Adolescence in Jewish medieval society under Islam

Adolescent experience has been the subject of an intensive interdisciplinar y discourse for the last century; a subject whose roots go back to the basi c issue of I nature versus nurture'. In examining this topic in Jewish medi eval society under Islam, an incongruity is revealed between the normative attitudes at the time and the reality. The normative attitudes, as exhibite d in religious law (halakha) and in the moral literature represent man's li fe as a journey which peaks upon reaching full adulthood. The different sta ges of life along the way are acknowledged but they are perceived as subsid iary, sometimes even dangerous. But the reality does not concur: adolescent s were far from invisible during this period. Indeed, their presence was pr ominent and reflected in the poetry and the prevailing images of youth from the time. Jewish society had developed an efficient system for socializing its adolescents, which included an apprenticeship system, higher education (the beit midrash) and early marriage.