Heroes We Could Not Live Without
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The newly restored cathedral still retains priceless art depicting Jewish heritage in France.
The iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has reopened its doors, marking a historic milestone in its restoration following the devastating 2019 fire. The reconstruction effort meticulously preserved its Gothic architecture, including significant Jewish-related artwork, while incorporating modern techniques.
Notre Dame dates from the 12th century and provides a snapshot of what life was like eight centuries ago. When it was built, the vast majority of the population was illiterate; many people lived in what today would seem like abject poverty. Many of the elaborate friezes, statues and stained glass windows served an educational function, illustrating Biblical and other religious stories and seeking to impart messages to the Christians of Medieval Paris. Surprisingly, some of the most prominent artwork on Notre Dame concerned Jews.
Above the cathedral’s main doorway is a frieze, or raised carving, of two Christian saints: Anne and Joachim, who are thought to be the grandparents of Jesus. Since these individuals were Jewish, the artist used actual local Jews as models.
Jews were barely tolerated. King Philip II expelled Jews from France in 1182, but within a few years Jews began to trickle back into the country, settling in several cities and towns, including Paris. Their activities were severely restricted: the Lateran Council, convened by Pope Innocent III in 1215, banned Jews from all professions in Europe except for pawn broking and selling old clothes. In addition, Jews were forced to wear special ridiculous clothes that differentiated them from Christians.
We know what special garments the Jews in Paris wore because their likenesses have adorned Notre Dame Cathedral for 800 years. The Jewish wedding guests in the frieze are dressed in long robes and wearing tall pointy hats.
On the left, the frieze shows Anne and Joachim’s wedding and is a seemingly faithful reproduction of a Medieval French synagogue. The rabbi conducting the ceremony is wrapped in a tallit. Nearby is an ark containing the Torah, a pile of books and a Ner Tamid, the lamp that remains eternally lit in synagogues.
On the right, the frieze depicts Anne and Joachim bringing an offering to a synagogue; the artist even carved a Torah scroll resting on a bima. Nearby is the likeness of two Medieval Jews, deep in conversation in the synagogue.
At the time this frieze was being carved, Jews were relentlessly persecuted in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. In 1239, Pope Gregory IX sent letters to church leaders, as well as to the kings of England, Spain and Portugal, enumerating dozens of charges against the Talmud. This led to calls to collect and destroy this Jewish holy work. Nowhere was this horrendous instruction carried out with as much zeal as in Paris. On March 3, 1240, church officials burst into synagogues throughout France. It was a Shabbat and synagogues were full. France’s helpless Jews watched as their holy volumes of the Talmud were confiscated and taken away.
French King Louis IX called for the Talmud to be put on trial. Four rabbis defended the Jewish holy books from a series of accusations; unsurprisingly, the Rabbis were found to have lost and the Talmud was condemned to be burned. On June 17, 1242, church officials brought 24 wagons piled high with volumes of the Talmud, about 10,000 books in all - all known copies of the Talmud then in existence in France - to Paris’ Place de Greve, next to Notre Dame. There, they were publicly burned.
Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, known as the Maharam, witnessed the burning. He penned a haunting lamentation afterwards, recording that “My tears formed a river that reached to the Sinai desert and to the graves of Moshe and Aharon. Is there another Torah to replace the Torah which you have taken from us?”
Synagoga and Ecclesia above the portico of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris
Two prominent statues on the facade of Notre Dame captured the feelings of Christians and Jews at this time. On the right, one woman stands ragged defeated, her eyes are covered by a snake and her head is bowed. She holds a broken scepter and tablets of Jewish law are slipping from her grasp. Under her feet lies a crown trodden into the dust: she is “Synagoga”, representing the synagogue or Judaism in general.
The Catholic Church wanted those entering Notre Dame to believe that Judaism was finished, downcast and humiliated. On her left is a finely dressed woman standing upright, carrying a chalice and a staff with a cross at its peak, seemingly triumphant. She is known as Ecclesia, representing the victorious Catholic Church.
