AJS Review 45:1 (April 2021), 95–119 . © Association for Jewish Studies 2021 doi:10.1017/S0364009420000434

HOW TO EDUCATE CHILDREN AND IMPROVE FAMILY LIFE IN THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY OTTOMAN EMPIRE, ACCORDING TO RABBI SAMUEL BENVENISTE

Yoel Marciano https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms

Abstract: ʾOrekh yamim (Length of days; Constantinople, 1560), a short book of guidelines on educating children and maintaining a reli- gious and moral family life, was written by Rabbi Samuel Benveniste, who belonged to one of the communities of exiles from Spain in the six- teenth-century Ottoman Empire. This article analyzes the information that emerges from the guidebook on the state of education and family life in Jewish society of the time. Parents’ great fear of child mortality and its effect on their educational conduct is prominent throughout the book, lending it its title. Although child mortality was equally prevalent in all parts of society, the article highlights the posttraumatic experience of Spanish exiles who lost many children in their travails, and suggests seeing the immense anxiety expressed in the essay against this back- ground. In addition, Benveniste’s admonitions concerning women’s immorality, while characteristic of writings of his time, provide an inter- esting view of the social norms of his era: he depicts women’sswearing , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , by the lives of their children, their cursing, their wish to adorn themselves with jewelry, as well as the difficulties of their daily lives.

Jewish books on childhood education from the Middle Ages and the early

modern era are rare. ʾOrekh yamim (Length of days) by Rabbi Samuel Benveniste 25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25

is such a work, and it constitutes a valuable contribution to the study of childhood , on on , and the education of children in Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire, particu- larly among exiles from the Iberian Peninsula. It provides an account of the attitudes that informed education in Benveniste’s generation, as well as concrete descriptions

170.106.33.42 of the surrounding society. The first part of this article will discuss Benveniste’s view of educational issues, set in the context of the cultural forces and prevailing views in Jewish society in the first half of the sixteenth century. The second part will address

. IP address: address: IP . the book’s remarks regarding parents, their image and role, and the need for ethical improvement of adult society, stressing women’s behavior and modesty. Benveniste’s book is divided into three chapters. The first chapter concerns childhood education; the author addresses parents, without distinction between fathers and mothers, encouraging them to educate their children, pay careful atten- tion to issues of ethics, and instill in them fear of Heaven.1 The two additional

https://www.cambridge.org/core 1. The rebuke of both parents stems from the focus on education in the family. However, the formal education of children was generally the father’s responsibility. See, e.g., Yaron Ben-Naeh, “Mar- riages of Minors among Jews in the Ottoman Empire” [in Hebrew], Zemanim 102 (2008): 39–40;

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chapters focus on the qualities of pride and humility, while also dealing with edu- cation and the desire to improve youth ethically and spiritually. In the second chapter the author exhorts his readers to avoid pride, to which he attributes most of society’s troubles. The third chapter deals with the great virtue of humility, by which a person erases himself and directs all of his existence toward fulfilling God’s will and loving Him. This short book of 2,600 words includes descriptions of the educational and social reality in the author’s place and time. Its declared objective is to teach https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms parents how to educate their children, and the author’s harsh criticism of the pre- vailing educational attitudes reflects his motivation to correct his community’s errors. Benveniste opens the work with the following words:

Samuel the writer said: Here I have decided to speak because I have seen in this generation many sons going arbitrarily, “children with no loyalty in them” [Deut 32:20], raised without cultured behavior or civilized manners. In fact, sons should not be blamed for that since the crime is on the part of the father and mother, who do not suspect the results, and refrain from instilling morality and fear in the minors. Even after they grow up, they do not receive moral edu- cation. Therefore, in order to remove an obstacle from the way of our people, I have taken to heart to arrange a little book regarding education and ethics for youth … to remind the elders how to behave toward the youth.2

“ ” ’

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , Complaints about the decline of the generations, and young people s insolence and refusal to accept authority indeed recur throughout the course of history. Hardly a book of ethics or a chastising sermon can be found that does not bemoan the situation of the present generation compared with days of old. It seems that the nature of children, their mischievousness and inclination to reject authority and castigation, as well as the nature of adults who forget their childhood

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 days, has not changed over time.

, on on , We have virtually no information about the author of ʾOrekh yamim,his identity, his life, and activity. We know that his name was Samuel b. Jacob Ben- veniste, and that he was the great-grandson of Joseph Benveniste. The identity of these individuals has not yet been determined clearly, but his family name indi- 170.106.33.42 cates that the family originated in Spain.3 According to the title page of the first

. IP address: address: IP . Minna Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul—The Formative Years, 1453–1566 (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 185. 2. Samuel Benveniste, ʾOrekh yamim (Livorno, 1845), 33a. This quote and all others in the article are my translation unless noted otherwise. 3. To date I have not found reliable information about R. Samuel b. Jacob Benveniste’slife.The Benveniste family is one of the famous and extensive families active in the Iberian Peninsula in the late Middle Ages. The family name appears in sources in various spellings: Benbenesht, Benbeneshti, Ben- בנבנשת,) .benishti, Ben-Bnesht, Ben Banesht, Ben Binishti, Ben Binisti, Ben Vinisti, Ben Venishti, etc Forenames occur repeatedly .(בנבנשתי, בנבנישתי, בן ֵּבנשת, בן ָּבאנשת, בן ִּביני ׁשטי, בן ִּביניסטי, בן ִויניסטי, בן ִויני ׁשטי

https://www.cambridge.org/core throughout the Mediterranean basin, making it difficult to identify members of the family. See, e.g., Isaac Emmanuel, Precious Stones of the Jews of Salonica [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi, 1963), indices. Here I follow the .בנבנשתיThe name of R. Samuel, as printed in the first printing of ʾOrekh yamim,is

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edition, the book was printed in Constantinople, but without a publication date; bibliographers presume that it was printed circa 1560.4 R. Samuel Benveniste quotes from the book Shevet Yehudah, which was not written before 1524 and was first printed, to the best of our knowledge, only in Adrianople in 1554.5 Thus, it may be presumed that Benveniste wrote his work shortly after the

English transliteration of the surname, as used by the Encyclopedia Judaica.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms R. Abraham Zacut cites the contribution of R. Abraham Benveniste, Rab de la Corte of the Kingdom of Castile, and his great efforts to strengthen Jewish communities. He goes on to cite his son and descend- ants: “And his son, R. Joseph and his grandsons in our time are men of great wealth who distribute their money to support the yeshivas.” Abraham Zacut, Liber juchassin, ed. Herschell Filipowski (London, 1857), 226. Chronologically and in terms of lineage, this may be the R. Joseph to whom our author men- tions that he is related, although we have no evidence for this. The family boasts many scholars. For example, a scholar named R. Joseph Benveniste is mentioned in the responsa of R. Samuel de Modena (H. oshen mishpat [Salonika, 1595], par. 146, fol. 106a–b) as a member of the rabbinical court in Ferrara(?) together with Don Isaac Abrabanel and R. Moses de Boton. Active in Salonika in the early sixteenth century were Don Judah Benveniste and Don Samuel b. Meir Benveniste, men of means and owners of great collections of books, which were used by sages of the community in their study and writings. See Joseph Hacker, “The Sefardi ‘Midrash’—a Jewish Public Library” [in Hebrew], in Rishonim ve-ʾah.aronim: Abraham Grossman Jubilee Volume, ed. Joseph Hacker, Benjamin Z. Kedar, and Yosef Kaplan (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 2010), 273–75. Regarding R. Joseph Benveniste of Salonika, who lived in the first half of the sixteenth century, see Meir Benayahu, “Rabbi David Ben Ban Banesht of Salonika and His Letter to Rabbi Abraham Ibn Yaish in Bursa” [in

Hebrew], Sefunot 11 (1971–78): 270, 284–85, 293. , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , 4. On this book, see Joseph Hacker, “Books Printed in Constantinople in the Sixteenth Century” [in Hebrew], ʾAreshet 5 (1972): 464. I would like to express my appreciation to Prof. Hacker, who drew my attention to the following matter: There is a degree of similarity between the shape of the letters on the title page of the book under discussion, ʾOrekh yamim (Constantinople, n.d.), and another book published at about the same time—ʿEin mishpat, on the title page of which it also says that it was printed in Constantinople (n.d.). Yitzhak Yudlov noted the similarity between

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 some books that were printed in Ferrara and others that were ostensibly printed in Constantinople, ʿ

, on on , among them Ein mishpat. He suggested the possibility that matrixes were transferred from one place to another, in addition to another phenomenon whereby books actually printed in Italy appeared as if they were printed in Turkey. It is possible that ʾOrekh yamim also appeared as having been printed in Constantinople, but was actually printed elsewhere, or maybe it was printed in Constantinople with “ ” ʿ 170.106.33.42 matrixes from Ferrara. See Yitzhak Yudlov, Pitron h.alomot by Rav H. ai Gaon [in Hebrew], Alei sefer,6–7 (1979): 118–20; Meir Benayahu, “Turkish Printings That Are Actually Italian Printings” [in Hebrew], Sinai 72 (1973): 163–84. Evidently ʾOrekh yamim was printed for the first time in 1560 and widely distributed in the course . IP address: address: IP . of generations; it was also translated and frequently quoted in books by other authors. The book was translated into Yiddish and published in Venice in 1599 (the Yiddish translation was dedicated to Roza, the wife of Neh.emiah Luzzato of Venice). One year later it was printed again in Venice in Hebrew. Extensive sections of the book were copied in the following works: R. Moses b. R. Aaron Morapchik, Keiz.ad seder mishnah (Lublin, 1635); R. Elijah b. R. Abraham Solomon Hacohen, Shevet musar (Constantinople, 1772), chap. 17; R. Moses Hagiz, Z. ror ha-h.ayim (Wanzbeck, 1728); Moses b. Reuben Roza, Zikhron tov (Livrono, 1845), and more. The work was translated into Arabic and printed in Baghdad in 1929 by Simon Faraj b. Abdallah Eini under the title Kitab ʾorekh yamim. Most of the manuscript copies of the work (see Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts

https://www.cambridge.org/core in the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem) are from Yemen, where the work was also popular. 5. On the date of composition and publication of Shevet Yehudah, see R. Solomon ibn Verga, Sefer shevet Yehudah, ed. Yitzhak Baer and Azriel Shochat (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1947), 11.

