JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

ereẒ israel
the sky god, and of Inanna-Ishtar, the goddess of love and war.
In 1912 the German Oriental Society began to excavate the site
and allowing for the interruptions caused by wars continued
until the end of the 20th century.
Add. Bibliography: J-C. Margueron, in: ABD II, 570–73;
CANE, 4, 2960 (index); M. Powell, in: JAOS, 117 (1997), 608; S. Dunham,
in: JAOS, 119 (1999), 139.
[Richard S. Ellis]
EREẒ ISRAEL (Heb. לֵ אָ רְ ׂשִי ץרֶ ֶא),
Hebrew name of Land of
Israel. The term Ereẓ Israel is biblical, although its meaning
varies, designating both the territory actually inhabited by the
Israelites (I Sam. 13:19) and the Northern Kingdom (II Kings
5:2). It was, however, only from the Second Temple period
onward that Ereẓ Israel became the current appellation of
the Promised Land. It was the official Hebrew designation of
the area governed by British mandate after World War I until
1948. For further details, see *Canaan, Land of; *Israel, Land
of (Geographical Survey).
ERFURT, city in Thuringia, Germany. Jews are first mentioned
there in the 12th century. At first under the protection of the
king, by the second half of the 12th century they had passed to
the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Mainz, who composed an
*oath formula for them in German. In 1209 the king also relinquished
his right to collect taxes from the Jews, which in 1212
was explicitly granted to the archbishop. In 1221 anti-Jewish riots
broke out in Erfurt: the synagogue was burned down, and a
number of Jews were murdered while some threw themselves
into the flames. Among the martyrs was the paytan and cantor
Samuel b. Kalonymus. Nevertheless, the Jewish community of
Erfurt continued to exist and even to expand. After some time
a new synagogue was built and well-known rabbis chose Erfurt
as their seat. Between 1286 and 1293 Asher b. *Jehiel probably
lived there, and at about the same time Kalonymus b. Eliezer
ha-Nakdan composed his Masorah Ketannah, still preserved in
manuscript in Erfurt. During the Middle Ages the Jews of Erfurt
followed the Saxony prayer rite. The community’s Book of
Ritual is preserved at Jews’ College, London (Ms. 104, 4). At the
beginning of the 14th century protection over the Jews passed
to the municipality; this, however, was unable to save them
from massacre during the Black *Death: at the beginning of
March 1349 over 100 Jews were murdered by the populace, and
many set fire to their homes and perished in the flames. Those
who survived were driven from the city. Among the martyrs
was Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen, author of Sefer ha-Aguddah.
Israel b. Joel *Susslin mentions the Erfurt martyrs in an elegy
(Sefer ha-Dema’ot, 2, 126–7). The city council again permitted
Jews to settle within the city walls and build a new synagogue
in 1357. During the following century the Erfurt community became
one of the largest and most important in Germany, some
of the most celebrated rabbis officiating there. Meir b. Baruch
*ha-Levi served there for some time; a disciple of his was Hillel
of *Erfurt. In the middle of the 15th century Jacob b. Judah
*Weil taught there. During this period, Erfurt Jews played an
important role in banking in Thuringia. In 1391 the king canceled
all the debts owed by Christians to the Erfurt Jews and
handed them over to the municipality for 2,000 gulden; the
municipality claimed this sum from the Jews but promised
them to return part of the debts. Subsequently the Jews had
to pay a special tax to the king’s treasury. In 1418 they were
compelled to declare the amount of their property on oath, in
the synagogue, and the king collected new taxes from them
on this basis. In 1451 and 1452 Nicolas of *Cusa and John of
*Capistrano visited Erfurt. Their anti-Jewish sermons greatly
agitated the populace, and in 1453 the city council withdrew
protection from the Jews, who subsequently left Erfurt.
Around 1820 the Prussian authorities used the tombstones
in the Jewish cemetery for the fortification of the city.
At that time Jews again began to settle in Erfurt, numbering
some 144 in 1840 when a new synagogue was dedicated. The
communal archives from 1855 to 1936 have been transferred
to the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
in Jerusalem. The community numbered 546 in 1880 (1.03%
of the total population); 795 in 1910 (0.72%); and 831 in 1933
(0.6%). After the advent of the Nazis the majority left Erfurt,
263 remaining in 1939. The synagogue was burned down on
Nov. 9, 1938. The community was compelled to pay for the
benzene used for igniting the synagogue and for clearing the
ruins. The men were detained in the local school, where they
were mistreated, and subsequently deported to *Buchenwald.
Of the 188 Jews remaining in Erfurt in September 1941, 152
were deported to the East in four transports between May
1942 and January 1944.
A few Jews returned to Erfurt after the war, and there
were 40 in 1951. A new synagogue was opened in 1952, and
the community numbered 120 in 1961. As a result of the immigration
of Jews from the former Soviet Union, the number of
community members rose to 550 in 2003. One of the famous
manuscripts of the Tosefta was found in Erfurt after which it
is named (S. Leibman, intr. Tosefta bi-Feshuto).
Bibliography: A. Jaraczewsky, Geschichte der Juden in Erfurt
(1868); Wiener, in: MGWJ, 17 (1868), 313–17, 352–59, 385–95; Th.
Kronner, Festschrift zur Einweihung der neuen Synagoge in Erfurt
(1884); Suessmann, in: MGADJ, 5 (1914), 1–126; Germ Jud, 1 (1963),
97–102; 2 (1968), 215–25; PKG; Baron, 9 (1965), 223–26. Add. Bibliography:
E. Menzel, in: Beitraege zur Geschichte juedischen Lebens
in Thueringen (1996), 117–132; O. Zucht, Die Geschichte der Juden
in Erfurt … (2001).
[Zvi Avneri / Stefan Rohrbacher (2nd ed.)]
ERGAS, JOSEPH BEN EMANUEL (1685–1730), rabbi, kabbalist,
and author of books on halakhic and kabbalistic matters.
Ergas, who was of Marrano descent, was born in Leghorn.
The headdress of a knight engraved on his tomb in Leghorn
perhaps indicates descent from a noble Spanish family. Samuel
of Fez was his teacher of halakhah and *Benjamin ha-Kohen
Vitale of Reggio taught him Kabbalah. As a young man, he
traveled throughout Italy and preached public sermons, urging
repentance. For a while he stayed in Pisa where he founded
478 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6