasidism)
In the end, instead of a backwater ravaged by tribal feuds with Jews in a constant scapegoat/collateral victim role, TTL 18th century Palestine isn't far away from other richer corners of Ottoman Empire, with jewish population enjoying their fair share.
What it seems to be hinted here looks very interesting: A steady cash flow from abroad would have almost made jews the favourite vassals of Banu Zaydan, in fact becoming one of their main tax base. There are plenty of economic opportunities to exploit for the above mentioned Frankfurt (the Rotschilds come out on stage?) and Amsterdam magnates, ranging from just Etrog trade to more lucrative export of crafts to Europe, such as Judaica "made in Eretz Israel" (i.e all sorts of religious garments, from textiles to goldsmith).
Additionaly, trade routes would certainly have been sea lanes for intellectual exchanges from and towards Europe. Maybe a distinct Galilean minhag evolve out of the Olim admixture, but I'm very curious about the impact of Haskalah on the Yishuv-Diaspora relations
ITTL keeping a modest sized Jewish presence in Eretz Israel with a somehow unified leadership has made Jews to ressemble much more to other minorities elsewhere,more focused in productive branches of economy than in all day long prayers or living on alms from abroad. It's also allowed a certain level of stabilizing influence on the power structure of their Muslim Zaydan overlords. (IMHO this even could be a decisive blow to prevent the very notion of modern just-pray-not-work hasidism)
In the end, instead of a backwater ravaged by tribal feuds with Jews in a constant scapegoat/collateral victim role, TTL 18th century Palestine isn't far away from other richer corners of Ottoman Empire, with jewish population enjoying their fair share.
What it seems to be hinted here looks very interesting: A steady cash flow from abroad would have almost made jews the favourite vassals of Banu Zaydan, in fact becoming one of their main tax base. There are plenty of economic opportunities to exploit for the above mentioned Frankfurt (the Rotschilds come out on stage?) and Amsterdam magnates, ranging from just Etrog trade to more lucrative export of crafts to Europe, such as Judaica "made in Eretz Israel" (i.e all sorts of religious garments, from textiles to goldsmith).
Additionaly, trade routes would certainly have been sea lanes for intellectual exchanges from and towards Europe. Maybe a distinct Galilean minhag evolve out of the Olim admixture, but I'm very curious about the impact of Haskalah on the Yishuv-Diaspora relations
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I like to tell stories about big results from small changes, and for the Ottoman Yishuv, the story is practically tailor-made. In the 16th century - the time when the Ottoman Empire had just taken over the region and when power relationships were forming - there was a substantial and growing Jewish community in the Galilee and, at least in theory and for a short period, a Jewish merchant prince was made lord of that area. Maybe all it would take is a small additional ingredient, such as a Sanhedrin which could function as a unified communal administration and issue jurisprudence that everyone recognized, to allow this community to take root, keep growing, and with the protection of mountainous terrain, assume a similar role to other local minorities. I don't think a Jewish majority in Ottoman Palestine is feasible - there simply aren't enough Jews, and that level of immigration would be heavily resisted - but we don't need one; this was an environment where stable minorities with local power bases could do well.
The "just pray not work" ethos, BTW, still exists ITTL in Jerusalem, which subsists, as it did IOTL, largely on donations from Jews elsewhere. ITTL, those subsidies are coming not only from the diaspora but from the Sanhedrin - a portion of the communal taxes that the Sanhedrin levies on Jews in Eretz Israel goes to the upkeep of the holy places and synagogues in Jerusalem and Hebron. This is another way the Sanhedrin is cross-pressured and, possibly, a fissure that Napoleon or another power broker can try to exploit.
The Rothschildren, both in Frankfurt and eventually in London, will definitely have a part to play, and you can add olive oil, silk, and glassware (the last-named maybe fitting into the Judaica category - a kiddush cup or stained-glass window from the Holy Land might be a prestige item for European synagoguges) to the list of exports. And as mentioned before, even a modest amount of capital by the standards of a Western European financier is a lot of money by the standards of Ottoman Palestine, and as you say, can contribute heavily to the financial stability of the Zaydani state.
