THE ‘GOLDEN AGE'

THE story of any Jewish community in exilic times is an integral part of two histories. First, it is inseparable from Jewish history, forming one of a long series of interrelated chapters. Each community bears the imprint of all the traditions formed, transformed, and transmitted over many generations, all enriched by the experiences and experiments that are the result of a unique phenomenon in the history of humankind-life in a world-wide and centuries-long diaspora. Not only through correspondence and books but also through intensive travels and migrations, each community received and passed on the experiences of the complex Jewish existence. The story of every community contains elements of the rich, sad, and happy story of a wandering nation that retained its cultural, religious, and national identity throughout its long exile.

Equally, the story of any such community is inseparable from the history of the people among whom it existed. While retaining their Jewish identity, the Jews in every land and region were deeply affected by their surroundings, by the language, culture, music, diet, fashions, and lifestyles of the people among whom they lived. Jewish as well as non-Jewish sources testify to the profound impact that Gentile society made on the Jews. It was not only in superficial and external matters that non-Jewish influence left its lasting mark; in the cultural, religious, and communal fields too, the Jewish community absorbed much from its surroundings.

The Jews of the Crown of Aragon in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries offer a remarkable illustration of this twofold link. The thirteenth century was undoubtedly the Golden Age of the Crown of Aragon, which reached the peak of its territorial expansion in these years. Crusading spirit and commercial enterprise together produced this most exciting period in the history of that realm. The Jews of the Crown took an active part in various aspects of the process and reached the zenith of their political status and economic power. For the Jews of the Crown of Aragon, this century was to offer the most exciting and fruitful cultural and religious experiences in their history. Significantly but not surprisingly, the Golden Age of the Crown of Aragon and that of its Jews coincided. The conditions outside the Jewish quarter were ripe for the Jews to enter on one of the most productive chapters in medieval Jewish history.