Opposing Viewpoints-Causes Of The Black Death Summary

Black Death and the Jewish Society In the article, “Opposing Viewpoints – Causes of the Black Death: Contemporary Viewpoints”, the third selection is a piece from Herman Gigas. This selection briefly describes how the Jews were persecuted for and sometimes confessed to causing the Black Death, often known as “The Plague”. In this selection, a couple of distinct phrases peaked my interest. The following quote was the first thing that caught my attention: “Some say that it was brought about by the corruption of the air; others that the Jews planned to wipe out all the Christians with poison and has poisoned wells and springs everywhere.” (Spielvogel). Prior to reading this article, I had no idea that one of the explanations for the Plague included the possibility of the Jewish causing it purposefully. I find it hard to believe that this was truly the case with my background in Biology. It seems more logical that it dealt with a new strain of a disease and low immunity in the population. Another

Along with personal hygiene laws, Jewish law also had specific sanitary condition requirements related to the burial of the dead. During this time, many corpses were left unburied, above ground, left there to decay with any possible diseases the deceased may have had. Leaving the corpses unburied not only encouraged the conditions that spread the Black Death disease, but is also abetted the spread of typhus and other diseases as well (Wein). The Jewish people had strict burial procedures, which included maintaining a formal burial society (the chevrah kadisha), who was responsible to make sure that any Jew who died was treated according to Jewish law. Bodies were buried in the ground and prior to their burial, the dead body was washed. This was again, a much more sanitary process than the burial practices of the general population during this time