Discussion On The Status Of Jewish Women In Europe In 10th-15th Century

Since the 10 th century,Jews have been scattered in various countries in Europe,establishing Jewish associations and managing their own internal affairs.Medieval Europe is one of the main places in the evolution of Jewish history.The main feature is that it is closed and self-contained,and it has reached a state of autonomy in the residential area.Jews deal with internal affairs in accordance with Jewish law and try to use it to regulate relations with the surrounding communities.During the Old Testament and Talmud period,Jewish women were marginalized in religion,education,family,and economy.In the Rabbi culture,women are in a position of submissiveness.They do not have independent personalities.They are regarded as men’s accessories and private property.They do not play any role in Jewish society except for their wives and mothers.However,in the medieval European society,the Jewish women’s family status was promoted and their role extended from family to society.They help their husbands to do business together,take care of family business,participate in social affairs,and some people even come to the fore.Women also began to receive education,master basic literacy skills,and some even came into contact with the textual study of Torah.Women support husbands and sons to learn,work to earn money while their husbands go out,support family economic life,and are respected by family and society.Correspondingly,women also obtain some legal rights and protections in marriage and family,they can propose divorce;men can not divorce their wives without reason,they must require the wife’s consent.And husband needs to return wife’s dowry property and security money.The status of Jewish women has not changed fundamentally,Jewish women are still in a subsidiary social status.However,the status of medieval Jewish women has indeed improved compared to before.Jewish women played a pivotal role in the family.They were responsible for managing the affairs of the family.In education,although the Jewish community does not provide a formal educational environmentfor women.They can enter the synagogue to listen to sermons,and women can also receive education at home through oral teaching.In addition,in the special era of the Middle Ages,women can go out to work and actively participate in social and economic life.The improvement of the status of Jewish women in Europe in the Middle Ages was not only influenced by external and objective factors,but also inseparable from the efforts of Jewish women themselves.It is worth mentioning that the survival and development of Jewish society,including the change of the status of women,is completed under a certain rule system.Jewish law and the courts in the community play an important role in protecting the rights and interests of Jewish women.