So important were these allegories of Christian dominance and Jewish humiliation that when the originals were destroyed during the French Revolution, they were recreated and replaced in the 1800s.
Above them is yet another depiction of Jews: the Gallery of Kings, featuring 28 kings of ancient Judah and Israel. These too were replaced after being smashed during the Revolution.
In 1306, King Philip III of France took a drastic step. He was short of funds and decided to seize the belongings and assets of the Jews in his kingdom. This was not an unprecedented step: Jews in Medieval Europe were, in the Latin phrase of the time, servi camerae mosrae, or servants of the chamber of the king. As property, they were the king’s to do with as he saw fit.
On July 22, 1306, the day after the Jewish somber holiday of Tisha B’Av, 100,000 Jews were arrested throughout France and forced into prison. There, they were told they were sentenced to exile; each Jew was permitted to bring only the clothes they were wearing and the very small sum of 12 sous each. In the ensuing months, King Philip III auctioned off the Jews’ property. His order of expulsion was reversed by his son King Louis X, but then reinstated in 1322. Only centuries later was it safe for Jews to once again live in France, as the territory of the expanding French kingdom grew to include areas where French Jews had fled and established new communities.
As French officials survey the wreckage of Notre Dame, it’s becoming clear that the front facade of the cathedral is largely intact. These irreplaceable artistic treasures depicting the history of Jews in France seem to be saved. They can teach us a great deal about Jewish history and fortitude in France and beyond.
France is not a place for Jews. Not middle ages, not with Dreyfuss, not in WW2' when France allied with Hitler and not now when Muslims who hate and attack Jews are tolerated in name of diversity.
But Jews travel to France. They spend there. Fools
What's the alternative when we struggle to make both ends meet here in France?
Would you pay for a collective alyah? Easy to patronize when you can afford to live somewhere else.
Lilibeth! We pray that you survive, WHEREVER you are. We are sure that you're looking for ANY PLACE to relocate. Our neighbours here in Jerusalem fly back & forth between Fr & Israel to make ends meet. I've seen some American Jws doing the same. Beyond the physical anti-Semitism in Fr, it's not possible for Fr to support all of the Muslim immigrants on welfare forever. Something will give & you should be ready with your passports & several plans. Blessing you with only sweet & revealed good with all Jws in Fr & everywhere!!!
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pope-francis-inaugurates-nativity-scene-in-vatican-showing-baby-jesus-on-keffiyeh/?utm_campaign=most_popular&utm_source=website&utm_medium=article_end&utm_content=1
Nothing new under the sun. The Pope is siding with the Palestinians, even though the PLO is utterly against Christianity. They have a common ground - antisemitism.
French Jews are still assaulted. France is a fake mirror of elegance. It is a dump.
I agree with your comment, psalms 83 says it all
Apropos your closing para, they can equally well teach us a GREAT deal about the deeply embedded antisemitism among the French. Why, as recently as Vichy we saw it again in large scale.
The worst in France now are the millions ofc Muslims who practically dominate the major cities. The Catholics in France are now the servile.
Eissav and Ishmael collaborate horizontally...
This is totally new information to me and amazing to learn! Took address to send check! Please make it possible to forward!!
Most Jews know The French hate Jews and always have.
When I visit Medieval European churches, I always look for my friend, "The Synagogue Defeated", sad for her but glad and proud to know that Jews and Judaism have continued and will continue to exist and contribute to the entire world.
Dont bet on it. Thec world hates Israel and News. The younger generation ofc Americans is the most anti semitic in generations
Our continuation depends on us and on the Creator - no one else.
Yet in the natural world, people suffer natural consequences of their actions.
For those of you who never read “Sarah’s Keys” by Tatiana de Rosnay, I will highly recommend it. There you will learn about antisemitism that took place during WWII in France which took the French government decades to acknowledge. But no matter what, we the Jews get knocked sideways, get up, and move on to live our lives to the fullest.
