Gershom Ben Judah

Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040?) was a French rabbi, best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (Hebrew: רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom"), who was the founder of talmudic studies in France and Germany.

and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah ("Our teacher Gershom the light of the exile"), was a famous Talmudist and Halakhist.

Rashi of Troyes (d. 1105) said less than a century after Gershom's death, "all members of the Ashkenazi diaspora are students of his." As early as the 14th century Asher ben Jehiel wrote that Rabbeinu Gershom's writings were "such permanent fixtures that they may well have been handed down on Mount Sinai."

About 1000 C.E. Gershom called a synod that decided the following particulars, altering the practice of Rabbinic Judaism: (1) prohibition of polygamy; (2) necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning those who became apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening correspondence addressed to another.

Biography

Rabbeinu Gershom studied under Judah ben Meïr ha-Kohen, who was one of the greatest authorities of his time. Having lost his first wife, Gershom married a widow named Bonna and settled at Mayence, where he devoted himself to teaching the Talmud. He had many pupils from different countries, among whom should be mentioned Eleazar ben Isaac ha-Gadol ("the Great"), nephew of Simeon ha-Gadol; and Jacob ben Yaḳar, the teacher of the great rabbinical sage Rashi. The fame of Gershom's learning eclipsed even that of the heads of the Babylonian academies of the Sura and Pumbedita, which until them had been preeminent.

During Gershom's lifetime Mainz became a center of Torah and Jewish scholarship for many Jewish communities in Europe that had formerly been connected with the Babylonian yeshivas. He was the spiritual guide of the fledgling Ashkenazic Jewish communities and was very influential in molding them at a time when their population was dwindling.

The most difficult questions were addressed to him by Jews from all quarters, and measures which he authorized had legal force among virtually all the Jews of Europe. In about the year 1000 he called a synod which decided the following particulars:

• prohibition of polygamy
• necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce
• liberalization of the rules concerning those who became apostates under compulsion
• prohibition of opening correspondence addressed to another

Gershom's was also an active writer. He is celebrated for his works in the field of Biblical exegesis, the Masorah (textual criticism), and lexicography. He revised the text of both the Mishnah and Talmud, the fundamental texts of rabbinical Judaism. He also wrote commentaries on several treatises of the Talmud which were very popular and gave an impulse to the production of many other works of the kind.

He also composed poetic penitential prayers warning the people against sin, which were inspired by the bloody persecutions of his time. He is the author of Seliha 42—Zechor Berit Avraham ("Remember the Covenant of Abraham")—a liturgical poem recited by Ashkenazic Jews during the season of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur:

"The Holy City and its regions
are turned to shame and to spoils
and all its desirable things are buried and hidden
and nothing is left except this Torah."

Gershom also left a large number of rabbinical responsa, which are scattered throughout various collections. His life reportedly conformed to his teachings.

Man of tolerance

Rabbeinu Gershom had a son who forsook the Jewish religion and became a Christian at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Mayence in 1012. The young many later died before his father, sill a Christian. Refusing to disown him spiritually, Gershom grieved for his son, observing all the forms of Jewish mourning. His example in this regard became a rule for others in similar cases.

His tolerance also extended to who had submitted to baptism to escape persecution and who afterward returned to the Jewish fold. He strictly prohibited reproaching them for their apostasy, and even gave those among them who had been slandered an opportunity to publicly pray publicly in the synagogues.

Legends

As with many of the great rabbis of this and other periods, the life of Rabbeinu Gershom is surrounded with legends. As a young man, he had already won great renown as a scholar and example of righteousness. His teacher esteemed him so highly that he gave Gershom the hand of his daughter Devorah in marriage.

Soon after this Gershom and Devorah traveled to the Babylonian city of Pompadissa, where the renowned Shrira Gaon headed perhaps the greatest Talumdic academy in the world. The journey there was full of hardship and adventures.

In Pompadissa Gershom spent several happy years devoting himself to the study of the Torah and Talmud. When he reached the point of becoming a teacher himself, he did not want to profit from his knowledge, but labored as goldsmith, developing great skill in this trade and settling in the great city of Constantinople, the most important trading center of the East.

While there, a tremendous fire swept through the city, leaving it in ruin. This was followed almost immediately by a horrible plague. So terrible was the situation that victims lay dying everywhere in the city's streets.