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publication of Shevet Yehudah. The author refers twice to Muslim society, in one place writing: “Every daughter of Israel can learn from the modesty of Ishmaelite women,”6 and also, “It is appropriate to infer from a lenient law to a strict one [kal va-h.omer] from the Ishmaelites or other peoples, how they stand in fear andtremblingtopray.”7 Even though the remarks are general the impression is that the book was written in a Muslim environment. The preface to the Venice edition (1599) says that the book was written by “a famous rabbi from 8 ’Erez. Yisra’el.” In light of the proximity in the dates of publication and https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms lacking additional sources that indicate otherwise, this testimony should be accepted. Consequently, we should presume, on the basis of the available data, that the book was written by a rabbinical authority from the Iberian disper- sion who lived in a Muslim sphere, perhaps in ’Erez. Yisra’el, and that the work was written shortly before 1560, when it was most likely published for the first time.

CHILDREN AND THEIR EDUCATION The duty to educate children has been regarded as a religious obligation in Jewish society, rooted in Scripture and detailed in halakhic rulings.9 This tradition created a broad common denominator among various Jewish communities, with only minor differences in different locations and eras. It was obligatory both for the parents and the community to appoint a teacher for small children (particularly

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , in the case of orphans and children of the poor) to teach the children to read and instruct them in the Written Law. However, other factors varied from place to place and time to time: the precise age a child starts to learn, how he is taught to read, the extent to which the community succeeds in directing the educational system, the age at which compulsory schooling ends, and whether and for how long children continue studying Talmud in their teens.

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 Sources regarding education do not yield important information on the edu-

, on on , cational aspirations of the community; only in a few cases do we encounter

170.106.33.42 6. Learning morality from Muslim women, who practice greater modesty than Jewish women, is a recurrent theme in Jewish ethical works written in the Muslim sphere. Likewise, criticism and dis- paragement of Jewish women’s lack of modesty may be found in Muslim writings; see Yaron Ben-Naeh, “Feminine Gender and Its Restrictions in the Ethical Regulations of Ottoman Jewry” [in . IP address: address: IP . Hebrew], Pe’amim 105–6 (2006): 127–49; Ben-Naeh, “About Women and Women’s Research” [in Hebrew], Cathedra 102 (2002): 131–33. 7. ʾOrekh yamim, 41a. 8. Simha Assaf, A Source-Book for the History of Jewish Education, vol. 2, From the Begin- ning of the Middle Ages to the Period of the Haskalah [in Hebrew], ed. Shmuel Glick (Jerusalem: The Jewish Theological Seminary, 2001), 427n14. At that time a R. Meir Benveniste lived in Safed, accord- ing to a tombstone from 1553; see Yosef Stefansky and Eliyahu Ben-Tovim, “The Ancient Jewish th th Cemetery in Safed: Tombstones from the 16 and 17 Centuries CE” [in Hebrew], in Meh.karim h.ada- shim ʿal ha-galil, vol. 2, ed. Tziona Grossmark et al. (Zikhron Ya’akov: Itay Bahur, 2016), 229.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 9. On the duty of education and its definition in Jewish law, see, e.g., “Education” [in Hebrew], Talmudic Encyclopedia, ed. Shlomo Yosef Zevin (Jerusalem: Talmudic Encyclopedia Insti- tute, 1994), 16:161–200.

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revolutionary or innovative educational approaches.10 Generally speaking, what may be derived from the sources is a description of the reality in practice, the atti- tudes, challenges, changes, and social processes in a particular society, and the nuances that characterize them. Jewish education in the Ottoman sphere in the first half of the sixteenth century conformed to traditional Jewish approaches to education. Nevertheless, some unique elements distinguish that region from others, and we also find internal distinctions among different communities within the Ottoman Empire.11 For example, large and influential communities dif- https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms fered from small, remote ones; Jewish centers where intercultural encounters pro- vided mutual influence differed from isolated communities that maintained a conservative and insular tradition for generations; sources written at times of dis- tress differed from sources written during times of calm or prosperity. Rabbi Samuel Benveniste’s book addresses parents with one central message: they must take care to supervise the behavior and education of their children. The model of education he proposes is to instill fear, and discipline children with ethical teaching and even corporal punishment (“educational beating”) when they are small. This approach is common in the writings of Iberian scholars; evidently beating children in an educational context was widespread,12 based on biblical verses such as “He who

10. For example, the broad critique of the Maharal of Prague (1520–1609) regarding the teach- ing of Scripture and Talmud. See, for example, Aharon P. Kleinberger, The Educational Theory of the

Maharal of Prague [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1962). , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , 11. On the educational heritage from Spain that preceded the expulsion and greatly influenced education among the Iberian exiles in the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century, see Yoel Marciano, Sages of Spain in the Eye of the Storm: Jewish Scholars of Late Medieval Spain [in Hebrew] (Jerusa- lem: Mosad Bialik, 2019), 20–139. On the educational heritage of Ashkenazic Jewry in the Middle Ages and early modern period, see, e.g., Ephraim Kanarfogel, Jewish Education and Society in the High Middle Ages (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1992), and Tali M. Berner, In Their

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 Own Way [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 2018). On the education of Jewish children “

, on on , in the Ottoman Empire, see an extensive bibliography in Minna Rozen, The Life Cycle and the Meaning of Old Age in the Ottoman Period” [in Hebrew], in Daniel Carpi Jubilee Volume, ed. Dina Porat, Minna Rozen, and Anita Shapira (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University Press, 1996), 111n3; Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community, 185–91; Ruth Lamdan, “Not All Children Are Equal and Not ” 170.106.33.42 All Places Are Equal, in Turkey: The Ottoman Past and the Republican Present [in Hebrew], ed. Michael Winter and Miri Sheffer (Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center, 2007), 171–96; Lamdan, “Mothers and Children in Ottoman Jewish Society as Reflected in Hebrew Sources of the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries,” in Jewish Cultural Studies, vol. 5, Mothers in the Jewish Cultural Imagin- . IP address: address: IP . ation, ed. Marjorie Lehman, Jane L. Kanarek, and Simon J. Bronner (Liverpool, UK: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization and Liverpool University Press, 2017), 77–101. Multiple sources on Jewish education in the Ottoman Empire in modern times were collected and annotated by Shmuel Glick, Source-Book for the History of Jewish Education, vol. 4, Responsa from the Lands of Islam and the Ottoman Empire (16th–20th Century) [in Hebrew] (New York: The Jewish Theological Semin- ary of America, Jerusalem: Lifshitz College, 2006). 12. Child-beating was a widespread phenomenon, see, e.g., Elliott Horowitz, “The Way We Were: Jewish Life in the Middle Ages,” Jewish History 1, no. 1 (1986): 80–82. Expressions of this kind may be found in guides that prescribe disciplining children from a tender age. For example,

https://www.cambridge.org/core R. Israel al-Nakawa (martyred in Toledo in 1391): “It is better for a man to die or go blind than to raise a wicked son …‘and do not set your heart on his destruction’ [Prov 19:18], i.e., to his screaming and crying, do not pity him when you beat him when he is small with a rod, ignore his screaming …‘do

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spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him early” (Prov 13:24), and on talmudic sources that were incorporated in halakhic rulings.13 Benveniste stresses that there is a relatively brief window of opportunity for educating a child. From the moment that an infant “has the sense to understand a rebuke, his father and mother must scold him if he does something wrong,”14 until the point at which there is a danger that the child will rebel. He describes the results that will ensue if parents do not fulfill their duty: “And this love and pity turn into hate and cruelty because they deprived the little one of fear and dis- https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms cipline, now that he has grown he casts fear on them and they have no longer the right to discipline him, since they are afraid that he will exclude himself from society [klal].”15 The meaning of “exclude himself from society” is not entirely clear. It may mean conversion (there is evidence of such cases),16 but could also refer simply to leaving the community or becoming an evildoer.17 Amid its educational advice, the book reflects a sense of parental fear and even anxiety about infant mortality and the damage that could result from harsh discipline. Five times in the course of this short work, Benveniste mentions the fear of plagues as a factor that influences parental considerations in educating their children. His recommendations also refer to infant mortality and explain how strictness in education and discipline can even save children. Why does child mortality have such pride of place in a guide to educating children? In order to answer this question we need to understand the socioreligious and emotional reality that characterized Jewish society in general and the exiles 18 , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , from the Iberian Peninsula in particular in the sixteenth century. Joseph

not withhold discipline from a child … etc., beat him with a rod and you will save him from the grave’ [Prov 23:13–14]. A man must always discipline a child when he is small, because if he disciplines him he will gain wisdom, and if he spares the rod from disciplining his child, when he is small, he despises

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 his son and in the end he will join the evildoers.” See Israel b. Joseph b. al-Nakawa, Sefer menorat ʾ – –

