Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
Jump away. I wish there was more jumping.

Yes, you needed to be literate to study the teachings (and you can study all day, every day for life! It's a job!), but you are reading in Hebrew/"The holy language" -the issues of which are a whole other story.

So yes they were literate but not necessarily in the local language. Having said that, those that could read could probably read most of what was written at the time, so your point is largely correct. Medieval Jews probably had a better command of both written and spoken Latin, than 99% of folks at the time, and when reading the Bible was deliberately limited to just Priests.
My point was that being literate in one language makes it a lot easier to be literate in another. (as you wrote) My point, which was similar to yours ("product of Jewish educational practices (teachings) and family values.") is that it was this religious requirement that greatly led to the cultural push for, if not love of, knowledge. Also, several millennia of persecution and exile probably helped, too. Jews have often had to acquire "portable" essential skills. An education, most often in the form of literacy and math, is something that always can be moved and utilized especially when the general population is less educated. When Jews came to the US, many became doctors and lawyers. These were fields that were essential to society (this aided in minimizing their alienation) and they were "knowledge based" and could be utilized anywhere in the country.

Adam L