Economic Origins of Antisemitism: Poland and Its Jews in the Early Modern Period

292 Pages·1991·11.499 MB·English

by  Hillel Levine

Economic Origins of Antisemitism
Poland and Its Jews in the
Early Modern Period
4
Hillel Levine

Economic Origins
of Antisemitism

Economic Origins
of Antisemitism
Poland and Its Jews in
Early Modern Period
Hillel Levine
Yale University Press
New Haven and London
Copyright © 1991 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any
form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright
Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from
the publishers.
Designed by Sylvia Steiner.
Set in Garamond Book type by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America by BookCrafters, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Levine, Hillel.
Economic origins of antisemitism : Poland and its Jews in the early modern period /
Hillel Levine,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 0-300-04987-0 (cloth) v
0-300-05248-0 (pbk.)
1. Antisemitism—Economic aspects—Poland. 2. Jews—Poland—Economic
conditions. 3- Jews—Poland—History. 4. Poland—Ethnic relations. I. Title.
DS146.P6L48 1991
943.8'004924—dc20 90-26565
CIP
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources.
10 98765432
In memory of my dear grandparents,
my living bridge to the best of East European Jewry:
Jacob Peretz (1898-1967), of Grodno,
my teacher of Jewish history and Jewish living,
and
*
Sheina Gorodetzky Peretz (1900-1974), of Kobrin,
who in demonstrating the vast worlds of memory
that can be contained in a small paper bag
gave me my earliest and most profound instruction
in the social sciences.
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Introduction
The View from the Broken Bridge: A Tale of Two Revolutions 1
Chapter 1
“For Lack of Order Poland Stands”: Religious, Political, and Economic
Foundations of Polish Society 20
Chapter 2
From “Serfs of the Royal Chamber” to “Serfs of the Many
Chambers” 57
Chapter 3
Commerce and Currency: Cultural Sources of Entrepreneurialism 75
Chapter 4
“How Far Behind Have We Remained”: Libations, Libels, and the
Rhetoric of Reform 136
Chapter 5
The Polish Enlightenment, the Four-Year Sejm, and the
Limits of Reform 191
Conclusion
The Broken Bridge Revisited: The Politics of Productivity 232
Bibliography 241
Index 263