Jewish History

שלום על ישראל Shalom

Speyer, Germany

During the summer of 2018, I stood on the subterranean steps of the 12th century Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) in the town of Speyer, Germany – the oldest and best-preserved ritual bath north of the Alps. I could not help but think of the passing of nearly 1,000 years and of all the Jewish men and women of the city for whom the synagogue and its mikveh were built.

The remains of the Speyer synagogue and the adjacent mikveh attest to the vibrancy of one of the most significant Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. For the most part, the mikveh remains unaltered since its construction in 1128.

Although Jews suffered at varying times throughout their long history in Speyer, and under medieval Christendom generally, there were, however, occasions where one finds humanity. Such as when Bishop Johann vom Kraichgau (1090-1104) protected the Jews of the city in his palace adjacent to the cathedral during the First Crusade. A stark reminder of how a single act of compassion from one person can save the lives of so many.

Having always had an insatiable curiosity to understand humanity, the human condition, and the meaning of life, my travels this summer took me on a self-study tour of historical, cultural, and religious sites of importance: from Catholic cathedrals and abbeys in the Rhineland, from medieval synagogues in Germany to a newly-built mosque in England, to Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sacred manuscripts housed at the British Library (London) and at the Bodleian Library (Oxford). My self-study led me to look through the myriad of lenses of religious and spiritual beliefs, and to ponder the history of ideas, politics, philosophy, and psychology, to find threads and answers.

Through the Rutgers UNMA Program, I am focusing my research on how we as humans are to curb barbarianism and conflict in order to find peaceful, non-violent resolutions to the problems that plague the world these days. By understanding how religious commonalities and differences around the world came into existence, I aim to discover smarter solutions to pressing public policy issues. By piecing together and examining how moral, ethical, and spiritual beliefs and practices affect all aspects of a group of people through their social, cultural, and political contexts, my intent is to show that even though we may have different religious principles and political ideologies, we still share a common destiny.

With a deeper understanding of what motivates a particular group spiritually and politically, in turn, I will be able to see how their decision-making processes are shaped. Why is it that some decisions lead to mass killings, genocide, and a breakdown of the rule of law, while an alternative decision could make all the difference in saving human lives? I am poised to find out.

Solomon ibn Gabirol (1020-1057) was among the most important of the Spanish-Jewish poets. He was an 11th-century Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher in the Neo-Platonic tradition. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics and satire.