The German Jewish community was at once highly organized and prosperous. At the same time, they were subject to the potentially violent whims of non-Jewish community around them. These parallels of strength and challenge are at the core of this episode about rabbinic culture in the Germanic provinces in the 13th century. We will focus on the specific struggles of two rabbis, the Maharam (Rabbi Meir ben Barukh) of Rothenberg and Rabbi Mordechai ben Hillel while exploring their and others’ contributions to Jewish practice. Hosted by: Rabbi Mordecai Marcus Schwartz Produced by Ellie Gettinger Edited by Sarah Brown Cover art: Lee Willet Theme music: Stock media provided by u19_studios / Pond5