Dating back as far as the third century and possibly earlier, the Jewish communities in Provence, the Rhineland, Paris, and Troyes were sizable and flourishing in the Middle Ages. Forced into the occupation of money lending, they fulfilled France's economic needs yet also became its scapegoats. Yet against this bleak backdrop, Torah institutions were miraculously able to thrive.

• Speyers, Worms, and Mainz - the leading Jewish communities
• Provence - the Babylonia of France
• Charlemagne's tolerance of the Jews
• how the Jews became money lenders
• how their prosperity became their downfall

For more detail on the community of Provence, please check out "The Jews of Provence" and learn about the great scholars whose heated debates made it famous.