The problem is if and when the money starts coming with strings attached - in other words, as loans rather than investment. Debt was a major problem for the Ottoman Empire and Egypt in the 19th century and could be a similar trap for the Banu Zaydan and the Galilee Jews if they aren't careful. And money was also an instrument of European foreign policy - I won't say anything further about that now, other than to point out that the great majority of Jewish financiers were based in countries opposed to France.
As I've mentioned, there are two haskalot ITTL, one in the Galilee and Acre and one in Europe, and they are definitely in conversation. One key difference is that the European Haskalah, occurring where Jews are a small minority of the population (and mainly occurring among a minority of elite Jews with secular education) is building toward a "reform" Judaism, while the Galilee/Acre Haskalah has an attitude toward religion that is at once more traditional and more experimental. The maskilim in the Holy Land don't want to make Judaism more secular or more Christian, they want to make it more Jewish at the same time they're making it more modern, and to develop a distinctly Jewish conception of modernity. This means that while both haskalot have many things in common, including the integration of contemporary Western and Arabic philosophy into Judaism and the revival of Hebrew as a literary and spoken language, they're doing these things in different ways with different goals.
All this may come to a head if Napoleon calls a Grand Sanhedrin as IOTL. Actually, forget about "if" - he will call a Grand Sanhedrin, because the drama of dueling Sanhedrins is something I'm not going to miss. Of course, by then the butterfly net will have been fully withdrawn, so the outcome of Napoleon's Sanhedrin remains very much up in the air.
There's also one other thing about the intellectual relationship between Europe and the Galilee - the migration of thousands of Yemenite Jews to the Zaydani state, and the incorporation of Yemenite rabbis into the Sanhedrin (albeit under duress), is bringing Yemenite Judaism into the conversation a couple of centuries early. Yemenite attitudes might provide a third path between Hasidim and mitnagdim among the European Jews who resist the Haskalah. I really need to work Shalom Shabazi's poetry into this somehow - Im Nin'alu as a popular song among 19th-century Ashkenazim is something I want to happen.
will the sasoons and Kadouries still make an appearance? and Its less a haskalah and more a hadesh yeled ie Renaissance or resurrection of the Rambam
Oh yes, the Baghdadi Jewish merchant/banking families. The Kedouries were already in Bombay by the late 18th century, but the Sassoons were still in Baghdad, and I wonder if they might end up in Acre ITTL instead of going to India. If so, they could become the "native" Jewish banking family as opposed to the European Rothschilds or the Kedouries of India. They won't be able to build an opium fortune from Acre, but there are other trades they could invest in, especially if they have branch offices in Cairo and Constantinople. And if they can maintain a presence in Baghdad or establish one in Aden, they won't be entirely closed out of the India trade either.
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Another thought about the Sassoon family: if they do establish themselves in Acre, they could broaden a lot of people's horizons. If you're a promising young Galilee Jew in the mid-19th century - or for that matter a promising Muslim or Maronite; money knows no nationality - you can go to work for the Sassoons, and they might send you to university in Oxford or Leiden or send you to manage one of their offices in Bombay or Hong Kong. People like that will come back changed, and they'll also come back with firsthand knowledge of how the Western political and financial system works.
Reading this thread with great interest (and also re-reading it after your comments) has made me remember some stuff that interested me a few years ago about the history of power relations in Mount Lebanon. I must admit that I looked at it in a new light upon discovering TTL, and after my modest research (ehm, just wiki) I think some parallels are emerging:
OTL emir Bashir Shehab II of Mount Lebanon, himself a byproduct of the feudal and tribal nature of power politics in the semi-autonomous principality, was the first to realize that, in addition to the ever-changing network of alliances between tribal chiefs, characterized by its lack of stability and dependence on tax collection, a new sectarian actor might be more trustworthy: the Maronite Church as an institution, with its influence on the Christian peasantry and its connections with the Holy See and Paris. Throughout his reign, the choice turned out to be more or less correct: the Maronite peasantry constituted a reliable militia force, first against the rebellious Druze landlords and, after the Egyptian Mehmet Ali Pasha entered the scene, the alliance became even stronger. Bashir even "converted" to Christianity (although religious identities tended to be "fluid" in those days). Of course, we must not forget that the entire plan almost completely backfired in the end, with its well-known consequences.
