A Jewish community developed after the expulsion of the Jews in Kitzingen in 1763, although a few so-called Schutzjuden (protected Jews) of the Margrave of Ansbach had been living in the village since the 16th century. However, the village was ruled by Münsterschwarzach Abbey, which tolerated Jews restrictively. In 1714 there were five Jewish families and by 1817 there were already 17 Jewish families with a total of around 100 people, i.e. almost 9 percent of the population at the time.
They lived in a separate quarter, namely in the former Judengasse, renamed in the Nazi era after the notorious Reichsritter von Epp, i.e. in today's Turmstraße and parts of Häckergasse. Its inhabitants earned their living mainly from various types of trade and also from crafts (butchers, tinsmiths, büttner). Coexistence between the Catholic majority and the Jewish minority was not without conflict.
The Jewish community had had a synagogue with a religious school and a ritual bath since 1811. A Jewish teacher was active on site at least some of the time. He was also the prayer leader and shocket. When the Bavarian Emancipation Edict made it possible for Jews to move to other towns in 1863/64, almost all of the Jewish residents left the winegrowing village over time. They moved to Kitzingen, Schweinfurt and other towns with train stations.
The Jewish community was formally dissolved in 1880. In 1901, a Jewish woman, probably a daughter-in-law of master tinsmith Gottlieb Waldorf, was still living in the village. She was buried in Rödelsee in 1905. Despite the well-preserved original building fabric, the synagogue (Turmstraße 13) was demolished on May 23, 1991.
View of the former Jewish quarter with the so-called "Judentürmle" - the first Jewish school in Sommerach, photo: municipality of Sommerach