Economic Roles: Jews as Moneylenders and Merchants

Life as a Jew in the Middle Ages was difficult across both Christendom and Islamic lands. To help us unpack the topic, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions:

1. How much truth is there to the notion that life for the Jews under Medieval Christendom was bleak?
2. Why did distinctions between Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions begin developing in this time?
3. What fueled the many Jewish migrations across Europe? How does the Spanish Inquisition fit into the larger picture of persecution?