Responsum: On a Jewish Trader and His Christian Contacts

This extract from a Hebrew question posed to Rabbenu Gershom concerns the case of an individual, “Reuben,” who has earned a bad reputation as a dealer in looted goods. On one trip, Reuben goes missing, but no demand for ransom is made. After a certain amount of time, a second individual, “Simeon,” seeks to marry Reuben’s wife. The issue facing Rabbenu Gershom is the kind of evidence necessary to determine whether Reuben has in fact died, but the question offers fascinating details of “Reuben’s” life and some of the hazards of Jewish life in northern Europe. Reuben’s unnamed wife must have been fairly wealthy, given the expenses she incurred looking for her husband. There was a business arrangement, known as ma‘arufiya (probably from the Arabic word “to know”), whereby one Jew might have a monopoly on trading with a non-Jewish “business acquaintance,” though this was illegal according to non-Jewish law.