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Todt zum Juden: |
Death to The Jew Yoo-hoo! Jew, start traveling. You have waited too long for your Messiah. Christ, whom you have murdered, was the right one. You have long been mistaken. |
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Der Jud: |
The Jew. I was a Rabbi of scripture. I drew only the poison out of the Bible. I have desired Messiah very little, have paid more heed to treasures and usury. |
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The Jew gets a hard time from Death, who tugs his beard, steals his money and accuses him of having killed Jesus.
One wonders why a Jew appears in this dance of death anyway, since Jews where not allowed to live in Basel. In 1397 all Jews with the exception of Physician Gutleben and his family had fled from Basel — most probably because of rumours of well-poisoning.(2)
The Jew-hate seems to have grown with each renovation of the mural in Basel, for if we look at the corresponding scene in Klein-Basel (picture to the left), Death behaves much more civilly: Death originally walked along with the Jew and satisfied himself by reproaching him for being fooled by his religion: »Din talmüt hat vil gelogen, Do mit bistu balt betrogen« (="Your Talmud has lied much, by this you have been swindled").
In Groß-Basel the Jew is pulled, so the contents of his purse drops out. In Büchel's watercolour (to the right) the money is still in free fall, but in Merian's copperplate (above) they are lying on the ground along with a pair of dice.
The dice were a special tax imposed upon Jews - a so-called Würfelzoll - where the authorities could demand dice from Jews. A "discreet" reminder about how the Jews had thrown lots for Jesus' clothes at Calvary.
This was in spite of the Bible clearly telling us that it was the Roman soldiers
who cast lot about Jesus' raiment. John 19,
23. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
Cristians have never cared too much about what the Bible says, so the result was that the Romans were forgiven for killing Jesus (»Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do«), while the Jews were persecuted because of the Romans casting lots.
Frölich gives the Jew a 5th line: »Dasselb mir inn die Kuche bracht«. The German expression "in Teufels Küche bringen" means to get someone into a hell of a mess.
| English translation from Beck, 1852 | |
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| Death to the Jew. | The Jew's reply. |
Up, Jew, and take the common gate, |
As Rabbi long the law I knew, |
| Translation from Hess, 1841 | |
| Death to the Jew. | Answer of the Jew. |
Up, up! jew make the on the road |
A rabby I was of the scripture |
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Footnotes: (1) (2)
Hui-um! Dumedum.
Wele chunt und g'heipi um?!
Yoo-hoo. At all sides.
Who comes and throw me over?!
We are told in 1446 that the Jews had been worried about their own safety and they escaped to
Duke Leopold in Austria.
As to why the Jews feared for their safety, several Jews had been arrested in the 1390's
in the neighbouring cities and had been charged with
spreading a powder in the wells that caused a plague-like disease.
(Source: M. Ginsburger, Die Juden in Basel, Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde, vol. 8, 1909, pages 394-396)
Dances of death
Basel
Jew