The corollary of all this is evident: in a context of disorganized and feudal structures, every political power base that shows a little more stability, a strong and united leadership with experience in dealing peacefully with internal dissent, could be able to overcome his opponents easily, especially if we add strong support from a foreign power to the recipe.
Now...it's not hard to draw paralellisms!
OTL emir Bashir Shehab II of Mount Lebanon, himself a byproduct of the feudal and tribal nature of power politics in the semi-autonomous principality, was the first to realize that, in addition to the ever-changing network of alliances between tribal chiefs, characterized by its lack of stability and dependence on tax collection, a new sectarian actor might be more trustworthy: the Maronite Church as an institution, with its influence on the Christian peasantry and its connections with the Holy See and Paris. Throughout his reign, the choice turned out to be more or less correct: the Maronite peasantry constituted a reliable militia force, first against the rebellious Druze landlords and, after the Egyptian Mehmet Ali Pasha entered the scene, the alliance became even stronger. Bashir even "converted" to Christianity (although religious identities tended to be "fluid" in those days). Of course, we must not forget that the entire plan almost completely backfired in the end, with its well-known consequences.
The corollary of all this is evident: in a context of disorganized and feudal structures, every political power base that shows a little more stability, a strong and united leadership with experience in dealing peacefully with internal dissent, could be able to overcome his opponents easily, especially if we add strong support from a foreign power to the recipe.
Now...it's not hard to draw paralellisms!
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Of course, but what I was actually referring to was OTL "Haredi separatism" among Israel Ultra-Orthodox communities, with all that acrimony against modernism and sometimes even against Zionism.
IMHO ITTL the conditions for the development of that sectarian mindset aren't apparently taking place, at least in Eretz Israel: modernity is breaking through more gradually there, preventing a frontal crash between secularism and tradition.
I don't know which direction will take TTL (it's your work indeed
) but I figure out that Talmud studies are going to be more "professionalized" for the few and less the daily subsidized job for the manyIt would probably take more than a few hundred Levantine Jews and Arabs going to European universities to do that; after all, thousands of Indians studying in Britain during the same time period didn't. OTOH, orientalism may be incrementally less.
I've definitely had the Shihabs and the earlier Druze warlords in mind when charting the course of the Galilee Yishuv, and as you say, the Sanhedrin, like the Maronite Church, is both a stabilizing factor and a connection to the outside world.
Yes, the relationship between secularism and tradition ITTL will be less a frontal clash than an extended guerrilla struggle with episodes of peacemaking.Of course, but what I was actually referring to was OTL "Haredi separatism" among Israel Ultra-Orthodox communities, with all that acrimony against modernism and sometimes even against Zionism.
IMHO ITTL the conditions for the development of that sectarian mindset aren't apparently taking place, at least in Eretz Israel: modernity is breaking through more gradually there, preventing a frontal crash between secularism and tradition.
I don't know which direction will take TTL (it's your work indeed
And while I'm not going to make commitments for the future at this point, I suspect there will be trends toward both democratization of Talmudic education (that's part of what codifications like the Shulhan Arukh were intended to accomplish, after all) and confinement of serious scholarship to a professional rabbinate. That's certainly one of the potential directions the Sanhedrin could take in the 19th and especially 20th centuries, although there are others.That's my favorite version of it - there are others, but everything Ofra Haza touched turned to gold. Although this riff on it by Madonna, featuring Ofra Haza and Yitzhak Sinwani, has its own power. (Also on my list of favorite Yemenite Jewish recordings are this in Arabic and this in Hebrew).
Anyway, I've plotted out the first three stories of the 1799 arc so I hope to have the first one posted soon. It will be called "The Yarchei Kallah," if that's any help in divining what will happen.
This actually brings up an interesting possibility. With a larger, more prosperous, and not quite so traditional Jewish community in Palestine, might we see the creation of a Jewish university? IOTL, there were no universities in the Holy Land until the 20th century, but I could see the Rothschilds partnering with local Jewish leaders to found one in the early 19th century. Presumably, this university would have both religious and secular components.
