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The Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

Medieval Ashkenaz (1096-1348)

OF JEWISH WIVES AND MOTHERS

All Jewish women in medieval Ashkenaz were expected to become wives and mothers. The option of not marrying was almost non-existent in Jewish society, as opposed to the ideal of celibacy that existed in surrounding Christian society. Women were often promised by their fathers or other relatives in early childhood and then were betrothed and married before reaching the age of twelve, which was considered the age of majority. If the woman was not married by age twelve, she had the right to refuse to marry the man chosen by her father or parents (Grossman, Pious, 71–81). However, the sources indicate that few women chose to refuse these matches. Canceling an agreement made by two families was considered unforgivable, since people were afraid that the harm caused to their family’s good name would make future matchmaking very difficult. Couples that married at a young age often lived with the parents of the bride or groom for the first year or two after the marriage. In this way the groom could continue his studies and the couple could be supported at the beginning of their married life.

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Jews employed Christian women as domestic servants, as childminders and wet-nurses. Despite the persistent efforts of the church, this practice was never eliminated, and Christian women continued to work in Jewish households throughout the Middle Ages. These servants, especially the wet-nurses, were usually hired by Jewish men, who secured the terms of employment with the husband or family of the servant or wet-nurse. Once the agreement was made, the men usually had little to do with the woman’s employment and most of the daily contact was conducted between the women. Little information about the nature of these interactions has reached us, but one can assume that even though this association was an employer-employee relationship, Jewish women and Christian women became more familiar with each other’s practices and aware of each other’s customs. Although Christian women working in Jewish homes certainly learned more about Judaism than their employers did about Christianity, the close contact brought food habits and worship patterns into awareness. On the whole, the close daily contact between Jewish and Christian women contributed greatly to a more intimate knowledge of each other.

Video of EMT Kyle Rittenhouse, helping wounded protestors in Kenosha

Mark Dice

@MarkDice

Facebook just removed a video I posted showing Kyle Rittenhouse offering help to a wounded protester in Kenosha and are threatening to delete my entire account. This was the video:

2.7K views

1:14 / 1:14

8:33 PM · Sep 1, 2020

https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/1300970053307740160

>>10499053

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