Rabbeinu Gershom escaped both the fire and the plague, but he refused to sit passively and witness the suffering of his fellow men, even though they were not Jews. He had some knowledge of medicine as a result of his studies, and he thus took up this profession. With utter selflessness and lack of concern for his own safety, he ministered to the sick.

The Byzantine emperor Basil II ruled at Constantinople during this time. Although he personally was a good man, he was easily misled by his advisers, especially a certain John, and unrelenting Jew-hater. When emperor called a conference to decide how to deal with crisis brought on by the fire and plague, John blamed the Jews. "Let us rid the country of them!" he declared like some latter-day Haman, ultimately persuading Basil to issue a decree expelling the Jews and confiscating all their property.

Soon after this however, Basil's daughter fell desperately ill. The greatest physicians of the empire were summoned to the palace to heal her, but none of them could effect a cure. When the news of the sick princess reached Rabbeinu Gershom, he immediately set out for the palace, despite the risk. According to the legend, Basil told him: "If you succeed to cure the princess I will reward you generously, but if you fail, then you will lose your head!"

Gershom examined the princess, but he quickly realized that he was beyond hope, at least in terms of his own medical skills. Only a miracle could save her. Gershom prayed to God with all his heart. "O G-d," he implored," save this girl, for the sake of your people."

The color immediately came back into her cheeks, she returned to consciousness, and her eyes soon began to show sparkle with life. With each day she grew stronger and stroner. Finally the girl left her bed and stepped out into the fresh air of the palace terrace. The overjoyed emperor and empress were filled with gratitude to Rabbeinu Gershom, and Basil offered him a rich reward of luxurious wealth. Gershom simply replied "Your Majesty, I have no desire for riches. For me the greatest reward would be the withdrawal of the decree against the Jews." Basil immediately promised to do as Gershom requested, and soon the decree was annulled.

The Silver Throne

Since Rabbenu Gershom cured the princess, he and the king became good friends. The two spent many hours together in pleasant conversation. One day, Rabbenu Gershom happened to tell King Basil of Solomon's wonderful throne of gold. Basil, knowing Rabbenu Gershom to be also a goldsmith of note, asked him to fashion such a throne for him.

Rabbenu Gershom was reluctant to take the responsibility for the construction of the throne. "I cannot vouch for the honesty of the workmen, my king!" he said.

Bur the king waived all his protests aside. "I trust you implicitly and I have no doubt of your ability.

And so, Rabbenu Gershom undertook the construction of the throne. There being not enough gold in the king's treasury the chair was to be fashioned of silver.

You can imagine how involved, and intricate this throne was - for it took as skilled an artisan as Rabbenu Gershom several years to construct it. And when it was finally completed, what a great ado there was! The state-room was rebuilt to house the huge throne; a great festival was arranged to celebrate the presentation of the throne to the king. From near and far, people came to the palace to see the wonderful throne with their own eyes. Exclamations of wonder and admiration could be heard everywhere.

Suddenly the royal trumpets began to blow, heralding the approach of the king. The crowd parted to make way for him. As King Basil began to ascend the throne, he became confused by the movement of the hidden mechanism, and asked Rabbenu Gershom to ascend before him, so that he might see it in motion. Rabbenu Gershom willingly obliged.

An awed silence fell over the assembly. Never before had they seen such a magnificent, and almost incredible spectacle. There were six silver steps that led to the throne. On each step were two different animals cast of siIver. As Rabbenu Gershom ascended each step, the animals would extend a foot to support him. And when he had reached the last step, a huge eagle of silver brought the crown, and held it over his head. When Rabbenu Gershom was thus seated with the crown over his head, courtiers and guests, who, until then had been too overcome with surprise to utter a single syllable, broke out into wild cheers and applause. Everybody praised Rabbenu Gershom's ingenuity and skill.

When Rabbenu Gershom descended, the king thanked him, and proceeded to mount the throne.

John, the king's sly minister was green with envy at Rabbenu Gershom's huge success and growing popularity. Day and night, he pondered a way to defame and ruin the blameless Rabbi. And one day, he finally succeeded in devising a scheme.

Coming before the king he asked, "My king, how do you know that Rabbenu Gershom has not stolen any silver from the state treasury? How can you be certain that all the silver he has taken has gone into the construction of the throne? Let us weigh the throne and ascertain the truth."

John was almost sure that the workmen had stolen silver. But, he would blame Gershom, and have his revenge.

