Josef Kolon

The rabbi and scholar Josef Kolon, known as Jocelyn of Cologne, lived between 1454 and 1502 in Frankfurt. After construction of the Judengasse, he occupied the house Kessel (no. 152). Josef Kolon was a rabbinical judge, and a member of the rabbinical court. In a legal dispute, he gave his support to the officiating rabbi Simon Hakohen) approving the latter's ban on disputes between Frankfurt Jews being heard before remote rabbinical courts. A practice had arisen where a debtor owing a small amount would attempt to escape his obligations by summoning his creditor to appear before the rabbi in some far flung location. In most instances, the better off merchants would then renounce their claim to the small sum rather than accept the dangers and wasted time of the journey. Poor folk, whose very subsistence might be threatened by having to pay petty amounts, often used this ruse. Josef Kolon explicitly opposed this injustice " which makes wealth into an evil" and "denies the wealthy their living".