When a state and/or religion needs to feed on the blood of a "fallen" predecessor---i.e., Judaism---it has no validity of its own. It is a desperate copy, continuously enraged by the survival and success of that predecessor.
Indeed, but it's important to point out that other monotheistic religions are very falsified copies of Judaism, sometimes to the point of absurdity.
Of course, there can be only ONE truth, and that's impossible for others to admit.
This dilemma may well be at the root of many antisemites' visceral hatred of Jews whom they know nothing about.
Interesting. I knew about the raging antisemitism in France, but not some of these milestones... shame on them. They still continue to be anti Jewish quite markedly...
Dr. Alt Miller, thank you for this very interesting piece. While Medieval Jews tragically had to endure these oppressions and worse, and this never stopped entirely even with the Holocaust, Jews still have great prominence in France; I met two tourists from France here in the US. They were coworkers and friends, and one was Jewish and both worked for the government. We are resilient!
You write such an interesting piece about history that I was unaware of. Thank you.
*wrote
I had such mixed emotions reading this. I would not characterize these items as Jewish “tresures” as they depict the horrific Antisemitism of the time. However, this is Jewish history I was unaware of and feel it is important to see and understand what was occurring in France at the time Notra Dam was constructed. It should be used as a teaching moment about the terrible things that the Jews had to endure. I hope when they give tours of Notra Dam that they do not gloss over this and explain in great detail as you have in this article.
Have been there and never knew this history! My husband always thought of France as anti semetic
And this would have added to his points about this!
Yes, but it should be said that the "old French" are in love with themselves and 'anti' anyone who's not bona fide French!
One of my former colleagues was a Lebanese Christian Arab whose native tongue was French, yet when she visited France the local snobs repeatedly pretended not to understand what she was saying.
S'il vous plait, it's a good idea to spend time elsewhere, especially if you're Jewish. In fact, all of Europe is best avoided. They badly mistreated their upstanding Jewish citizens and are now "enjoying" their Muslim hoodlums instead – a just reward!
English colonies vs. Fr, at least the Eng acknowledge their "subjects."
It is a shame that the "statues" depicting the "Synagogue" and the "Church" were not left destroyed. Maybe it is time to "remodel" them -- showing the "Synagogue" as quietly thriving while the "Church" is shown in all of its cruelty and venality.
It seems awful hard to talk of some sort of "Jew/Christian" reconciliation when the torment of the Jew continues to be *celebrated* at Notre Dame. Pope John XXIII had the right idea when he composed a prayer begging forgiveness for the atrocities of the Church. But, did the Church ever actually ADOPT that prayer and -- more importantly -- internalize it? The "honor" given to the "art" depicting the humiliation of the Jew indicates that the answer is "NO".
Excellent point!
Better yet, swap the inscriptions to show the Synagogue flourishing and the Ecclesia withering. The Catholic Church is reeling world-wide from its abuse scandals - in cities like Baltimore, where a quarter million people went to Mass sixty years ago, now less than 10,000 go, and the church is closing and consolidating most parishes. And Torah Judaism is flourishing world-wide. We walk on our enemies' graves.
I'd like to the 'New Testament' and the Council of Nicea put on trial for the hateful antisemitism and outright blasphemy of torah
May their Day of Judgement come soon!!
These are not Jewish treasures; they are thorns in our collective Jewish side. The entire cathedral is a monument to the downfall of the Jewish people. Too bad it didn't burn to the ground.
Actually, they're thorns in Christianity's, and specifically catholicism's, side. We're still very much here, and providing the world with invention after invention. But Catholicism's oppression is there for all the world to see.
That's just it, they don't see that, they see the Vatican's scapegoats, which of course are our people.
Indeed, think of the irony of flourishing Jews - with Synagoge - visiting Notra Dame and having the last laugh.