, on on , ha-ma or, ed. Hillel G. Enelow (New York: Blokh, 1929 1932), 5:118 22. And see Isaac Aboab, Menorat ha-maʾor, ed. Moshe Katzenelenbogen (Jerusalem: Mosad HaRav Kook, 1961), 197–99. This view was given halakhic status. See, e.g., B. Bava Batra 21a; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot talmud torah 2:2; ʾArbaʿah turim and Shulh.an ʿarukh, Yoreh deʿah, no. 245. “ 170.106.33.42 13. See, e.g., Mordechai Frishtik, Physical Violence by Parents against Their Children in Jewish History and Jewish Law,” Jewish Law Annual 10 (1992): 79–97. The view that beating should be moderate also occurs in non-Jewish writings on education, see, e.g., Shulamit Shahar, Medi- eval Childhood [in Hebrew] (Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1990), 166–68, 273–74. . IP address: address: IP . 14. ʾOrekh yamim, 37a. 15. Ibid., 37b. 16. See, for example, sources on a twelve-year-old boy who quarreled with his father who beat him, who got back at his father by going to the qadi and converting to Islam: Minna Rozen, “The Inci- dent of the Converted Boy: A Chapter in the History of the Jews in Seventeenth-Century Jerusalem” [in Hebrew], Cathedra 14 (1980): 65–80. 17. See, e.g., Al-Nakawa, Menorat ha-maʾor, 146: “But when the boy grows up, his father should take care not to discipline him too much. But he should talk to him patiently. And he should not curse him or humiliate him. And it goes without saying that he should not beat him, lest the son

https://www.cambridge.org/core sin against his father, and he will cause him to sin and be lost from the world.” 18. Philippe Ariès, in his groundbreaking and controversial study, Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life (New York: Knopf, 1962), asserted that the concept of childhood did

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Hacker maintains that Iberian Jews and their descendants in the Ottoman Empire shared a polarized mentality that pivoted between “pride” and self-esteem for belonging to the Iberian Diaspora (which they regarded as a social, intellectual, and religious elite of unquestionable authority), and “depression” derived from existential fear, despondency, and a feeling of helplessness—all in response to the disasters they experienced. Hacker’s study, replete with comprehensive sources and analysis, outlines clearly the extent of mortality and its influence on the emotional, psychological, and religious state of Jews in the sixteenth https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms century in general and the exiles from the Iberian Peninsula in particular. The tribulations of the exiles expelled from the Iberian Peninsula included the loss of many family members, especially children. These losses could be due to forced conversion (for those remaining in Iberia) or death due to the diffi- culties of their journeys or harsh conditions in places of refuge (should they have reached them). The enormity of the catastrophe that struck the largest Jewish com- munity in the late Middle Ages left a powerful impression on the exiles and cata- lyzed a variety of reactions. There were those who felt despondent because of their inability to renew their lives and continue their line and were left feeling that God had “hidden his face” from His people in their distress, wondering how He con- ducted His world.19 Others saw signs of redemption in these events that awakened

not exist until recent centuries and that parents did not devote much attention or emotion to their child-

ren’s development before the age of seven. Thus, the death of a small child was not an occasion of great , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , sadness. Those who subscribe to this view argue that widespread infant mortality led to an emotional distancing of parents from their children, and a lack of a concept of childhood. The publication of this study in the 1960s raised an outcry, and numerous studies have addressed his thesis. Many researchers have rejected his claim (cf., e.g., Shahar, Medieval Childhood,13–22), others have accepted it entirely or partially, and still others have accepted it with reservations. Researchers of Jewish history have dis- cussed the extent to which this polemic, based on Christian religion, culture, and society in Europe,

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 reflects Jewish attitudes toward children in Christian lands, and have generally concluded that ’ “

, on on , Ariès s claims and descriptions do not apply to Jewish society. See, e.g., Israel M. Ta-Shma, Children in Medieval Germanic Jewry: A Perspective on Ariès from Jewish Sources,” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History 12 (1991): 261–80; Kanarfogel, Jewish Education; Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community, 187–91; Berner, In Their Own Way,14–28; Marciano, Sages of Spain,20–22. Neverthe-

170.106.33.42 less, it is noteworthy that there are testimonies with a different attitude toward adult mortality and infant mortality, and sometimes reflections on infant mortality express indifference and insensitivity regarding the death of very young infants. Thus, for example, R. Jacob Culi (1689–1732, Jerusalem, Safed, and Istanbul) in his work Me-ʿam loʿez, wrote, “And there are some ignorant people, who, if their infant . IP address: address: IP . dies, they do not care and especially if they have many at home.” This was the formulation in the Hebrew translation, but in the original Ladino text the sentence refers to the death of daughters. In add- ition, he warns people not to be lax in preparing shrouds for the dead, and his words reflect a distinction some people made between the burial of infants and that of adults: “Not to use a piece of old cloth, as others do, so that if they lose an infant, they wrap him in some old clothing and make from it a shroud.” R. Jacob Culi, Yalkut me-ʿam loʿez, trans. Shmuel Kroizer (Jerusalem: H. Vagshal, 1968), vol. 2, Bere- shit, parashat Va-yehi, chap. 11, cited in: Alisa Meyuhas Ginio, “Me-ʿam loʿez (1730): Daily Life of Sephardic Families in Jerusalem,” in Women, Children and the Elderly: Essays in Honour of Shulamit Shahar, ed. Miriam Eliav-Feldon and Yitzhak Hen (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 2001), 164–65.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 19. Joseph R. Hacker, “Pride and Depression: Polarity of the Spiritual and Social Experience of the Iberian Exiles in the Ottoman Empire” [in Hebrew], in Culture and Society in Medieval Jewry: Studies Dedicated to the Memory of Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, ed. Menahem Ben-Sasson, Robert

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messianic hope—presuming that they were part of a divine plan in the grand program of redemption. As Hacker suggests, the events of the expulsion magnified the emotional impact of later experiences and their influence on the exiles. Thus, even if we presume that child mortality in epidemics would strike all strata of society indiscriminately, with every parent feeling deep sorrow over a child’s death regardless of social status, the exiles from the Iberian Peninsula came to regard these disasters as additional catastrophes in the cumulative series of dark events threatening their present and future existence. For example, here is how https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms R. Joseph Garçon describes the series of disasters, including the death of children, as part of an overall crisis of Iberian Jewry undergoing destruction:

Since due to our many sins, from the time of the expulsions and forced con- version that we have undergone, we remain a few from many, each one alone without family and without any relation. [The observer] sees that some of them were killed whether at sea or on land. And some died of starvation. And some were eaten by lions and wild animals, and some converted in our sins until we remain each and every one alone. And now we have come to these kingdoms to save our souls and those of our children after us, and [the observer] will see that the curse of loneliness “does not depart from us” [Exodus 25:15] and we see our children dying and not reaching maturity, as happened to me for my sins and to many like me.20

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , This bipolar mentality of pride and depression is reflected in various sources from this period, including personal diaries, autobiographical writings, and the descrip- tion of dreams and visions by the exiles and their descendants. These sources reveal information both from the conscious and subconscious experience of the writers, as, for example, one writer’s touching descriptions of his dreaming of

communing with his dead children or with those he prays will be born.21

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 , on on , Bonfil, and Joseph R. Hacker (Jerusalem: The Historical Society of Israel and Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 1989), 579–82. According to Minna Rozen, the Romaniote Jews were influenced by the posttraumatic attitudes of the exiles from the Iberian Peninsula who settled among them and as a result there are

170.106.33.42 similar expressions of emotion regarding the death of children and other tragedies that struck the general population in the Ottoman Empire. See Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community,99–105. 20. R. Joseph Garçon, Ben Porat Yosef, Ms. British Library, Gaster Collection, Or. 10726 (NLI Microfilm Institute 8041), fol. 138r, cited in Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 549. On Garçon, see . IP address: address: IP . Hacker, “On the Intellectual Character and Self-Perception of Spanish Jewry in the Late Fifteenth Century” [in Hebrew], Sefunot 17 (1983): 21–95, esp. 21–47; Meir Benayahu, “The Sermons of Rabbi Joseph b. Meir Garçon” [in Hebrew], Michael 7 (1982): 42–205. 21. For example, at the age of sixty-four, after the deaths of his children, R. Elazar Azikri writes that he dreamed: “On 24 Tishrei I saw that I had a son that I walked after, and he ran before me and went out of the door … and I was running after him and calling him by his name to come back to me. And I was calling him again: ‘because Shul [his wife] calls you.’ And behold he came back and in his hand lilies and I tasted them and took him on my arm and went back and entered the house with him and I woke up. ‘I am like a thriving olive tree’ [Ps 52:10]. May it be that our loss will return to me and to Shul

https://www.cambridge.org/core and inherit us.” See Mordechai Pachter, “The Life and Character of R. Elazar Azikri as Reflected in His Mystical Diary and Haredim Book” [in Hebrew], Shalem 3 (1981): 141–42; Hacker, “Pride and Depres- sion,” 561. Striking descriptions of the depth of tragedy that contemporaries underwent and their

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Viewed against the background of the trauma of expulsion and its ramifications, the mass death of children in frequent epidemics triggered the Iberian exiles’ emo- tional turmoil and confusion about their survival prospects—both personal and collective.22 A degree of indifference about infant mortality has been attributed to parents in Western Europe in the Middle Ages and early modern period. By con- trast, high infant mortality23 led to the development in the Muslim world of a literature of comfort for bereaved parents. This literature describes parents’ https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms emotional state as well as the intimate relations and close feelings between chil- dren and parents.24 Infant mortality was a common premodern demographic reality, certainly in the Ottoman Empire, where plagues spread in major cities nearly every year.25 Sources describing the various and multiple plagues that occurred throughout the empire include many expressions of parental sorrow and concern. Parents often sought to save their children by various means, including magic, prayers, and medications. Even within this context, Benve- niste’s emphasis on this subject and the anxiety it reveals stands out as excep- tional and even extreme. Rabbi Moses of Trani (1500–1580), who was active in the period when ʾOrekh yamim was printed, describes the epidemics of his time as affecting mainly children, unlike the epidemics of the past: “Most of the deaths in the plagues among us are of innocent children, the infants of the house of learning, boys and girls, unlike the case in those plagues in which were dying only

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , sinners deserving of punishment by the heavenly court, twenty years of age and

yearning for children may be found in the writings of R. Isaac Karo and R. Joseph Garçon, see ibid., 547–54. For additional descriptions of dreams and visions of contemporaries, see ibid., 559–62.

