How far back can we trace a Jewish community in Poland?
The Jewish community in what is today Poland, which over time had slightly different borders, we can date back to about the 12th century. Some historians date it a little bit earlier, but it seems like there weren't really huge communities before the 12th century. There's the historical narrative about how the Jews arrived in Poland and it has to do with their perceived economic value to the rulers and also moving eastward, escaping some of the pogroms that were partially related to the Crusades in German that are hanging from the trees. So there are these myths, not just that there are these benevolent rulers who welcomed the Jews for economic purposes, but also that the landscape itself, the natural environment, is very hospitable to Jews and that Jewish texts are already part of the landscape when they arrive.
