The first mention of the existence of Jewry in Melun dates from the beginning of the 12th century. Simon de Beaugency names them in a testament to his creditors. From the 13th century, a street and a Talmudic school (synagogue) signify that Jews were present up to the expulsion of the Jewry of France in 1306. Talmudists represented there include Jacob ben Meir TAM; Meshulam ben NATHAN of Narbonne; and RASHBAM, the grandson of RASHI. A Jew of Melun, Vivant, was appointed in 1202 to collect the taxes of his coreligionists; another, Leo Crossius, obtained permission in 1204 to live at the Châtelet in Paris. In Dec, 1230, Saint Louis, King of France, together with the barons at a meeting held at Melun, promulgated the following decrees: (1) henceforth Jews will not be permitted to make contracts; (2) they will be considered the property of the barons in whose territory they live; (3) in cases of migration they may be forcibly returned to their former homes; (4) debts due to them shall become void if not collected within nine legal terms, and shall no longer bear interest; (5) the vouchers for their credits shall become worthless if not submitted to the barons before All Saints' Day. In 1240, a famous "Disputation" compared four rabbis with Nicolas DONIN sur Saint-Louis on Judaism. The Jews occupied a special quarter at Melun, called "La Iviferie," which is mentioned in the documents preserved in the archives of Notre Dame of Melun from the years 1206, 1212, and 1218. In a document dated Jan. 5, 1307, there is a reference to the sale of a house and barn, situated in the Jews' street that had belonged to the Jew Donin and his nephews. Another document of 1311 refers to the sale of a house situated in the manor of the "hopital S. Jean de Hierusalem, rue de la Iviferie, iouxte la maison qu'on appelle l'eschole aux Juifs." [Iviferie, the home which they call the school of the Jews]" In the library of Melun is a 14th century manuscript "Breviarium Judaicum," a mahzor (partly unedited), according to the French ritual, for the holy-days of Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur (described in detail by M. Schwab in "R. E. J." xiii. 296-299). Like the Jews in other parts of France, those of Melun were forced in 1306 by King Philip the Fair to leave the city without hopes of ever returning. A 16th century machzor dating has been kept in the nunnery of the Carmelite nuns of Melun. A community exists due to the repatriation of Jews from Algeria. Synagogue Etz Haïm, Association Cultuelle Israélite de Melun ACIM, Centre Communautaire, Angle des rues Branly et Michelet - BP 39 - 77000 MELUN CEDEX, Tél: 01-64-00-52-05. [January 2008]
Dammarie les Lys: Jewish Section [January 2008]
Le Mée sur Seine: Jewish Section [January 2008]
Melun Nord: Jewish Section [January 2008]
Melun Sud: Jewish Section [January 2008]