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 22. Thus, for example in the years that preceded publication of the book (1560) there were epi- – – —

, on on , demics in Safed in 1513 1514, 1533, 1540 1543, 1550, and more in addition to infants and children who died from other causes. 23. For data on the extent of infant mortality in the East in comparison to that in Europe in the fourteenth century, see Michael W. Dols, The Black Death in the Middle East (Princeton, NJ: Princeton

170.106.33.42 University Press, 1977), 283. 24. On the reaction of Muslim parents to infant mortality during plagues see Avner Giladi, “Concepts of Childhood and Attitudes towards Children in Medieval Islam,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 32 (1989): 138–52; Giladi, “Infants, Children, and Death in Medieval . IP address: address: IP . Muslim Society: Some Preliminary Observations,” Social History of Medicine 3 (1990): 345–68; Giladi, Children of Islam: Concepts of Childhood in Medieval Muslim Society (Basingstoke, UK: Mac- millan, 1992). On the Arabic Islamic genre of consolation treatises for bereaved parents, see Giladi, Children of Islam,11–13, 86–93; Giladi, “‘The Child Was Small … Not So the Grief for Him’: Sources, Structure and Content of Al-Sakhaˉwī’s Consolation Treatise for Bereaved Parents,” Poetics Today 14 (1993): 367–86; Giladi, “Islamic Consolation Treatises for Bereaved Parents: Some Biblio- graphical Notes,” Studia Islamica 81 (1995): 197–202. 25. On plagues and other disasters and their influence on communal and private life in the Ottoman Empire see, e.g., Nükhet Varlik, Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean

https://www.cambridge.org/core World: The Ottoman Experience, 1347–1600 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015); Yaron Ayalon, Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire: Plague, Famine, and Other Misfortunes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015).

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older.”26 Bearing in mind Moses of Trani’s reference to the frequent deaths of “children of the house of learning,” it is easier to understand Benveniste’s repre- sentations of parents’ arguments for not disciplining their children for education and morality:

And if a person should ask [parents] why do you deprive the child of discip- line? Then they answer: The plague is rampant and we are afraid to discipline the child. And see and know that the answer is false. The Torah said, “Honor https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms your father and mother, that you may long endure,” and the father and mother exempt the child from fear, and that is the reason that he does not fulfill the commandment of honoring his father and mother. And not only that, but they cause their children to come into danger of death, because one who curses or strikes his father and mother will be put to death.27 And how could one think that the child would be punished because they guide him to follow the paths of Torah? God forbid to think such wicked thoughts about the laws of God, may he be blessed. And also see the folly and foolishness of this answer. The children who were “brought up in scarlet” [Lam 4:5] and whose feet never touched the ground, and whose every wish was fulfilled, die in a plague or in other illnesses. May God who is blessed save us and rescue us from all evil. If so, discipline does not cause death, only sin causes death. Conversely thanks to good discipline he will be saved from death.28

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , Benveniste’s remarks reveal how parental anxiety for their children’s welfare in view of the high infant mortality resulting from epidemics influenced the educa- tional narrative. Parents refrained from disciplining their children, offering a rational argument for why beating children could be particularly dangerous in a time of plague: as children’s bodies are already being challenged by widespread

illnesses, they should not be subjected to physical harm through beatings or psy- 25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25

chological or emotional harm through scolding and rebuke. Benveniste chides , on on , parents for being focused on their children’s physical survival to the exclusion of any other goals beyond their wish to raise them and see them survive beyond childhood. 170.106.33.42 Instead, Benveniste seeks to direct parents’ yearning to preserve the life of their children in a direction more in keeping with the broader goals of his book. In his view, greater strictness will in fact bring children long life. He argues that a

. IP address: address: IP . child who is not educated to respect his parents will in the end come to strike and insult them—both mortal sins for which the punishment is death from Heaven.29 On the other hand, the Torah promises that a person who honors his

26. Moshe b. R. Yosef of Trani, Sefer beit ʾElohim (Venice, 1576), fols. 17v–18r. Cited in Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 566, and see also 567. 27. See Ex 21:15, 17. 28. ʾOrekh yamim, 37b–38a.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 29. ” If anyone insults his father or his mother, he shall be put to death; he has insulted his father and his mother—his bloodguilt is upon him” (Lev 20:9); “He who strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death” (Ex 21:15). He means here that the child may be punished by Heaven, since rabbis were

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father and mother will gain length of days.30 It is therefore impossible that an edu- cation geared toward respecting parents would lead to a child’s death. This logic leads him to conclude that “discipline does not cause death, only sin causes death,” a paraphrase of the talmudic expression “the snake does not kill, but sin kills” (B. Berakhot 33a). Benveniste’s “dialogue” with these worried parents hints at a wider contem- poraneous dialogue between religious logic and the chaotic reality of lived experi- ence, notably the widespread deaths of children and a pervasive lack of parental https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms security as to their own most basic aspirations for continuity.31 The search for a reli- gious justification for the deaths of children is based on the principle of “reward and punishment”: divine justice is to be unquestioned and anyone who dies, dies for his sins. Other writings from this period explain death as resulting from a lack of reli- gious observance in general or from some specific sin, typically neglect of Torah study or of charity, the latter being known as a way to be rescued from death.32 Another example contemporary to ʾOrekh yamim is the observation of R. Judah Heliwa (from Safed): “And thus for our sins there have occurred in the Land of Israel plague after plague, famine after famine, earthquake after earthquake,33 from the year 5300 and 5301 and 2 and 3 until today 5305 A.M. [1540–1545 CE] and disasters one following the other.”34 And indeed there were some who pursued ascetic lives of religious devotion in order to improve their fate.35

no longer empowered to issue punishments such as fines, flogging, and the death penalty. This power , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , (semikhah) was probably nullified in the early Middle Ages. 30. ”Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you” (Ex 20:12). 31. As described by R. Joseph Garçon: “Who is it that has a living son in this kingdom [the Ottoman Empire]? And if he remains, it will be surprising if he is righteous and wise, so that he will be a credit to his father.” See Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 552. R. Isaac Karo writes: “And

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 I fled to the land of Turkey for help and for my sins, more than I could stand … all of my male children, ”

, on on , adult and young, went to their graves. See ibid., 548. 32. Joseph Garçon, Ben Porat Yosef, fol. 138r, cites reasons for child mortality: “The plagues come from the evil deeds of people” (see Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 551). Elsewhere he mentions specifically the sin of failing to study Torah, based on the words of the sages that when the Holy One

170.106.33.42 blessed be He wanted to give the Torah to the People of Israel He demanded guarantors and the Chil- dren of Israel responded that their children would be the guarantors for keeping the Torah. “So God said I want them to be the guarantors, and when they do not keep the Torah, God exacts payment from our sons. And that explains why sons die without sin, they die because of neglect of Torah” (Garçon, Ben . IP address: address: IP . Porat Yosef, fol. 190v; Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 553n36). The sages mention repeatedly the idea that charity wards off death, based on the verse: “Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath, but righteousness saves from death” (Prov 11:4). 33. Earthquakes are common in the Land of Israel due to its proximity to the Great Rift Valley. A famous earthquake occurred on January 14, 1546, i.e., close to the time of the epidemic. See Dothan Arad, “Destruction and Memory: The Destruction of the Synagogue in Damascus and Its Collective Preservation” [in Hebrew], Zion 81 (2016): 67–94. 34. Moshe Idel, “R. Judah Haliwa and His Composition Sefer Z. afnat Paʿaneah.” [in Hebrew], Shalem 4 (1984): 122.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 35. R. Elazar Azikri believed that an ascetic life together with religious devotion would grant him a son. See Pachter, “Life and Character of R. Elazar Azikri,” 132–47; Hacker, “Pride and Depres- sion,” 560.

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Others, perhaps less inclined toward deep religious devotion, were drawn to remed- ies, amulets, and practices they believed would protect those children already born and ensure the future births of surviving children. Alongside writings that attempt to justify God’s management of the world and to accept His decrees with love, other writings express questions regarding how God treats His people. For example, R. Solomon ibn Verga, in his book Shevet Yehudah, attributes to “elderly people who left Spain” the story of a man who lost his wife in the tribulations of the expul- sion. When the man’s two sons later died of starvation, he raised his eyes to heaven https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms before burying them and said, “Lord of the universe, you have done much to make me abandon my religion; know well that despite the heavenly forces, I am a Jew and I will remain a Jew and nothing that you have done to me or will do to me will change that.”36 On one hand, this story expresses the social ethos of the Iberian exiles that religious devotion is integrated with fear of Heaven. Nevertheless, it expresses astonishment, even defiance, regarding how God acts toward His people, who have suffered catastrophe after catastrophe. We find similar descrip- tions from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in writings from both the Euro- pean and the Asian parts of the Ottoman Empire, from large concentrations of population in Istanbul or Salonika, as well as from smaller communities. The sense of ever-present death that hovered over society was expressed by the phrase ʾorekh yamim (length of days). The author repeats over and over in the course of this book that he who listens to his counsel will achieve length of days, and that is why he so entitled his book.37 He is aware of parents’ fear of child mor-

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , tality, and he therefore stresses that his method—which (perhaps paradoxically) includes instilling fear in the child and even beating him—will ensure the child’s survival. Nevertheless, he follows the Halakhah38 in stressing that one should act with composure and not in anger in instilling fear and striking the child: “However fear and discipline require sense and composure and not wrath and anger. Our sages said, ‘A man should never cast too much fear on the members 25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 of his household.’ And know in fact that wherever there is fury and anger there , on on , the demons are ready to attack, may God save us from all evil and especially at a time of plague, when many demons are present, and a strike that comes from

anger increases the power of the plague with that strike, and ‘And my eyes saw, 170.106.33.42

36. Ibn Verga, Shevet Yehudah, 122; Hacker, “Pride and Depression,” 545. . IP address: address: IP . 37. For example, he writes, “And if he is not trained in cultural behavior and civilized manners in his childhood, then when he grows up he will not fear and respect his heavenly father or his father and mother, and how will he achieve length of days?” (ʾOrekh yamim, 38a); “And in this way the boy will grow up with culture and respect, and after he grows old will have fear and respect for his heavenly father, and also for his father and his mother, and thus achieve length of days” (ibid., 39a); “Every daughter of Israel should take discipline … in order to achieve length of days” (ibid., 41a); “Please my brothers and friends, heed my advice and eat from the fruit of the tree of life, the fruit of humility and thus achieve length of days” (ibid., 43a); “I have seen fit to remind and urge a father and mother not to fail in disciplining children and in this way they and their children will achieve length of days” (ibid.,

https://www.cambridge.org/core 43a–b). 38. See Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 2:2; Shulh.an ʿarukh, Yore deʿah, 245:10.

