The spiritual flourishing of the Jewish community in Lod was accompanied by economic prosperity unlike anything the city had ever seen before. The fertile surroundings enabled agricultural cultivation (one rabbi recounted that he walked from Lod to his home in a nearby town with his ankles covered in fig honey), and many villages brought their produce to this urban center. This, together with the city's location on an important caravan route, led to the development of trade.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Chrikover.

The economic prosperity of Lod is expressed in the verse, “He who wishes to become wise shall go north, and he who wishes to become rich shall go south.” The word ‘south’ refers to Lod, which was also called “Assisiyot.” Indeed, the Jews of Lod were engaged in various professions. They were merchants, doctors (the most famous of whom was Theodore the Physician), farmers in various fields, fabric dyers (a very common profession in the city), weavers, potters, and, of course, many scholars. Among the industrial products were a developed fabric dyeing industry, a barrel industry (“Lod barrels”), a jug industry, and a textile industry (a particularly famous dyed fabric was made here and was also mentioned in foreign books, such as a certain Latin book). Among the agricultural industries were sheep farming, fig cultivation, vineyards, orchards, and more.

Trade was a particularly important industry. The merchants of Lod traded in everything, and perhaps even spices (Tosefta, Pesachim, 10:6). However, it was precisely in this field that the merchants did not bring a good reputation to their city. They were known for deceiving and overcharging people, and therefore "Rabbi Tarfon issued a ruling in Lod: "In cases of overpricing, eight ma'ot per sela is considered fraud"—a third of the value—and the merchants rejoiced. But then he added: "The buyer may return the item all day," which upset them. They said: "Let Rabbi Tarfon remain in his own place," and they returned to the general consensus of the Sages. Thus, the dishonest trade practices gave Lod’s merchants a negative reputation.

Deception is considered theft, and the merchants of Lod rejoiced. He said to them, ‘All day long you may return the goods.’ They said to him, ‘Let us be, Rabbi Tarfon, in our place,’ and they returned to the words of the Sages (Bava Metzia 84b). However, because of their dishonest trade, their name became infamous.

Industry was developed at that time. It is known that Lod had an industry for dyeing an important fabric called PARPURA-ALITINA. Regarding the dyeing of blue, it is written, "Just as there are cities that dye purple, and their hands are stained with purple (Lod), they dye blue (Sotah, 46b). Another industry that was very common in Lod was pottery. Rabbi Akiva says: "From thin pottery to quart-size Lod barrels (Kelim 2:2).” It is unclear what purpose the Lod pots and barrels served, but it is clear that they were famous, as explained in the following verse: "It was barrels like the Lod medium-sized barrels (Menachot 87a).” There were also Coppersmiths in Lod, who were called “Tarsiyim” (however, some scholars believe that the Tarsiyim were weavers of a special linen fabric, as were the people of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia).

In the field of services, the name of the famous physician Theodore is mentioned. From the text: “And Theodore the physician entered, and all the physicians with him” (Tosefta, Ahilot 84:2), it can be concluded that there were other physicians in the city besides him.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Municipality of Lod - Cherikover.