Basil agreed to John's plan. But there was one great obstacle. There was no scale that could weigh the throne. From far and near, the greatest engineers came to weigh the throne, but none of them succeeded. The only way to weigh it, they said was to take it apart, but they would not be responsible for its mechanism.

The Secret Divulged

Although Rabbenu Gershom was a very happy man, his heart was filled with sorrow because he had no children. His wife, Deborah, told him to take a second wife so that he might one day have a child.

This other woman had many close acquaintances in the royal household. She knew, too, that Rabbenu Gershom was the only person in the entire kingdom who knew how to weigh the throne that he himself had built. Using every persuasion and wile, she finally succeeded in coaxing the truth from her husband.

"It is really very simple," said Rabbenu Gershom. "All one has to do is to take a boat, and mark the water-line on the hull. After placing the throne in the boat, you mark the new water-line. When the throne is removed, one has to fill the boat with as many stones as are required to reach the second water-line. All you have to do then is to weigh the stones and you will know how much the throne weighs."

No sooner had she obtained this information, than she hastened to divulge it to one of her acquaintances at the palace.

When the throne was weighed in this fashion, John's accusation proved to be true. The king sent for Rabbenu Gershom, and informed him of the charge against him. "But," Rabbenu Gershom answered, "did I not tell the king that I would not vouch for my workmens' honesty? Surely I am not to blame, if they had stolen some silver." But it was of no avail. The king was completely dominated by John, and condemned Rabbenu Gershom to die, unless he chose to accept Christianity. Naturally, Rabbenu Gershom would not hear of this, and preferred to die. But, because he had once saved the king's daughter, he was given the privilege of being treated as a political prisoner, rather than as a common thief. Instead of being hanged, he would be conveyed to an isolated tower in the desert. There, without any food or drink, he would starve to death.

Escape

The next morning, high in his tower, Rabbenu Gershom heard the sound of a woman's cry. Leaning out through the window he saw his faithful wife, Deborah. In a tearful voice, she said, "I have come to die with you."

"I am glad you have come," Rabbenu Gershom replied, "but not to die with me. We will yet live happily, for you will help me escape! Listen carefully. Find a woodworm, and a beetle. Then get some silk thread, cord, and rope. Tie the silk thread about the beetle. Then tie the cord to the silk thread, and tie the rope to the cord. Let the worm crawl up the side of the tower and the beetle will pursue it, bringing the rope up to me."

About a week later, John awoke from a restless sleep one night, thinking of Rabbenu Gershom. "I will steal out into the desert, and since he is surely dead, I will have the great satisfaction of gloating over my enemy's remains," thought John to himself.

Armed with the keys to the tower John climbed up the stairs of the tower and opened the cell. Imagine how astonished he was to find the cell empty, with no sign of Rabbenu Gershom! But in his excitement, John made one great blunder. He closed the door, forgetting he had left the key outside. And when he finally recovered from his shock and disappointment and turned to go, the door was firmly bolted, and no amount of heaving and pushing could force it open. There, in the same prison he had prepared for Rabbenu Gershom, John knew he was held captive, until he would perish of starvation.

While, unbeknown to all, John lay rotting in the tower, Rabbenu Gershom, standing on the deck of a sailing boat, saw the welcome shores of his native land draw nearer and nearer.

He went to Maintz, where he was welcomed with the greatest respect and honor. There he established and directed the first Yeshivah ever to be founded on the Rhine.

"Meor Hagolah" (Light of the Exile) is a truly fitting title for this great man. Rabbenu Gershom, with his wisdom and love of Torah, G-d and man, was a beacon of light in those dark years of the diaspora, and for all generations thereafter.

Legacy

The halakhic rulings of Judah Ben Gershom are considered binding on all of Ashkenazic Jewry until the present day, although the basis for this is somewhat controversial. Some hold that the bans are still binding and others consider them to have techically expired but that they nonetheless remain obligatory as universally accepted customs.

Some have speculated that if Rabbeinu Gershom had never lived then there may not have been something known as "Ashkenazic Judaism" as it is known today. In the words of the renowned talmudic commentator and rabbinical sage Rashi (1040–1105), all of the great European rabbis of the day were “students of his students.”

External links

• Schechter, Solomon and Bloch, Isaac Gershom ben Judah at the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia site.
• Biographical page

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.

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