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and not another’s.’”39 The author testifies that he saw with his own eyes how beat- ings performed inappropriately at a time of plague cause severe harm. Benveniste, who certainly knew the halakhic prohibition according to which one may not strike children at a time of danger, which is a time when demons abound,40 did not entirely forbid beating or instilling fear. Rather: “Therefore every man should control his temper and refrain entirely from anger. And if it is necessary to instill fear on the members of his household for the benefit of the home, he should make motions as if he were angry, but should retain his composure. And he should take care not https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms to curse his wife or members of his household.”41 Cursing is another vice mentioned a number of times in the book. The writer points out, to his dismay, that cursing is widespread, especially among women and children. In his opinion this phenomenon has not been sufficiently criticized, and he is dismayed that some parents even find a child’s cursing to be amusing. As he writes toward the beginning of his book: “The child from the moment that he can understand rebuke, his father and mother must rebuke him if he does something inappropriate. But today not only do they not rebuke him, but they rejoice and celebrate their child’s cleverness to do wrong. And they teach him to curse.”42 Benveniste condemns these phenomena, but he goes beyond the sphere of Hala- khah or even propriety to warn of his fear that these carelessly uttered curses may lead to great danger. He describes a common custom of women cursing the members of their household to be struck by plague. These are not empty curses, but will be fulfilled when the cursed person is otherwise liable for punishment

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , for his sins: “The women curse the members of their household to be struck by plague and all sorts of curses. Every man should warn his wife and children not to utter curses at all because the devil accuses and the curse will compound the damage. May the blessed God save us from curses and evil hours!”43 Benveniste’s sternness regarding “utterances that come from the mouth” is

also reflected in his admonitions about taking oaths and particularly swearing by

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 , on on ,

39. These remarks are similar to those of R. Elijah b. R. Elkanah Capsali of Crete (also active in the first half of the sixteenth century), who even cited the verse “And my eyes saw, and not another’s”

170.106.33.42 (cf. Job 19:27) and criticized those who prefer to curse their sons but refrain from striking them. In his opinion one should do the opposite since curses might be fulfilled in certain cases: “And except for some people, who curse their sons severely and always all day their name is condemned by their fathers, who think that they are doing good for the sons when they curse them like that and do not . IP address: address: IP . strike them. … But it would be better for them to strike them than curse them since it could happen that the curse will be fulfilled on their progeny. … Because perhaps at that moment the Holy One Blessed be He is angry and the father cursing his son causes his death and cuts him off by cursing … and I myself, not another, beheld.” Glick, Source-Book for the History of Jewish Education, 4:306–7. 40. The halakhah is mentioned in reference to days that are disaster prone, between the fasts of the seventeenth of Tammuz and the fast of Tisha be-’Av. (See Eikhah Rabbah; Midrash Tehillim [ed. Salomon Buber] on Ps. 91, incipit “You need not fear the terror by night.”) Because of the danger, halakhic rulings also forbade striking pupils. See Shulh.an ʿarukh, ʾOrah. h.ayim, no. 551. https://www.cambridge.org/core 41. ʾOrekh yamim, 38b. 42. Ibid., 37a. 43. Ibid., 38b.

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the name of God. Here, too, he points out that the phenomenon is widespread among women who swear by the lives of their children, and thus put them in danger:

A proud person does not admit the truth, and moreover insists on the truth of his lie, violating “You shall not bear [false witness]” [Ex 20:16]. And if Israel had only this sin, it would be sufficient to lengthen the exile. And in all humil- ity I say: Every person should fear this bad practice and everyone who is used https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms to commit this sin should take it upon himself to give a penny for the study of Torah every time that he uses the name of Heaven in vain. … And thereby little by little everyone will distance himself from this evil practice and from great punishment. … Women are accustomed to swear by the lives of their children even on matters of no importance. This too is a very bad custom because it is impossible not to swear falsely sometimes. Therefore, every woman who loves her children will refrain from this bad habit.44

Benveniste seeks to do more than correct what he sees as excessively rampant cursing and swearing. Poor table manners are another way that he points out how far “the wickedness of a youth” can reach. Even though table manners are mentioned in other books of ethics by Iberian exiles,45 it is remarkable how central they are for Benveniste:

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , A child sits with his father and mother and reaches for the food before others and in this way the youth grows to act willfully without fear, without cultured behavior and civilized manners, until he reaches the age of eight or nine … then his father and mother want to correct what they have done wrong before, but they cannot because if the boy is accustomed to receiving whatever he asks for and if they do not give it to him, he comes to curse his father and —

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 mother. And who is responsible for all of this? His father and mother and

their mercy is not for Heaven’s sake.46 , on on ,

Thus, improving a child’s table manners is another way of improving his overall education. When Benveniste seeks to instruct parents how to educate a child with 170.106.33.42 respect and discipline, he maintains that the child should have his place made clear to him specifically when he eats:

. IP address: address: IP . In short the best advice is that the father and mother should accustom the child to good respect and discipline and they should feed him alone on a small table and that way the boy will grow up with cultured behavior and civilized

44. Ibid., 39b–40a. 45. See, for example, the instructions of R. Solomon Alami: “When you sit at your table, when you understand what is before you, do not take to eat your meal before your comrade, and when your brother stops taking, also stop, and take from what is in your [plate]. And do not eat hastily and drops of

https://www.cambridge.org/core your soup should not be seen on your clothing or on your lips.” Solomon Alami, ʾIggeret ha-musar, ed. Abraham M. Haberman (Jerusalem: Mosad HaRav Kook, 1946), 29. 46. ʾOrekh yamim, 37b.

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manners and even after he grows old he will behave with fear and respect toward his heavenly father and also toward his father and mother and in this way he will achieve length of days and will find favor in the eyes of God and man and everyone will say “blessed is he who begat him and blessed is he who reared him.”47

Benveniste maintains that the teacher of small children should play a significant role in the education of a child, far beyond matters of curriculum and classroom https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms study. In his opinion the teacher should be allowed to beat the child when neces- sary, and he objects to parents who warn the teacher not to do so in the children’s presence. He writes:

And there is another bad custom that when they bring their small child to the school, they tell the teacher in front of the child not to hit him,48 and the child hears that his teacher has no permission to hit him, thus he increases his wickedness. … It is fitting that the teacher examine the child to see if he listens to his father and mother and if he is careful to perform ritual washing of the hands and reciting the blessing over bread and grace after meals and if he is content with what he is given to eat, and likewise he should order the boy to go to the synagogue to pray and answer Amen, and not to talk during the time of prayer and all the like, he should be strict with the boys and educate them in the commandments, in cultured behavior

and civilized manners. And for this the teacher is entitled to receive , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , payment from the children and not for teaching them.49

Benveniste’s educational philosophy is that the teacher should take an interest in the health and welfare of the child even outside the scope of formal instruction, and should do his part to ensure that overall, the child observes the commandments

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 and behaves with respect. Benveniste thus expands the role of the teacher, explain- ’ , on on , ing that this larger role justifies the teacher s receiving payment for his work, since a teacher may not be paid for teaching the Oral Law.50

“ ” 170.106.33.42 47. Ibid., 39a. The blessing Blessed is he who begat him and blessed is he who raised him is a paraphrase of the expression in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 52a: “Cursed is he who begat and cursed is he who reared.” 48. The father’s demand that the teacher refrain from hitting his child is based on the view that . IP address: address: IP . the father is the teacher’s employer, and the low status of teachers of young children in Jewish society in general. However, from the religious-halakhic perspective, with which R. Samuel Benveniste examines the matter, there is no distinction between father and teacher regarding striking the child and all of the regulations that pertain to it. 49. ʾOrekh yamim, 38b–39a. 50. As Maimonides wrote, “In a place where they were accustomed to pay for teaching the Written Law, it is permissible to teach for payment, but it is forbidden to teach the Oral Law for payment, as it says: ‘Behold I taught you’—just as I taught you without charge, so you without charge” (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:7). This sensitive subject, receiving payment for

https://www.cambridge.org/core teaching Torah, led to many debates over the generations, particularly in light of Maimonides’s harsh words in a number of his writings (see, e.g., Commentary on Avot, ed. Yitzhak Shilat [Maʿaleh Adumim: Maaliyot Press, 1994], 70–75). It seems that against this background R. Samuel

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Benveniste asks whether one can influence a child’s nature or not. He rep- resents that this question was on the educational agenda of his time:

