The Jews of Stühlingen

10-19

Ralph

December 26, 2016

Bernheimb

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Salomon Bernheimb (A1) first came to Stühlingen in 1675 to marry Menkhen Bloch’s (C2.1.2) daughter [R4400]. He was under protection in Horheim between 1677 and 1710, around the time he died. Salomon had three sons: Menkin (A1.1), David (A1.2), married to the daughter of a Marum Weyl  (U1.3) in Untereggingen, and Meyer (A1.3). Salomon’s sons were under protection in Stühlingen until 1720, when Menkin with his sons Isaac (A1.1.1) and Hirsch (A1.1.2), together with his brothers David and Meyer, with his son Isac (A1.3.1), moved to Tiengen [R546] but continued trading in Stühlingen under passage permits (Geleitbriefe). It is possible that Salomon had a brother Benjamin in Untereggingen (A2), with a son also named Isac (A2.1); but this fraternal relationship is tentative, based only on a single entry stating that Benjamin was a brother of Salomon [R142].

Others

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Five Jews had been living in Ofteringen since 1599 [R3428], whose family connections cannot be determined. They might have been brothers Moschi (O1), Hoscha (O2), Schmoll (O3), Schwartz (black) Judele (O4), and Meierle (O5). Moschi had a son Judele (O1.1), who seemed to have acted as a kind of lawyer representing various Stühlingen Jews in legal situations [R1790]. Some Jews belonging to the Levi clan lived in Unterlauchringen.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 Generally, the relations among Stühlingen’s Jews were peaceful, although ongoing tensions existed between the families of Marum (G1.3) and Calmeli (G1.2.2) Gugenheimb with occasional serious altercations. However, an epic fight erupted between various members of the extended Weyl family and some in-laws when they should have been joyfully celebrating the first day of Tabernacles (Sukkot) 1697 together [R3689]. It all started innocently with an argument between Jossel (G1.3.3) and Samuel (W1) over the sale of a Polish horse, but then things quickly escalated. Invectives started flying back and forth, and Abraham (G1.3.1) and Model (T1) joined in the fray. Efrem (W2) and his son Moyses (W2.1) accused Samuel of various nefarious deeds, whereupon Samuel threw a glass of wine at the latter. Sandel (S1.2) got into an argument with Model, and Marum (S1.2.1), Sandel’s son, threw a pitcher of wine at Model, which hit him on his chest. Marum (U1.3) started wrestling with Model. It would have taken a Pieter Breughel37 to paint the scene. The next morning brought regrets, hangovers, bruises, and hefty fines for fighting [R3689].

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 The social intercourse of the Stühlingen Jews also involved their coreligionists from surrounding communities including Gailingen, Randegg, Tiengen, Endingen and Lengnau, many of which visited Stühlingen not only socially but also to ply their trade there, based on acquired letters of passage. Jews from all over southern Germany visited Stühlingen, linked together by a shared belief system and broadly based family ties.

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0  

37Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Dutch painter, 1525–69, known for his paintings of peasant village life.