Glückel

Glückel of Hameln or Glikl bas Yehudah Leib (1646-1724) was a merchant from Hamburg whose memoirs are among the most important sources about the daily life of Jews in early modern Germany. Glückel’s commercial success is all the more striking because she was a woman working in a man’s world. Jewish as well as Christian customs gendered the division of labor, identifying the home as a female space and business as a male space. However, Jewish tradition celebrated strong women, especially when it came to economic activity. Like her mother before her, Glückel actively participated in her husband’s business. She oversaw Hayyim’s trade in pearls and gold, settled customer accounts, and managed the firm while he was away on business as far as Moscow and London. After Hayyim’s death in 1689, she took over, managing to pay off his considerable debts within one year.