Rabbeinu Tam Survived the Second Crusade

The Second Crusade, launched in 1146, inflicted further losses on the Jewish communities of France and Germany. In one instance, bloodthirsty crusaders entered the home of Rabbi Yaakov ben Meir, commonly known as Rabbeinu Tam, in the French town of Ramerupt. After pillaging his home, they stabbed him multiple times in the head. Miraculously, at the last moment, he was saved thanks to the intervention of a passing nobleman.