Returning to the Jewish community in medieval Ashkenaz: History and Halakhah

Abstract

In his pioneering study of Rashi's halakhic attitudes and posture toward Jews who had accepted Christianity either willingly or under duress, Jacob Katz argued that Rashi's interpretive expansion of the talmudic principle, 'af 'al pi she-hata Yisra'el hu, had a decisive impact on subsequent halakhic policy in medieval Ashkenaz. On the basis of his understanding of this principle, Rashi ruled, for example, that it was forbidden to take interest from a meshummad (except for extreme situations in which the apostate had resorted to trickery in order to hurt a Jewish lender). Similarly, Rashi ruled (as did Rabbenu Gershom, against the regnant geonic position), that a kohen who had accepted Christianity but later recanted and returned to the Jewish community could resume his participation in the priestly blessing. (from Introduction)