Not sure it would be a Jewish university as such - the Banu Zaydan would want to make sure Muslim and Christian youths could also get educated - but that does seem like something a Rothschild-type philanthropist would do, doesn't it?
Maybe there would be two universities. The first one would be a Jewish religious academy in Tzfat under the auspices of the Sanhedrin - basically a Jewish equivalent of al-Azhar, although the Sanhedrin would probably compare it to the Babylonian academies instead. (Maybe this academy already exists by the late 18th century and has just not been mentioned - I did say that the Sanhedrin founded and administered schools.) The second would be a secular university in Acre founded by the Rothschildren, Oppenheims, Sassoons etc. during the first or second quarter of the 19th century, with a medical school, a teachers' college, and schools of the natural sciences and humanities. Having this university in Acre would annoy the hell out of the Sanhedrin, but the knowledge it creates would be useful to them - halachic jurisprudence is a lot more aware of scientific development than many people think.
Of course, it would take a generation or two for a local university to gain the prestige of the established ones in Europe, so people will still go abroad for education during the 19th century and maybe even into the 20th.
Another interesting topic could be giyur. Will it take place ITTL a trend among some Muslim clans towards conversion?. I mean voluntary, not imposed by force. Considering that things are quite different from OTL, and drawing more paralellisms with OTL Lebanon, perhaps the combination of greater prestige of judaism among their Mahomedan neighbors and "fluid" attachment to religious identity could make some chieftains to "pull a Shihab" followed by their kin. Who knows? Maybe even some scion of Zaydanis could embrace judaism and marry a Jewish wife....
Sanhedrin decission about the matter, after likely lenghty discussions and very divisive internal tensions, would be as crucial as worth of study. It's possible that Yishuv sages rule that Palestinian Muslims are actually Bnai Anusim, easing a process which would obviously pay dividends....
Sanhedrin decission about the matter, after likely lenghty discussions and very divisive internal tensions, would be as crucial as worth of study. It's possible that Yishuv sages rule that Palestinian Muslims are actually Bnai Anusim, easing a process which would obviously pay dividends....
That seems reasonable. There would also be separate Islamic and Christian universities - the former could get some sponsorship from the Porte, the latter from European Christians. And maybe down the road someone attempts my idea of a university combining Jewish and secular studies, similar to modern universities with religious affiliations. Maybe we have a Christian University of Nazareth, an Islamic University of Tiberias or Deir Hanna, and eventually a Jewish University of Jerusalem?
The combining might run into the Volozhin YU problem ie the secular and religious parts of the university competing for control of the other part
True, unless they solve that question at the outset. I attended an Orthodox high school that had separate heads of Jewish and secular studies, but they both reported to the head of school, who was also a rabbi.
Alternatively, we could see both the Tzfat Yeshiva and the University of Acre gradually expand their respective fields of study. It's easy to imagine Acre offering courses in Jewish history, then Jewish theology, and eventually developing its own seminary (possibly aided by being outside the Sanhedrin's jurisdiction - Acre could end up as a center of the Reform movement). Meanwhile, Tzfat might develop along the lines of many universities in the West that started out as seminaries, adding more general courses in Jewish history and theology, then adding some 100-level classes in other subjects to give rabbis a wider basis of secular knowledge. As technology develops, it might make sense to have at least some rabbis with scientific or mechanical training. Eventually, Tzfat begins to offer degrees other than rabbinical ones, but still requires all students to study the Talmud and attend services.
While some Giyur is possible, I think any mass conversion away from Islam would draw the ire of the porte, and make the Yishuv a target for any pious Muslim ruler.
But, I do think the Yishuv has the potential for interesting synergies with local Muslim customs. Palestinian Islam might become increasingly distinct, with influences from Judaism adding up to already existing heterogenies like the visitation of graves of local holy men (which, in some cases like Yehoshua deSakhnin's grave in... Sakhnin, were continuations of pre-islamic Jewish and Christian rituals), and the growing mysticist movement in Acre that might interact with Sufiism in interesting ways.
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