From ancient biblical garments, originally mentioned in the Torah, to modern department stores and fashion designers: Jews always played a significant role in the evolution of textile culture.
In medieval times most craftsman guilds were strictly Christian, so the Jewish workers didn’t get the permission to become members. The clergy authorities forbid non-guild craftsmen to officially work in guild-dominated fields. This fact forced the Jews into other professions like merchant trade, money lending and small artisan craftsmanship like silversmith.
Many European Jews specialized in textiles.
One reason for this phenomenon has been the relatively soft restrictions of Christian tailor guilds in the central European area. They looked the other way when a Jewish tailor or weaver started their business. Another reason has been the law that Jews couldn’t own their own land. Even owning a house in the town was problematic. So, some of them chose a profession which didn’t require a stationary residence.
Medieval tailoring is relatively easily done without heavy tools or materials. The handy craft itself, the skills and the techniques, were the main ingredients to be a successful tailor in the European Middle Ages.
Another important fact: medieval Jews had certain advantages compared to their Christian neighbors, non-Jewish workers and laborers. In Jewish culture it has always been significant that the young learn to read and to write at an early age. Many Jews spoke several languages. They have been connected to other Jewish communities all over Europe through family ties, business relations and long-distance travels.
Survive expulsions and work-bans
Because of antisemitic occurrences, the European Jews were forced to adapt quickly and cleverly to drastic changes of circumstances. All this made them resilient and creative. The fact that they weren’t as bound to a certain building, town or area as their Christian neighbors, gave them the ability to survive expulsions and work-bans.
Some Sephardic Jews for example, expelled from the Iberian Peninsula late fifteenth century, found new occupations as silk traders and merchants for other high-quality fabrics. The Jewish community in the Amsterdam area today is still very much connected to their Sephardic roots.
Culture of fashion design
Another example is the Ashkenazi Jews, which originated in Central Europe from the Baltic areas, Poland, Germany, and France. They have a very high percentage of tailors or other textile craftsmen in their family ancestry. Over the centuries they developed a culture of engineering and fashion design, first in Europe, later as immigrants in the United States. They’ve always been a minority in a mostly Christian dominated field – but due to resilience and skills they managed to survive until today.
The significance of Jewish knowledge and craftsmanship in the field of fabrics, clothing, tailoring and retail is widely known.
Blue Jeans
Just to name three important things the Jews invented related to the area of textiles: blue jeans, department stores and the feminine wrap dress.
Kelly Zehe zal op zondag 9 maart 2025 haar presentatie geven getiteld: History of Jewish tailors or: Jewish roots of the international fashion industry.
Schrijf je nu in voor Limmoed NL, het wereldwijde festival van Joods Leren.
Zie hier het programma van Limmoed 2025.
cover: kledingstijlen in bijbelse tijden, bron: Armstong Institute
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