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Jewish Life in Lublin up to the 19th Century
The first mention of a Jewish presence in Lublin dates back to the second half of the fifteenth century and is connected with a rabbi named Jakob who was in Lublin at that time. Jakob was probably from Trent and had sought refuge in Poland he had been sentenced to death after being accused of ritual murder. A Jewish community had already existed in Lublin since the fourteenth century. Jews settled primarily around the castle hill, though with time they moved towards the north and northeast. Thus, a separate Jewish neighborhood came into existence just below the castle. Its main street and trading center was Jewish Street (ulica Żydowska) later known as Szeroka. Synagogues and prayer houses were also located on this street. In the eighteenth century, Jewish settlement also extended to the southern side of castle hill, were the poorest Jews lived. The area below the castle was not however the only part of Lublin where Jews lived. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Jews lived in the suburbs, mainly in Kalinowszczyzna, but also in Piaski (in the area near the present train station), and in Wieniawa, which comprised a separate town until the First World War and became one of Lublin's neighborhoods only later.
The city's attractive location and numerous royal privileges contributed to its economic development. Lublin experienced its heyday in the sixteenth century, when it became the most important trading center within the Crown. In 1453, King Kazimierz Jagiellon granted the Lublin Jews a privilege that allowed them to conduct trade freely. This was particularly important, since the Lublin fairs attracted traders from all over the country, as well as abroad. This meant the city and its inhabitants grew wealthier, but also spurred rivalries and led to economic conflicts. Christian traders were granted a privilege known as "De non tolerandis Judaeis" from Zygmunt the Old. At the same time, he granted the Lublin Community a privilege that put it under the direct control of the king, both in terms of taxation as well as justice. The king appreciated the contribution of the Jewish Community and its active participation in the construction of the city walls, which in effect gave them the same rights as the Christian residents. The position of the Jews in Lublin was growing stronger, as was evidence by the next privilege granted to them, related to the courts and the fact that the post of rabbi general for all of Malopolska was entrusted to the Lublin rabbis. The Lublin kahal became the Kingdom of Poland's third most important after those in Lwów and Kraków.
In 1518, a yeshiva was established in the town thanks to the efforts of a leading Talmudist, rabbi Szalom Szachna. Even during its founder's lifetime, the school became famous and respected all over Europe. Its rectors included Salomon Luria, Mordechaj Jaffe and Meir ben Gedalia. In 1567, Zygmunt II August granted the yeshiva a privilege making its status equal to that of other academies at the time. A new masonry synagogue was also built at the time. The town and Jewish Community really blossomed during the sixteenth century, when Lublin was known as the "Jerusalem of the kingdom of Poland." The first Hebrew printing press was established in 1547, but it was the one founded in 1578 by Kalonimus Joffe that became most famous. Jewish culture was blossoming, and Hebrew and Yiddish were both increasingly being used. In 1567, a magnificent synagogue was built.
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In 1568, Lublin's Jewish quarter was granted the privilege De non tolerandis Christianis which banned Christians from living in the Jewish neighborhood as well as from buying houses and land there. Nevertheless, in practice neither of the De non tolerandis privileges, whether granted to Christians or Jews, were implemented. Despite the economic competition, they traded with one another.
Since the Jewish communities had grown so much during the sixteenth century, it was necessary to improve their functioning. Some of the Communities enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, but others did not, and their fiscal burdens varied. King Zygmunt I had already attempted to decentralize the Jewish Communities by creating offices of "general executors" and "general rabbis". This, however, was met with disapproval on the part of the Jewish population. It was only during the rule of Zygmunt I August that a new organization of Jewish Communities was introduced, grouping them together in "ziemstwa" (lands), which were administrative units at the intermediate level. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, a certain degree of consolidation of the Jewish communities took place. The Union linked Poland and Lithuania, creating the Commonwealth of Two Nations. Creating a central administration for Polish and Lithuanian Jews became a subject of debate and various attempts were made to find a solution. In 1580, these efforts resulted in the establishment of Jewish self-government in Lublin called �Waad Arba Arac� � the Council of Four Lands, based on a privilege granted by Stefan Batory. This was the highest representative body of the Commonwealth's Jews, which included representatives of individual lands (ziemstwa), districts, and independent Communities from Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Lithuania and Rus'. The Council convened in Lublin during the years 1580-1764 during the fairs. It also met sporadically in other towns, including Łęczna, Przemyśl, Rzeszów, Przeworsk and Szczebrzeszyn. After the Cossack wars and the Swedish invasion, which brought about the towns decline, the sessions were usually moved to Jarosław.
In the eighteenth century, the town fell heavily into debt, not only because of the general economic situation, but also because of ill-management and abuses by the Vaad elders, which led to a decline in that institution's authority. The Council of Four Lands was liquidated in 1764 at the Convocation Sejm, which left only the administrative breakdown into Communities. The devastation that Lublin experienced during the wars of the seventeenth century also affected the Jewish population. The Cossacks and Ruthenians completely burned the Jewish quarter, which burned for six days, and killed over two thousand Jews.
The Jewish Community in Lublin revived only in the second half of the eighteenth century. In 1784, there were 4,321 Jews living in Lublin. Beginning in 1795, Lublin became part of the Austrian partition, from 1809 was in the Duchy of Warsaw and from 1815 was in the Russian partition, which was known as the Kingdom of Poland.
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