Some say that this bad nature is predominant and discipline does not help. This too is vain and false. And regarding this King Solomon said “If folly settles in the heart of a lad, the rod of discipline will remove it” [Proverbs 22:15]. That is to say, even though the bad nature is intrinsic in the heart of a lad, nevertheless little by little the rod of discipline will remove the folly. https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms … If so, habit dominates and not nature, and if he is not accustomed to fear and discipline from a young age, even after he grows up, he will not maintain fear and respect for his heavenly father nor for his father and mother and how will he achieve length of days?51

Whether or not a child’s nature can be influenced or changed has been a perennial part of Western discourse on determinism and free will. Aristotle wrote that habit becomes like nature,52 and this statement in various iterations recurs in the writ- ings of Cicero, Galen, and others. Scholars of the Iberian diaspora also engaged with this philosophical discourse. In Shevet Yehudah, completed in the early six- teenth century in the Ottoman sphere, Solomon ibn Verga describes the following dialogue between King Alfonso and the wise Thomas regarding “what he com- manded the teacher about how to teach and guide his son”: “The king said to Thomas: I have taken great care, and I think that virtues stem from the time of

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , birth. Thomas said: The Pythagoreans did not think so, but said: If a man knows the moment of conception—he will know everything that will happen to him as an embryo, and if he knows the time of birth—he will know everything that will happen to him until his death, but virtues they said are a product of habit, even though they stem from the constellation [of the stars] and nature.”53 R. Isaac Aboab (the first), in his book Menorat ha-maʾor, also discussed the

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 power of habit and wrote: “‘Train a lad in the way he ought to go …,’ that is,

, on on , when he has study, education, the commandments and the habit of good virtues in his youth, even more so in his old age, he will not depart from this virtue since habit becomes natural for him.”54 The nature or nurture question continued to inform educational discourse in the literature of the Sephardic diaspora, as 170.106.33.42 scholars advocated the power of habit. R. Moses ibn Makhir wrote, “A person should keep an eye on his son or student to supervise him at all times and every moment to guide him in the straight path and to teach him time after time . IP address: address: IP . until he will be strengthened in everything and accustomed to it so that it becomes natural to him, as it is written, ‘habit is second nature,’ and that is a great matter that a spiritual man should be attentive to because the building

Benveniste saw fit to pay a teacher for instruction in ethics and discipline work, even though he was primarily occupied with teaching the Written Law, for which he could receive payment. 51. ʾOrekh yamim, 38r.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 52. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 2.1. 53. See Ibn Verga, Shevet Yehudah, 159. 54. See Aboab, Menorat ha-maʾor, no. 85.

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follows its foundation and if the foundation is shaky, it will fall down quickly.”55 In his admonition to parents Benveniste also stresses the force of habit and urges them to inculcate good habits in their children in order to overcome the force of nature.

ON WOMEN AND MEN:PARENTS AND THEIR IMAGE Studies on Jewish society in the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period 56 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms describe it as highly patriarchal (like most societies in the Mediterranean Basin), with the status of women ranked lower than that of men and regulated by standards and rules formulated by men.57 Historical changes that occurred in Jewish com- munities toward the end of the Middle Ages led to various communities’ encoun- tering cultures that had different standards regarding women’s dress and modesty. Jews from Spain met Arabic-speaking (mustaʿarabi) Jews in the Muslim East, along with Muslim culture, as well as Greek-speaking (Romaniote) Jews. The resulting awareness of cultural gaps and different standards raised questions and criticism, not only regarding dress, but also in matters of leisure culture and the role of women in social and economic life. Female sexuality plays a central role in discourse about women. From the male perspective the female is always responsible for sexual tension, and the male is perceived as drawn toward sin against his will.58 Consequently, the respon- sibility to reduce sexual tension falls on women, who are expected to stay away

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , from encounters with the opposite sex, to refrain from going out of the house unnecessarily, and to cover their bodies appropriately. Yet despite the attribution to women of negative qualities, they were also appreciated for their contribution to raising children and fulfilling the needs of the home. Benveniste offers several admonitions about the behavior of women in his time. Although these are of insufficient length and development to enable us to

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 compare them thoroughly with the fuller, more expansively expressed thought 59 , on on , of other scholars of the Iberian diaspora, it appears that his views were relatively

55. Moshe b. Makhir, Seder ha-yom (Venice, 1599), fol. 104a–b, incipit: “Ben shloshim ” 170.106.33.42 la-koah.. 56. On this broad patriarchal attitude, as well as nuances among cultures and religions, see, e.g., Oded Zinger and David Torollo, “From an Arab Queen to a Yiddische Mama: The Travels of Marital Advice around the Medieval Mediterranean,” Medieval Encounters 22 (2016): 471–516. . IP address: address: IP . 57. See, e.g., Ruth Lamdan, A Separate People: Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, in the Sixteenth Century [in Hebrew] (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University and Bitan Publishers, 1996); Lamdan, “Deviations from Norms of Moral Behavior in the Jewish Society of ’Erez. Yisra’el and Egypt in the Sixteenth Century” [in Hebrew], in Sexuality and the Family in History, ed. Israel Bartal and Isaiah Gafni (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 1998), 119–30; Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community,99–191; Yaron Ben-Naeh, Jews in the Realm of the Sultans (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 351–70; Ben-Naeh, “Feminine Gender,” 127–49; Ben-Naeh, “About Women and Women’s Research,” 191–97. 58. On the view of women as a seductive force toward men in Ottoman Jewish society in the

https://www.cambridge.org/core sixteenth century, see, e.g., Lamdan, A Separate People, 24. 59. Avraham Grossman analyzed attitudes toward women in the writings of medieval Jewish sages, both Ashkenazim and Sephardim, some of them from the milieu of R. Samuel Benveniste—

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moderate in comparison. A representative example may be found in the words of R. Joseph Alzayag (from Safed), who described the ideal woman in the eulogy he gave for his mother. Even in the midst of Alzayag’s praise, his negative views about the nature of women in general are reflected: “First, they should be clever, unlike most women, who are foolish. Second, they should be generous, unlike most women, who are mean. … Third, they should be thrifty, unlike most women, who want their husbands to give endlessly, without a thought for the consequences. … Fourth, they should be of a gentle disposition, unlike https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms most women, who are argumentative and quarrelsome.”60 Benveniste’s admonitions regarding women are his subjective description of the concrete reality he observes in the society around him. Here is how he describes a problem in the area of sexual modesty that in his opinion is related to the pride that is rampant among women:

Women are proud. And they are unaware of the punishment and harm that comes from this pride. Therefore I saw fit to inform them how it makes them fail in order to distance themselves from the sin. There is a woman who wears the clothing of a maidservant at home, but wears regal clothing when she goes out in order to show off her beauty. And it is not right to do so. A modest woman, who fears God in her heart, it is fitting that she adorns herself in her home so that her husband pay no attention to another

woman.61 , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , From Benveniste’s rebuke we may conclude that it was common practice for women to go out wearing their jewelry. Criticism of women who go out adorned with jewelry is of long standing; it is found in classical rabbinic literature and is widespread later, in the literature of the Ottoman period.62 Benveniste’s

severe criticism is echoed in the ethical literature of Iberian exiles and their

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 , on on , R. Isaac Arama, R. Isaac Abravanel, and R. Gedalyah ibn Yahyah—on topics like women’s character- istics, their place within the framework of creation, “the disgrace of intercourse,” etc. R. Gedalyah ibn Yahyah (d. 1587) is exceptional among them in that he wrote a composition in praise of women in

170.106.33.42 which he maintained that a woman takes precedence over a man. Presuming that the work is to be taken seriously and not regarded as a parody, the writer appears to have been influenced by trends he absorbed in Renaissance Italy, where he lived. The gap between the conservative and commonly accepted view expressed by Benveniste and that of Ibn Yahyah may reflect the influence of geograph- . IP address: address: IP . ical and cultural location on both sages, both of whom belonged to the communities of Iberian exile and to the same milieu. See Avraham Grossman, Ve-hu yimshol bakh? Ha-ʾishah be-mishnatam shel h.akhmei Yisraʾel bimei ha-beinayim (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 2011), 475–535. On Gedalyah ibn Yahyah cf. Avraham Grossman, “The Quality of Women and Their Preference in a Composition by R. Gedalyah ibn Yahyah” [in Hebrew], Zion 72 (2007): 37–61. 60. Translation by Lamdan. See Lamdan, “Mothers and Children,” 77. And see Lamdan on the image of women in the eyes of the sages: A Separate People,21–29. 61. ʾOrekh yamim, 40a–40b. 62. See, e.g., Midrash Tanh.uma, Va-yishlah., 5. See also Yalkut Shim‘oni, Job, 918. This idea is https://www.cambridge.org/core also mentioned in the Zohar (Zohar h.adash 2, Shir Hashirim, 17b). And see Avraham Grossman, Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Europe in the Middle Ages [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Merkaz Zalman Shazar, 2001), 174–75.

