The Patrons and Their PoorA pregnant mother, a teacher who had fallen ill, a thirty year old homeless thief, refugees from war torn communities, orphans, widows, the mentally disabled and domestic servants. What this diverse group of individualsmentioned in a wide range of manuscript and print sources in German, Hebrew, and Yiddishhad in common was their appeal to early modern Jewish communities for aid. Poor relief administrators, confronted with multiple requests and a