Dangerous Apostates
Jews hating Jews has a long history. Going as far back as the Bible. But medieval religions made a real art of it.
Jeremy Rosen
The psychology of these apostates is fascinating but also so relevant today. Some felt rejected by their Jewish communities over theological issues which made them bitter and determined to take revenge. Others simply preferred to join the majority religion whether Christianity or Islam. Either for financial gain, inducements or simply to escape the pressure and oppression of being part of a reviled minority. In the modern era the opportunity to abandon religion altogether was an attractive intellectual option. Many Jews reacted to the Holocaust by hiding their Jewish identity. You do not need me to give examples how many well-known ex-Jews or Jews who side with our enemies today. The two who stand out in Medieval Jewry were Nicholas Donin and Pablo Christiani.
Donin was a Jewish convert to Christianity in early thirteenth-century Paris. He was known for his role in the 1240 Disputation of Paris which resulted in a decree for the public burning of huge numbers of copies of the Talmud and the expulsion of Jews. Latin sources referred to him as “Repellus,” which might have been the Latin name of his native La Rochelle. But also refer to what a repellent character he was.
Donin was excommunicated from the Ghetto of Paris by the famous ( to Talmudic scholars) Rabbi Yechiel of Paris because Donin had rejected the authority of the Talmud along with Rabbinic traditions. According to one record, after ten years of living in excommunication, Donin was baptized into the Catholic Church and joined the Franciscan order.
In 1238 Donin went to Rome to denounce the Talmud to the Pope as offensive to Christianity. Thirty-five articles against the Talmud were drawn up, which Donin claimed attacked the Virginity of Mary and the divinity of Jesus. In themselves debatable issues. What might be regarded as anti-Christian references in Rabbinic literature, are often in code and are just as likely to refer to other contemporary Christians than the supposed era of Jesus of Nazareth. Besides the historicity of Jesus and early Christianity is so subject to critical analysis that contemporary rabbis of the Mishna would not have considered the myths worth referring to. In contrast to contemporary Roman Emperors. Names and titles they used to dismiss Pagan opponents were certainly not references to the Christian Jesus.
Nevertheless, the Pope was persuaded that the accusations were true and the authorities were ordered to seize all copies of the Talmud and deposit them with the Dominicans and Franciscans. This order was generally ignored, except in France where in 1240 the Jews were compelled to hand over their Talmuds and four of the most distinguished rabbis of France had to answer Donin in a public debate. The rabbis were forbidden from denying the holiness of Jesus or Mary, as well as disputing any other central Christian doctrine, and Donin was declared victorious. Louis IX condemned the Talmud to be burned and in 1242 twenty-four carriage loads (ten to twelve-thousand volumes) were burnt in public in Paris. Donin was rewarded with promotion and a pension. King Louis was made a saint!
The other fierce turncoat was a Sephardi Jew, Saul the son of Joshua. He was born in Spain sometime in the thirteenth century. He married a Jewish woman and fathered children with her. After he converted to Christianity, he took his children from his wife and converted them too. He then joined the Dominicans as a friar and called himself Pablo Christiani .
He followed Donin’s lead in attempting to ban the Talmud. He is known above all to this day for his role in the famous 1263 Disputation of Barcelona. A favourite schoolteacher of mine, Hyam Maccoby, wrote a book about it which was adapted into a BBC drama.
The disputation was Donin’s attempt to convert Ramban, Nachmanides, the most prominent rabbinic authority of that era and other fellow Jews to Christianity. Christiani’s efforts failed. King James I of Aragon initially supported Christiani and accepted his pre-conditions. But during the debate, he was so impressed by Nachmanides that he awarded him a prize of 300 gold coins and declared that never had he heard “an unjust cause so nobly defended.” Even so, he felt he could not protect him from his Christian enemies. He advised him to flee. The following day, Nachmanides left Aragon never to return.
The failure to convert anybody during the Disputation did not, however, discourage Christiani. He went on missionary journeys and compelled Jews everywhere to listen to his speeches and answer his questions, both in synagogues and wherever else he pleased. He even required his audiences to defray the expenses of his missions.
Christiani did not meet with the success that he had expected. In 1264 he went to Pope Clement IV to denounce the Talmud as had Donin. The Pope then commanded King James to appoint a commission that consisted of Christiani and others to act as censors of the Talmud. Christiani and the rest of the commission redacted all passages that they deemed were hostile to Christianity. As a result, The Talmud of Christian countries were censored. The original texts were only preserved under Islam.
Five years later, Christiani went further than this campaign against the Talmud and interceded with King Louis IX of France to enforce an edict that required Jews to wear badges that would single them out as Jews. He did not give up until his dying breath. There is no record of how many Jews he might have converted.
We are often our own worst enemies, seeking to find favor with majority fashions or ideologies. While at the same time we face campaigns from the outside to denigrate and disenfranchise Jews. If there is not one excuse, our enemies will always find another. Yet, this state has been the norm for thousands of years, and our survival should give us hope.
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.
