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Wirth points out that in the beginning the Ghetto was not a creation of authority but arose out of ecological factors
The concentration of the Jews into segregated local areas in the medieval cities did not originate with any formal edict of the Church or the State. It is a mistake to think that it was imposed by the authorities. In fact, it was an unwitting crystallization of needs and practices rooted in the customs and heritage, religious and secular of the Jews themselves.
It just made sense to live in close proximity. Therefore, long before it was made compulsory Jews lived in Ghetto on their own accord. Spatially segregated and socially isolated community seemed to offer the best opportunity for following their religious precepts, be it ritual and diet or functions at family and community levels.
Just as we saw in the case of pol in earlier times it was also customary for the member of the same occupational groups to live in the same locality, and the Jews were a separate vocational class. Everybody was tied to a locality. But social institutions do not remain the same over a period of time and the concept of the Ghetto changed completely when it became a legal/enforced category.
The legal enactments on the Ghetto shows how an organization which arose out of practice becomes an instrument of oppression and subjugation once it is enforced by the authority. In case of the Ghetto, the slowly formalized custom became crystallized into legal enactment. While Jews had willingly sought the Ghetto life as an ecological predicament, it was imposed upon them by law. The Ghetto became forced and compulsory |
