Part I. The Sephardim (Spanish Jews)
- forced converts –> relapses killed by hundreds in The Inquisition
- many migrated to muslim regions
- better conditions in some Italian cities – Venice, Pisa
Part II. The Dutch Jerusalem
- influx from Spain/Portugal to Netherlands
- Amsterdam center of Jewish book trade
- Manasseh bon Israel won re-entry for Jews to England
Part III. England and the Jews
- No Jews legally in England from 1290 to 1649
- 1655 - Cromwell advocated for admission
Part IV. The Ashkenazim
- despite every difficulty – many Jews in Germany 1564
- Polish massacre (1648 - 58) - 34,000 Jewish lives lost, 531 communities wiped out
- triggered migrations to West Europse and Americas
Part V. The Inspirations of Faith
- Christians felt the Jewish faith challenged their own
- Nowhere in Europe did Jews enjoy full citizenship
- Many times Jews hailed a prophet or savior
- Sabbatah Zevi –> eventually converted to Islam to everyone's chagrin
Heretics
- Rabbi's discouraged secular study
- Leo ben Isaac Modena
- Uriel Acosta of Amsterdam - excommunicated