Metz is the capital of the Moselle department, in the northeast of France. Even if Simon, bishop of Metz in 350, was really of Jewish origin (as a later source claims), it does not prove that Jews were present in the town during that period. However, their presence is confirmed from at least 888; a Church Council held in Metz at that date forbade Christians to take meals in the company of Jews. There is a reference that predates the 11th century to a Jew called David perhaps renting a vineyard. It was in Metz that the series of anti-Jewish persecutions accompanying the First Crusade began, claiming 22 victims in the town in 1096. From the beginning of the 17th century the community owned a cemetery, a synagogue, and a poorhouse. In 1689 free and compulsory elementary schooling was introduced, and in 1764 a Hebrew press began publishing. The Jews were restricted in their economic activities by legal disabilities, however. While an oligarchy developed that achieved great wealth, the masses remained mired in poverty. Hostility toward the Jews reached its peak at the time of the execution of Raphael Lévy (1670) for alleged ritual murder. Nevertheless, before the Revolution the jurists Pierre Louis Lacretelle (1751–1824) and Pierre Louis Roederer of Metz, future members of the National Assembly, called for granting Jews full rights. The latter organized the famous concourse of the academy of Metz on this subject Jewish emancipation (1785). In 1792 Marquis de Lafayette, who commanded the army at Metz, proclaimed the religious freedom of the Jews. The proclamation was later suspended during the Reign of Terror (1794). The consistory created in Metz in 1808, which included Moselle and Ardennes, served 6,517 Jews.

The French Revolution was greeted with enthusiasm by the Jews of Metz. In 1792 the chief rabbi himself, Uri Cohen, already advanced in years, offered an example of patriotism by tendering his services for the defense of the city. It was he, also, who, after the victory of Valmy, set out at the head of the defenders of Thionville and, with Rolley, mayor of Metz, led them before the Ark, where, in an enthusiastic speech, he extolled the bravery of the Jews and declared the country had the right to count upon the cooperation of all its citizens. During the Reign of Terror the synagogue was closed, the sacred utensils used in the services were put under seal, and the courtyard was used for a pasture; the tombstones were taken from the cemetery and used for building purposes. By the decrees of 1806 and of March 7, 1808, the Jewish creed was officially recognized, and in the creation of the seven consistories and grand rabbinates the district of Metz and the community of the city of Metz are mentioned.