The present study interprets and frames a long-standing question concerning Judah he-Ḥasid’s motivations in migrating to Regensburg against the social and geographical contexts of the Jews of Ashkenaz. By examining the use of Hebrew geographic terminology during the High Middle Ages (Loter, Ashkenaz, Ashkelonia), the article demonstrates that twelfth-century Jews perceived and were engaged in contemporary political and territorial processes of the surrounding kingdom. The Hebrew terms describe the cultural tripartite division of the German kingdom (Regnum Teutonicum) in Lotharingia, the five duchies of the earlier tribes (Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, Swabia, and Bavaria), and the still Slavic territories of the East. These imperial territories were settled and Christianized by mostly German migrants from the west of the kingdom from the eleventh century onwards. Comparable developments are evident in the movement and expansion of Jewish settlement in the German Kingdom. After many Jewish communities were founded in the Ashkenazic heartlands, beginning in cities on the Rhine, Main, and the Danube, i.e., in the territories of the five duchies (Ashkenaz), Jewish settlers founded new communities and settlements in the still Slavic areas (Ashkelonia), beyond the Elbe and Saale rivers, as part of the German settlement movement. Judah he-Ḥasid’s family’s migration is part of this development. With his relocation to Regensburg, he lived on the border of the Ashkenazic heartland (Old/West Ashkenaz) and the new Ashkenazic settlement areas in Ashkelonia (New/Eastern Ashkenaz). In Regensburg he became one of the central spiritual and halakhic authorities for the communities of the eastern neighboring territories. Through his work Judah he-Ḥasid opened the way to an “Ashkenazation” of the Jewish communities in eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe.

本研究解释并构架了一个长期存在的问题，涉及犹大·赫西德反对阿什肯纳兹犹太人的社会和地理背景迁移到雷根斯堡的动机。通过考察在中世纪（希伯来语，阿什肯纳兹语，亚实基伦语）中使用希伯来语地理术语，该文章表明，十二世纪的犹太人意识到并参与了周围王国的当代政治和领土进程。希伯来语用语描述了在Lotharingia的德意志王国（Regnum Teutonicum）的文化三方分工，早期部落的五个公国（萨克森州，弗兰肯行政区，图林根州，施瓦本州和巴伐利亚州）以及东方仍然是斯拉夫的领土。从11世纪开始，这些帝国领土主要由来自该国西部的德国移民来定居和基督教化。在德意志王国的犹太人定居点的迁移和扩展中，可比的事态发展显而易见。在Ashkenazic中心地带建立了许多犹太社区之后，首先是在莱茵河，美因河和多瑙河等城市，即在五个公国（Ashkenaz）的领土上，犹太定居者在仍然斯拉夫地区建立了新的社区和定居点（作为德国定居运动的一部分，位于易北河和萨勒河之外。犹大·赫萨西德（Judahhe-Ḥasid）的家庭移民是这一发展的一部分。随着他搬到雷根斯堡，他住在Ashkenazic心脏地带（Old / West Ashkenaz）的边界和Ashkelonia（New / Eastern Ashkenaz）的新Ashkenazic居住区的边界上。在雷根斯堡，他成为东部邻国社区的中央精神和伊斯兰宗教机构之一。他通过犹大的工作为中东欧东部和东欧的犹太人社区的“ Ashkenazation”开辟了道路。