Life in the Pale of Settlement - Research Paper Example

Life in the Pale of Settlement Introduction Jews commonly inhabit Israel. Israel was promised to Jews’ ancestors. However, Jews inhabit different parts of the world especially in Europe. In Europe, Jews live permanently or temporarily. The well-renowned life of Jews outside Israel was in the pale of settlement (Bhrlich 21). This is found in Russia as the only portion where Jews could reside. However, the Jews in the Pale of Settlement lacked the accepted right of every other Russian citizen. This resulted into a restricted Jewish life. The chief restriction required Jews not to relocate to other parts of the empire for residence temporarily or permanently, except in the Pale. Life outside the Pale was only legal during the reign of Alexander I. This paper discusses the life of Jews in the Pale of settlement. The discussion explores the origin of the life in the pale of settlement, life in the Pale and implications of life in the Pale on Jews. Origin of the pale of settlement During the Napoleonic Enlightenment, Western Europe Jews emancipated. However, this was not the case for Jews in Eastern Europe that, in the 18th and 19th centuries, was inhabited by most Jews. In Eastern Europe, Jewish population was about 5 million. This accounted for 40% of the worldwide population for Jews. For as long as 125 years, since 1791, Jews in Eastern Europe lived under Russian Czars’ confinement. This reign began during Catherine the Great’s era. During her reign, Catherine required the Jews to remain within ‘the borders of Settlement’ or Pale of settlement (Bloomberg 12). The Pale of settlement was comprised of 25 provinces. These provinces included Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, Lithuania and a portion of Poland among others. Catherine the Great ruled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which comprised the Western side of Poland. Although western Poland occupants were critical Jewish communities like Galicia, they were few but significant. These Jews were subjected to poor living compared to their fellow Jews in Eastern Austro-Hungarian Empire. The differences were evident in terms of physical and economical conditions. Czarist Russian Jews had been forced to live in the Pale after their expulsion from St. Petersburg and Moscow. In addition, Jews in the Pale were forced out of the Pale’s rural areas to reside only in Shtetls. Twenty percent of the European Russian territory comprised the Pale. The Pale comprised of today’s Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Western Russia and Poland. But for a few Jewish categories, all other Jews were expected to remain within the Pale. The word Pale is derived from the Latin Palus, which indicates boundary. A Pale refers is a district disconnected from the surrounding country. Disconnect can be because of physical boundaries or legal system. For the Jews in the Pale, the requirement was for them to live and work there for at least 130 years in the period between 18th and 20th century (Bloomberg 13). Jews were contained in the Pale mainly to preclude them from engaging in trade activities with Russian population. However, the confinement of Jews in the Pale resulted to the formation of a distinctive ethnic and religious culture. Laws that were no applicable to any other part of the entire Russian empire regulated Jewish settlement in the area. Since 1772, Poland underwent three partitioning. The partitions were successive. In the end, Poland territory’s portions were annexed by nations like Russia, Prussia and Austria. During this partitioning, Russia was compelled to absorb the largest of the partitions. This meant that a portion of the Jewish society would have to be part of Russia’s population. The past of Jews in Russia was characterized by official intolerance, which was targeted to the Jews. This was mostly because the Russians were afraid of economic competition. The Jews were known for their successful investment in commercial enterprises (Deutsch 12). In order to prevent commercial flourishing of the Jews absorbed in Russia, the government sought for the best ways to keep the Jews from integration with the rest of the Russian population. At the same time, there were territories in Russia that had been acquired from Turkey. These territories ranged to the black sea shores in the South. In this case, Russia needed settlers to populate these newly acquired lands while creating commercial control of the black sea region. The black Sea region was strategically location and Russian government found it wise to establish and control the region’s trade. With the absorption of the Jews and the need to settle people in the Black sea area, the Russian government named the solution to the two problems as the Pale of Settlement. This naming occurred during the reign of Catherine the Great who then resettled the Jews to the new areas absorbed from Turkey and Poland. Catherine required that the Jews conducted trade only within this area and not with any other Russian outside the Pale. With time, Jews population increased owing to annexing of Poland partitions. Finally, the pale comprised of parts of Belarus, majority of Ukraine and Lithuania by the end of 18th century. In addition, White-Russian Jews were only required to join gilds for white-Russian artisans and merchants while they were prohibited from joining government gilds. Conversely, Catherine II extended Jews citizenship right to Viceregency and Taurida territory. This regulation is currently applied despite the Pale limits’ frequent modifications (Nathans 14). With the Jews population in Russia, the government was afraid that the Jews would impose economic dependence on the less liberal Russians. However, the economic activities allowed to the Jews were calculated. This was so as the establishment of the Pale would seem as a way of eliminating the influence of the Jewish religion over the Russians (Borrero 66). The Pale of settlement was formed during the first partition of Poland in 1791. Successive partitions of Poland meant enlargement of the Pale. However, the extent of the Pale was diminished by the end of Alexander I’s reign and in Nicholas I’s reign. In 1835, the restrictions on the Jews included not residing in some parts of the Pale like in military ports of Sebastopol and government Moghilef’s villages. In addition, the Jews were forced out of hamlets and villages of specific governments. In 1855, Alexander II ascended to throne in the Eastern Austro-Hungarian Empire. His reign introduced exceptions to the tyrannical laws governing the Jewish Pale. The exceptions provided involved just the Jews with definite professional qualifications and educational setting. These Jews had the right to live outside the Pale boundaries. At first, only some merchants were affected. However, with time, the exceptions extended to people with higher education levels like doctors, midwives, and nurses among other medical professionals. Other persons eligible to the Pale exceptions were craftspeople and artisans like shoemakers and tailors as well as those with full military service training. In 1881, Alexander II was assassinated and the previous restrictions over the Jews in