L’éducation des enfants juifs à Rome (XVI^e-début XVII^e siècle): un monde à part

Most studies of early modern learning concentrate on elite humanistic education, whether of Christians or Jews. Jewish education can be studied from the bottom up as well, including of girls. The percentage of young Jews educated was demonstrably higher than among Christians. Evidence from sixteenth and seventeenth century Rome is rich. Most attended the Communal Talmud Torah to learn reading, writing, and some arithmetic. Attendance, in theory, was obligatory, with no distinction between Italian or other Jews. Reading was in Hebrew letters, with Italian the language of instruction. Some learned to read the Latin alphabet from Christian teachers. Not all Jews received equal education. The wealthy had private tutors. Fortunate others studied in small schools. Young girls learned embroidery (lavori femminili) from female instructors, and reading, too, so that they could stitch biblical verses on Torah covers. There was « practical» education as well, in apprenticeships: dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, but also sword making and woodwork. And tailoring, alongside the art of ritual slaughter. Distinguishing Jewish education from that of Christians was that Jewish law bound parents to attend to the education of the young. Among Christians, the task fell largely to the clergy, who concentrated on « discipline». Young Jews learned to read the Bible directly, Christian youth not at all. The essay is supplemented by an appendix of pertinent texts.