Baking Practices and Bakeries in Medieval Ashkenaz / מנהגי אפייה בקהילות אשכנז בימי הביניים

Some medieval rabbinic Franco-German sources seem to suggest that it was the practice of many Jewish communal members to bake their baking goods in common ovens with their Christian neighbors. This raised concern among the rabbinic decisors who were divided on its permissibility. The article suggest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ציון (ירושלים) 2000-01, Vol.סה (ב), p.141-162
Main Authors: זימר, יצחק (אריק), Zimmer, Eric
Format: Article
Language:Hebrew
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Some medieval rabbinic Franco-German sources seem to suggest that it was the practice of many Jewish communal members to bake their baking goods in common ovens with their Christian neighbors. This raised concern among the rabbinic decisors who were divided on its permissibility. The article suggests that the stringency and leniency of the rabbinic decisions was concomitant with the 'ban' or baker's monopoly which the feudal lords implemented whereby their ovens were to be the sole bakeries for all inhabitants under their hegemony. As the 'ban' became more widespread and entrenched the Franco-German sages from the 10th to the 12th centuries gradually adopted a more lenient position of permissibility. In addition, the article throws light on the nature of the baking ovens prevalent in medieval Europe as well as some baking products prepared by the Jewish community members.
ISSN:0044-4758