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descendants,63 for instance, in the popular story that placed the blame for the expulsion from Spain on the wife of R. Isaac Abrabanel, who did not take care to limit her display of her expensive jewelry and fine clothes:

And how much evil do the women cause, who desire to wear magnificent and expensive clothing which make the gentiles jealous. And as happened in our Diaspora, the Diaspora of Spain, as cited in the book Shevet Yehudah, regard- ing the wife of our master R. Isaac Abrabanel, who went to the bathhouse. On 64 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms the same day the wife of the king also went and was jealous of her because of the multitude of jewelry and clothing she wore, and her great wealth and honor. … And it came to pass that the wife of the aforementioned rabbi made herself a fine and selected ring that was worth more than all the silver and gold ornaments that she had before. And it came to pass that the rabbi’s wife went to the bath house, and the queen also went and she saw the splendor of the ring and was very astonished and said: bravo anillo [bravo ring] and was jealous of her, and she was angry and argued with the king. And the king expelled all of the Jews.65

Halakhic literature written up until the sixteenth century did not prohibit a woman from going out to the public sphere in her jewelry. R. Joseph Karo discussed in the Shulh.an ‘arukh whether a woman may go out on the Sabbath wearing jewelry, because she might be tempted to carry it in the public domain and remove it to

show to her friends. It is clear from this scenario that it was common practice , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , for women to go out on weekdays wearing their jewelry, and the halakhic discus- sion of the matter is confined to issues of Sabbath observance: “And today, our women go out with all their jewelry. And some say that according to the law

[of the Sabbath] that is forbidden, but since they will not listen, better they should 25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 ʾ “

, on on , 63. Thus, e.g., in Orhot z.adikim (Bnei Brak: Mishor, 1990), chapter on pride, fol. 23: And also the woman who adorns herself in front of people, by doing so she arouses them, and introduces thoughts into their hearts and for this there is a very great punishment, because she puts an obstacle before many. Indeed, the sages forbade looking at the women’s colored clothing spread out on the

170.106.33.42 wall, even when she is not wearing them, all the more so is there great punishment for a woman adorn- ing herself when people look at her.” 64. This story does not appear in the printed editions of Shevet Yehudah by Ibn Verga. Never- theless, criticism of how Jews dress, the jewelry they wear and the harm they cause thereby is common . IP address: address: IP . in the work. For example, Ibn Verga attributes blood libels to such activities. “When they did not provide anything to be jealous of—they were liked, but now the Jew has risen up and if he has two hundred golden ones, he immediately wears silk clothing and gives his children embroidery … there- fore they make libels against them” (30–31). Elsewhere the king mentioned in the story addresses the fact that Jewish women wear silk clothing, embroidery, and gold jewelry, chastising the Jews: “You [the men] go about like the donkey of a coal-dealer and your wives like the Pope’s mule” (48); See also additional expressions on pp. 32, 92, and 152. Thus, there may have been a version of the work in which the harsh criticism of R. Isaac Abrabanel’s wife appeared, but it was censored and lost. This folk- tale and additional remarks in the book reflect the popular social awareness that expressed regret at

https://www.cambridge.org/core Spanish Jewry’s immersion and imitation of the surrounding society and the elite’s life of luxury. 65. Isaac Molkho, ʾOrhot yosher, ed. Abraham Recanati et al. (Tel Aviv: The synagogue com- mittee of Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gvirol in memory of the community of Thessaloniki, 1975), 99.

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[do so] in error and not with intention.”66 Much like the prevalent approach in rab- binic literature (both philosophical and exegetical), the writer ascribes to women the sins of carnal desire between the sexes, and therefore he admonishes them.67 A woman’s beauty was intended to provide for her husband’s sexual need, and there- fore a woman who only adorns herself when she goes out but not at home causes both her husband and other men to sin: her husband by causing him to pay attention to other women, and other men by causing them to pay attention to a married

woman. https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms A woman who goes out adorned—sins and causes others to sin because she may encounter an ignoramus and he will violate “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” And not only that, but when the ignoramus has intercourse with his wife, he will think of the beauty of the woman he saw during the day. And the children born from that thought are called bnei temurah.68 And it is impossible that these children will be good because they stem from sinful thought. So the woman who goes out adorned creates an obstacle of sin and failure for that man.69

Benveniste criticizes women’s lack of modesty in public and in private life on the grounds that it leads to ethical-religious problems in society, which conforms to the opinions found in other sources of the period.70 Benveniste also blames the taxation of the Jewish community on women’s ’ , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , pride. When women wear their jewelry out in the street they advertise the Jews

66. Shulh.an ʿarukh, ʾOrah h.ayim, 303:18. Here Karo relied on sages who preceded him. For example, Ramban: “I observed the custom of people to go out [on the Sabbath] wearing rings, and did not protest, and also women go out like that. But let them be in ignorance, better they should be in error

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 and not with intention … since they are light-headed and show off their jewelry” (Novella of Ramban

, on on , on B. Shabbat 57a; and see Rabbenu Tam in Tosafot, Shabbat 64b, s.v. Rabbi Anani). 67. Perceiving a man’s actions as virtually out of control and requiring women to alter their behavior accordingly is not confined to the sexual sphere. Thus, we find instructions for a wife on how to avoid angering her husband, and prevent his depression or bitterness. All this presumes that

170.106.33.42 these are normal male responses. Only wise behavior on the part of the woman, suiting herself to her husband’s will (e.g., not rejoicing when he is sad, not contradicting him, obeying him at all times, loving his family, dressing modestly, not going out when he is away from home, not refusing sexual relations, and the like), may prevent his falling into undesirable emotional states. See, e.g., . IP address: address: IP . Zinger and Torollo, “From an Arab Queen,” 471–516, esp. 506–8 and the bibliography cited there. 68. See B. Nedarim 20b: “Bnei temurah—one of nine situations in intercourse in which those born as a result are considered illegitimate and not illegitimate.” See Maimonides: “And therefore the sages forbade a man while having intercourse to think about another woman … in all of these cases, children born from them are the rebellious and sinful whom the torments of exile purify,” Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot ʾissurei biʾah 21:13–14. 69. ʾOrekh yamim, 40b. For admonitions to women regarding lack of modesty in the Ottoman Empire, see, e.g., Ben-Naeh, “Feminine Gender,” 127–49; Lamdan, A Separate People,21–29. On the man as helpless, see, ibid., 128.

https://www.cambridge.org/core 70. Some authors attributed communities’ misfortunes to women’s immodesty. See sources cited in Ben-Naeh, “Feminine Gender,” 133–34. Benveniste stresses in his book the punishment that a woman will incur if she does not behave accordingly.

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great wealth,71 which in turn causes the authorities to raise taxes unfairly: “And the harm that stems from this pride—we are in exile because of our sins and our enemies see gold and silver jewelry and libel us falsely. May the blessed God save us from them and from all evil! No benefit is derived from pride.”72 Benveniste also sees women’s immodest behavior in adorning themselves as creating social pressure within the community. He describes the great financial pres- sure on husbands who are expected to satisfy their wives’ desire to wear jewelry, until some are brought to the point of acquiring that coveted jewelry by illegal https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms means. This sheds interesting light on the social dynamic that was current in the communities of the exiles of the second generation after the expulsion. The representation of a turn to hedonism and public display of wealth, and the indica- tions of social pressures around material possessions, illustrates that the exiles achieved a certain level of material comfort and even a degree of normality in their new lands of refuge. “And now at this time even a woman whose husband cannot afford it, wants to be seen in her pride and does not suspect that her husband might encounter danger of [engaging in] theft or stealing. Indeed a man with good sense should foresee the consequences, and also notice the past when some harsh decrees occurred thanks to pride, as mentioned in the book Shevet Yehudah.”73 A similar description of the embourgeoisement of the exilic community and criticism of the social pressure created by luxury-seeking women are implicit in R. Joseph Alzayag’s eulogy for his mother, cited above. R. Solomon le-Beit Halevy (1581–1633), who lived and was active in the communities of Iberian exiles in Sal-

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , onika one or two generations after Benveniste, also sharply criticized this phenom- enon, citing explicitly the wives of scholars:

I also say that even a man who has no daughter and no need to give dowries … must earn in order to satisfy the needs of his wife who is consumed with jeal- ousy and a passion for her appearance. … In this generation to which I belong, 25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 women and daughters dress in scarlet and bedeck themselves with luxuries , on on , like crimson [2 Samuel 1:24] to sail in ships and to walk in the wilderness,74 and they appear in public adorned with jewels and garments like those of the princesses and daughter of the viziers and governors set above us … and I say

170.106.33.42 to the talmidei h.akhamim and their wives, woe to the husbands of such women. For if one of the wives of these “sons of prophets,” the talmidei 75 h.akhamim, who study Torah … were to go out … and see sights 76

[ha-z.ovʾot] that would kindle their jealousy of other men’s wives who . IP address: address: IP .

71. This argument is mentioned in a number of writings by the Iberian exiles, e.g., Ibn Verga: “The king said: Wise Jew, I have deep questions … and first I will chastise you why do you not warn your people because I heard that they rob the peoples and that is how it appears from your clothing and the jewelry of your wives.” See Shevet Yehudah, 141. 72. ʾOrekh yamim, 40b. 73. Ibid. Regarding this cf. Shevet Yehudah, 141. Lamdan, “Mothers and Children,” 77. 74. See Psalms 105:41. By this he means to sail in ships on the river, stressing the great efforts

https://www.cambridge.org/core they have to make to bring luxuries from afar in order to satisfy their wives’ desires. 75. Lit. wives of the prophets. See 2 Kings 4:1, referring to scholars. 76. See Exodus 38:8. One interpretation of ha-z.ovʾot is “gathered together.”

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glitter with gold, their raiment like bronze [Ezek 1:7], their husbands would appear to them as a shame and a disgrace. And when they return home in the evening there would be terror and darkness and distress and wretched gloom. … They say to their husbands: “Why are you like a man astonished [Jer 14:9] and slumbering? … Arise and ‘go out into the field and take me venison’ [Gen 27:3], for why should I not be like other women of this land who wear gold jewelry upon their garments” [2 Sam 1:24]? … So what can he do? He will cast about, seeking prey with the sweat of his brow, and he 77 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms will risk his life to try and earn what he can to satisfy his wife.

