Worms - Warmaisa
The Holy Congregation of Worms (Warmaisa)
The Jewish community in Warmaisa, now known as Worms, was probably founded shortly before the turn of the millennium. The dedication inscription on the first synagogue dates from the year 1034. Thanks to its renowned Talmudic academy, Warmaisa developed in the mid-11th century into a centre of Jewish scholarship with a reputation extending beyond the region.
What makes Warmaisa unique is that the Jewish community existed almost uninterrupted for a period of more than 900 years. From 1074 onwards, a close relationship developed with the Salian dynasty under Emperor Henry IV, which granted the Jewish community far-reaching privileges. The community not only contributed significantly to the urbanisation of the city, but also to the political success of the Salian dynasty. In 1938, the long history of the ‘holy community of Worms’ came to an abrupt end with the terror inflicted by the National Socialists.
Do you know the Golem?
Did you know that the Golem, as a protective being, was first conceived as early as the 13th century in the SchUM city of Worms? The scholar Eleazar ben Jehuda Kalonymos believed that certain combinations of numbers and letters from the Hebrew alphabet could bring inanimate matter to life. The idea of the Golem was born! From Worms, the legend of the Golem spread across the world – first to Prague and Poland. In the 1940s, the Golem experienced a revival in the USA as a comic-book hero, alongside characters such as Superman and Batman.
The Worms Synagogue and the Women’s School as role models
The Worms Synagogue, built in 1174/75, had a significant influence on synagogue architecture in Europe. The architectural concept – a two-aisled hall with two central columns – was emulated in other medieval synagogues, for example in Regensburg, Prague, Vienna and Kraków.
In the SchUM communities, women enjoyed a high social status. To reflect this, a separate prayer room for women – the so-called ‘Frauenschul’ – was established for the first time in 1212/13. Through listening slits, they were able to participate in the men’s service. Other communities in the Ashkenazi region followed Worms’ example, including Speyer, where a ‘Frauenschul’ was established in the mid-13th century.
In 1934, the Worms synagogue celebrated its 900th anniversary, even though pogroms and armed conflicts had taken their toll since the Middle Ages. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the Nazis set fire to the synagogue and subsequently blew up the ruins. After the Second World War, the synagogue was rebuilt true to the original. Original building components that had been salvaged were also used in the reconstruction. Warmaisa – also known as ‘Little Jerusalem on the Rhine’ – is still regarded today as an important site commemorating Jewish history. The re-consecration of the synagogue in 1961 attracted considerable international attention. However, there was no longer a Jewish community in Worms at that time.
Tahara House on the ‘Holy Sand’ in Worms
The fact that the 1,000-year-old Jewish cemetery ‘Heiliger Sand’ has remained almost entirely intact for such a long period of time is unique in Europe. The approximately 2,500 gravestones provide a striking insight into the eventful history of the once-important Jewish community of Warmaisa. The tahara house (mortuary) has also been
preserved. Built in 1625, it is the oldest known ritual bathhouse in the Ashkenazi world. It was here that the dead were ritually washed and preparations made for burials. In front of the Tahara House there is a hand-washing fountain, as it is Jewish custom to cleanse one’s hands after leaving the cemetery.
Rashi Yeshiva and the Rashi Chair
In the Rashi Yeshiva, a small, oval-shaped place of learning dating from the 17th century, Jewish students once held discussions with their teachers. For centuries, this place has been associated with the great French scholar Rashi, who studied in Mainz and Worms in the mid-11th century. Both the yeshiva and the lectern are named after him – even though Rashi never actually sat on this ‘throne’ himself. Visitors to the Worms Yeshiva will find an authentic place where Rashi’s spirit still seems to linger. Following the destruction during the Nazi era, the Rashi Yeshiva, complete with the Rashi Chair, was faithfully reconstructed as a special place of remembrance.
A real gem: the Worms Machzor (1272)
For around 650 years, the Jewish community used the Worms Machzor as its official prayer book on festivals. This richly illustrated medieval manuscript is regarded as one of the oldest and most significant prayer books of Ashkenazi Judaism. It also contains a Yiddish sentence, written in Hebrew letters. This blessing is considered the earliest known evidence of the Yiddish language. It reads: ‘May whoever carries the Machzor into the synagogue have a good day.’ Both volumes of the precious Worms Machzor were saved from destruction during the Nazi era. After the Second World War, they were handed over to the National Library in Jerusalem.
What is Yiddish?
When Jews settled along the Rhine, they adopted the vocabulary of Middle High German. Thus Yiddish – literally ‘Jewish’ or ‘Jewish German’ – developed into a distinct everyday language with Hebrew elements. With Jewish migration to Eastern Europe, words from Slavic languages were added. As a result of the waves of emigration overseas and the expulsions during the Nazi era, Yiddish is now spoken predominantly in Israel and the USA.
Yiddish vocabulary There are many words
in the German language that originally come from Yiddish. Here is a selection of terms and idioms that are firmly rooted in everyday German vocabulary.
Yiddish words and idioms in the German vocabulary
Schmiere Stehen
Yiddish for ‘schmiro’, meaning ‘guard’ or ‘watchman’
colloquially, it means ‘to keep watch in the event of an offence’
Hals und Beinbruch!
Yiddish ‘Hazloche un Broche’ meaning success and blessing
a play on words for ‘good luck’ before a major challenge
Chuzpe
Yiddish ‘chuzpo’ means impudence,
cheek, audacity or arrogance
Kaff
Yiddish ‘kephar’, meaning ‘village’; used
derisively to mean ‘provincial town’ or ‘village’
Knast
Yiddish ‘knas’ meaning punishment, imprisonment;
colloquial term for prison
Yiddish words in the German vocabulary
malochen
Yiddish ‘melochnen’ meaning ‘to work’, ‘to do’
colloquially meaning ‘to work (hard)
mauscheln, Mauschelei
Yiddish ‘mossele, mauschele’ refers to German with a strong Yiddish influence, which contains Hebrew words or phrases; in other words, when someone speaks
German ‘in the language of Moses’; colloquially meaning to make secret arrangements, to scheme, to collude, to cheat
Mischpoke
from the Yiddish ‘mischpocho’, meaning ‘family’ or ‘kind’
used pejoratively to mean ‘family’ or ‘bad company’
Reibach
Yiddish ‘rewach, rewoch’ meaning ‘advantage, profit, interest’
colloquially referring to an undeservedly high profit, benefit or advantage
Stuss
Yiddish ‘schtus’ meaning folly, nonsense, joke
colloquially meaning nonsense, stupidity