 An inadvertent revolution was launched by rabbis in the midst of a great trauma (the fall of the temple and of the Jewish kingdom) leading to "compulsory religious education of male children," and thence, ultimately, to specialization in commerce and banking.Botticini and Eckstein then ask why and how Jews came to specialize in money-lending, and answer, " “We show that the entry and then specialization of the Jews in lending money at interest can be explained by their comparative advantage in the four assets that were and still are the pillars of the financial intermediation