Indeed, in a later period, regulations were promulgated in various Mediterranean communities regarding women’s jewelry.78 Benveniste goes on to cite additional examples of lack of modesty in Jewish society. “Sometimes a woman sits at the entrance of her home nursing an infant and a passerby sees her exposed. Sometimes a woman exposes the hair on her head. These are not modest forms of behavior.”79 Benveniste (somewhat manipu- latively) reminds women of their anxiety over the high mortality rate of women and children in childbirth,80 warning women that they may either suffer punish- ment or be saved from death in accordance with their observance of the rules of modesty: “Any daughter with good sense will take to heart: how greatly does she need mercy at the time of giving birth. May the blessed God have mercy on

all of Israel. Every daughter of Israel should follow the example of the modesty , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject ,

77. R. Shlomo le-Beit Halevy, Responsa on ʾArbaʿah Turim (Salonika, 1652), H. oshen mishpat, no. 24, s.v. ʾOmer de-ha-tur, cited in Joseph R. Hacker, “The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth Century,” in Moreshet Sepharad: The Sephardi Legacy, ed. Haim Beinart (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1992), 2:132. 78. The regulations of the Spanish and Portuguese communities in Morocco, promulgated in

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 1613, limited wearing jewelry and also restricted the kinds of clothing a woman could wear and her

, on on , going out of the home unnecessarily. The regulations, written in Spanish (in Hebrew letters) detail for- bidden jewelry and clothing. For example, they prohibit certain items of jewelry (such as anklets) and any kind of jewelry made of gold—except for a young girl in her father’s home or a bride in the first eight (!) days after her wedding, during which time she may wear all the jewelry she wants. Likewise,

170.106.33.42 they limited the kinds of clothing worn and forbade entirely wearing or manufacturing silk clothing. In addition, they restricted women from going out of their homes and being present in the public sphere unnecessarily. It is interesting that in these regulations, which deal with modesty and restraining mater- ial competition in the community, an additional regulation was included forbidding women from taking . IP address: address: IP . an oath in the name of God and punishing a woman who did so—much like the two subjects that Ben- veniste cited as social problems that require attention. See also Shalom Bar-Asher, Spanish and Por- tuguese Jews in Morocco (1492–1753): Sefer Ha-takanot, The Book of Communal Ordination [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Akademon, 1990), 165–70. For additional examples of regulations of this kind see Ben-Naeh, “Feminine Gender,” 141–45. 79. ʾOrekh yamim, 40b–41a. 80. In light of the high mortality rate of mothers and infants at birth, the subject of birth had a central place in society. On anxiety over death at childbirth, infant mortality, imaginary pregnancy, and polygamy for the sake of ensuring the birth of surviving children, see Hacker, “Pride and Depression,”

https://www.cambridge.org/core 554–57, 563. See Ruth Lamdan, “Mothers and Children as Seen by Sixteenth-Century Rabbis in the Ottoman Empire,” in Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Diaspora, ed. Julia R. Lieberman (Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2011), 70–75.

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of the Ishmaelite women and choose to follow the path that is right in the eyes of God and man in order to merit length of days and to see children and grandchildren engaged in Torah and in the commandments.”81 Another reflection of the high mortality rate of women at childbirth may be found in a question addressed to R. Yom Tov Z. ahalon (1559–1638). It appears that during a birth the laboring woman, the midwives, and any other women present would shout God’s name several times in order to protect both mother and child, despite the immodesty

of the situation. https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms May our teacher explain the law regarding those who mention the name of Heaven for naught out loud, and especially women who are giving birth and call “Hashem, Hashem” several times—is it appropriate to object to them? And if you say that a person is not called to task in a moment of distress, the other women who are attending her, who allows them to call “Hashem, Hashem,” and especially the midwife, whose hands are bloody and she is not purified, and before the birth shouts “Hashem, Hashem”…? And is it right to object and if after warning them to ostracize them?82

The difficulties of pregnancy and childbirth, the pain involved in raising children, and the burdens of housekeeping led Benveniste to warn husbands not to hurt their wives or cause them grief. His warning echoes other such warnings found in halakhic literature.83 Here he relies on the words of the sages who warned “ , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , that a man should take great care not to cause pain to his wife because she can weep easily”:84

81. ʾOrekh yamim, 41a. 82. R. Yom Tov Z. ahalon, New Responsa of R. Yom Tov Z. ahalon (Jerusalem, 1980–81), I, no.

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 92. See Lamdan, “Not All Children,” 172–74. On dangers to infants during pregnancy, birth, and in

, on on , their first years in medieval Europe, and the responses to these, see, e.g., Ronald C. Finucane, The Rescue of the Innocents: Endangered Children in Medieval Miracles (New York: St. Martin’s, 2000), 18–53, 214–25; on children in epidemics: 68–72, 229–30. 83. Wife-beating was a common social phenomenon and halakhic literature contains warnings

170.106.33.42 not to beat a wife and a call to consider the pain of childbirth and difficulties raising them. For example, R. Solomon ibn Aderet writes in one of his responsa, “A husband should not beat or torment his wife, because she was given for life and not for sorrow. On the contrary he should respect her more than his own body …, and if he beats and pains her unfairly and she runs away, she is justified because ‘a person . IP address: address: IP . does not live together with a snake.’” Responsa of Rashba, vol. 7 (The second part of the volume, attrib- uted to Ramban) (Jerusalem: ʾOr ha-Mizrah. and Mekhon Yerushalayim, 2001), responsa no. 102, 76– 77. The distinction between encouraging corporal punishment of children for educational purposes and the prohibition of wife-beating is not just a technical matter, in that beating children is permitted only when they are very small, after which it is also prohibited (see above). Rather, it is also a matter of prin- ciple, in the spirit of Rashba, according to which a woman must be allowed to live without fear or pain, and it is the husband’s obligation, under whose protection she lives, to take care of her and respect her and not to cause her sorrow. There are some exceptions, and the opinions of a few who permitted beating wives in certain circumstances, but that is not the general and prevailing ruling. See Grossman,

https://www.cambridge.org/core Ve-hu yimshol bakh?, 263–65; Grossman, Transformations in Medieval Jewish Society [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 2017), 471–89, and bibliography in n. 1. 84. B. Bava Mez.iʿa 59a.

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And he should be very careful not to curse his wife or the members of his household, and likewise it is forbidden for a man to beat his wife, since it is enough that a wife suffers the pain of pregnancy and childbirth and the pain of raising children, and she bears the burden of all the household chores, and it is unfit to cause her more pain than she already has, and if she does something that seems wrong to him, her husband should correct her with many words that speak to the heart and not beat her or curse her. A man must honor his wife more than his own body because there is no 85 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms home but a wife.

Benveniste’s remarks about women combine religious and halakhic sources with widespread, stereotypical views. His remarks open a window through which we may observe social norms86 and see realistic descriptions of the society of which he was a part. He depicts women’s custom of swearing by the lives of their children, cursing others to be afflicted with plague, their prideful desire to adorn themselves with expensive jewelry, and the difficulties of their daily lives. Benveniste’s focus on matters relating to women may create the impression that he regards them as the principal source of the problems of his day. Granted, he also criticizes men, but his critique of men—unlike that of women—is of discrete actions that require correction, not of their nature as men. For example, he criticizes men for their attitude toward Sabbath prayers. He urges them to learn from Muslim society or other religions how to behave and pray in awe of the

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , sacred.

Many [men] of Israel do not trouble themselves to pray with the congregation on weekdays, and on the Sabbath they come for one moment. During that moment they do not concentrate on listening to the prayer of the cantor or responding Amen. But they turn to talk with one another in matters of no con-

25 Sep 2021 at 23:59:46 at 2021 Sep 25 sequence. And in fact the sin of anyone who talks during prayer is greater than

can be borne. And why does he not realize that if he comes to speak with a , on on , common man, he intends to hear his comrade’s words in order to answer him, but before the King, King of Kings, who has the lives of all in his hand, he turns his back to speak to his friend, could there be a greater sin

170.106.33.42 than that? It is appropriate to infer from a lenient law to a strict one from the Ishmaelites or other peoples, how they stand in fear and trembling to pray, and no one raises his eyes to look around, or all the more so to speak 87

. IP address: address: IP . with someone.

*****

85. ʾOrekh yamim, 38b. 86. For example, he writes, “It is well known that the humble exercise the morality of a youth more than is demanded, and a woman flatters a child more than a man. Therefore, in order to save the holy seed from the judgment of hell, I saw fit to mention again and encourage a father and mother not to

https://www.cambridge.org/core fail in disciplining the young and by doing so they and their children will earn length of days.” See ʾOrekh yamim, 43a–43b. 87. Ibid., 41a–41b.

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R. Samuel Benveniste’s educational program, like the additional issues con- cerning family and community discussed in the book, may be characterized as unsystematic and conservative. He preaches religious devotion and traditional morality to both the individual and society. His critique testifies to the gap between the educational and ethical approach that he advocated and the lived reality as he described it and as it appears from other contemporaneous sources. His is not a lone voice among the religious leadership of his time; his ideas are echoed in sermons and ethical books that preceded and followed him. Like https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms other preachers, he describes the low state to which society has fallen and urges readers to step up their supervision of children’s education and control licentious- ness and other social ills. At the same time as it lacks novelty in its educational approach and words of rebuke, Benveniste’s ʾOrekh yamim includes some import- ant descriptions of Sephardic diaspora communities in the sixteenth century. These descriptions fit well into the social mosaic we see described in other primary sources, as well as scholarly studies on the influence of the expulsions from the Iberian Peninsula on the exilic communities’ way of life. These show, on the one hand, how the way of life of the Sephardic Jews was based on the religious heritage of the past, but also eventually became acculturated to new surroundings, even to the extent of embourgeoisement and a perceptive loosening of those trad- itional religio-ethical restraints. But the posttraumatic experience of the exiles and their descendants in the sixteenth century following the expulsion, tragedies, and suffering, to which were added the severe hardships of recurrent plagues, natural

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , disasters, and high infant mortality, is also clearly discernible in this mosaic. The anxiety of the society of Iberian émigrés takes a central place in the socio- educational discourse of ʾOrekh yamim, expressed in longing for “length of days,” as indicated in the title of the work. The book thus outlines the image of the Sephardic diaspora and its aspirations at the beginning of the new period

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