In a broad sweep from Central Europe to Ireland and from the Sixteenth to theearly Nineteenthcentury this work puts the Jewish community and its rabbinicand lay... » 

In a broad sweep from Central Europe to Ireland and from the Sixteenth to theearly Nineteenthcentury this work puts the Jewish community and its rabbinicand lay leaders at the centre of Jewish history. Of surpassing value isKochans treatment of the community not only as a religious but also as apolitical unit. It shows the community at grips with the Reformation and theintroduction of the ghetto system in the Italian states. Thence to the greatmaritime centre of Venice Amsterdam Hamburg and London under the dominanceof the Sephardi exiles from Spain and Portugal and also to the metropolitancentres of Prague Vienna and Berlin and the liaison of their courtJews withthe Hapsburgs Bourbons and Hohenzollerns. This was not achieved without severetension inside the communities and whilst eschewing the concept of classstruggle Kochans analysis of the clash of interests between the few wealthyand the multitude of poor Jews raises doubts about the whole notion ofcommunity. «