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Intercession from the early modern period to the 19th century
What is intercession (Hebr. shtadlanut), and how do we identify the characteristics of Jewish intercession in the long history of the Jewish diaspora in Europe? How did different political, constitutional and legal frameworks impact on Jewish diplomacy, and how did Jewish intercessors develop their strategies? Which role was played by traditional narratives, how did Jewish communities adapt to political change? These are some of the lead questions in a project to look at the history of intercession in the history of the European Jewish diaspora. It includes a comparative analysis between diplomatic strategies of different Jewish communities as well as one between Jewish and Christian minority communities.
What is intercession? At the most basic, descriptive level, it was an act to address a concern or a request on behalf of an individual or a group of people to a person, a political agency or an institution in full or partial control of the individual or the group on behalf of which this request was formulated. An intercession could be submitted in writing or in person, and it could be formulated on behalf of somebody else, through an intermediary, as the result of being requested – and sometimes paid – to act as an intercessor.
The full range of personal, economic, and political relations between the interceding individual or group on the one side, and the person (or institution) to whom the request was submitted defined the channels of communication and the efficiency of the intervention. Such an understanding of intercession excludes petitions of individuals on their own behalf, however the fate of an individual – for example to save a defendant in a ritual murder accusation – could well be at the heart of an intercessory effort.
So far, the following case studies have been discussed in academic publications:
- François Guesnet (2002): “Politik der Vormoderne. Shtadlanut am Vorabend der polnischen Teilungen,” in Simon-Dubnow-Institute Yearbook, vol. 1 (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlagsanstalt): 235–255.
- François Guesnet (2005): “Textures of Intercession: Rescue Efforts for the Jews of Prague, 1744/48,” in: Simon-Dubnow-Institute Yearbook, vol. 4 (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht): 355–375.
- François Guesnet (2005): "Die Politik der Fürsprache. Vormoderne jüdische Interessenvertretung," in Synchrone Welten. Zeitenräume jüdischer Geschichte, ed. Dan Diner (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2005): 67–92.
- François Guesnet (2006):“Moses Mendelssohns Tätigkeit als Fürsprecher im Kontext jüdischer politischer Kultur der frühen Neuzeit,” in Moses Mendelssohn, die Aufklärung und die Anfänge des deutsch-jüdischen Bürgertums, ed. Julius H. Schoeps et al. (Hamburg: Philo & Philo Fine Arts): 115–137.
- François Guesnet (2010): “Agreements between neighbours. The ‘ugody’ as a source on Jewish-Christian relations in early modern Poland,” in Jewish History 24 (2010), 3-4, 257-270 doi:10.1007/s10835-010-9118-7.
- François Guesnet (2011): “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Joel Wegmeister and Modern Hasidic Politics in Warsaw,” in Quest. Issues in Contemporary Jewish History. Journal of Fondazione CDEC 2 (October 2011)
- François Guesnet (2017): “Negotiating Under Duress: The Expulsion of Salzburg Protestants (1732) and the Jews of Prague (1744),” in Negotiating Religion. Cross-disciplinary perspectives, ed. idem, Cécile Laborde, Lois Lee (Abingdon/New York: Routledge 2017): 47–62.
- François Guesnet (2018): “The Politics of Precariousness. Josel of Rosheim and Jewish intercession in the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century,” in Jewish Culture and History 19,1 (2018), 8-22, doi.org/10.1080/1462169X.2017.1409994
- François Guesnet (2022): ‘Constitutio in actu? Eliezer Dileon's letter to the Minsk kahal, 1817,’ in: Zutot. Perspectives on Jewish Culture 19 (2022), 1-16. DOI:10.1163/18750214-bja10005
These will be complemented by a monograph, the first of its kind dedicated to this topic.