the Pale were restored (Karesh and Hurvitz 10). Alexander III, the new empire Czar established short-lived laws that forbid new Jewish settlement outside the Pale. The laws also allowed Christians within the Pale to expel Jews within those areas and prevented Jews already residing outside the Pale from settling to other parts outside the Pale. Moscow was one of the areas where Jews were expelled and forced to resettle within the Pale (Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz 380). In addition, Jews in the Pale were restricted from settling in any of the Polish government and neither were Jews from these governments allowed to settle in the Pale. With the suspicions that the Jews assassinated Alexander II, there was mob violence outbreaks directed towards them in 1881-1884. Through this pogroms (Borrero 66) and Jewish population official repression, Jews emigrated to Western Europe and United States in masses. The Pale of settlement survived until the end of World War I (Bookbinder 28) when the Jews fled the Pale to other parts of Russia for fear of German forces. Life in the Pale of settlement One-ninth of the population in the Pale of settlement is Jews. The number of Jews increases constantly given the high birth rate and increase in better health care. Conversely, Jews confined in the Pale experience increased poverty. In addition, the Jewish population is subjected to increased competition arising from a growing population in the area. Increase in population resulted from expulsions from villages and restrictions to participate only in required activities. The government restricted Jews in the pale to participate in agriculture through the provision of special settlements. However, the settlements were not sufficient to absorb the increasing population that was continually expelled from villages. As a result, most Jews engage in technical jobs like artisans. In the Pale, the number of artisans per 1,000 people is the highest by three times (Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz 380). The Jews conditions deteriorated during the reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas I permitted the alienation of Jews from their religion and hired into the army for 25 years. The Jews were also obliged to supply required recruits or cartoonists failure to which children kidnappings were done to fill in the quota. Kidnapped Jewish children were re-educated and forced into Christianity. In 1823, Jews were expelled from Kiev where they had long lived. This expulsion ignited others that required no Jew to reside further from the border. This led to congestion and Kiev province’s governor requires the government to lift the restriction to avoid congestion. Apart from living in cities, Jews in the Pale lived outside cities. The Jewish community resided in Shtetl within the pale and comprised of several thousands of inhabitants. In Shtetl, Jewish communities were concentrated in marketplaces and synagogues. Outside the cities, Jews’ occupations include peddlers, shopkeepers, intermediaries and artisans. For the Jews without employment, the main means of earning a living is by being a Luftmenshen who did anything to survive. In the Pale region, the Jewish population is remarkably impoverished such that about one-third depend partly or wholly on Jewish welfare organizations. Jews in the Pale were allowed to join general schools, other than the ancient kheyder. However, only a few Jewish parents enroll their children in general schools. Low Jewish enrollment into general schools is attributed to the use of Polish, German or Russian instructions. Only a few Jews understood these languages. Conversely, general schools did not use Yiddish, the language spoken broadly. In order to equate Jews with Christians in terms of knowledge, special Jewish schools were founded in the Pale but parents still avoid them in 1844 (Nathans 17). These schools are intended at liberating the Jews from harmful believes controlled by the Talmud. In order to pay for these schools, taxes are imposed on candles yet parents prefer the kheyder. At the ancient kyeder, learning instructions are in Hebrew language while the Hebrew alphabet is used for Yiddish enabling students to read and write. Some children join Russia’s intelligentsia mainstream where some join movements in protest of Czarist regimes for their oppression. Implications of life in the Pale on Jews Despite oppressions, life in the Pale resulted to the establishment of a sophisticated social welfare system among the Jews. With this system, every Jew was assisted during hard and good times. There was no starvation to death among the Jews compared to Christians. Jews also gave charity to their neighbors the Gentiles but the Rabbis were cautious to avoid insincere converts with intentions of benefiting from this social system (Nathans 17). In addition, confinement in the Pale led to the establishment of Torah Learning that led to the development of a school for Torah study. For the Jews in Eastern Europe, Torah studies were considered a luxury in the 18th century and only preserved for the elite. The school supported top students from numerous Jews communities in the Pale. In the Pale, there was also the development of Mussar movement. This movement promoted the re-birth of Torah Studies with emphasis on the critical focus of the studies. Conclusion In summary, the paper has discussed life in the pale under from its origin to the life and its implications on the Jews. The main reason for the formation of the Pale was to have all Jews remain under confinement for fear that their sophisticated skills in commerce would economically enslave less privileged Russian people. In order to prevent such enslavement, the Pale is formed under the reign of Catherine the Great, as a way of preventing the Jewish religion from influencing Russian religion. However, the Jews face numerous oppressions, which include lack of citizenship rights, expulsions, poor education, and lack of employment among others. In the Pale, Jews are able to form a social system to assist each other in times of need and establish a Torah Studies school that uses Mussar Movement. Today, the Pale comprise of nations like Belarus, Western Russia, Poland, and Ukraine among others. Works cited Bhrlich, Mark. Encyclopedia of Jewish Diaspora: Origin, Experiences and culture. United States: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. Bloomberg, Jon. The Jewish world in the modern age. New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2004. Print. Borrero, Mauricio. Russia: a reference Guide from the Renaissance to the present. New York: InfoBase Publishing, 2009. Print. Deutsch, Nathaniel. The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of settlement. Harvard: Harvard University press, 2011. Print. Karesh, Sara E. and Hurvitz, Mitchell M. Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York: Infobase publishing, 2006. Print. Mendes-Flohr, Paul R and Reinharz, E. The Jews in the modern world: A documentary, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1995. Print. Nathans, Benjamin. Beyond the Pale: the Jewish encounter with late imperial Russia. California: University of California Press, 2004. Print. Read More