Jews Welcome Coffee: Tradition and Innovation in Early Modern Germany

3. The Rabbis Welcome Coffee

37 3 The Rabbis Welcome Coffee R eligious and political establishments, first across the Islamic world and later in Europe, responded to coffee at times with ambiguity or even hostility, a response that was intended to reduce the popular enthusiasm for it that had emerged in those same societies. In contrast, Jewish religious leaders demonstrated a positive response that in some cases indicated an enthusiastic embrace by the rabbis themselves. This chapter presents a detailed study of the early rabbinical responses to the new product as it entered Jewish society in Germany. Rabbi Jacob Emden (–) was one of the most fascinating and foremost rabbinic figures in eighteenth-century Europe. Well respected for his halachic views, Emden was frequently sought out to resolve difficult issues and render his own verdict on legal questions. Emden also often stood at the center of controversy and is best remembered for his long-standing dispute with Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz (–), having accused this popular teacher and scholar of holding Sabbatian beliefs long after the conversion and death of Sabbatai Zevi, the seventeenth-century messianic figure. I discuss their dispute in detail later in this chapter. Emden had visited Frankfurt shortly after the ghetto fire of  in unfulfilled hopes of collecting a debt owed to his late father. From there he traveled to London for the same purpose, with the same negative results. As he reported in his responsa collection, during that trip, he was sitting in a London coffeehouse drinking his beverage when he was observed by a member of London ’s religious Jewish community, who cautioned him about drinking coffee in such a public establishment—an act that was contrary to the rabbinic teachings in the community. Emden decided that he didn’t want to insult the proprietor by leaving, and he continued to drink his coffee. According to Emden’s account, he apologized immediately after the incident to those who confronted him, but the incident was repeatedly mentioned by others in order to blacken his reputation. Emden admitted that he had acted incorrectly in going against what scholars were teaching in London, but in practice—in London and everywhere else Emden had traveled—even learned Jews found it acceptable to drink coffee in public establishments, and even those who accused him drank coffee in such locations. Having charged his accusers with hypocrisy, Emden concluded with a statement of contrition. He argued at length that he had acted within the realm of Jewish law, but even so, “in our times,” with so many opportunities to deviate, we must add extra protections 38 jews welcome coffee to safeguard the law, and therefore we must prohibit what is otherwise permitted . One can sense the weight of the times on Emden’s shoulders. Let’s grasp the picture of the event itself: here was one of the great rabbinic legal experts of his time, sitting in a gentile establishment in London drinking coffee. In an earlier essay, I posed the question of what had drawn Emden inside in the first place: a thirst for coffee, or a thirst for knowledge—both of which were enormous for Emden. But while that is quite a poetic way of describing the countervailing forces of the eighteenth century, today I am quite sure that I implied an incorrect answer. London coffeehouses were renowned as centers of discourse, sometimes referred to as an “everyman’s university.” Given Emden’s thirst for knowledge, it seems possible—but not more than that—that part of his motivation for entering the establishment was to draw from that fountain of knowledge. But that interpretation would be speculative: first, because Emden didn’t mention any contact with other clients, and second, because he usually pursued his quest for knowledge in a systematic way, reading books or getting a tutor. Even so, his presence in a London coffeehouse dressed in some sort of traditional clothing does conjure up an intriguing scene worth reflecting on. But today I would state that in fact, Emden, always in need of physical satisfaction , was drawn by the power of coffee itself: it had that strong a hold on him. I open this chapter with the Emden anecdote because it illustrates the different ways in which a traditional society chose to come to terms with innovations . Jews welcomed coffee enthusiastically, including rabbis who went about systematically examining the questions that arose with coffee’s arrival. But limits of engagement with coffee also emerged, especially regarding the coffeehouse. Both the encounters between Jews and non...