132 Selected Reform Responsa
part of the services of the secular government, the emphasis of Jewish social services is on the latter. This, too, has a long tradition in our history.
Sick-care societies on a communal basis did not appear until the Spanish -Jewish period. They may have begun as early as the thirteenth century in Spain (A. A. Neuman, Jews in Spain , 11, 161 ff). Such societies were responsible for the physical and spiritual welfare of all who were ill, burial of the dead, and counseling of the bereaved.
Similar societies were founded in Germany in the seventeenth century, probably under the influence of Spanish -Jewish immigrants (J. R. Marcus, Communal Sick-Care, p. 64). At the same time, we find such societies beginning in Italy . Throughout Central Europe they patterned themselves somewhat after Christian groups which also cared for the sick, but two major differences continued to exist between the Jewish organizations and their Christian counterpart. The Christian organizations were also social clubs and tended to look only after their own sick members. The Jewish Brotherhood had few social overtones and worked for the benefit of the entire community. These societies, often called"Holy Brotherhood" or"Brotherhood of Lovingkindness," were motivated by strong religious forces. Their constitutions often quote Psalm 41 or the Ethics of the Fathers -"by three things is the world upheld, by Torah , service, and by deeds of lovingkindness," or"you shall love your neighbor as yourself"(Lev. 19.18).
The Brotherhoods were tightly organized and funded through the community. All the members of the Brotherhood were duty-bound to serve in whatever capacity they could. There were rigid schedules of visiting the sick and caring for the bereaved. As much attention was given to the religious and emotional needs as to the physical needs of the sick. The basic feeling of these groups has been best stated by Dr.