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A medieval Jewish merchant might well own a home in Iberia and another elsewhere, perhaps in Morocco or in the Near East. Moreover, the Muslims had made the sea routes eminently safe, by constructing lighthouses along the shores and introducing new, improved naval vessels even so, ships in this era stayed fairly close to shore, and in winter, when the tides were tricky, traders took the land routes. Jews preferred to travel by sea, because one does not desecrate the Sabbath by gaining mileage on the water the requirement of halting a land caravan for a day could be extremely expensive. Evidently it was not even unusual to make several journeys from Spain to India during one’s lifetime. The Geniza documents note quite casually the frequency with which Jews also moved between Spain and Sicily, Aden and the Indian Ocean, for the sake of contracting marriages for their offspring or establishing new branches of business. Their religious persuasion was no barrier to travel, and the surrounding culture helped revive and reinforce the ancient Talmudic custom of traveling in order to learn. Medieval Jewish documents spanning almost a thousand years, preserved in the treasure trove known as the Cairo Geniza, show how natural it was for Jews to be on the move. According to one source, the Prophet himself said, “Those who go out in search of knowledge will be in the path of God until they return” Or, as the traditional phrase put it, “In mobility there is blessing” (In the Talmud too, travel for the sake of learning was commanded…) Jewish Merchants Moved Freely Throughout the Mediterranean Region Mobility was facilitated by early oral Islamic tradition, which regarded travel for the sake of knowledge as a venerable and pious activity that might even assure entry into Paradise. The quasi-global economy of Islam eventually stretched from Iberia to the Indian Ocean, as ideas and men, goods and armies, moved freely between East and West.
According to Muslim (but not Jewish) tradition, Abraham’s son Ishmael, the forefather of Islam, was a textile merchant. Trade was fundamental to Islamic life from the outset, in large part because Muhammad had been a merchant. Muhammad (Like Ishmael, Arguably) Was a Merchant Reprinted with permission from The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience (Free Press). My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate