Candles and Censure: Jewish Identity in Medieval Germany

This paper examines instructions given by medieval rabbis in twelfth and thirteenth century Germany to Jewish women regarding their Sabbath candle lighting practices and particularly the materials from which these candles were made. According to traditional Jewish law, Sabbath candles could not be made of specific materials and one of these forbidden materials was tallow. However, tallow was one of the more common and affordable materials found in northern Europe, whereas olive oil, the preferred lighting substance was expensive and often beyond the means of most Jews. Tallow was not only forbidden in the context of the laws of Sabbath, it was also a non-kosher substance that over the course of the European Middle Ages came to represent Christian society and culture. Although medieval Jews used tallow and lit tallow candles daily, as a result of the symbolic place tallow assumed over time in medieval Jewish culture, the question of the permissibility of using tallow Sabbath candles became more and more significant during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Moreover, since Sabbath candles were seen as women's responsibility and task, instructions concerning their lighting contained pointed remarks on gender roles, responsibilities and expectations. In light of the complex significance the Sabbath candles and the materials they were made of had in medieval Jewish culture I will address questions of gender, censure and Jewish identity.